Our Recommendations for Flea Control

       In recent years there has been a revolution in the world of flea control. Smelly sprays, choking powders, collars that slipped off, ineffective shampoos and dips that smelled like they were taken from a toxic waste dump are all things of the past. The modern way to treat and prevent flea infestations are medicines that are given or applied to your dogs and cats once a month. Below we'll review the best of these and tell you which we think you ought to use.

• Program
  
  • Program was the first of this new breed of flea medication. It was released in the United States in 1995 although it had been used successfully in Australia and Europe for a few years before that. Program comes as a tablet for dogs and as a suspension intended to be mixed in with your cat's food. It has a unique mode of action. Program does not kill the adult flea, rather it acts as a birth control pill and renders the female flea's eggs unable to hatch. When the female flea feeds on your pet's blood the chemical in Program enters her eggs and causes a change in the egg that prevents them from hatching. Since over the course of one month in the best weather for fleas (hot and humid) ten fleas can give rise to 100,000 eggs ,you can easily see why preventing these eggs from hatching will prevent an infestation of fleas around your pet and in your house.
    
  • Since Program does not kill adult fleas there will still be a few fleas on your pet from time to time.
    
  • Pets with flea allergies are sensitive flea saliva and the bite of only one flea can set off their allergy. Since the flea needs to bite your pet to become sterile, your pet will be bitten and be exposed to flea saliva. Therefore if your pet has flea allergies, Program would probably not be the best choice for flea control.
    
  • Because Program is a pill, there is nothing left on the skin for you or your family members to be exposed to.
    
    
• Advantage
  
  • Advantage was first released for use in the US in 1996. It is a chemical that depresses the nervous system of fleas so deeply that the flea dies.  Within 24 hours of application Advantage has killed 98% of all fleas on your pet; within another day all the fleas are dead and new fleas are continually killed for a month. Advantage comes in a small squeeze vial that is squirted between your pet's shoulder blades.
    
  • For a few hours after application the area where Advantage has been applied is sticky and if you touch the area you might pick up some of the chemical. After that the chemical is absorbed into the skin and touching (or kissing) your dog will not expose you to the drug.
    
  • Although routine shampoos and swimming won't remove Advantage from your pet's skin, shampooing your pet with a very sudsy shampoo and working the shampoo on your pet's coat very vigorously can remove the Advantage and allow fleas to infest your pet.
    
  • The flea does not need to bite your pet to be killed by Advantage.
    
    
• FrontLine (Top Spot)
  
  • FrontLine was released in late 1996. It is a nerve stimulant. It speeds up the flea's nervous system so that the flea gets very agitated (you don't want to be around an agitated flea!), and finally "burn out". You apply FrontLine the same way as you apply Advantage, by squeezing the little tube and applying the liquid between your pet's shoulder blades.
    
  • FrontLine also kills ticks.
    
  • As with Advantage, the skin will remain wet for a short period of time and if you touch the area you may be exposed to the chemical.
    
  • Because the drug is bitter, if you place the medication where your cat's tongue can reach it you might see your cat foam at the mouth for a little while. This is not serious, it is just your cat's way of getting the bitter alcohol (which the drug is dissolved in) taste out of its mouth.
    
  • Since FrontLine speeds up the fleas' metabolism the fleas get more active before they die. Therefore you may actually notice the fleas more after you've applied this medication than before you apply it. After a day or so, the fleas will die and you will not see any more for a month.

Which Product Should You Use?

•  After 3 years of using these products and talking to our clients, hearing their success stories (and their complaints) we feel that Advantage is by far the best all around product for your cat and your dog. We would love to recommend FrontLine because it kills ticks in addition to fleas. However we have had too many clients complain that their pets still had lots of fleas when they were using FrontLine. Program is a great product, however if your pet is allergic to fleas (and so many pets are) the idea of having the flea bite before it becomes sterilized and exposing your pet to the flea saliva just doesn't seem like a good idea.
  
• If ticks are also a problem for your dog we suggest you use a Preventic collar in addition to the Advantage.
  
• If ticks are also a problem for your cat we suggest you use FrontLine which is the easiest product to use for the prevention of ticks on your cat. Since cats are such good groomers and typically have smaller flea burdens than dogs you may find that FrontLine is enough for good flea and tick control.
  
  If you need more information about any of these products here are some links to the manufacturer's home pages for the specific products.
   

            Program                         Advantage                     FrontLine

                               

How to Choose Flea Control Product

Problem	Dog	Cat
Fleas	Advantage	Advantage
Fleas and Ticks	Advantage and Preventic Collar	FrontLine or Advantage and Duocide LA spray
Inside pet, few fleas	Program	Program
Allergic Pet	Advantage	Advantage
No fleas, just prevention	Program	Program

What About the House?

       Don't think that any of these medications will clear your house of a flea infestation, at least none of these will do it quickly. Flea eggs can lie dormant in your house for up to one year, giving you a year's long "time release" flea infestation. If you have fleas on your pet you have 100 times as many in the house. Please see our recommendations for eliminating fleas from your home.