# Flea and Tick



## marialydia (Nov 23, 2013)

What works depends greatly on where you live. I used Frontline successfully for about 15 years while I lived in Bergen County, NJ. When I moved to NC, it worked for a bit, but we had a flea outbreak in my household last September. I have since switched to Nexgard. Getting rid of the fleas was unpleasant.

You need to ask your local vet what works in your area.

Even when I had three, then two dogs, I used the frontline. You just need to keep them from mouthing each other for a few hours, until it dries.

I was a bit worried about moving to a systemic, ingested preventative after using the topical, but fleas and ticks are such a risk here, and the Nexgard for now is working so well with no problems, that I will keep using it.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I agree with marialydia that the answer to this question has considerable regional variability. I have been using Iverhart and Advantix II with no problems since Lily and Peeves were puppies with no problems. Just last week though our vet recommended some changes. He suggested the Seresto collar for fleas, etc. I will use it for Peeves, but can't for the poodles since they cannot have two collars on in performance rings. They will be suing Bravecto chewables. All three of the dogs are being switched from Iverhart to Interceptor. I was given rebate slips for everything I picked up (which was everything for the year) and will get a decent amount back.


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## pudellvr (Dec 1, 2016)

I have tried OTC flea and tick in the past. I live in SC and I might have flushed my money. Fleas here are immune to many remedies and are a real problem. 


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## TK9NY (Jan 6, 2017)

My vet recommends Advantix, Seresto collar, or Nexguard depending on what the owner wants to deal with. They all seem to work well in the area, and those are the go-to for many of my grooming clients as well. 

I guess i'm more looking into the pros/cons of the different types of prevention (topical vs chewable vs collar) as opposed to different brands (i know it varies depending on where you live) and which might work best for my two as far as ease of use goes. 

I'm just worried he'll lick the topical stuff off of her - it does NOT "dry" in 15 minutes, or even an hour.... it seems to stick to her fur no matter how carefully i apply it and it will linger for days like that unless i wash it off. And the chewable tablets have so many negative reviews and warnings (almost as many as the positive ones) that i just don't know if they're safe. The collars, well, i don't know how effective they would be since i would be taking them off before crating the pups (i don't leave anything on them when they are alone in case they get stuck or pull something off and chew it).

ARGH! 

If i apply the topical stuff at night, if i wipe the excess greasy residue off in the morning would that ruin the effectiveness?!?


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Nexguard almost killed Cayenne, she scratched unreal. I use frontline on one and advantage on the other two


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

I use Revolution on the poodles because one of my boys reacts badly to ivermectin (drools, jerks, stares abnormally, twitches, vomits). I inherited the Jack Russell when he got Lyme Disease; her other dogs had ripped his Seresto collar off repeatedly and it was lost on the acreage. Now that I have him in a more suburban setting with dogs that play gently, he can wear his Seresto collar and takes heartguard "chunks" with no problems. I like the Revolution because it really does dry in less than ten minutes. The cat uses Advatage Multi... and I have to keep him shut away from me for at least two hours after application. The last time he rubbed on my face shortly after I had put the meds on him, and my lips and tongue went numb for hours. It happened two months in a row before I got smart.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

I've used Frontline in the past with good results, but Blue plays with Jazz by grabbing her neck in his mouth (they'd make a good hunting team--she goes for the hind leg, he goes for the neck), and keeping them apart for two or three days after applying it just wasn't feasible, so I switched to Bravecto a year ago. So far, both dogs have tolerated it well, and it has been effective. We haven't had much trouble with fleas, but ticks are really bad. As I recall, we found one or two dead ticks on them, but no live ones. We use Heartgard to cover heart worms and intestinal parasites. I get all of it online, from Pet Meds. I just ordered 18 doses of Heartgard and 4 doses of Bravecto for around $335.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

I've used frontline, advantix and the topical ones tend to be worthless. I live in Florida and everyone in my neighborhood has a dog so fleas are definitely an issue. I use comfortis and capstar when there are problems. I also have eco friendly pesticides inside and out. This seems to fix the problen


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

We use Bravecto and Heartgard - very effective and no problems.


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

I live in NY also and had concerns about pesticide collars, etc. I'm old fashioned, or paranoid, I guess because I am not convinced that the oral preventatives are safe and will leave no internal damage.
That being said, I have two mini's who play and mouth each other so I would not use Seresta, etc. I apply Advantix on Callie and Frontline on Molly (each had a reaction to the other kind so they need different formulas). I put it on after bathing and make sure it is under their hair so that the hair they may touch in playing is not contaminated with it. For the first few days I keep an eye on them, just in case, and make sure the top hair is clean. So far its worked for me, and the cost is not that bad.
I only use it from April to Nov and also spray them with essential oil flea/tick formula when I know they are going somewhere that might have a high concentration of ticks. I make the spray up myself and it is perfectly safe for dogs so I don't worry they will get sick from it, plus it smells nice.


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## Mia42 (Sep 5, 2016)

We tried all the topical ones and collars would not work with how much they chew on each other. They sort of worked.

When we started the dogs Nexgard last spring, every thing went away. We no longer have to treat the cats and the next door neighbor commented on how the flea population really went down, even though we had a really mild winter. I think the best thing was that Winston was finally able to grow a real coat instead of always chewing on himself because of his flea allergy. His coat would be growing in fine for almost a month, a flea would walk by, give him googly eyes and he would chew off most of the hair on his back/rump in the next day or so.


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## Remington (Dec 29, 2018)

Nexguard - didn't work
Heartgard plus - sort of
Frontline - was fine
Seresto collar - worked on my cat
Advantix - haven't tried
This article says tea tree oil might work but haven't tried it yet. However, I tried coal tar shampoos, also mentioned there. Weird smell but worked great for my german shepherd. No fleas since.


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

I have now used NexGard for 7 years on all my dogs, eldest being 7 and very allergy to flea bites, without incident, no adverse reactions. I also have indoor cats that would get fleas , they no longer do since the ors have been on NexGard.

Heargard..is not a flea medicine, it is to prevent heart worm. My dogs also get this.

Frontline. my clone cat had a reaction, drooling and lethargic. I really don't like topical because I don't want to touch it and I have several animals so its jut not a good choice for me.
Seresto collars, I don't keep collars on my dogs. Again I don't like the idea of touching it.
Advantix, I also have not used.
I live in the South and its wet and humid, fleas are quite prevalent as are mosquitos . I have been very pleased with the use of the NexGard (flea prevention)and the HeartGard ( heart worm prevention).


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## Remington (Dec 29, 2018)

Mufar42 said:


> I have now used NexGard for 7 years on all my dogs, eldest being 7 and very allergy to flea bites, without incident, no adverse reactions. I also have indoor cats that would get fleas , they no longer do since the ors have been on NexGard.
> 
> Heargard..is not a flea medicine, it is to prevent heart worm. My dogs also get this.
> 
> ...


So either my vet is an amateur or it really has some undocumented effect on fleas.


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

Whatever works I guess. Do some research about tea tree oil thought. I think I read somewhere that its poisonous to dogs.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

SusanG said:


> Whatever works I guess. Do some research about tea tree oil thought. I think I read somewhere that its poisonous to dogs.


Same here. I won't use it on my dogs anymore, even in tiny amounts (it's common in shampoos)!


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

_So either my vet is an amateur or it really has some undocumented effect on fleas._

Well I'm no medical expert so I only go from my vet says and the manufacturer. https://frontline.com/plus/Pages/Products.aspx

Perhaps your vet knows something more? I don't know but I am curious. I'd love to cut one out.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

If you guys are talking about Heartgard, Mufar is correct--it is only for heartworm prevention, NOT fleas/ticks.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> ....... They will be suing Bravecto chewables.


Lily? Can you explain about Bravecto?

My spoo gets terrible seizures from Frontline.


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