What do you use to control fleas on your cats & dogs?

Question

I put Hartz UltraGuard plus on both my dogs and cats a couple weeks ago, and it's done NOTHING to help with their fleas. What products do you use that will do a better job?

Answer 1

You're dead right - Hartz is useless! Please spread the word! It has also caused a lot of deaths.

Many pet store flea products are dangerous - and none work. The reason for this is that pet stores aren't licensed to sell the proper chemicals for flea treatment - anything you find in store is just going to be a basic pesticide that you can't expect to work, including Hartz - and Adams, and Biospot.

You can only find proper, safe flea treatments that work at vets; Frontline, Revolution, Advantage or Advocate. Please go and get some. You will probably have to spray your house as well, since this is where most of the fleas are living. Again, get something from a vets, not a pet store.

Chalice

EDIT: DEFINITELY don't waste your time/money with a flea collar - most useless things in the world!

Answer 2

The only thing that TRULY works is Frontline. It may be more expensive but it works. It's not available in shops, only the vet or on the internet. If you buy it from the internet make sure it's genuine and not a fake. You shouldn't use a flea collar or any other flea product on the cat at the same time, but you won't need to - it's brilliant.

You can also buy a spray for furniture/bedding if you need to, from the vet or local pet shop.

There's a flea product called Hartz advanced care flea & tick drops plus. The Environmental Agency investigated this product and insisted that Hartz cease production over concerns that it was linked to hair loss, tremors, salivation and death. I am not sure whether it is still in production in the UK or other countries but if it is, you should not buy it. See www.hartzvictims.org or geocities.com/againsthartz. You can also read about it on www.medicalnewstoday.com

Hartz products do penetrate the skin. Washing in luke warm soapy water can help to remove some of the product, but you shouldn't use anything else on top until the recommended period on the packet/container is over.

Frontline really is the best, as the other responses on here testify!

Answer 3

I understand what you're saying about the cost of treating multiple cats for fleas (I have 8 myself). But a general rule of thumb is - if it's packaged and labeled for dog use, it probably hasn't been tested on cats to see if it's safe. Frontline is a HIGHLY potent medication and should only be purchased through your vet's office. Not only will you be sure you're getting the correct medication and dosage for your pets, but the companies will GUARANTEE the product ONLY if it's purchased from a licensed vet (In other words, if something goes wrong, depending what it is obviously, the company may pay for treatment for your pets). There are some chemicals found in dog flea/tick preventions that are HIGHLY TOXIC to cats (namely permethrins) and very small amounts can have very devastating effects. It's possible that your vet may say it's ok to use the dog frontline on the cats, but I would check first to be sure. The biggest concern is that, by splitting the vial up this way, there's no guarantee how much of the active ingredient is included in each dosing (some cats may not get enough while others get too much). This is why it's generally not a good idea to use the dog stuff on cats. Hope this helps you & good luck! :)

Answer 4

Dogs and cats usually get fleas from being outside too much during flea season, from other dogs, or not having enough baths. I would reccoment Frontline Plus, which you can get from your vet, or Revolution, which uses a once a month application. You could also use a flea comb, but you have to take out the fleas manually using it. A flea collar is not good for your dogs, because it can cause hair loss, dry skin, and different skin dermatitises.

Flea dips are another option. The dog just has to be placed in a bathtub and covered with the liquid, just don't get any near the face or head. They are usually effective products.

You could also give your dogs a bath. Be careful though, and do not give your dogs too many baths, or the natural oil in the coat will be washed away, and the hair and skin will be dry and brittle. Fleas will not be eliminated by giving your dog a bath while the fleas are still there. They will be prevented once your dog is flea free and given a bath.

Here's another tip: do not go to the park where there are lots of other dogs, because your dogs can give them fleas. Also, make sure that you clean your dogs bedding and soft toys to get rid of any extra fleas.

Hope you get rid of your dogs fleas!

Answer 5

Go to the vets office and they have a three month program that you use, sometimes you won't need the whole three months, depending on where you live. It is the stuff you squirt and massage into right behind the head on the top of the neck. After one day, you can give them a bath, shampoo your carpets and vacuum the rugs and floors and do this every day, the vacuuming that is. Empty the vacuum outdoors and don't forget to treat them for tape worms, every cat or dog that had fleas, gets tape worms. It is only 3 pills. Give one a day, break them up if they are too big. Wash everything in the house, shampoo even the furniture and don't let the cats outdoors, they will get reinfected with the fleas! Hartz products are not any good, not for anything, flea collars are worthless and fleas breed under them! Good Luck!!! Lay inaecticide in your yard and be careful not to bring it in the house, it is dangerous to pets and children.

Answer 6

shrugs..forget hartz (dont like to badmouth companies sorry)..get them on frontline or advantage...revolution is good for cats,but you need a vet checkup before getting this (revolution also kills internal parasites and can only be gotten through the vet)i always say fleas must be gotten rid of the same way you do with head lice(the only difference between head lice and fleas -head lice crawls ,fleas jump)...take care of the whole house this means treating clothes,beds,curtains upholstry ,carpet and in this case outside ,also use a flea comb on your animals every day to get rid of any existing fleas ...you said you just used hartz...so dont put anything on your animals until the hartz product is done.flea collars dont work and flea shampoo is okay but ONLY as long as you are not using some other chemicals to stop the fleas because overdosing your pet can cause some serious health problems including death.also consider using a flea fogger in your rooms make sure your animals are away from the house,any live plants must be removed and fish tanks must be covered with towels.to insure the chemical dont contaminate the tanks.follow the foggers instructions carefully...

Answer 7

Flea collars do not work, and can be dangerous ecspecially to cats.
Department store drops for the neck do not work, and again, can be dangerous even deadly to cats (ecspecially Hartz)
Good flea sprays will kill fleas, if you get it directly on them (Adams is best) but will not help with a bad infestation in your home.
Frontline is good for fleas and ticks, but WILL NOT keep up with a heavy infestation on your pets or in your home.

Washing everything in your house for a month, plus spray,plus foggers,plus flea collars ,,,etc. etc are a waste of your time and money, and will not work completely. You will think it has worked for a month or two, then it all starts over again.

You need Advantage for the cats, and Advantix for the dogs. If you put this on you will have no fleas on your animals in a day, and no fleas in your house after about a week. This is not a "it works for me, but may not work for you" thing. We have suggested this method to hundreds of customers over the years, and it works for everyone. Not one person has said that it did not work. Not one person had to go through days and weeks of fogging,washing etc.

If you order it online, it is not very expensive. I order mine from www.fsd.com, for about 10.00 per tube period. No shipping cost at all. It is the genuine product (had to say that before someone said it was fake) and I am in no way affiliated with this company, it's just the one I found that was least expensive.

Since Hartz doesn't penetrate the skin, but stays in the hair folicles, you can thoroughly wash all of the animals, and it will be safe to apply something else without waiting 2 or 3 weeks for this to wear off.

Answer 8

Frontline for the dogs and Advantage multi for the cats.
There are other products like Advantix and Revolution.
Hartz,Sargeants,BioSpot and dips do more harm then good and aren't worth the cost.
Safe effective treatment comes at a cost but so does an infestation.
Be sure to get your protection from a vet. Otherwise it will not be guarenteed!

Answer 9

you must treat the whole house and all your pets bedding and your pets all at the same time, my 2 cats and 1 dog get no flea treatments, i put fresh mint in the garden and in their beds and bug bomb the house every few months and they are fine, however i may live in a low flea area, any way, mint works really well to deter fleas, i dont have any recommend products as i am unfamiliar with those in your area, but frountline is what we would use here, also my dog never gets bathed, she is an outside dog and has clean bedding, she smells great and we often get comments about how good she smells, must be the mint, good luck

Answer 10

Go to the vet and ask for a bottle of frontline spray ( it can be used on both cats and dogs and works out cheaper than buying the individual tubes, you will need to read the dosage instructions though.
I get the 500ml bottle for around £50 and it treats my 13 cats and 2 dogs, the bottle lasts around 12 months for us.
It may seem like a lot of money but it works out cheaper than buying multiple loads of petshop rubbish that never seems to work.