Which Flea and Tick Meds Do You Use?

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Which Flea and Tick Meds Do You Use?

July 23, 2008

25 Comments

I've been researching flea products. When I had cats, purchased Advantage flea drops which worked wonderfully. Years later after my cats were deceased I got a dog and asked for Advantage flea drops for him (at Banfield). Was told they "no longer recommend Advantage but First Shield." First month: still some fleas. Second month: one or two fleas, but persistent itching/scratching. Third month: occassional fleas, but persistent itching/scratching. Read reviews that said "give First Shield 4 - 5 mos. for optimal results." Now I discover Banfield dropped recommendations for Advantage products because they were upset the company decided to offer products over-the-counter (i.e. without a vet prescription). Same product, just now more people had access. I'm going back to Advantage.

4 years

Our dog is a tick magnet....we tried advantix...didn't work well, we tried frontine...didn't work well...then by accident, because they were out of all the other stuff, we tried Vectra 3-D. IT WORKED! and it worked for 3 full months. However, now when I tried to get it again at our Banfield Vet, they said they don't have it anymore...it's been changed to First Shield. I guess the company was bought out. Well, I hope so, because I'm going to give it a try. It beats being a tick plucker!

jennjennnbubba 4 years

I used Frontline and Capstar. Capstar is great. It doesn't work for the month though, it is more to remove all the fleas before using a treatment like Frontline. Lawchick- I used Promeris once for Bubba but it didn't seem to work. How long have your pets been on it?

shinycrazy 4 years

I have used K9 Advantix with Kaci for a couple seasons now and I like it pretty well. I prefer it to the other, because it repels mosquitoes. Biospot also controls mosquitoes, but my vet (Banfield, in a PetSmart) doesn't carry it. This link goes to a nice comparison chart if anyone is looking to switch, http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=325 .

dzymzlzy 4 years

We haven't had any problem with fleas (knock on wood) in recent years. But when we did we used Advantage and it worked well. My cat Scooter had a flea allergy and HAD to have a treatment or he got painful scabs.

redegg 4 years

Frontline Plus. I just read up that it kills all eggs and larvae too, which some of the other brands don't do.

fleurfairy 4 years

Advantage Multi. It seems to work very well.

cherrygirl143 4 years

My poor dog suddenly became invested with fleas...we have never had a problem before. I took her to the vet and they put her on Advantix and she doesn't have a flea on her now! I was shocked! Of course we treated out yard but to go from being covered in fleas to nothing is pretty awesome....and Baylee is a much happier pooch now!

7kimba7 4 years

He takes Interceptor and Frontline. I just got a box of Frontline Plus, but still have some plain old Frontline to finish up first.

moonlissa 4 years

I did take her to the vet both times...I promise! The first time they kept her there overnight trying to figure out what caused the problem. They couldn't find anything, and they sent me home with three meds. This month they didn't keep her over night, I just got the meds. We don't know what is causing it, but she is taking the appropriate dosage for her weight. I take her to the vet and weigh her when I buy the heartworm meds. We will try a different kind next month hopefully that helps! She is a year old, and has always eaten Science Diet for puppies. The vet suggests I keep her on it because she is a skinny little thing, so I won't be switiching her to adult food just yet!

Gatito 4 years

This time of year the fleas are rampant where I live and Frontline has stopped working. I switched to Comfortis last week and it seems to be working so far. Except for one of my dogs (I have a total of five), she's still scratching. I've used Heartgard for years for heartworm prevention.

kiwitwist 4 years

Sentinel (something like that). They were on Interceptor but we switched.

Megbucks3 4 years

I use Revolution because it has both the fleas, ticks and heart worm preventative. I know it's more expensive but by the time I'd buy both preventatives, I think it would be about the same cost. Also, when my dog was a puppy they tried to give him one of those preventatives that the dog swallows. Charlie wanted nothing to do with it. A little off topic...but where are you buying your frontline etc?

Dollylo 4 years

I use Frontline Plus for years! ;) Totally happy about it! :)

ufshutterbabe 4 years

moonlissa, you might want to try heartgard unflavored tabs (they are tiny little pills, shouldn't be too hard to get your dog to take them) if you think the regular meat-flavored ones are upsetting her stomach. We have to use the heartgard tabs because of my dog's food allergies.

bluesarahlou 4 years

For those of you that use Advantix, it's important to keep in mind that if you have cats and dogs that are friends...the cats should NEVER come in contact with the medication. It's very toxic to cats. And obviously never put Advantix on a cat! :) We use Frontline Plus, mainly because it breaks the flea cycle by killing more than just the adult fleas, which is only about 5% of the total population. Frontline Plus also kills flea eggs and larvae. Ok I don't mean to sound like a commercial for flea control, but I worked in the vet field so we had to learn all about this stuff ;)

MrsJigglesworth 4 years

Frontline Plus for fleas and ticks (and Heartgard for heartworms)

lawchick 4 years

Promeris for our dog and cats. I'm pretty happy with it. It has been more effective than Frontline was for us. The only thing is that it has this strong eucalyptis smell -- it's not bad, just strange!

mnp 4 years

Fuji had fleas and ticks recently. He was on Advantix which didn't seem to help with the ticks or fleas. So, once we were able to get rid of the ticks, we had him switch to Advantage and that worked to kill the fleas. I know that Advantix/Advantage are same chemicals from the same manufacturer but Advantage worked better on Fuji's fleas. I think I'll try Frontline next because of so many rave reviews.

Ellenora 4 years

Frontline Plus is what we use with Zena. It keeps the ticks and fleas off of her. We use Heartgard for heartworms. Moonlisa--you might want to take your puppy to the vet for tests to rule out any gastro-intestinal problems. There's more than one option out there for heartworm medication so consider asking about new heartworm medication. I know with Heartgard, the chew is meant to stay in the dog's system for two days, kills heartworms and its eggs and then goes out of the dog's system. Make sure you're giving her the right dosage for her weight, not her breed. She's still a puppy, so if she's taking medication meant for adults it is going to cause problems. Make sure you're watching what you're feeding your puppy too. It could be what you're feeding her. Either way, take your puppy to the vet and talk with them to figure out what's going on.

moonlissa 4 years

off the subject, but I buy both flea and heartworm meds at the same time. My pup has had problems with diarrhea for two months in a row shortly after taking her heartworm meds. Has anyone else had any problems?

dollyd 4 years

Has anyone heard of Comfortis? Its an oral flea med that my vet have me give to my puppy for a couple months. Now I've switched to Advantix, because my family has used it on their dogs before, so I'm a little less weary of unknown side effects.

JeanninePC99 4 years

I wish I didn't have to use anything, but I'm in a prime area of ticks, so it's necessary. Frontline Plus does the trick.

drea nicole 4 years

We use Revolution for Merlot (kitty) and Frontline for Viva (pup). The fromtline doesn't work very well for her so I waited and put flea collars on both of them. Hopefully that will work better. I've also become more vigilant with the vacuum and started adding a squirt of Dawn to laundry. No fleas or ticks since, but it's only been a couple weeks.

wren 4 years

My dog isn't on a flea/tick treatment.

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