Flea control

Revolution, Advantage and Frontline work well enough and fast enough that even if you have a heavy flea infestation, you won't need to fumigate your house or spray the yard. Simply treat your your pets. Fleas jump on pets, fleas die. As simple as that.

Revolution

Applied to the skin like Frontline or Advantage, Revolution is a newer product that kills fleas and also prevents heartworms. It is easy to use, highly effective, and less expensive than using a monthly flea product in addition to a monthly heartworm product. We usually recommend Revolution in preference to either Advantage or Frontline, especially for cats.

Using Revolution for cats
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Advantage

Advantage is easy to use, can be applied any time and works quickly. It does not last as long as Frontline and is not as effective.

Frontline

Frontline is the most effective flea medication we've got and also the most expensive. It lasts longer than other products and withstands occasional swimming or light bathing. The product has been around for a long time and we are starting to see resistance, which is a concern and the reason we recommend using Frontline Plus rather than Frontline TopSpot. Frontline Plus contains (S)-methoprene, an ingredient that prevents reproduction by fleas that aren't killed by Frontline alone.

Because Frontline depends on natural skin oils to spread itself around, it's best to wait about three days after bathing before applying the product and avoid bathing or swimming for a couple of days afterwards.

When used monthly, Frontline does a decent job of controlling ticks and is the only satisfactory product for tick control in cats.

Frontline spray

Frontline Spray works the same as Frontline Top Spot. It must be sprayed all over the body, so it is more difficult to use, but works much faster. For cats and small dogs, Frontline spray is also much less expensive. Using Frontline Top Spot for cats costs about ten dollars a month. The spray costs less than a dollar.

Discount prices on Frontline at
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Other monthly insecticides:

Hartz Control, Bio-Spot, Sargeant's Pretect, Zodiac Spot-on, Powerspot, and Defy all contain permethrin, an insecticide that has been used for many years as a flea spray. When used to prevent a flea problem, they work ok. If your pet already has fleas, get Advantage or Frontline, which work better and may be less toxic than permethrin. Advantage and Frontline are safe for cats and puppies, these other products are not.

Program and Sentinel: Flea birth control

Program for flea control

A monthly flea control pill for dogs or once-every-six-months flea control injection for cats.

Pets receiving Program secrete the drug into the natural oils on their skin and fleas living on the skin absorb the drug. These fleas lay sterile eggs, but in other respects live full and happy lives. The female flea will still live about three weeks and suck blood two or three times a day. This makes Program an acceptable drug for pets that do not already have fleas and do not have any exposure to fleas.

The main benefit from using Program is that it controls fleas without continuous insecticide exposure for your family and pets. Experts believe that all these new flea control products are safe to use, but of course nobody really knows for certain that any of them, including Program, are completely harmless.

The main problem with Program is that when pets receiving it are exposed to fleas, they get fleas. This tends to make pets, pet owners, and veterinarians very unhappy.

Program is given to dogs as a once-a-month tablet, or to cats as a once-every-six-months injection. It is also available for cats as an oral pill or liquid, but the pills are too big and and the liquid tastes bad. Injection or pill, Program costs about the same as Advantage or Frontline.

Sentinel : for flea and heartworm Control

Sentinel contains two drugs: Interceptor, for heartworm control, and Program, for flea control. Sentinel costs about the same as using the two drugs separately, but if your dog needs both, it is slightly more convenient than giving two separate pills. My comments about Program apply equally to Sentinel

Traditional flea control products

Flea spray and powder:

Don't bother. Frontline Spray works ten times better, it is safer, and costs about the same.

Flea dip

Not safe for cats, but flea dip is a perfectly reasonable choice for big dogs, which are expensive to treat with Frontline or Advantage. You need to dip the entire dog, nose to tail, every three weeks throughout the flea season. Because of the smell, dip is not a good choice for indoor dogs. Dip is a waste of time for small dogs, since Frontline spray is cheaper, more effective and easier to use.

Flea Collars

Flea collars are still an economical and useful method of flea control when used before you see fleas. If your pet is already itchy, it is too late for collars.

Many flea collars kill adult fleas and also make flea eggs sterile. They aren't very effective if you already have a flea problem, but they are easy and cheap, and a lot better than nothing. Many people, including myself, don't like the smell of flea collars or the smell and oily feeling the insecticide leaves on their hands after petting a dog wearing one.

Why are fleas still biting my ankles?

The flea life cycle:

Fleas and butterflies have the same life cycle: egg, caterpillar, cocoon, adult. The adult female lives its three week life on the dog, sucking blood two or three times and laying twenty or thirty eggs each day. Growth from egg to adult takes about three weeks. This means that by the time you notice fleas, there will already be enormous numbers of eggs, caterpillars and cocoons in your carpet. Flea pupae, protected in their cocoons, are invincible. Even if you vacuum and fumigate, they will continue to hatch and most of them will bite somebody before they die. Use Revolution, Advantage or Frontline for your pets. Fleas will hatch, jump on the pet and quickly die.

click on chart above for flea pictures and more information about the flea life cycle

source material for chart courtesy Miles Inc.

Natural flea control methods

Natural or non insecticidal flea control methods, such as flea combs, eucalyptus oil, sonic collars, flea traps, brewer's yeast etc. are not very effective. If you have only one or two small pets and a lot of spare time, you may find them helpful.

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