OVER the years of writing this column there is one parasite that has been mentioned more times than any other and that little bug is, of course, the flea.

And why do I write about fleas so much? Because they never go away, however hard we try they continue to be the number one pest on our pets and the number one cause of itchy skin.

There are an ever increasing number of products out there to treat fleas from the useless to the extremely effective and my advice to avoid wasting money is to use a veterinary flea treatment.

I have generally avoided bamboozling readers with the exact ins and outs of different products as you could end up with information overload – your own vet is the best one to advise you.

However, a new flea treatment has just been launched that is good enough to warrant an individual mention.

Called Bravecto this product is for dogs only and treats both fleas and ticks. What makes this product interesting is that it is a tablet, not a spot-on and only has to be given every three months not every month.

So who do I think this product would suit?

Anyone who, like me, is useless at remembering a monthly spot-on, and anyone whose dog hates spot-ons but will take a tasty tablet easily.