Flea and Tick Control

Ticks are skin parasites that feed on the blood of their hosts.  Ticks like motion, warm temperatures from body heat, and the carbon dioxide exhaled by mammals, which is why they are attracted to such hosts as dogs, cats, rodents, rabbits, cattle, small mammals, etc.  The bite itself is not usually painful, but the parasite can transmit serious diseases to both animals and humans, which is why tick control is so important.

Available veterinarian-recommended products:

Vectra 3-D for Dogs® from Summit Vet Pharm:
This product is a monthly spot-on application for flea, tick, lice, mite, fly and mosquito control with an insect growth regulator.  It provides long-lasting repellent, and is a fast acting adult flea killer that also provides control for the egg stage of the flea for at least 30 days.  Permethrin is added to provide tick control and as a repellant. Pyriproxifen (Nylar) is added for flea egg control.  Water and shampooing lowers efficacy after 14 days. Do not use on cats (because of the high concentration of permethrin). This product is fast-acting and should be very useful for households with flea allergy patients.

Advantage®, K9 Advantix®, Advantage Multi® from Bayer: These products are available as a spot-ons for either dogs or cats. Advantage Multi® is a prescription drug that also is a heartworm preventive, so dogs must be heartworm tested first. Advantage has no efficacy against ticks, but K9 Advantix® does. K9 Advantix is only labeled for once a month, and ONLY FOR DOGS.

Frontline® Spray, Frontline Plus® and Frontline Top Spot®  from Merial:
Fipronil is a broad spectrum insecticide available as a spray or a spot-on. In spray formulation Frontline may kill fleas at 95% for up to 30 days after application on dogs and stands up to biweekly bathing. It is also affective against ticks. This product must be applied monthly. Frontline Plus® contains an insect growth regulator and so provides control of eggs and adult fleas.

Revolution®  from Pfizer: This prescription drug is designed as a once-a-month heartworm preventive and flea preventive for dogs and cats as young as 6 weeks old.  It also kills adult fleas and can be used to treat/control sarcoptic mange, ear mites, roundworms and hookworms in cats. In dogs it only eliminates one type of tick, so it is not recommended for areas with ticks problems.

Capstar®  from Novartis: This is a prescription tablet for dogs and cats as young as 4 weeks of age.  It offers extremely rapid and complete killing of adult fleas on the pets after administration, but only lasts 24 hours.  It is safe enough that the tablets may be used as needed, as often as once per day, whenever you see fleas on your pet.  This is designed to be used in combination with an insect growth regulator to knock out fleas when these slower products are being used for long-term control.  It can also be used when the pet has visited a flea-infested environment for rapid protection.

Comfortis ®for Dogs from Eli Lilly:
This monthly prescription tablet for fleas represents a completely new class of drugs in flea control.  This is an oral form that kills fleas when they take a blood meal. It is available for use on puppies and dogs 14 weeks of age or older and is available in 5 different sized flavored (soy and pork) chewable tablets. It is meant to be used once a month and preliminary results show it will be very useful for flea allergic pets as it has a rapid kill rate.

Promeris for Cats®  from Fort Dodge:
This product is a spot-on application that causes fleas to cease feeding, become paralyzed, and die within 48 hours. It binds to hair and skin surface, and so will stand up to some shampooing. It can be administered at 4 to 6 week intervals. Do not use on kittens under 8 weeks of age. Do not allow animals to groom each other following application. Product may produce a local, temporary, oily appearance and clumping or spiking of the hair at the application site and the volume of application is rather large as disadvantages.  However, it represents another completely new class of insecticides for flea control so will be useful where fleas have become resistant.

Promeris Duo for Dogs® from Fort Dodge:
This product is a spot-on application that causes fleas to cease feeding, become paralyzed, and die within 48 hours. The addition of amitraz provides efficacy against ticks and some mites. It should be administered monthly for optimal control of flea and tick infestations. The product remains effective if the animal becomes wet. However, prolonged, intense exposure to water should be avoided.  This product prevents flea infestation for up to 6 weeks and tick infestation for 4 weeks. Do not use on puppies under 8 weeks of age.  Do not administer to cats, sick or debilitated dogs or animals suffering from heat stress. Do not administer to pregnant and lactating animals. This product represents another completely new class of insecticides for flea control so will be useful where fleas have become resistant.

For questions about these or other flea/tick prevention products, email us at askthevet@rascalunit.com

Modified from an article written by: Becky Lundgren, DVM

         This is a video on how to remove an embedded tick. Once removed, the tick can be killed by submerging it in bleach or alcohol.