# Flea & Tick control?!



## Harleysmum

Because my husband is allergic to all chemicals we cannot use topical insecticides on our pets. I use apple cider vinegar in food and also as a 50/50 spray with water. I don't think it would work if you had a major outbreak but keeps our fleas under control.


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## dborgers

This year we're going to try Seresto collars. A new product (out maybe a year?). The collar provides protection for 8 months. 

People I know who have been using them tell me they're effective. This is what a vet wrote on a customer review at Amazon.com that gives good detail:


> This isn't your typical "flea collar". The Seresto collar has no odor, it has a soft, almost powdery feel to it, and it doesn't leave any greasy residue on your pet or your furniture. The best thing about Seresto is that it is completely non-toxic! Your dog could eat the Seresto collar and it will not release enough of the medication to be toxic. I suppose that your dog could obstruct from eating it, but Bayer has thought of that, too. The Seresto collar is radio-opaque, which means it will show up on an xray so that your vet knows what the obstruction is! From a vet's point of view, this is a HUGE benefit!
> 
> How does it work? Bayer has taken the active ingredient from Advantage, along with another ingredient that kills & repels ticks, and embedded it into the matrix of the plastic-like material that the collar is made of. (all other flea collars just spray a pesticide onto the collar). Due to the nature of the material that the collar is made of, the active ingredients are continuously and slowly released for 8 months! The release of the active ingredient is triggered by the friction from the movement of your pet's hair and your pet's body heat. An added benefit is that Seresto is water-resistant and remains effective after swimming, bathing, rain, etc.


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## cgriffin

My vet sells the Soresto collar and says it is promising. It is always an option for you there in Georgia. 

I am not going over to the collar though, because I don't like keeping collars on my dogs 24/7. Besides, the way my dogs wrestle constantly, they would be hanging onto each other's collars all the time. I only put collars on mine when taking them out for a walk or into town.

I have not found any organic approach that worked for fleas and ticks. You are in Georgia, which is worse than Tennessee where we live. I would suggest Frontline Plus and see how it works for you - and it is one of the safest topicals out there.


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## Lennap

My Vet switched Remy to Bravecta this year - it is a chewable pill that provides protection for 12 weeks. We haven't tested it in the warmer weather yet, but my Vet swears by it and saying he has used it on his own dog with success.


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## MaggieandBailey

We used Bravecto last year, and didn't see any fleas or ticks on our dogs...and we do live in a very "high" flea/tick area. I also did not see any side effects. I would love to not give any chemicals, but pests, and the parasites/diseases they carry are way too prevalent in my area.


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## CAROLINA MOM

I have not heard of the Bravecto, I am going to check into this and see if my Vet is carrying it. 

I haven't had any luck with any type of topicals living here on the Coast.

One of our members, IowaGold who is a Vet, put this info together for flea/tick/hw protection-

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...t-comparing-heartworm-flea-tick-products.html

You may want to check with your Vet too, there are several new products on the market since IowaGold put this together. 

Nexgard is another option for flea and tick control, it's less expensive than the Bravecto.


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## Riley's Mom

I used the Bravecto pill last year and just ordered more for this year. I was very happy with the results. Riley HATES having any topical stuff applied so I was very glad when this pill became available. It seems to have been tested a lot will no ill effects. I was also happy to see breeders on the golden group on FB starting to use it too.


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## morfeo

I used Seresto for the first months of my dog and it works great, but eventually she grow it up so I got the one for her weight the next day I put it on she got a terrible diarrhea with blood by the end of the day, I remove the collar and give her special food and by the third day she was fine.
I think the collar for bigger dogs was to much for her now I'm afraid to use it again.
I read that the collar may have different reactions depending on your dog I even read about dogs that had die because of healthy problems associated with the collar.
I'm searching for some kind of control too, but looks like most of the products poison the dog's skin in order to work and some times is not healthy for the dog.
Is like using repellents with deet on humans as you know deet is a poison too, but that is why it works I guess.

Any suggestions???


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## Tahnee GR

I am looking into the Bravecto product too. My favorite vet uses it on her own dogs, and I have heard good things about it online as well, from breeders I respect.

I do worry though about the effects on my breeding girls, although it has been tested on pregnant bitches and been pronounced safe.

I just don't like to be the first to this kind of party.


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## Chritty

Anyone keen on Nexguard?


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## SunnynSey

Having worked as a tech the best stuff is always the oral flea Control. I know a lot of people (including myself) hate the idea of giving an oral insecticide but it really is a godsend for dogs and people with flea allergies or with immune compromised people or small children. I have used Comfortis when they needed it on my own dogs and have never had a bad experience.


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## CAROLINA MOM

Chritty said:


> Anyone keen on Nexguard?



I am going to try the Nexgard on my two this year. I haven't had any luck with any of the topicals. I use to give them Comfortis and Heartgard, then switched to Trifexis which is the combination of the two, came out. I had my two on it for a couple of years maybe without any problems. I took them off it when reports came out about so many dogs getting sick and several dying.

I am going to get single doses from my Vet to try on my two first to make sure they don't have any problems with it and to see how it works. If no reactions and it works, then I'll order a larger quantity.

If you do a search on here for Nexgard, a few threads will come up you can read through.


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## morfeo

Hi Everyone,

I tired to use the Seresto collar again since my dog is bigger but she got poisoned she got diarrhea again. At this point I think I don't want to use any chemical product on her, I was researching online and I found this product from the DR Mercola.
I just want to know if anyone heard about it or if there is another good non chemical product that I can use.

Thank you.


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## laprincessa

We're using Bravecto
The topicals all made Max just act off for a few days, and I was never sure how well they worked anyway. 
Our vet sings the praises of Bravecto, so we've used it twice now - and so far I've taken one dead tick off Max.


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## dborgers

I just bought Seresto collars for Rudy and Ollie. Supposed to provide 6 months protection against fleas and ticks.

PetSmart is having a sale through May 1st. The first collar is on sale, and if you buy a 2nd collar, it's 50% off.

Cost me $80 for two collars. We'll see how effective they are. Some folks at TVGRR used them last year in East Tennessee and said they worked like a charm. Fingers crossed they're as effective for my fur boys.


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## Fattner

Harley is on the collar ,it's been few weeks and so far so good !!


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## lexie_bushey

I just Bob his second seresto collar. The first one worked great and seems to be the only thing that works for him since he is allergic to the topical flea treatments.


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## lgnutah

I kept finding ticks on Brooks when we used Soresto collar, some engorged some just crawling around. Several times huge engorged ticks dropped off him and fell on our floors and we STEPPED ON THEM AND BLOOD WAS ALL SPRAYED. This never happened when we didnt use Soresto (we live in SC,
where there are lots of ticks).
I called the maker of the collar and they said it was normal to still find some ticks....they did give me a refund though.

Trifexis gave Brooks horrible diarrhea by the 3rd month dose (month 1 was slight loosening of bowels, month 2 more so, month 3 he was having a terrible time). I called the manufacturer and they told me to stop using it and refunded my money for unused months.

I have found Revolution doesn't bother Brooks, controls fleas and worms (but not ticks)


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## cgriffin

I posted in this thread previously about using Frontline Plus. Well, times have changed. Frontline Plus is not working around here anymore at all. 
I am on my first two weeks of trying Bravecto chewable pill that lasts 12 weeks. So far, I have found one dead tick on Dachsi my dachshund and a bunch of dead ticks on Ben, my golden. Ben is a tick magnet and he also tested positive for Ehrlichia which is a tick borne disease. He was on 28 days of Doxycycline. 

So far, the Bravecto is promising, none of the dead ticks was engorged in blood, seems they got killed too fast to really get much blood and they were really easy to remove. No side effects from the drug so far.


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## laprincessa

cgriffin said:


> I posted in this thread previously about using Frontline Plus. Well, times have changed. Frontline Plus is not working around here anymore at all.
> I am on my first two weeks of trying Bravecto chewable pill that lasts 12 weeks. So far, I have found one dead tick on Dachsi my dachshund and a bunch of dead ticks on Ben, my golden. Ben is a tick magnet and he also tested positive for Ehrlichia which is a tick borne disease. He was on 28 days of Doxycycline.
> 
> So far, the Bravecto is promising, none of the dead ticks was engorged in blood, seems they got killed too fast to really get much blood and they were really easy to remove. No side effects from the drug so far.


This has been our experience as well - so far, one tick crawling on Max's leg after he came in from the field, I smashed that one, and one dead that fell off - not engorged. No side effects here either, and Max is on his second dose.


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## Moose15

I see everyone singing the praises of Bravecto for ticks. What has your experience been with it and fleas? They are our main concern here. We have been using Trifexis since 8weeks, and they haven't had any issues. However, I have been reading more and more about how some dogs have had fatal side effects from it. On the other hand, I don't want to fix what isn't broken.

We for sure need something that works well, the fleas are horrible here.


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## Melfice

My pups had their first Bravecto treatment about a 4 weeks ago, and they have no fleas at this time. Everything is working great, but fleas here might not be as bad as where you live tho.


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## CAROLINA MOM

Yes, fleas are horrible in NC, I read an article that said fleas thrive in humid areas, plus it normally doesn't get cold enough here in NC to really kill them off although this past winter was probably the coldest we've ever had since I've lived here. 

I ended up getting the Seresto collars instead of going with Nexgard or Bravecto. So far they are working great. Ticks aren't much of a problem here on the Coast, but the fleas sure are.


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## Goldylover2

I'm trying something different with my 15 month old golden Caleb. I ordered this last week and it's on his collar right now. It's a flea and tick tag. It uses your dogs energy to keep insects, fleas and ticks away. Here's a link if anyone is interested. Only Natural Pet EasyDefense Flea & Tick Tag for Dogs & Cats


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## CAROLINA MOM

That's interesting, never seen it before or anything like it. 
Let us know what you think of it and how it's working out for Caleb.


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## Melfice

CAROLINA MOM said:


> Yes, fleas are horrible in NC, I read an article that said fleas thrive in humid areas, plus it normally doesn't get cold enough here in NC to really kill them off although this past winter was probably the coldest we've ever had since I've lived here.
> 
> I ended up getting the Seresto collars instead of going with Nexgard or Bravecto. So far they are working great. Ticks aren't much of a problem here on the Coast, but the fleas sure are.


I really want to try the Seresto Collars a try. But over a year ago, Rusty and Kerrie Ann were playing outside, and I forgot to take their normal collars off (one time I forgot too) after their walks, and Rusty's front tooth got caught on Kerrie Ann's collar. 

She almost choked to death because she panic, and tried to get away from Rusty. Kerrie Ann's eyes were all red/swollen, from the pressure of the collar and she could had died if we were not home when this happened.

Since this happened to my pups, I don't want to have a collar on them at all times 

But I think I'll use a Seresto collar on my Pomeranian and cat, to see how well it works on them.


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## Goldylover2

Melfice said:


> I really want to try the Seresto Collars a try. But over a year ago, Rusty and Kerrie Ann were playing outside, and I forgot to take their normal collars off (one time I forgot too) after their walks, and Rusty's front tooth got caught on Kerrie Ann's collar.
> 
> She almost choked to death because she panic, and tried to get away from Rusty. Kerrie Ann's eyes were all red/swollen, from the pressure of the collar and she could had died if we were not home when this happened.
> 
> Since this happened to my pups, I don't want to have a collar on them at all times
> 
> But I think I'll use a Seresto collar on my Pomeranian and cat, to see how well it works on them.


Wow, that's scary. The crazy things that can happen.


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## CAROLINA MOM

Really sorry that happened, I know that was very scary. 
My guys only have a regular collar on when I take them somewhere, never at home. 

The Seresto collar is like a regular flea collar in size and it's lightweight, you can barely see it on them.


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## Moose15

I talked to a Vet friend last night and asked her about the Bravecto. She says that if a dog comes to her on it, then she will continue it. However, if it's a new dog to the practice she is really reluctant to try it, unless the owner insists, because if there was a reaction, it would be in the system for 3 months which would be hard to gain control over. She did say that for those of her clients on it, it has worked great for both fleas and ticks for the full 12 weeks each dose.


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## priya16

I generally use Cipla Protektor. The Cipla Protektor is one of the most effective ways to get rid of all fleas and ticks. This is a common problem among all dogs. Your dog can easily get infected with these parasites on his regular walks or just from proximity with other dogs in the locality. This spot on treatment is perfect for all your large dogs.
I have a Golden Retriever named Fido and by God's grace he is not having a single tick or flea on him.


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## Zazoo

I saw only one flea on Zane in the 4 yrs of his life, and I've bathed him with Dawn Dish detergent.. I will have to take him into the vet for his vacs. and get him a flea and tick med too.. The ticks are really bad in our area this year.. I don't let Zane stay outside now.. He does his duty and then back inside..


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## Goldens&Friesians

I currently use Frontline and Heartguard for my girls. I need something that kills both fleas and ticks as we live in the country and the dogs romp through the horse pasture. My vet is starting to push Trifexis which does heartworms and fleas, but not ticks; Interceptor which is for heartworms; and Parastar Plus which is for fleas and ticks. I've had no problems with heartguard or frontline, but my vet may stop carrying them now. My question is, does anyone have any experience with Parastar? I'd never heard of it before and just wondering how effective it is and how safe it is?


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## Prism Goldens

Tahnee GR said:


> I am looking into the Bravecto product too. My favorite vet uses it on her own dogs, and I have heard good things about it online as well, from breeders I respect.
> 
> I do worry though about the effects on my breeding girls, although it has been tested on pregnant bitches and been pronounced safe.
> 
> I just don't like to be the first to this kind of party.


Linda, I read a study that showed it increased birth defects and stillbirths. OTOH, it was also studied with dogs as well and their monthly sperm count/semen analysis showed no changes, so it appears safe for breeding dogs not bitches.


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## Alan Lake

Hi: I've been buying Nitenpyram from a company called Animal Lovers House LLC on Amazon since last year for my two dogs and a cat. I used to buy brand name flea control products but with three pets it got too expensive so I decided to try Nitenpyram. I tried a couple brands but I didn’t like them. Then I tried the Nitenpyram from Animal Lovers House LLC. They worked great and cost less than half what I was paying! The fleas just start to fall off dead. This product is easy to use because it comes in a capsule that I can open and mix with food, which is especially important for my cat. Last week, I went to place another order on Amazon and was shocked when I couldn't find Animal Lovers House LLC’s Nitenpyram products or any other Nitenpyram product. Fortunately, I was able to find them online at animallovershousellc.net. It looks like they have another .com site too but the .net is definitely easier to use. I made my purchase directly from them and just like when I bought at Amazon, my purchase shipped the next day and arrived quickly, same packaging, same factory sealed vials as before. I definitely recommend purchasing from them.


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## eagerbeaver

andrew379 said:


> BEST FLEA FOGGER
> 
> Best flea fogger and comparison available in market - Review Gig


i am into essential oils. rose geranium oil for ticks and cedarwood for fleas. I generally dilute with coconut oil as a carrier oil and apply 1 drop between my golden's shoulder and another drop above his tail.


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