Flea Control

2198lindsey · May 5, 2013

Here in Central Florida we're having a huge outbreak of fleas. For my dogs and cats I've used everything, and nothing seems to be working...
seems to be the same story in my dog rescue community.

For a while we were using Comfortis, and that was working great. Come to find out the dogs are infested again and nothing is working. A while back we had to stop using Frontline because it seems that the fleas become resistant after a while. It gets that way with fly spray and the horses too.

Does anyone have any experience with something similar? We've tried spraying the yard/house, any kind of preventative that you can buy and nothing is working anymore. I'm going to have to schedule a vet visit but I'm afraid she'll tell me just to use something that we have before.

lunarminx · May 5, 2013

Eliminating fleas with essential oils - Oklahoma City Natural Pet Health | Examiner.com

I also just treated my yard too, not my dogs. I used seven dust. Pretty safe and never had a problem with it. Try the oils, I made some last year with the lemon eucalypus and peppermint, I didn't have a problem getting bit. You could also switch to K9 advantage II.

porkchophamster · May 5, 2013

The only thing I can suggest (A lot of our customers are having major issues too) is Capstar to kill the adults, maybe a flea bath and Advantage a few days later or Comfortis the same day. Frontline never worked for me and I can't use K9 Advantix because I have a cat. I have only had luck with Comfortis (which she is on now) and Advantage. Have you tried Trifexis/Sentinel/Revolution? I know Revolution and Trifexis are HW prevention too but if you haven't tried any of these, maybe you will have some luck. You will have to buy them from a vet if I remember correctly.

Please let me know how they work! I need a backup in case Comfortis stops working for me!

Mowgs · May 5, 2013

Just as a heads up, with any of the flea products, you still may see adult fleas on your dogs because they don't actually work as repellants. They work to kill the adults/eggs once they are on your dog (can take 24 hours). While resistance, is theoretically possible, no one is sure if it's occurring because in reality we're not exposing the bulk of the flea population to the products. Most of the fleas live on raccoons, etc, which obviously aren't being treated.

In addition to Frontline and K9 Advantix, there is a product called Vectra 3D as well. Like K9 Advantix, it can't be used on cats, so if you have a cat in the house hold, you will have to keep them separated until the product dries. Also, if you do have an infestation, you really need to treat for a solid 3 months straight based on the fleas' life cycle. Like mentioned, Capstar will kill adult fleas within 24 hours, but you still need a follow up product. Any of the others mentioned would be fine. For Revolution/Trifexis/Sentinel you might need a HWT before hand. I'm not sure if their active ingredient for HW protection works the same way as HeartGard/ivermectin does in that it can have very detrimental consequences if given to a HW + dog.

Also, not sure if you, or anyone else, is doing this, but make sure you don't bathe your dog 3 days before or 3 days after administering the product.

We also give our clients a bag of Diatomaceous Earth to sprinkle around the house followed by vacuuming The vacuuming causes any eggs to hatch and the DE helps kill the fleas by cutting them.

2198lindsey · May 5, 2013

Comfortis stopped working. You need to keep your eye out, I've heard it's starting over your way too.

The thing is we have literally tried all of those over the years, and NOTHING is working

porkchophamster said:
The only thing I can suggest (A lot of our customers are having major issues too) is Capstar to kill the adults, maybe a flea bath and Advantage a few days later or Comfortis the same day. Frontline never worked for me and I can't use K9 Advantix because I have a cat. I have only had luck with Comfortis (which she is on now) and Advantage. Have you tried Trifexis/Sentinel/Revolution? I know Revolution and Trifexis are HW prevention too but if you haven't tried any of these, maybe you will have some luck. You will have to buy them from a vet if I remember correctly.

Please let me know how they work! I need a backup in case Comfortis stops working for me!

2198lindsey · May 5, 2013

So basically we can only kill them and get them out of the house/yard ect.?

Mowgs said:
Just as a heads up, with any of the flea products, you still may see adult fleas on your dogs because they don't actually work as repellants. They work to kill the adults/eggs once they are on your dog (can take 24 hours). While resistance, is theoretically possible, no one is sure if it's occurring because in reality we're not exposing the bulk of the flea population to the products. Most of the fleas live on raccoons, etc, which obviously aren't being treated.

In addition to Frontline and K9 Advantix, there is a product called Vectra 3D as well. Like K9 Advantix, it can't be used on cats, so if you have a cat in the house hold, you will have to keep them separated until the product dries. Also, if you do have an infestation, you really need to treat for a solid 3 months straight based on the fleas' life cycle. Like mentioned, Capstar will kill adult fleas within 24 hours, but you still need a follow up product. Any of the others mentioned would be fine. For Revolution/Trifexis/Sentinel you might need a HWT before hand. I'm not sure if their active ingredient for HW protection works the same way as HeartGard/ivermectin does in that it can have very detrimental consequences if given to a HW + dog.

Also, not sure if you, or anyone else, is doing this, but make sure you don't bathe your dog 3 days before or 3 days after administering the product.

We also give our clients a bag of Diatomaceous Earth to sprinkle around the house followed by vacuuming The vacuuming causes any eggs to hatch and the DE helps kill the fleas by cutting them.

Mowgs · May 5, 2013

2198lindsey said:
So basically we can only kill them and get them out of the house/yard ect.?

Not even sure you'll fully get them out of your yard since raccoons, feral cats/ etc are constantly walking through there. The analogy I've heard used in vet school is that those animals are like "salt shakers" depositing eggs in your yards. Not really a pleasant image when the number of live fleas you see is such a small % of the actual population out there.

2198lindsey · May 5, 2013

I don't think I've ever seen a raccoon here, I live in a pretty dense suburb lol you may be right though.

Well, I don't really know what to do then :/

Mowgs said:
Not even sure you'll fully get them out of your yard since raccoons, feral cats/ etc are constantly walking through there. The analogy I've heard used in vet school is that those animals are like "salt shakers" depositing eggs in your yards. Not really a pleasant image when the number of live fleas you see is such a small % of the actual population out there.

Mowgs · May 5, 2013

2198lindsey said:
I don't think I've ever seen a raccoon here, I live in a pretty dense suburb lol you may be right though.

Well, I don't really know what to do then :/

Keeping your pets on a product is really the best you can do. I have heard of people saying Frontline/Frontline Plus doesn't work for them and then they just switch to K9 Advantix and don't have problems. Vectra is also on the newer side so if there is a resistance problem, you might have some luck there. Best of luck though. I know how frustrating they can be.

Another thing to do is make sure you wash everything in the house. All their bedding, any furniture/pillows they might use in your house. The DE might be something you want to look into. A lot of people like it since it's pretty safe and you can sprinkle it on like anything in the house.

GuineaLoveer · May 5, 2013

2198lindsey said:
Here in Central Florida we're having a huge outbreak of fleas. For my dogs and cats I've used everything, and nothing seems to be working...
seems to be the same story in my dog rescue community.

For a while we were using Comfortis, and that was working great. Come to find out the dogs are infested again and nothing is working. A while back we had to stop using Frontline because it seems that the fleas become resistant after a while. It gets that way with fly spray and the horses too.

Does anyone have any experience with something similar? We've tried spraying the yard/house, any kind of preventative that you can buy and nothing is working anymore. I'm going to have to schedule a vet visit but I'm afraid she'll tell me just to use something that we have before.

Im the answer to your prayer lol I had the same problem all you have to do is use tee tree oil (I think thats what its called lol look it up and it will pop up) You can make it yourself look on line for it I did it and it worked we had to use it all over are house and I mean everywhere we moved back our couch and behind it were tons of fleas breeding and eggs everywhere first we sprayed then vacuumed (dont worry we emptied it afterwords)it up then sprayed and sprayed and sprayed then we gave our cats and dogs a flea shampoo bath (cats did not like it one bit lol) and over the course of a couple months of spraying on our couches chairs dogs cats house carpet ect it was gone (thank God lol)
Oh how I was so sick of fleas uh and give them a bath with the sparay and spray them every day until it clears up!

porkchophamster · May 5, 2013

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that you have tried everything and nothing is working

Comfortis seems to be the best around here so far but I will definitely try others if it stops working. Good luck with it all!

MrWhistles · May 5, 2013

I've done away with all those flea topicals and heartworm preventatives. How they manage to work for an entire month was very questionable to me. I've also witnessed too many animals getting chemical burns/tumors, etc from these preventatives. These "preventatives" are poison. Why would you put poison on your animals? Not to mention they cost hundreds of dollars every year. Some people even spend THOUSANDS on them every year. It's so simple, it's a wonder how you never found these options.

Garlic
Apple Cider Vinegar
Lavender
Lemons

Anything that makes your animals skin taste acidic. I am currently using Apple Cider Vinegar for my guys. 1 teaspoon for the Super Pug in her dinner and 3 teaspoons for my foster in his dinner. I don't even see mosquitoes on her! They just bounce off her/go to us! They even played next to a flea infested dog at the dog park. Got to the car, inspected them, not a single flea on them *wink*

GuineaLoveer · May 5, 2013

also I forgot to mention (stupid me lol) you CAN'T use it on guinea pigs!!!

Mowgs · May 5, 2013

I'd avoid garlic as it's toxic to dogs and I believe cats as well. I'm not sure if there is a determined detrimental dose, but it should be avoided as it can cause GI issues.

ETA: The dose you're probably using appears to be okay though. I did a search on VIN and the general consensus is that it appears to be okay in that use.

However, they do mention that it can vary by dog and there are cases of dogs have issues after limited garlic intake.

2198lindsey · May 5, 2013

@MrWhistles How long does it take to work? I've been told garlic, but I guess I was expecting results too quickly so I stopped. Just fed Petie his dinner and used garlic, will definitely be doing so for a while lol

porkchophamster · May 5, 2013

MrWhistles said:
I've done away with all those flea topicals and heartworm preventatives. How they manage to work for an entire month was very questionable to me. I've also witnessed too many animals getting chemical burns/tumors, etc from these preventatives. It's so simple, it's a wonder how you never found these options.
Garlic
Apple Cider Vinegar
Lavander
Lemons

Anything that makes your animals skin taste acidic. I am currently using Apple Cider Vinegar for my guys. 1 teaspoon for the Super Pug in her dinner and 3 teaspoons for my foster in his dinner. I don't even see mosquitoes on her! They just bounce off her/go to us! They even played next to a flea infested dog at the dog park. Got to the car, inspected them, not a single flea on them

I think it's great that you are going the more natural route with the flea/tick stuff but I really do want you to use caution when it comes to HW prevention. As I'm sure you are well-aware, it only takes 1 bite for your dog to be infected and with mosquitoes being around all year here, you really should consider putting her back on it. The flea/tick stuff doesn't concern me. I only give it to my dog every couple of months unless I see fleas on her.

MrWhistles · May 5, 2013

@porkchophamster , HW is caused by biting mosquitoes. I only stopped the preventative after 6 months my Super Pug was on the Apple Cider Vinegar. I did this to ensure nothing was biting her. And obviously nothing is biting her.

@2198lindsey , I haven't used the garlic, I believe it's only a small amount in their foods. It is toxic in large amounts. You're only supposed to fed small amounts. These natural products need to establish their part in your animal's system. So, I gave these remedies a month to really show me any results. I never one used flea topicals during this time, if they became infected, I gave them lemon baths. Fill the tub, squeeze lemons directly onto your dog or cat, let sit for approx 5 mins and rinse.

Now the cat, she absolutely won't eat the apple cider vinegar. Not in her canned food, not mixed in tuna, hidden in cooked kibbles, cold kibbles, water, she will not touch it. She lives indoors, so I figured as long as the dogs aren't infected she'll be fine.

Paula · May 5, 2013

I live in Oregon and admittedly probably don't have the same difficulties with fleas and parasites that you have in Florida, but I'm also desperately opposed to using chemical pesticides on my pets, either internally or externally.

My dogs and cat get this garlic/brewer's yeast supplement daily, year round. Also in the spring and summer months I use this (broken link removed). I'd use it year round but my husband HATES the smell and since fleas/ticks aren't that big of a problem here all the time, it's a compromise we've come to. I also give them, year round, (broken link removed), internally mixed in a treat of yogurt or pumpkin, egg, tuna, etc. As an extra precaution during the obscenely hot months I also rub it into their fur but that's a task no one in this house enjoys so that's an only as we deem absolutely necessary type of situation. It also supposedly kills fleas in carpets and furniture, etc., but quite fortunately I've never had to find out how it works for that.

Another key foundation to internal/external parasite control is a natural (raw) diet. I think I remember you saying it's what you feed but in case it's not, you might seriously consider looking into it.

As for whether or not garlic is good or bad, (broken link removed) explaining that, like most things, it can be bad if too much is consumed, but in typical doses is perfectly safe and beneficial.

Good luck!

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