Flea control (dogs)

[SingleStack]

What do you use for flea control? Are you still having flea problems?

I have two golden retrievers and am still having a realy bad flea problem. I used to live in the north and by this time the fleas seem to go away.

We were using frontline then it stopped working. the vet told us they changed the formula.

My parents are old school and only use 7 powder. i know it works but our female has had a sensitivity to it so my wife doesnt want to try it again.

Have any of you guys tried advantix?

[Chris]

We use Bayers Seresto Flea and Tick Collar... works great. Same guys who make Advantix for whatever that's worth.

You might also look at getting your carpets / dog bedding / etc. treated for flea infestation.

We had a bad problem a few years back... as soon as we treated the carpet it went away.

[Dane]

I have used frontline, advantage, advantix and comfortis. Comfortis works the best but is only available at the vets. Advantage and advantix are essentially the same thing but advantix covers ticks. Frontline, being the oldest of the bunch, has had some problems with effectiveness due to the fleas building an immunity to it.

Usually I use advantage a couple times of year when I find fleas on my dogs. I won't add poison to the dogs when there are no fleas to kill.

[SingleStack]

We use Bayers Seresto Flea and Tick Collar... works great. Same guys who make Advantix for whatever that's worth.

You might also look at getting your carpets / dog bedding / etc. treated for flea infestation.

We had a bad problem a few years back... as soon as we treated the carpet it went away.

Yea it got bad quick. we need to treat everything.

we use flea collars for the cat but never had any luck using them on  dogs.

I  have powder for the carpets.

[SingleStack]

I have used frontline, advantage, advantix and comfortis. Comfortis works the best but is only available at the vets. Advantage and advantix are essentially the same thing but advantix covers ticks. Frontline, being the oldest of the bunch, has had some problems with effectiveness due to the fleas building an immunity to it.

Usually I use advantage a couple times of year when I find fleas on my dogs. I won't add poison to the dogs when there are no fleas to kill.

Ill ask the vet about comfortis. its the first ive heard of that one.

Has anyone used sentry?

[teecro]

I've yet to try it but a friend who raises boxers swears by borax powder sprinkled into the carpets; let it set for an hour and vac out.

[gregintenn]

I once came home from vacation, and somewhere, my dog had picked up a carcass FULL of fleas. I asked his vet, and they sold me a pill. Within minutes of ingesting said pill, fleas began falling off him, and he was flea free the next morning. I wish I could tell you the brand of the pill, but I do not remember. I'll be a vet could tell you however.

[BigK]

I had really good luck last year with Vet Guard from Walmart. We gave all 3 dogs a dose in May and again in July and never saw a flea. This year, we forgot about the May dose and by the end of June we were infested.

Vet Guard alone didn't work. We had to spray and dust and bathe too. Once they were about gone my wife got some Advantix from the vet just to be sure. I won't ever make the mistake of forgetting that early dose again and will now add pellets to the yard to kill them suckers too. I don't ever want to have to deal with these critters again.

[Ray Z]

We use Trifexis. It costs way too much but Neither my golden or my Shepard bite at a flea all year long. Takes care of fleas and heartworms. 

[SingleStack]

We use Trifexis. It costs way too much but Neither my golden or my Shepard bite at a flea all year long. Takes care of fleas and heartworms. 

Ive heard alot of good things about trifexis. we use sentinel for heartworms so trifexis might be good to cover both.

 

( as im writing this the wife says she heard bad things about it)   I still will ask the vet.

[SingleStack]

thanks guys,

[TNMTBik3r]

I have used several things, but for the past year been using PetArmor Pro Advanced. Frontline got to be too expensive, and had small batch of fleas a couple of times on my dog. With PetArmor, no pest problems in the past year.

 

Amazon has a 3 pack for a great price right now.  http://www.amazon.com/PetArmorPro-Advanced-Large-45-88-9-lbs/dp/B00D5AOC2O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1416271010&sr=8-5&keywords=pet+armor+advanced

[Troutburger]

Plus 2 for trifexus.
Only negative is it does not work with ticks.

[wvglockguy]

Vet recommended activyl tickplus for our black lab. Found it on eBay rather than by prescription. Seemed to help his scratching and itching also. Didn't find a flea one on him after using it.

[peejman]

We used frontline for years until the price got silly. Switched to the Hartz brand at walmart a couple years ago and it seems to work fine. The dog is out pretty much all day when it's nice and comes in at night. She also gets bathed roughly monthly.

[McGarrett]

We use this on all our animals; https://www.revolution4dogs.com/. Works very well. I have also heard of the borax trick for the carpet.

[anhle]

Diatomaceous earth (DE) for dog flea/tick control....Google this phrase

 

A few dollar/pound at Amazon; maybe as low a $1/pound when you buy in bulk

 

Add a tea spoon to the dog food 3X/day for the first week.  Reduce to 0.5 tsp/meal after the 2nd week.

 

Rub some powder to the dog fur for the first 4 days.  On the 5th day...I guarantee you won't find any tick on the dog anymore.

 

Drop a tick/flea in a clear container with DE...shake...they will dryout/die within 5min.

 

Stuff is safe....I sometimes mixed it with water and drink it to reduce cholesterol.

 

Yes I'm shocking you.  Google it and find out for yourself.

 

Being using it for 2.5years.

 

Also killed spider/cockroach....by drying out the insect....and molecularly cutting them to pieces.  DE is like sharp glasses to exoskeleton insects.   Will dry-out and wear out your skin.

[bersaguy]

Kasey never had fleas till this last spring and I took her to vet and she put her on Advantage / multi that treats for fleas and Heart worms, Hook Worms, Round Worms and Whip Worms and withing a week zero fleas and put on behind her head and down her neck towards tail, Still no fleas. I do want to find some kind of pellets I can sprinkle in the yard to kill those critters in their beds and nests.............jmho

[dawgdoc]

For years I have had people complaining that Frontline (fipronil) is not working like it used to, and for years, Merial, the manufacturer, has claimed that there is no flea resistant to it.  Then in the space of a few years they brought out two different products that combined fipronil with other flea medications.  I think that there could be fipronil-resistant fleas; maybe it still kills them, but it could take longer so that the fleas are more visible.  I consider fipronil to be better than Hartz, Zodiac, Bio-Spot, etc, but inferior to other products.  

 

The things that I see that work the best are spinosad, which is in both Comfortis and Trifexis, and imidacloprid, which is in Advantage, K9 Advantix, Advantage Multi, and Seresto collars.  The newest product is Bravecto, which is an oral medication that kills fleas and most tick species for 3 months, but I have not used it much.

 

Capstar is the white tablet that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes--I call it the atom bomb for fleas.  However, it does not have a residual effect that keeps working for a month; it is designed for a quick knock down of the existing fleas.

 

For environmental control, you need to focus on the sleeping areas and places in the dark.  The flea larva hatch out of the eggs that fall off the animal and then immediately migrate away from the light.  So they will be under furniture, against baseboards, in the cracks of sofa cushions, etc.  Outside, they are going to be under bushes, under the deck, etc, rather than out in the middle of the lawn in direct sunlight.  I like flea area sprays rather than bombs for indoor flea control for two reasons:  (1) you can treat one room at a time and not have to leave the house, and (2) you can target where the larva and pupa actually are.  Bomb mist settles on surfaces and could completely miss under the couch, for example.

 

The boric acid use in the carpet dries out the flea larva.  Diatomaceous earth is supposed to abrade the exoskeleton of arthropods.  The big worry with DE is silicosis from breathing in the very fine powder.

[billyscott]

My dog, Rusty had fleas worse this year than ever before. I'll tell you what worked for me.

I have a fenced in back yard and she goes out in it 2 or 3 times a day. I sprayed 

Triazicide in the back yard with a hose sprayer set to the highest concentration. 

Vacuumed the house every day for a few weeks to get up the fleas, flea eggs and larva.

I put down diatomaceous earth on the carpet and left it overnight. 

And Frontline for Rusty. 

And consult your Vet or do some research, but I give her three Benedryl a night with her wet food.

Generic Benadryl from Wal Mart is cheap, that's also where I got the Triazicide, ten dollars worth did my whole back yard and it's about 60 by 70 feet. TSC is the cheapest place I've found for Frontline and it's still not that cheap.

[seez52]

we used frontline until it seemed to quit working this summer.ended up getting some Adams brand shampoo and later some Adams spray. they both worked well but did smell of insecticide. 

[Dane]

For area control I highly recommend Wisdom from tractor supply. 2 oz per gallon will kill ANYTHING that crawls.

[tnguy]

First year this year that Frontline (generic) didn't work. Switched to the Advantage and it appears to be doing good. Edited November 18, 2014 by tnguy

[TripleDigitRide]

Trifexis and Comfotis are all we use. They are not cheap, but have worked extremely well.

[bersaguy]

Trifexis and Comfotis are all we use. They are not cheap, but have worked extremely well.

Nothing that really works is seldom cheap so if your going to invest and give up hard earned money for your pets buy stuff that works. I am looking for a few recommendations for what I can spray or spread in my yard to kill the fleas that may survive the winter. I am wishing we could get a freeze that would go down about 8 inches below ground but I think those days are gone for ever. So next best think is begin treating the yard in the Spring and Summer............... :up: :up: