What flea and tick control do you feel safe using?

[rafiki]

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[khope1]

this is going to sound nuts, but I use frontline on my dog and he still got fleas. I didnt want to have him dipped, so I called my friend who is a doggroomer (she also homeschools). She told me to wash my dog in original DAWN dish soap. I left the soap on him for 10 minutes and saw the ticks die. Im not a big fan of DAWN either, but now he is flea free.

HTH

[joannqn]

I don't use anything most of the year. When it gets warm enough for fleas, I treat when I see fleas on the pets. I use a mixture of salt, baking soda, and lemon essential oil sprinkled and left in the carpet. It dries out the days. The adults die; eggs don't hatch; no more fleas.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I live in Texas, supposedly the flea capital. One time, in Louisiana, my KID had fleas. I said I'd never have fleas again or we wouldn't have animals. And I've stuck to that!

 

When we brought home a new animal, we gave it a lemon bath outside. That makes all the current fleas jump off FAST.

 

The few times we've had a flea or two (and that is all we had!) or were exposed (my dog spent the weekend with a flea infested friend last summer), we bathed the dog and salted the house. Fleas are 90something percent water. Salt is bad for them, very very bad.

 

Anyway, no real issues as everyone around us is using chemicals and spending incredible amounts of money. We just sit back with lemon and salt once in the bluest of moons.

 

Pretty good for the past approx 13 years :)

[jazzyfizzle]

We do not use the systemic spot-on treatments. Once apon a time when we did- we were also seeing them becoming ineffective.

Here is the regimen we use-

 

Spray the yard/outdoor areas the dogs have normal access to with 2 products-

'Conquer' and 'Archer' (or active ingredient-equivalent product)

 

Sometimes you can find these at a TSC or similiar type store, or you can order online. Sort of expensive to start off, but last a very long time.

 

-twice a year - spring and late summer

get in all cracks and corners, ect. You can use an everyday hand yard sprayer

 

 

 

On the same day you spray the yard-

 

Dip the dogs in Happy Jack 'Enduracide' dip

 

I let the dogs sit in there for approx. 2 min, getting the face, behind ears, neck really well, ect. Make sure not to get into eyes, ears or mouth of course. Let dog shake off and air dry.

 

Waa laa No fleas at all. :D

Edited March 18, 2010 by jazzyfizzle
typos and forgot something

[Halcyon]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35914331/ns/health-pet_health/

 

We've been using Frontline Plus, but these articles make me nervous. Is there a safer option?

 

We had an absolutely HORRIBLE infestation last January. Cat covered in fleas, couch, bed, carpet, clothes, EVERYTHING. I almost had a nervous breakdown getting rid of them: we used borax, washed everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in the house in the laundry, vacuumed every 2-3 hours (yes, really), moved all the furniture, and THEN we bombed the house 6 times (yes, six times). We had to leave the house for 3 days during christmas time and it was so stressful. We washed my cat in dawn and lavender oil every 48 hours (oh, she loved that...not) for weeks. Finally, we resorted to Frontline, but STILL kept up the cleaning ritual as the eggs seemed to hibernate and then "hatch" later on. We use Frontline Plus on her monthly now, and she doesn't even go outside!! (we have a porch that she sits on)

 

Can you tell I'm obsessed with not having fleas in the house again? Florida fleas are nearly impossible to kill!!!

[Heather in AL]

We use Advantix for the dog and Revolution for the cats. I refuse to buy Frontline because I know so many people IRL whose animals have gotten fleas anyway after years of effectiveness. It's as if fleas have become immune to the chemical in Frontline.

 

I believe the article about the ill pets is mostly referring to the meds sold in places like Target & Wal-Mart.... the OTC stuff. There have been a few local news stories in the last few years on people's pets convulsing, dying, and becoming paralyzed within minutes of using the stuff they grabbed at the store. IIRC, the vets interviewed for the stories said something about those OTC meds had a higher concentration of the pesticides than the more expensive prescription ones. I also want to say that someone's kid got really sick, too, but I can't remember if I'm confusing that with another story....

 

I would love to try the natural methods others have posted, but there is no way I could give baths to the cats... I'll have to consider it for the dog. Does anyone know if the natural methods also work on ticks? We have a *horrible* tick problem here. I really hate putting those meds on my pets, but it seems to be a necessary evil. :(

 

And Floridamama, I can commiserate about the Florida fleas... those things are almost impossible to get rid of once they are in the house! I grew up in Florida, and had friends who didn't even HAVE pets and they had fleas. Urgh!

[3littlekeets]

We feed our dogs tons of garlic and brewers yeast...critters don't like the way my dogs taste or smell :lol:

[StephanieZ]

Comfortis is awesome. It's only for dogs, and is prescription, so you need to get it through your vet.

 

It's a pill. Soooo, there's no topical pesticide for your kids or you to become exposed to. It is priced about the same as top spots. . . So maybe $12-15/mo per dog depending on pet size and pricing strategy of your vet.

 

It kills every flea on the dog within minutes/hours and keeps on doing that for a full month. It's the No Flea Left Behind product, lol. Next month, another pill. It ROCKS!

 

If you have tick issues (some localities don't . . . and Comfortis appears to have some cross-protection against ticks, although not effectively enough to be labeled for them). . . then you can add a PreVentic Tick Collar seasonally and that will do an awesome job on the ticks. (Is more toxic, though, so read the labels.)

 

Dh is a small animal vet, and I manage the hospital. . . and we've carried plenty of various flea/tick things and read up on all the options endlessly. We carried Frontline Plus for a long time. It used to work well, but we started seeing a LOT of people who we KNEW were doing a good job applying it and still fighting fleas.

 

In addition to Comfortis, we now carry ProMeris as a top-spot, non-prescription option because a) folks can buy it for their cats and dogs whether or not they've had them to the vet lately b) it also works on ticks (for dogs only) so for people with tick issues, some like ProMeris. (ProMeris is a newer to the market product, so resistance is not yet an issue. . . However, it STINKS for 12 hours or so, and can cause sleepiness and possibly some other neuro issues. . . so it is not our first choice. . . That would be Comfortis.)

 

So, anyway, we love, love, love Comfortis around here. Haven't had ONE SINGLE client return it or complain about it (and be sure to know that they love to return/complain. . . about nearly every product). . . and we've dispensed many thousands of doses over the past couple years.

 

FWIW, we like Revolution for cats. ProMeris is our 2nd choice.

 

HTH

[Wyndie]

Oooo I like the sound of the natural stuff! I have been stressing all day over how to treat my dog (almost due for his flea treatment) who is having seizures and I am so uncomfortable putting another chemical on him.

[MaMa2005]

Comfortis is awesome. It's only for dogs, and is prescription, so you need to get it through your vet.

 

It's a pill. Soooo, there's no topical pesticide for your kids or you to become exposed to. It is priced about the same as top spots. . . So maybe $12-15/mo per dog depending on pet size and pricing strategy of your vet.

 

It kills every flea on the dog within minutes/hours and keeps on doing that for a full month. It's the No Flea Left Behind product, lol. Next month, another pill. It ROCKS!

 

 

 

:iagree:

[asta]

From the news today:

 

Vets caution on harmful effects of flea treatments

 

 

a

[Veronica in VA]

I use flea and tick collars on 2 of my dogs. We've had tick problems since we have alot of deer. I used to buy frontline but I've heard recently that it doesn't work so well anymore, and it is expensive. My vet prefers the flea/tick collars over the topical medicine. On my older dog, who is 14, we use a natural flea and tick collar. It smells wonderful and works well for him, but he only goes outside for a few minutes at a time.

[2cents]

My pets react badly to the monthly treatments so since they are all indoor pets, we just make sure they are bathed, at least once a month for the dog (she also swims in the pool a lot). The cats all get full baths too. We've never had flea or tick problems. I'm very allergic to flea bites so I'd be the first to know. We're also careful to keep them away from any other pets that could have fleas too. The only time I do use a treatment is right after they are boarded for vacations. We only use Vet prescribed treatments too. The rest of the time, regular baths work for us.

Edited March 19, 2010 by 2cents