Attack of the Petpetpets!

This season, the weather is fine all across Neopia and the P3s are thriving like never before, which could be bad news for your precious Petpet if proper precautions aren't taken. There are a whole variety of P3s in Neopia, from the Moach to the Itchi, and not all are very hospitable. In fact, most variety of P3 like nothing more than getting attached to your Petpet and making them itchy, or even sucking the blood right out of them! That's why it's important to prepare your Petpet, so P3s can't get on them and make them miserable all season. Nobody likes a sad, itchy Petpet, after all.

Everybody knows P3s can be really fun to take care of, so long as they're in P3 farms made especially for them. When they're out flying around near campfires or near lakes, though, the results can be a nasty infestation of P3s in your Petpet's fur. In the weather all around Neopia currently, the nights are just warm enough for the P3s to stay out all night, and the days aren't yet hot enough to drive them into hiding. With that said, nowhere is safe from the P3's reign of terror, but there are things that can be done to prevent them from latching onto your Petpet.

The first thing you can do to prevent your Petpet from getting infested by P3s is to use some Sprinkling of Chilli Pepper on them. Usually this is a food and costs around 200 Neopoints, but surprisingly enough, P3s absolutely hate the smell and taste of Chilli pepper! It might make your Petpet sneeze a few times if you get it too close to their nose, but they'll stop eventually and no P3 will get near them until you wash the pepper out of their fur. This makes playing outside much nicer and a whole lot less painful for your Petpet. For how cheap it is, it's definitely one of the more practical solutions to those pesky P3s.

Another way you can keep your Petpet infestation free is by using Pest-B-Gone. This comes in the form of a robotic P3 that was designed especially for keeping Petpets pest free on any long camping trip. The only problem with these special little P3s is that they're incredibly hard to find and cost too much to be considered a good option to keep in mind. If you're lucky enough to own one already, it'll definitely be great to bring along on any trip! It'll be sure to keep away any P3s who try to make your Petpet their host for the time being.

You could also get your Petpet a flea collar for the dreaded P3s like the Breebly, but those don't always work against other annoying pests like the Vernax, which attaches itself to your Petpet's feet. Flea collars are only recommended for the common household Petpet who doesn't go outside all the time. They simply aren't effective enough against most P3s to consider it a great product to keep away the massive number of P3s. Still, if you use one while also using some Sprinkling of Chilli Pepper, it could make for a good combination that keeps all the pests at bay!

Of course, not all P3s are out to get your Petpet, either. It's important to be able to identify which P3s like to bother your pets and which will leave them alone. If you find one of the non-biting ones, you could even bring it home with you in a jar to put in your Petpet's farm! You could probably bring home some of the biting ones, too, but it would be really unfortunate if they broke out and infested your house. It'd take forever to get them out, and everyone would be covered in bites in the meantime!

One of the most notorious biting P3s is, of course, the Moquot. It's easy to tell them apart from other P3s because they make a high pitch buzzing noise and they have a long mouth, which they use to stick into the skin of any creature they can find. They primarily make their home around lakes and rivers, and if you don't take proper precaution to keep them away, they'll drink your or your Petpet's blood! If you get bitten, not only do they steal your blood, but you get a really itchy spot where they bit you, afterwards.

Of course, then there is the Springabee, a large yellow and black P3 that buzzes as it flies from flower to flower. These P3s are completely harmless and won't bother your Petpet at all, unless of course your Petpet is trying to harass it while it flies about. Even though these P3s are harmless, they have a stinger and aren't afraid to use it on creatures that act like predators around it! That could land your Petpet in a world of pain, so if you see a Springabee, make sure your Petpet doesn't bother it too much. They're very peaceful and only want to fly from flower to flower.

Another pesky P3 is the Zytch, which is a lot like the Moquot in the fact that it sucks your Petpet's blood. These P3s have no wings and don't make any sound, so it can be hard to catch them before they get into your Petpet's fur. Have no fear, however! These little P3s are easily stopped by the Sprinkling of Chilli Pepper that we mentioned to be a good pest deterrent. They absolutely hate the smell of it and refuse to get near any Petpet that smells like Chilli Peppers.

Finally, we have the Wormoeba, a lazy little P3 that just likes to wriggle about. They look rather frightening with their green and purple colouration and the little spikes that cover it, but they're completely harmless and won't get anywhere near your Petpet. They can actually be amusing to watch as they wriggle about, crawling along the ground or up trees at a slow pace. You could even catch one and bring it home with you, if you wanted! They aren't hard to take care of, and since they're so lazy, they'll never try to escape, either.

There are many other P3s out there, but as long as you follow some of the tips listed here, any camping trip, or even a short play time in your back yard, is sure to be completely free of itching.