what does everybody use for flea and tick control?

[blazehok68]

i am ready to re-up on my frontline for my dog, but was reading about k-9 advantix and it says it repels mosquitos which carry the west nile virus, and frontline plus does not.
from what i understand, frontline is the gold standard in flea and tick control, but should i switch to k-9 advantix?
what does everyone out there use and how do u like it?

 

[flower]

My vet uses a new product called Evolution, not only does it gets rid of fleas, mosquitoes and ticks but also it’s a heart worm medicine. $2.00 more than Frontline.

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BLAZEHOK68 http:///forum/thread/383731/what-does-everybody-use-for-flea-and-tick-control#post_3358168
i am ready to re-up on my frontline for my dog, but was reading about k-9 advantix and it says it repels mosquitos which carry the west nile virus, and frontline plus does not.
from what i understand, frontline is the gold standard in flea and tick control, but should i switch to k-9 advantix?
what does everyone out there use and how do u like it?
IMO, advantix is much better than frontline. It provides much better protection against a longer list of biting insects than frontline. Also, I have heard from a few vets and groomers that frontline/frontline plus does not seem to be as effective as it used to be (some people actually think fleas are building a tolerance to frontline).

 

[meowzer]

I use Advantage on my dogs....until recently it has worked fine....the last time I tried that evolution....IMO it didn't really work at all

I was wondering if my dogs were getting immune to teh advantage.....anyone know if that is possible???

 

[monsinour]

From the dog experts, well my wife really, frontline is the best and works all the time. Dont forget to treat in the winter too.

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/383731/what-does-everybody-use-for-flea-and-tick-control#post_3358182
I use Advantage on my dogs....until recently it has worked fine....the last time I tried that evolution....IMO it didn't really work at all

I was wondering if my dogs were getting immune to teh advantage.....anyone know if that is possible???
It is possible that the fleas in your area are building a tolerance to it, but check the expiration of the product first. Then, I would recommend switching to a different product.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/383731/what-does-everybody-use-for-flea-and-tick-control#post_3358184
From the dog experts, well my wife really, frontline is the best and works all the time. Dont forget to treat in the winter too.
Frontline does not work all the time. My own dog started to get a few fleas on her a week after putting her monthly dose on. I never miss a month when it comes to applying a flea preventative. I have also spoken with several vets, and they agreed that the fleas in my area were becoming resistant to frontline. The vets recommended changing flea and tick preventatives every so often and checking the expiration dates of the preventatives.

 

[brandonsivek]

We have a Great Pyrenees that had a bad flea problem last year, and when we went to the vet after using all the topical flea stuff and collars, he told us to try Comfortis. Its a pill that is around 15 dollars that you have to buy from a vet, but the animal doesnt need to be seen to buy it. It is good for 1 month, and after we gave her the pill, within a couple of hours we were literally picking dead fleas off of her. This pill did what none of the other over the counter medications could do. I would ask your vet about it, it worked aweseom for our dog and we swear by it now.

 

[dragonzim]

We've always used K9 Advantix and had very good results with it.

 

[mantisman51]

Elevation. Fleas and ticks can't survive over 4200'. It's like hypo for land critters. I moved here where it's 4600' and have no fleas or ticks. I had a flea infestation that I used every product on the market and couldn't get rid of in Idaho. After about 2 days here, there wasn't a single flea to be found. In all seriousness though, I had used every brand and type and couldn't get rid of the fleas. It was horrible.

 

[blazehok68]

im going to try k9 advantix and see what happens. its a couple dollars cheaper than frontline and takes care of more critters. thanks everyone for the reply.

 

[socal57che]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrandonSivek http:///forum/thread/383731/what-does-everybody-use-for-flea-and-tick-control#post_3358199
We have a Great Pyrenees that had a bad flea problem last year, and when we went to the vet after using all the topical flea stuff and collars, he told us to try Comfortis. Its a pill that is around 15 dollars that you have to buy from a vet, but the animal doesnt need to be seen to buy it. It is good for 1 month, and after we gave her the pill, within a couple of hours we were literally picking dead fleas off of her. This pill did what none of the other over the counter medications could do. I would ask your vet about it, it worked aweseom for our dog and we swear by it now.
+1 for Comfortis. It worked when nothing else would.

 

[oceankid]

I heard about flea shot from a friend of mine, I just don't know how safe it is.

 

[al mc]

All of the comments here have some validity in my opinion. I have always used frontline and been quite happy with it but we sell all the products listed in this thread. starting about 2-3 years ago we have heard from some clients that I believe apply unexpired product correctly that some fleas are still being seen. I do believe fleas are developing resistance to a single product used continuously. So, I still use frontline exclusively as I have not found fleas on my own dogs....but I do suggest people rotate products if they begin to see fleas that would appear to be resistant.

 

[blazehok68]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Mc http:///forum/thread/383731/what-does-everybody-use-for-flea-and-tick-control#post_3359877
All of the comments here have some validity in my opinion. I have always used frontline and been quite happy with it but we sell all the products listed in this thread. starting about 2-3 years ago we have heard from some clients that I believe apply unexpired product correctly that some fleas are still being seen. I do believe fleas are developing resistance to a single product used continuously. So, I still use frontline exclusively as I have not found fleas on my own dogs....but I do suggest people rotate products if they begin to see fleas that would appear to be resistant.
good advice

 

[darthtang 2]

I have been wanting to answer this for days but wqs unable to due to unforseen circumstances....acts of god...and so on.
I do NOT recomend any of these products. Stop and think about it. The active bug killing pyrthrin in bug killing yards sprays is 4 percent. The active repellent ingredient in bug sprays for human skin is 19 percent at the highest. The products list by everyone in this thread average 50 percent or higher. Would you coat yourself with 50 percent pyrithrin...a classified poison? Your children? So why your dog?
Use a cedar oil spray product. Most bugs including fleas ticks mites and bed bugshate cedar and avoid it at all cost. If they encounter the oil it coats them and kills them. Just a couple sprtizs a week take care of the issue and it is far cheaper. Any cedar oil productwith a 10 percent strength will get the job done.
Pyrithrin is known to cause can cer...and people wonder why cancer in our pets are becoming more common.
Darth (I said "spritz") Tang

 

[meowzer]

Where can you get this stuff? DO you have a brand name...or any will do?
I hate to ask this, BUT does it leave an oily residue on the dog or cat?

 

[darthtang 2]

Not that you will notice.....there are even some conditioning sprays on the market that contain cedar oil...however I personally can not vouche for their effectiveness. The cedar strength seems light to me.
The product my store carries is called southwest cedar oil...google should bring them up and the will ship you some. Google will actually bring up a few of these products.....mainly found at smaller family/small business pet boutiques or supply stores. *****...petsmart....they won't have it....I give them a few years before they jump on board this ship. The reason. The others are so well known is the mark up/profit margin is great.......some cases almost 200 percent...especially for frontline.

 

[mylady]

Quote:
Originally Posted by darthtang 2 http:///forum/thread/383731/what-does-everybody-use-for-flea-and-tick-control#post_3361811
I have been wanting to answer this for days but wqs unable to due to unforseen circumstances....acts of god...and so on.
I do NOT recomend any of these products. Stop and think about it. The active bug killing pyrthrin in bug killing yards sprays is 4 percent. The active repellent ingredient in bug sprays for human skin is 19 percent at the highest. The products list by everyone in this thread average 50 percent or higher. Would you coat yourself with 50 percent pyrithrin...a classified poison? Your children? So why your dog?
Use a cedar oil spray product. Most bugs including fleas ticks mites and bed bugshate cedar and avoid it at all cost. If they encounter the oil it coats them and kills them. Just a couple sprtizs a week take care of the issue and it is far cheaper. Any cedar oil productwith a 10 percent strength will get the job done.
Pyrithrin is known to cause can cer...and people wonder why cancer in our pets are becoming more common.
Darth (I said "spritz") Tang
First of all, are you trying to talk about pyrethrins or permethrin, because there is a difference. Secondly, no, not all the products listed contain either of those. Frontline uses fiproniln Advantage uses Imidacloprid, capstar uses Nitenpyram, Frontline Plus uses the Fipronil plus an IGR. Now Bio-spot, which I think is crap, does use permethrin which is synthetic anyway. Depending on your area, different things will work better depending on the types of fleas you have. If you want a very safe and natural way to get rid of fleas, try Flea Treats which boosts their B12 and Flea Busters which is a powder you sprinkle once a year that is a desicant and is safer than table salt. The best way to keep ticks away is to keep ducks or geese! They eat them and keep the population down. But you have to be careful with cedar oil if you have small animals. It can kill them, that's why you should never put hamsters, gerbils, etc in cedar shavings. The stuff you can buy at the grocery store is junk and can be quite dangerous, so if you want a spot on stick to the stuff that the vets sell.

 

[gemmy]

Cedar oil, as well as other oils from reticulated wood, can cause severe reactions in many types of pets especially small pets.

 

[darthtang 2]

I used the word pyrethrin (sp?) As a broad term generalization for poison/carcinigen.....bad chose of words maybe but the meaning is the same. Also the question was regarding dogs...so my answer was not geared towards hamsters or rabbits....chickens or any other small caged animal. Strictly dogs.
Here we go. Fipronil, fiproniln, imadacloprid and permethrin are all class 3 carcinogens. These are also the active ingredients in the products. My 'ention of 54 percent is for the inactive ingredients. Here is where a love of politics laws and regulations comes in. In 1949 a law was passed that all inactive ingredients do not need to be disclosed if they have nothing To do with the claimed function or results from the product. In an effort to allow companies to maintain "trade secrets" and not disclose all their manufactured ingredients to maintain competition. Tghese ingredients do not have to undergo the battery of tests the main ingredient needs to. They only have to pass an acute toxity test. Which in most case is simple.
One of the more common "inactive ingredients" in these products is naphthalene. This is a major carcinigen. Even through inhalation.. it also causes anemia, liver damage, cataracts and skin allergies. This is what I am talking about. This in conjunction with the activeingredient is a strong dose of cancer andcell damage over time.
Imadocloprid is a form of nicotine.......hmmmmmmmm.....let's think about that. It also can cause reproductive problems. Permethrin in some studies is linked to pre parkinsons type symptoms as well.
Nitenpyram is not a preventative..it is a one time all o er kill...similar to a deet dip.....not ideal for older dogs.
I do not agree withfleabuster powder or shampoo either. The main ingredientin this is an acid and as a groomer I disagree with using anything with a lower acidity than the dogs skin. This can cause many skin issues for our pets.....boric acid also traps moisture...thus drying out the skin. This whole product goes against my grooming approach as itt does everything a groomer in this day and age should be avoiding.
Now on to cedar oil. It is mixed with a silane or saline solution...meaning it isn't absorbable anymore for lack of batter words. It is not atopical..so it is not absorbed into the bloodstream or internally. The reason cedar is bad is the liver and kidneys levels get to high but since it is not ingested in large amounts or in the bloodstream this risk is non existant...especially when mixed with saline. I am not going into the different types of cedar...as most won't care since cedar oil is not made from the truly harmful ones...atleast the products I have researched aree not.
Darth (phd) tang