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Which Flea Product is Best?
There are many products available to control fleas in dogs and cats, from shampoos, to spot ons, to oral treatments. Let’s have a look at these products, and compare the benefits and disadvantages of each. Flea powders have been available for many years and usually contain organophosphates. There are very few powders still on the market, and I’ve found them pretty ineffective in controlling fleas on dogs and cats, and they can be toxic. I don’t recommend the use of a flea collar for the same reasons. Flea shampoos are inexpensive and commonly used, particularly in dogs. They’re not used quite so much in cats, as cats can be resistant to being bathed. Most shampoos contain either pyrethrins, or organophosphates such as carbaryl. Organophosphates aren’t used so much these days as there are safer alternatives, but there are still products in the market with this type of chemical in them. Organophosphates kill adult fleas and ticks, but they also can be toxic to your pet, particularly young animals and cats. I personally don’t feel they are a useful product in your flea control armory these days. Another common ingredient in flea shampoos is pyrethrin. This is a much safer chemical than an organophosphate but is very short acting. My main concern with flea shampoos is that no matter how effective they are when they are lathered on your dog’s coat, when they are rinsed off, their effect is gone, and they then don’t stop fleas from jumping on your pet when the lather is gone. Also, frequent shampooing can dry your pet’s coat and lead to skin irritation and itches. There are better alternatives. Cythioate is a tablet which is given by mouth to control fleas and ticks. Its brand name is Proban. This chemical is absorbed from your dog’s gut and circulates in the bloodstream. When the flea or tick bites and has a blood meal, it also takes in the cyothioate, and is killed. While it is effective, the flea has to bite your pet to be killed, and this isn’t ideal in a flea allergic animal. Our goal is to stop the flea biting in the first place, to minimize itching and scratching. There are quite a few “spot on” products on the market at the moment for flea control. These products are applied to the back of the pet’s neck and distribute themselves over the body, and kill the adult flea before they bite. They’re easy to apply and very convenient, as you only have to apply them monthly. They’re ideal for the allergic pet because they prevent the injection of saliva which causes the allergic reaction in the first place. One of the most popular products is Advantage. This product contains imidocloprid and kills adult fleas for a month and also kills fleas emerging from the environment to reinfest your pet. It is safe to use in pregnant and lactating bitches, and is also safe to use in pups and kittens from weaning. It can be applied straight after your pet has been bathed. Frontline and Frontline Plus are also popular spot on products. Frontline contains the adulticide fipronil to kill adult fleas on your pet, whereas Frontline Plus also contains (S)-methoprene which kills eggs and larvae. Both are very effective in controlling fleas for a month and preventing allergic reactions, but because they rely on the oils in the skin to spread over the body, they can’t be applied straight after a bath. Bathing your dog removes the oils from the skin and coat, and you need to wait at least 48 hours before applying Frontline or Frontline Plus. Depending on how many fleas you have in your environment, your pet could easily be bitten between the bath and the application of Frontline. Revolution is the newest spot on we have available to control fleas on our dogs and cats. It contains selamectin, and is safe for pregnant and nursing mums, and young pups and kittens, however the manufacturer cautions against its use in sick or debilitated animals. It can be applied straight after a bath, and is effective for a month. I have found with the spot on products, there is a lot of individual variation in how animals respond to each. Some animals do better when Advantage is used, but for others, Advantage doesn’t seem to work very well and Frontline is much more effective. You may need to try a few products before you find the most effective one for your pet. One thing to keep in mind is that over time, fleas can develop resistance to certain insecticides. One way to manage this problem is to use an insect growth regulator to prevent the adult flea laying fertile eggs and passing on the genes for resistance to its offspring. Lufenuron is one of the best known IGRs and is found in Program, Sentinel and Sentinel Spectrum. Lufenuron is given to your pet once a month and the oral formulations must be given with a meal to be sure that the chemical is absorbed into the bloodstream. When the flea bites and has a blood meal, lufenuron stops egg development and thus prevents a new generation of fleas hatching and infesting your pet. Lufenuron is an excellent addition to a flea control regime, but on its own, isn’t enough to control flea allergy. It doesn’t stop an adult flea biting your pet. It is best used with an adulticide spot on; having said that, I find that using Lufenuron monthly in my dogs, we rarely have a flea burden and we’ve reduced the use of adulticide spot ons to every two or three months. We’re fortunate to have such a wide range of flea products available to us these days. You are sure to find one that works effectively on your pet and fits in with your lifestyle.
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