Flea and Tick Prevention Choices

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

It is tick season here in NJ and I have always given Olive Sentinel (every 39 days) and Frontline Plus every 27 days. What’s the deal with Frontline Plus vs Frontline Gold - I see one new med added to the Gold, but figured I’d ask the experts. I’ve stuck with Frontline as it has been the forerunner in this and is tried and true, and I’m a bit leery of those oral tabs. But should I switch her to Frontline Gold? Thanks!

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

:-)

[Stacy]

I just wanted to throw this out there since we're talking about flea and tick meds. The FDA added Revolution Plus (topical) to their discussion re: the safety of the isoxazoline class of drug, if you're concerned about it. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I saw that. It only applies to the Plus, not the original Revolution. Because of the addition of the isoxazoline.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

From what I can tell, Revolution Plus is only for cats, anyway. :)

[Stacy]

I didn't look at it that closely, but it looks like that is the case. Interesting though, that they are considering it safe for cats. It always seems like so many chemicals kill cats.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Just looked up the difference today. Gold kills faster.  That could be a good thing. 

[c zoomer]

Last year we were overwhelmed with tick nymphs. (Northern Virginia)  It started when we walked near the wooded areas of my condominium, and shortly thereafter they were right up to the house. They prefer moist shade, but my neighbor with east-west exposure had them on the exterior west brick wall, which is not uncommon, I hear.

It's now May 17, and I am not seeing ticks on my dog and happy that the beneficial nematodes and the bacteria they contain that kill ticks have knocked down the numbers.  There will still be critters with ticks coming into the yard and dropping off after a feed, but the nematodes must have helped. Robins are major tick carriers--who knew! (I forget which tick variety)  I have a question posed to my local Extention office about carry-over, but already know the nematodes don't survive the winter...but what about the bacteria they hosted that do the actual killing of ticks? I might wait till Fall to spray again if the knock down holds.

To use the nematodes, you can use a hose sprayer.  Arbico sells the beneficial nematodes.  There is a huge price break if you get others to share with you, but it is difficult to divvy it up.  If you have deer, and a wooded lot, it may be an important tool.

[Kathy and Ruby Skye]

Argh! I found two tiny fleas on Ruby today! She’s been on Frontline Plus since the Nexgard warning came out. I just bought four boxes of it. What to do? I haven’t dealt with fleas in years. I assume there’s a shampoo. Or can I give her another dose of Frontline? I sure don’t want those buggars in my oriental rug. We have carpet in our bedroom too. I’ve got the itchies too. Help and thanks.  

[Stacy]

Not an expert, but I would not double dose on the frontline. It's still a pesticide, and I'm not sure that's the best plan. I'm also cautious about the flea shampoos. I know some of the "off" brand flea treatments have been not great - isn't it something like top spot, or whatever you can buy at Walmart that has been bad? 

I know my old vet would give Capstar for dogs who had active flea infestations. It was one pill and it was supposed to kill everything within 24 hours (correct me if I'm wrong here someone.) Is there any way you can call your vet and ask what they recommend? I know my vet is closed here, but that would be my first choice. Alternately, I've had really good luck calling the emergency vet and asking stupid questions after hours when I was being a nervous Nelly about something. Depending on your emergency vet they can be very helpful with things like this.

[Kathy and Ruby Skye]

That’s not a bad idea and I should call right now to see what they say. I would love to kill them in 5 minutes if possible, but realize that’s not an option. I did think that a shampoo might do it on the spot, though. Funny, I just have no experience in dealing with getting rid of them as I had such good luck with the oral meds before the topical. I applied the Frontline Plus as usual on the 1st of June. Of course the weather is warm now and we just went through a hot spell of 100 degree days. 

[Stacy]

I think just a regular bath might do the trick at least temporarily, provided there's not a huge infestation. Maybe she just picked a couple up in the yard and they hadn't had a chance to die yet. 

I'm like you. I haven't had any real experience with actual fleas. I hope that continues. But that means I don't know much about getting rid of them either. I've had good luck with the oral meds, but then I had good luck with the topicals too, before we switched. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Stacy is right. She picked up a couple that hadn't had a chance to die yet.