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!

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Years ago we would bathe the dog to kill fleas.  I found this you may want to check out.  https://www.google.com/amp/s/lifehacker.com/kill-fleas-on-your-pets...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Frontline renders the fleas incapable of reproducing. It's not a big deal to find a live flea or two on a dog who's on prevents. Relax. Go ahead and give the Capstar if it makes you feel better, but you can be pretty sure there won;t be any eggs or any infestation. 

[Kathy and Ruby Skye]

Thank goodness and thank you for that info. I remember researching how Frontline Plus worked before I started using it, but things get fuzzy after a while as I don’t have your memory, Karen. I gave her a Capstar anyway and suppose I will stay on the topical for now unless this becomes a trend. 

Thank you you all for your input. Crisis averted. 

[Kathy and Ruby Skye]

My vet is recommending Capstar which is an oral pill and will kill the adult fleas in 24-48 hours. But if she has eggs on her or in the house, it won’t kill those obviously. I’m going to have to switch to an oral flea preventative so will reread this thread. I read that Frontline Plus wasn’t working as it previously did on many of the reviews when I bought the four boxes, but I was hopeful as I like the idea of a topical. The vets office said they are hearing about many issues of fleas on Frontline users lately in our area. 

[Stacy]

Just a little anecdotal incident today - my mom's cat was at the vet and turns out Kitty has fleas. Lots of them. She's been on Frontline. The vet told my mom that Frontline doesn't work and switched Kitty to Revolution. I know that cats vs. dogs aren't always the same, but I checked and cat and dog Frontline and Revolution both have the same active ingredients (I mean the cat med and dog med are the same, not that Frontline and Revolution are the same.) I know people have had good results with Frontline, but at least for my parents, in the midwest, it doesn't seem to be working. 

Another thing the vet told my mom, that I've never heard before, is that the Revolution on the cat would kill the fleas in the house. He said it would take a while, but it would take care of it. I'm not sure of the rationale here. Maybe the fleas in the house get back on the cat and then they die? Or maybe the vet is full of it. I'm just repeating what I was told. 

Just possibly something to be aware of. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There aren't really fleas in the house. Adult fleas live only on a host. There are eggs, then larvae, then pupae, then adult fleas. From egg to adult flea takes 3-5 weeks in an occupied house. So the treatment will work to irradicate the fleas that will develop from the eggs in the house, because those fleas will get back on the cat and then die. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

OR...your mom could treat the house and kill everything before it has a chance to grow up and bite the cat again. :) 

[Stacy]

I do think they have plans to bomb the house. All I know is I'm keeping my dogs home until they're sure they've gotten rid of them. Just in case.