We are having a bad year for fleas in So Cal. I have had good results from Seresto in the past but it does not seem as effective as last year. I comb her every morning and night, still getting about 10 every time. I have a very large yard and do not want to use pesticides (my pup is a grass eater). I have just purchased food grade diatomaceous earth to 'dust' the yard with. I have seen some websites showing it being directly applied to the dog. Does anyone have any experience with this product? Cheers, Blaine
Every year is bad in our city. Our vet has our dogs on Frontline and Nexguard plus heartworm med. Try your state or county public health department or the UC Davis vet school for information about diatomaceous earth?
While I don't agree with giving chemical wormers to dogs that don't have fleas, I do think you have to treat an infestation properly. With my last dog I gave capstar if I saw a live flea and program monthly for the rest of the summer. I treated my cat at the same time with the same regime. Only happened twice in the lifetime of that dog. No experience of DE for dogs but I found it utterly useless for redmite in chickens so I'm dubious.
I do the same as Ruth. If a dog retrieves a live rabbit, all dogs in the house get Capstar - same if I see a flea. If I suspect there's more than a single flea on a single dog, then everyone also gets Programme for a few months afterwards. I don't like spot-ons or collars because they affect aquatic organisms when the dog swims and are toxic, and also the people in the house will be exposed to the pesticides. With ticks there is sometimes not much of a good alternative to a spot-on or a collar, but we do have a good alternative for fleas with Capstar and Programme. Both have been around for ages and have excellent safety records.
I did try a collar on my cat and it didn't work so I can't see how it could be effective on something the size of a Labrador. Always very sceptical of spot ons as we live by a river. My dog was on Bravecto when I got him and if we lived in an area where ticks were a concern I'd probably carry on with this as he didn't appear to have any side effects from it.
There are several brands of tick collars which are effective - including the Scalibor and the Seresto collars. They work by the substances in the collar sinking into the fatty upper layer of the dog's skin, all around their body - so that when something bites, it is exposed to that substance. So they are not only affecting anything which touches the collar itself. Spot-ons work in the same way. Of course, you can buy cheap pet-shop or supermarket brands of flea or tick collars which will be ineffective. It's not about whether it's a collar or not, but what the brand is and what substances are in it. Scalibor is the preferred collar of choice for many people who living in southern Europe with lots of ticks and sandflies. And collars will last an entire tick season (6 months) rather than having to be reapplied every month. Bravecto, whilst an oral product which only affects the dog, has some serious safety concerns out about it at the moment: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterina...-and-veterinarians-about-potential-neurologic I have used it on my older dog without problems, but I think it's a good idea for people to be aware of the warnings so they can make an informed decision about it.
Any thoughts about why some dogs just don't seem to get fleas? We have never had to deal with fleas with any of our Labs, though we did have them with one of our cats. We never find any sign of them on the dogs.
My dogs only get fleas occasionally when they've retrieved live rabbits. I usually give them all a Capstar after any live rabbits... The thing with fleas is that they are not a problem for most people, most of the time - but if you get an infestation, it can be horrendous to deal with and put a stop to - it's a bit of a snowball effect. But if you are observant and act quickly (for me, with Capstar and Programme) if you see fleas, then you don't get to that point.
When it comes to flea treatments, Some people prefer effective topical solutions, while others prefer natural ones. With that been said, please keep in mind that both ways can be equally effective if applied correctly. If your dog is suffering from a flea infestation, chances are you home and yard are also infested, so make sure to treat your house and yard also to prevent flea re-infestation.
