More and more people are welcoming their pets into their homes as nearly full family members. For most of us, their companionship brings us great joy and satisfaction, and besides pets are a whole lot less trouble than teenagers.
According to my wonderful wife, I've taken the concept of making our pets full fledged family members a little too far when I replaced her picture over the mantle with a picture of my dog Sally.
At any rate, family members or not, we need to take good care of our pets, and one of their needs is for high quality parasite control on a regular basis.
Without our intervention, most pets suffer various degrees of discomfort and even death from heartworms, whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms, fleas, ticks, lice, mites, and mange.
Luckily, keeping your pet relatively parasite free and comfortable is fairly simple and easy, and the newest products, though somewhat expensive, are working well.
This page is an outline of the major parasites problems we deal with daily in our practice and a quick summary of the better products to prevent and treat these problems.
Fleas:
Fleas, of course, are aggravating little insects that carry disease, frequently cause intense skin reactions and allergies in our pets, and can be extremely difficult to control.
Things to know:
Fleas lay hundreds of eggs daily, so killing a few adults doesn't usually solve your problem.
Fleas have become resistant over the years to most over the counter pesticides
A few of the newer flea products are working great, in general, but sometimes it's necessary to really get aggressive and use several products together at first. For example Capstar, Frontline, Sentinel, and KnockOut. All these products will be discussed below.
"Natural Flea Control"
A lot of people are enamored about all the "natural" parasite control products available. Or they have the opinion that somehow pharmaceutical companies are evil and maybe even vote Republican.
These are the same people that believe eating garlic will protect them from mosquitos ... until they actually go to the swamp.
Orange peels, amyseth rock, brewers yeast, garlic, lemon zest, marigolds, pyrethrins or rose oils don't work well enough to make your pet comfortable. I'll happily retract this statement if I ever see some real evidence.
There is one exception...boric acid powders put on your floors and worked into your carpets can work well at reducing the flea load in a home, but that leads to potential practical and safety problems. And, of course, Boric Acid is a chemical...not a "natural" or "herbal" product.
Pesticides available at Yard Care Stores
Pesticides that used to work really well...sevin, dursban, diazonon, pyrethrin, and permethrin, flea collars... are now killing a much smaller percentage of fleas and for shorter periods and as a rule, they are now not working well at all anymore.
And some of the pesticides that do still work well, but are no longer available and for good reason; they're too toxic.
Bathing and combing with a flea comb is helpful...but not for serious flea problems...most of the flea population lives off the pet and each surviving flea can lay 100 eggs a day...killing 10 fleas with a comb doesn't make much of a dent.
Not to worry, the big pharmaceutical-chemical companies have come up with new and much better pesticides and the government has recently approved them as prescription treatments. They have cleared the very tough standards of the FDA, they are very safe as far as we can reasonably tell, and boy are they working well.
Because of their patented and prescription status, they are fairly expensive and most only available legally at vets, but they are really great compared to anything else.
I've written a short summary of the products available for flea and tick control below.
Program and Sentinel:
Both of these are made by the same company (Novartis) and both have the same ingredient for fleas...the only difference is that Sentinel is combined with Interceptor for your convenience. (Interceptor is the once a month chewable tablet that prevents heartworm disease and also controls round, hook, and whip worms.)
The ingredient in these products doesn't kill a single adult flea... but what it does do is sterilize nearly 100% of the eggs of any flea that bites so that there's no next generation. Both are chewable tablets that you give once a month and both work very well as long as you understand you have to wait for the adult fleas and the fertile eggs already around to finish their life cycle (about 1 month).
Also, for it to work well, all the pets in the household need to be treated. It's safe to combine this treatment with other stuff to kill the adults initially.
Novartis is the company that makes Program and Sentinel. They have an impressive website about animal health topics: www.petwellness.com
Capstar:
Also made by Novartis, this new tablet is extremely inexpensive, very effective (95-100% kill of all adult fleas within a few hours) and safe even for young kittens and puppies. It was designed to be given along with Sentinel or Progam until those products had time to kick in.
What's the catch? Capstar is metabolized and excreted from the body in about a day. So quick, great, safe, inexpensive, flea control; but only for a day.
This is a great product for short term use along with Program or Sentinel as it was intended...but also great for when you've just found or bought a pet or are taking a pet to a new home or for boarding to prevent transfer of fleas.
Advantage: This is a fine product, but I stopped selling it because I think Frontline works even better. Other Vets disagree. Perhaps it's like fighting over whether or not Ford or Chevy makes the best trucks. I will say that on the occassions when Frontline hasn't worked well (probably because it failed to bond to the pet's skin well), Advantage has worked fine...and vice versa. Note: 2003: Advantage has been improved. They've added pyrethrins and now claim to also repel mosquitos and ticks & fleas better than ever. We'll soon see if this claim is fairly accurate.
Bayer makes Advantage
Frontline "TopSpot" Plus:
Probably the most effective repellent and killer of adult fleas and ticks for 3-5 weeks available. Safety to mammals is excellent.
No baths for 2 days before or after applying Frontline Plus or it won't bond to the skin as well. This is a nuisance if you're treating a pet with infected or inflammed skin with medicated baths.
Frontline Plus is made by Merial, a French Company
Revolution:
This is what I use on my pets. It doesn't kill adult fleas and ticks quite as well as Frontline or Advantage, but it does such a superior job of killing flea eggs and larvae that in the long run you usually get excellent flea control. In addition, it's super safe, and it controls so many other parasite problems:
It kills and prevents heartworm disease...eliminating the need for other heartworm prevention.
It does a fair job of killing Ticks.
It kills ear mites and sarcoptic mange mites fairly well.
It controls nematode intestinal worms in cats and helps a little with control in dogs.
And Tapeworms are not controlled with Revolution. (as you will find out by reading a little further...only a couple of medications effectively get rid of tapeworms)
It is extremely safe, even for young kittens. Revolution is applied to the back of the neck, just like Frontline, except it's a systemic medication and doesn't rely on sticking to the skin. Bathing, swimming, or scrubbing doesn't affect Revolution.
Pfizer makes Revolution
Knock Out Dog Spray and House Spray:
If you have an overwhelming flea problem, it may be necessary to reduce the initial flea load with an extra strenght flea spray. KnockOut is the strongest flea spray available, containing twice as much permethin and Nylar as other brands. It's available as a house spray or for direct use on dogs. It's not safe for direct application on cats.
Combining Frontline, Revolution, Sentinel, or Capstar
Speaking of overwhelming flea problems, it sometimes help to combine 2 or 3 of the products discussed above for a short period until the problem is under control. It's safe to do this.
Shampoos, Mousse, and Sprays:
I'm a big believer in the benefits of frequent shampooing with the new moisturizing shampoos for dog skin conditioning and for treating various skin conditions.
But shampooing alone is usually ineffective at controlling all but mild flea problems.
Fleas have become highly resistant to most sprays and mousses, although most permethrin or allethrin sprays are working well for very short periods. And two brands work exceptionally well, but they're expensive:
KnockOut Dog spray works well for about a week at a time.
And Frontline spray works great for a month ... the same as Frontline Plus topical drops.
Flea & Tick Collars:
A few brands of collars (especially Preventic Collars) are working fairly well for ticks, but I have yet to find one that consistantly controls fleas well. I rate them as fairly ineffective.
What about The stuff you can get at Walmart:
As soon as Frontline TopSpot and Advantage hit the market a couple of years ago, and it was obvious that they were working really well, pet product companies changed their packaging to look and sound like Frontline or Advantage. All these look or sound alike products are applied to the back of the neck like Frontline and Advantage and all come with sales pitches along the lines of why spend twice as much at the vet when this is just like the stuff they sell. Well, it is just like it except for the active ingredient that does the work!
Almost everyone knows how difficult and expensive it is to get a new chemical product through FDA and on the market in the U.S. It has to be proven both safe and effective.
But what people don't know is that once a product is on the market, the FDA is pretty quick to remove stuff that turns out to be unsafe (actually, it's usually pulled first by the manufactuer fearful of possible lawsuits), but not much is removed just because it's become ineffective.
And that's what has happened with many flea control products. The labels that say effective against fleas etc don't say that was back in 1959. Or effective against laboratory fleas raised in Alaska..not our native Southeastern Flea. HooBoy.
This is the same problem with believing labels for dewormers, other parasite medicines and pesticides, and in fact, many medicines.
And the Safety Question: We've had several very sick cats in our clinic due to the application of over the counter topical pesiticides meant for dogs...cats are much more sensitive as a rule to pesticides.
Combing & Grooming:
-Helps a lot with the general health of the skin; no small benefit.
-Helps you to have an intimate familiarity with your pet's skin condition; if you're grooming and combing your pet regularly, you'll spot a parasite problem early.
-It allows the early spotting and removal of ticks
-Grooming and combing usually makes your pet feel much better.
-And regular combing helps maintain your pecking order status as master which helps maintain your pet's sanity. Have you ever noticed that...dogs who think they're humans tend to become neurotic head cases. As for cats...
So; grooming and combing is great.
But not very effective at controlling an established flea problem. I know there's a certain satisfaction in squishing fleas as you comb them out. But remember that the adult fleas that you kill represent only the tip of the iceberg...for every adult you kill, there are thousands of larvae and hundreds of thousands of eggs.
This same principle is why flea traps don't work. Yes, you can attract fleas to jump into a vibrating or hot pan of water, but so what?, you still have a major flea problem.
So, if your pet has anything but a brand new or very minor flea problem; quit dinking around. Go to your vet and take advantage of the new products that work so well.
On This Page:
The products we recommend for the control of fleas, ticks, and other skin parasites
More About Other Parasites on Other Pages:
Comments:
We treat several pets a day for parasite problems.
And at least one case a week of nearly dead pets due to hook worms or whip worms.
And at least 2 cases a month of heartworm disease.
And at least 2 cases a day of ear mites.
And at least 2 cases a day of skin or ear infections associated with allergies to fleas
Then there's the potential problem of pets transmitting intestinal worms to people... especially children ...
Then there's the uncomfortable problem of home infestation and yard.
Parasite control is
Important !
Choose a product that best fits your needs.
New Products:
Comfortis: 100% control of Fleas for at least a month. Comfortis is a chewable once a month tablet. Super safe and super effective. Officially for dogs only
Vector3D: Good control of fleas, ticks, and mosquitos. Applied to the back of the neck once a month.
For dogs only.
Slightly more expensive than Frontline
AdvantageMulti: This convenient product combines heartworm control and good flea control in one product.
Also excellent for intestinal worms. Less expensive than Frontline and heartworm combined. Not for ticks.
Once a month topical
Promeris: Very effective against Fleas, Ticks, and Mange. I didn't really like this product when I first started using it to see how it worked because it leaves an large oily area on the back of the neck for a day or two and also has a strong odor for a day or two. But it seems to be the most effective tick product available. Slightly more expensive than Frontline. Once a month topical for dogs only
Ticks:
The type of ticks we deal with most often in pet medicine are various types of so-called "hard" ticks and each of the different species and subspecies have similar life cycles. Adults, which can live for over a year, lay up to 8000 eggs on moist ground. The eggs hatch in 2-7 weeks. The larvae (seed ticks) , which cling to tall grass or low bushes attach themselves to passing pets or other small mammals and feed for several days. Then they fall off and rest for 6-90 depending on weather conditions etc. After molting into nymphs they again attach themselves to the nearest mammal that walks by and feed again for several days. Then they fall off and rest for another 3-15 weeks. Finally, they molt again into adults that attach themselves again to the most convenient mammal, have sex, feast on blood, and start laying eggs again.
None of this information is likely to help you much other than to know that any place with damp soil, long grass, or low bushes could harbor thousands of seed ticks, nymphs, and adult ticks waiting to attach themselves to you or your pets. Spraying such areas with pesticides help, but resistance is a problem. Resistance is also a problem with the majority of sprays , dips, and collars claiming to solve your tick problem. Preventic Brand collars seem to work better than any others I've tried, but only for 3-5 weeks in our area of the country...not the up to 3 months on the label.
Our best products for
tick control:
Preventic Tick Collars; These work quite well for about 1 month.
Promeris; once a month spot on for fleas, ticks and mange
This product works better than anything I've ever used
Vector 3-D; a new chemical that fleas and ticks aren't resistant to yet. Working well but not perfect. Also good for mosquitos.
Frontline; Still working quite well on most pets for both fleas and ticks but not perfect.
