My puppy has roundworms. How to clean my home and prevent re-infection?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like Koga has roundworms. The eggs of intestinal parasites are shed in his poop not from his fur. You need to clean up the stools as soon as he goes to prevent contamination of the environment. Your son should be ok as long as he isn’t eating the poop. Just make sure to wash his hands after he plays with the puppy or before he eats. You will need to treat Koga twice (3 weeks apart) and the you should be all set. Good luck and kisses to Koga!

Washing his bed is a good idea. You do not need to throw away his toys. You can wash those too. Depending on what wormer you are using you may have to retreat your puppy in two weeks.

Oh my. Poor Gunner. If these are small like white rice then they are likely tapeworms. Tapeworms are not infective once they are dried up; therefore, you can use normal everyday cleaner to clean the area free of the worms. No special requirements needed, since they are not infected once they are dried up. If you do see a live worm, then wear gloves to remove them from the area, then spray as needed. Good hygiene is the best way to prevent infecting yourself, which requires you actually ingesting a live worm. A tapeworm medication (i.e. Praziquantel, Drontal) should be started right away to rid the worms in Gunner's system. Also a flea preventative (i..e Bravecto, Nexgard, Trifexis-heartworm and flea) is needed to prevent re-infection, since Tapeworms come from ingesting a flea. If the worms are Roundworms, then the same recommendations apply, except Roundworms look like angel hair pasta and don't come from fleas, but instead from the environment and in-utero infection is common. These are treated with a broad spectrum dewormer (i.e. Pyrantel Palmoate or Fenbendazole). I hope you can get Gunner free of his parasites soon and get him on the right track towards healthy living. Take care of yourself and especially any young children that may come into contact with Gunner, as they like to stick their hands in their mouths without washing first (typical way people get infected with worms). Best wishes.

Oh no. This is a nuisance to deal with for sure. Tapeworms are contagious to people, but it would require ingesting (eating) a live worm to become infective. As long as you clean up the feces and use good hygiene (washing your hands and avoid putting hands in the mouth after touching your pet or any live worms), then you are less likely to infest yourself. Clean up the poop quickly and don’t let your pet around other dogs or cats to avoid transmission until you can get Coco treated. Best wishes and don’t forget to also get Coco on a good flea preventative (ie Bravecto, Nexgard, Simparica, Vectra etc) at your vet to avoid further infection with tapeworms. Take care.

A very good scrub of the house will suffice. Steam mop the hardworking surfaces, and you can steam clean the carpets as well. It's important to remove any fecal material from the home, as that's how tapeworm infection is passed.

Just in case, make sure your veterinarian is confirming the presence of roundworms (tapeworms can sometimes be confused for roundworms). If tapeworms are present, Koda will need a special medication. The two most common reasons for persistent infection with roundworms are not yet clearing the infection he was born with (yes, they can be infected in uterus) or your yard is contaminated with roundworm eggs (one study showed roundworm eggs remained infective for 20 years). Continue with the routine dewormings and start him on a heartworm prevention like Interceptor. You should also alert your vet who may change the deworming schedule. Remember that these worms can also spread to humans so make sure to practice good hygiene. Here is a link with more helpful information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/roundworms-toxascaris-leonina-toxocara-canis/ I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It's definitely a good idea to clean and sanitize everything after your cat has had worms just to prevent spreading it back to your cat (or yourself from contact with any affected material as roundworms are transmissible to people and other pets). I would make sure at the very least to completely change the litter, wipe down the litter box with a sanitizing wipe, and wash any bedding your cat regularly sleeps on including your own, their beds, the couch, etc. This can help get rid of any roundworm eggs that may still be in the environment as it can be spread through fecal matter.