Flees...?!

[Anne123]

Went with Finn to the vet for his rabies vaccination as they forgot to give him in November. She asked me if he was well. Yes I said, but a bit itchy. I thought it was from his new kibble and lack of salmon oil. She thought he was having flees. So she took a comb and put some hair and of course from what I thought mud. She put water on it and a white Cotten while and it turned pink. She said that it was because he suffered from flee eggs...
She advised me to give him Bravecto. I immediately said no, not as long as it is being doubted for giving serious health problems. She then said that this wasn’t proven scientifically, I told her that there was no scientific evidence that it didn’t give health problems. I bought advantix for now. Kept me thinking if this was sufficient...What do you give?
She also warned for an outbreak of ticks, due to the warm temperature lately...!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

In California, fleas weren't much of an issue for me. If I'd see one, I'd bathe my dog and that was usually it.

Since spending time in Spain, my dogs have worn anti-Leish collars (such as Scalibor and Seresto) which also prevent fleas. I don't like it, but Leish is scary and I'm very conscientious about doing all I can to prevent it, so collars. The collars also prevent fleas, so I guess you could call it a side bonus.

 

[Boogie]

Mine have monthly Nexgard for fleas and ticks. No health issues.

Be sure to treat all your bedding and carpets too.

What a nuisance for you!
.

 

[Candy]

Joy has a tablet called Simparica every month for fleas and ticks.She loves it, sits and licks her lips when I get the packet out. It doesn't appear to be causing her any problems.

 

[kateincornwall]

We are in a tick area, lots and lots of deer , and so I do give Reuben Bravecto for the ticks and flees . I havent noticed any adverse effects and usually give him a break from them during the winter months as I did with Sam . I dont use anything at all on Nelly due to her neuro issues , plus being white , any evidence is easily spotted , she hasnt ever had a flee or tick x

 

[Stacia]

I don't use anything. If Finn does have fleas, there used to be a product which would stop flea eggs from hatching. Fleas spend most of their time off the dog, make sure you vacuum around the edges of the room where the pupae lie and down the sides of the sofa and chairs. You might find just one treatment will be enough. Google the life cycle of the flea.

 

[Anne123]

I just finished vacuuming Finn and his bed. His bedding is in the washing machine. I couldn’t wash them at high temperature so I hope it helps. Changed the bedding in the car, vacuumed the living room everywhere! We once had a flee plaque due to our cat after a holiday of three weeks. After 3 weeks those little annoying creatures were alive again, so yes, the life cycle is about three weeks. Now I am exhausted and resting with a cuppa! Finn got his advantix in his neck. He is not amused to say the least. He hates it when his cuddle is in the washing machine....
Finn doesn’t come up the stairs, but tomorrow I will clean the carpets and the floors of every single room, and I have 6 bedrooms....

 

[Selina27]

@Anne123 , you might be better getting some spray for his bedding and areas that he likes to ly in. My understanding is that we can't kill the pupa ,and that any warmth or activity will cause them to hatch, so using an insecticide then destroys the adults. So using it after vacuuming is the way forward. I don't think that washing stops the cycle.

This is what I had to do when our cat had a terrible flea infestation, it did work and after a few applications I was able to stop doing the procedure. I'm not a lover of unnecessary chemicals or medication but it really was a case of having to do what ever it took to break the cycle.

 

[snowbunny]

I use Advantix. I find it more effective than the Seresto collars.

 

[Anne123]

@Anne123 , you might be better getting some spray for his bedding and areas that he likes to ly in. My understanding is that we can't kill the pupa ,and that any warmth or activity will cause them to hatch, so using an insecticide then destroys the adults. So using it after vacuuming is the way forward. I don't think that washing stops the cycle.

This is what I had to do when our cat had a terrible flea infestation, it did work and after a few applications I was able to stop doing the procedure. I'm not a lover of unnecessary chemicals or medication but it really was a case of having to do what ever it took to break the cycle.

You are right! I was thinking cleaning the house that I needed to do more, wasn’t aware that I needed that too. As a matter of fact Finn does have the tiny pupa, but I can’t find the mature ones....

 

[Atemas]

I use Prinovox on Red every month for ticks and fleas. I don’t like using it but it was recommended by the vet when she was a little puppy and we’ve used it since. Strangely, Sky never had anything like that and never ever got a flea or tick

 

[Beanwood]

I couldn’t wash them at high temperature so I hope it helps

Nope, it's like a nice sauna for fleas! Nothing they like better than clean carpets and being squeaky clean themselves! This was from my own vet, when we found fleas on Stoli which caused a bit of an palava when he arrived as a kitten.

 

[Aitch]

We had such a bad flea infestation many years ago that I had to let off flea bombs all over the house (having got all the animals out of the house first) which did the trick. It was horrible though and I've never missed a flea treatment since.

 

[Selina27]

I can’t find the mature ones....

I don't think you will -- they are pretty good at jumping I think! Not sure if this is right but I don't think the actual fleas live on the hosts, just hop on and off to feed !! Which is why it's so important to treat their beds and where they like to lie.

 

[HAH]

We use Bravecto too, as we have a lot of deer ticks - I found one on Kipper a few weeks ago, it’s still relatively warm for them here. I’d prefer a less controversial option but it does a good job, and our vet recommends it above other options for our area.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I use Advantix. I find it more effective than the Seresto collars.

Seresto seems to work for fleas while it's relatively 'fresh' but not for the stated life of the collar. One of the reasons that I usually change it well before the 'use by' date because I worry if it's not doing anything for fleas, it's not protecting against sand flies either. But your Catalunya fleas may be tougher than the ones down south!

 

[Beanwood]

We use Bravecto too, as we have a lot of deer ticks - I found one on Kipper a few weeks ago, it’s still relatively warm for them here. I’d prefer a less controversial option but it does a good job, and our vet recommends it above other options for our area.

All our dogs use Bravecto, no side effects. I wouldn't say this is controversial either. We know that the data supports a low side effect profile, however any adverse events do seem to be hyped up in the media.

 

[snowbunny]

Seresto seems to work for fleas while it's relatively 'fresh' but not for the stated life of the collar. One of the reasons that I usually change it well before the 'use by' date because I worry if it's not doing anything for fleas, it's not protecting against sand flies either. But your Catalunya fleas may be tougher than the ones down south!

It was more to do with the ticks which were horrendous this last summer with the collars. I've never seen fleas on the dogs at all before this summer, but took three or four off them over the course of the season, and not just when the collars were getting to the end of their lives. Nope, we're definitely going back to Advantix for 2020! I'm the same as you; I think if it's less effective agains the ticks (AND the fleas) then the chances are it's less effective against sand flies, too).

 

[snowbunny]

All our dogs use Bravecto, no side effects. I wouldn't say this is controversial either. We know that the data supports a low side effect profile, however any adverse events do seem to be hyped up in the media.

The data is being updated since release, of course, as one would expect as it's now being used in a larger population, and the FDA has instructed the manufacturers to update their packaging in the face of that updated data. It is still a very low risk of side effects, of course, and probably doesn't deserve the level of publicity it has received in relation to other, happily accepted, drugs.

 

[Rosie]

We use Bravecto. No problems here....