Flea treatment for dogs in a campervan

Living full-time in a campervan with a dog is a brilliant way to travel, but it does make flea control trickier — your living space and your dog's space are the same space, so an infestation can take hold fast in a confined area. The good news is that treating both the dog and the environment is still the right approach, even if 'the environment' is a van rather than a house. Before I suggest anything, tell me: what breed and size is your dog, how bad does the flea situation look right now, and have you treated the van interior at all yet?

Good — you've caught it early, which makes a real difference. A Border Terrier at 7kg is a small dog with a wiry double coat, so fleas can hide well in there even when numbers look low on the surface. Before I recommend the on-dog treatment, I want to ask one thing: are you able to get a vet prescription, or would you prefer something you can order online without one? The reason I ask is that prescription-only options are more potent, but there's one very good over-the-counter chew that works really well for van life specifically.

That makes complete sense, and it actually points me straight to one product: Bravecto Spot-On for Small Dogs (2–4.5kg is too small for her, so you'd use the 4.5–10kg size). Bravecto kills fleas for 12 weeks from a single application — that three-month window is the real advantage for you. With a monthly product you'd be reapplying every four weeks regardless of where you are; with Bravecto you apply it, it works, and you don't have to think about it again for a full season. It's a spot-on, so no prescription needed, and it also covers ticks, which matters if you're travelling through rural or wooded areas. Apply it to the back of her neck as usual. For the van, a can of RIP Fleas spray used once thoroughly — focusing on the bedding, the seating fabric, and any carpet — will kill eggs and larvae and keep working for weeks. Do that on the same day you apply the Bravecto and you're addressing both sides of the problem in one go.

Yes, it's readily available on Amazon UK — search 'Bravecto Spot-On Small Dog 4.5-10kg' and it comes up easily, usually sold as a single pipette or a pack of two. Make sure you're buying the 4.5–10kg weight band for a 7kg dog. Some listings show the very small dog size alongside it, so just double-check the weight range on the pack before you buy. The RIP Fleas spray is also on Amazon — one can is enough for a thorough van treatment, and it's not expensive.

With RIP Fleas, let the van air out for about 30 minutes after spraying — open all windows and the door — then it's fine for her to be back inside. The residual effect continues working once it's dry, so there's no need for a long wait. Given you're in a small space, I'd do the spray while you're parked somewhere she can run around outside for half an hour, which lines up nicely anyway. That's really all there is to it — one Bravecto application, one van spray, done for the season.