Flea/Tick Preventatives

I choose not to use this stuff on my dog. I don't think it's worth the risks. Just my opinion. If my dog gets fleas (He's 10 and I think he's had them once in his life) I'll treat it then with a flea shampoo. The way I look at it he'll be exposed maybe O. more time to THOSE chemicals than once a month for the next 5-6 years.

Hi M.,

When we lived in the city and my dog was not exposed to fleas much I used a natural product called Solumel on him. I sprayed him every morning before we went outside and that worked great even through the summer. Now that we have him near woods where fleas seem to just breed abundantly and seem to be on steroids, I had to go to something that the vet recommended.

I love natural things and preach them quite loudly but this is one area that can get out of control very easily. Fleas can remain dormant for a long time and eggs don't just die. If you have an inside dog the carpets can get infested with them easily. The prevention, whatever you use, needs to go throughout the winter. Fleas specifically can cause tapeworms that are very harmful, and of course uncomfortable, to dogs. My dog had a reaction to the Advantix (throwing up) but seems to tolerate the Frontline well.

Hope this helps...

M.

My dog uses Frontline plus and my cats use revolution. I think for the dog that I would never want to deal with a flea problem. I think the risks outweigh the benefit. If you are purchasing it from a veterinarian then you do not have to worry about getting a fake product. If you purchase it anywhere else, it is not being purchased directly from the manufacturer (at least for frontline, bayer does sell otc) and who knows what the product is.

Please check out http://www.greenpaws.org/

Down toward the bottom is a "Product Guide." If you click on it, you can check out the toxicity of various different brands of flea/tick repellent. This is how my husband and I found the products we use. Good luck.

There's a product called Comfortis which is based upon a soil bacteria byproduct (spinosad). Spinosad is approved by the EPA as an organic pesticide. We asked our vet about it for our dog, and she said it was good against fleas but not ticks (I hope I don't have that backwards).

Anyhow, I'd ask the vet. They won't want to give your pet anything that isn't safe for them. But, you have to take into consideration the risks of having fleas/ticks in your home (such as Lyme disease).

Insects such as head lice (not something you and your pet share) aren't known to transmit disease, but ticks, in particular do pass diseases from pets to humans.

We personally have used both Frontline and Advantage. I believe we're using Advantage now as a safer alternative. We only give it to our dog (not our cat) during warmer weather months, though.

Good luck with our decision.

My ex is a veterinarian, and he gives me Revolution for our dogs. It prevents heartworm, fleas, ticks and ear mites. I trust his judgement, and also he uses the same thing on his dogs. It's a small vial of medicine you squirt on their skin near their neck -- once a month. It's really important to do the heartworm thing, and the fact that it prevents the other things is a bonus. I've been through flea infestations AND a stray we adopted had heartworm after we got him (he survived). The preventive is much less harmful to your pet than treating them for things once they get them. Ask your vet what he/she uses on his/her pets. I ask that of a lot of professionals when I'm trying to make decisions regarding pets or kids or self.

I love Advantage! I live in Suffolk, Va on 15 acres. I have 4 dogs and 5 cats, plus do cat rescue I use Advantage on all of them. Here is also another safe way to control fleas:

If you would like an easy effective way to rid your home of fleas try this...
it has worked for me for over 14 years.

Get 20 mule team borax at walmart or where ever. You will need 2 boxes at least.
Start room by room
Day 1-- Put a new bag in your vacuum to maximize the suction of your vacuum cleaner. Pull out sofa, chairs and any other furniture from walls and vacuum the floor thoroughly first and then sprinkle the 20 mule team borax on the carpet, all over, move back furniture and continue around the room vacuuming first and then apply the powder borax to all the floor.
Empty vacuum cleaner bag in outside trash can when finished vacuuming all of the rooms to contain the adult fleas and leave 20 mule team borax at least overnight on all floors . Also vacuum fabric furniture crevices and under cushions and sprinkle the 20 mule team borax into all of the crevices of sofa and chairs that are made of fabric and under cushions too, leave it there do not vacuum it up. Launder any small rugs, bedding or anything the pet has layed on to remove fleas and larvae from them.

Day 2 --Vacuum around furniture but NOT under it leaving the borax powder under all furniture (fleas lay their eggs in dark places and the larvae hatch out and remain there crawling around in the borax and die. No larvae=no fleas
Continue around your whole house leaving the borax powder under all furniture, even under beds since pets like to hide there.
Any place your pet lays down a flea can jump off and make a home so wash pet bedding also.
Vacuum all floors daily for 1 week around furniture but not under it.

It takes a little time the first time you put it down but you are good to go for the rest of the season not needing to replace borax until next year if you choose.

To rid house of other bugs also put 20 mule team borax under frig, stove, washer, dryer.
It does work for many bugs, roaches etc...

Safe to walk on, will not harm carpet, people or pets.

Rid the environment of the fleas and their eggs and everyone will be very happy you spent the time and spared them the bad chemicals.
I have never used flea prevention on my pets just as I don't expose my family to the chemicals either.

You have recieved a lot of good answers. I used to live in Fairfax, Va and I just wanted to say that you should use a preventative year round in Virginia. Tick and fleas can survive year round in Virginia. Also whatever you do make sure you are using some sort of preventative. My beloved dog died from Lyme disease only a few short months ago that she most likely got from a tick. I totally feel responsible for her getting the disease because I skipped a couple of months during the winter.

Like you, I was concerned about using chemicals on my dog. When we converted our home to non-toxic products, I started bathing my dog with the same shampoo that we use. It contains Melaleuca oil; bugs hate it! We have had NO trouble with fleas or tics in the 4 years since we discontinued the Frontline. Hope this is helpful! Good luck. :)

I've always used frontline on my dogs, as long as you use the proper dosage for their weight there shouldn't be an issue. I had a cat as a teenager and my sister put dog frontline on and it caused her to seize, she recovered as soon as it was washed off. When we first got our mini poodle my husband (in all his infinate wisdom *seeping sarcasm*) put the hertz spray stuff that comes in a blue bottle on him and he ended up rushing him to the vet. I would definitely use something that you can get from the vet. These also need to be used year round to be ultimately effective.

I don't know the difference between them all, but we live in the south where the fleas/ticks are practically a year round issue. Some months are far worse than others... but if you try to let it slide ... you will suffer the consequences.

We have used Frontline products on our GSD since she was old enough for us to apply it. As an adult, she "wears" Frontline Plus. She is an inside dog, and I want to keep her inside, and no fleas. Ticks are REALLY creepy too. (and of course they carry diseases).

I have found, that even in our flea/tick infested neck of the woods (SE coastal GA) that if I apply it regularly we have no issues with either. I will let it go about 6 weeks in between in the summer/warmer months, and about 2 months during the winter months and we haven't had any issues. I wish there was something we could apply to our YARD to get rid of Horse Flies though...... :(

I use Frontline Plus on my indoor dogs and it keeps the fleas and ticks off well. We have two little girls who hug and kiss on the dogs all the time so I'm sure to put the product on at night after everyone has gone to sleep and it has time to "soak in" overnight. I haven't had a reaction from the dogs that I can tell, or the girls, thank goodness. I know it's a poison of some kind and am sure not to touch it myself, but the fleas and ticks are awful on our pets too and I can't see myself giving them baths all the time. Also, since you haven't been giving the Frontline all winter, expect at least one month lag time for it to really start taking effect again. I noticed ticks on my dogs even after I restarted after taking the winter off. Just an FYI, if you are using frontline, then you should be giving them a separate heartworm pill, but I'm sure you're doing that. Good luck!