It is Important to Maintain Heartworm Disease Prevention through Winter
Heartworm disease occurs as a result of a parasitic infection transmitted by mosquitoes. After being bitten by a heartworm infected mosquito, immature larval heartworms gradually mature over many months, eventually lodging in the pulmonary arteries and sometimes the heart of a dog or cat, where they start to reproduce.
Heartworm disease is an easily prevented disease, but it is difficult and expensive to treat if your pet is infected and then develops the disease.
We tend to notice active mosquitoes during warmer months, so we associate heartworm disease as only being a summertime health issue for our pets.
Heartworm disease can affect our pets at any time, even during winter months, which is why it is important to continue preventive treatment year-round
Even though new heartworm infections may not be as prevalent during the colder months of the year, it is possible for pets that are not on prevention through the colder months, to experience a progression in heartworm disease that is a result of infection that occurred in the previous spring or summer.
Heartworm disease is a very serious health threat for pets, and all it takes is one winter mosquito for disease transmission to occur.
Effective prevention of heartworm infection is easily achieved by year round dosing, with either daily or monthly heartworm prevention medications. There is a huge range of reliable medications available in the forms of tablets, chews and spot–ons.
You can take additional action to help reduce your pet’s risk of contracting heartworm disease by managing your pets living environment and reducing their exposure to mosquitos:

• Remove any sources of open, stagnant water from around your home (for example:  puddles, dirty bird baths). Mosquitos breed in these types of water sources, which could then lead to a permanent population of mosquitos around your home.
• Bring your pet inside or into a screened area at dusk, when mosquito activity tends to increase.
• Apply an insect repellent, specifically designed for dogs, to your pet in the evenings.