Guide to Flea and Tick Medication - Ask A Vet

0:00 There is a myriad of different flea and tick prevention medications. Let's cut through the confusion and talk about it. [Music] Today we're going to talk about how to keep your pet free of those pesky parasites that are outdoors. This can be very simple to do and keep your pet

0:26 really safe. Fleas and ticks tend to be seasonal. In colder climates, you may not have to use flea prevention as frequently, but let's say in Southern California, where I happen to be right now, flea prevention is absolutely essential because it's warmer down here and therefore it's literally flea season

0:46 all year round. One of the products I like to talk about is Advantage. This product actually has imidoprit. Now, it also has some other medications in there that keep your pet free from fleas, flea eggs, and flea larae. This is what I might call an insect growth regulator in the sense that it does prevent eggs from

1:09 hatching and larae from becoming adult fleas. This does kill adult fleas as well. So, this particular product, as you can see by the picture, is for cats. You do not want to use a medication designed for dogs on cats and vice versa. There are toxicities that exist that can make cats and dogs extremely

1:32 sick. In other words, use a cat product for a cat and a dog product for a dog. Don't ever mix the two. Second product that I personally like too is Frontline Plus. Now, this product is really fast acting. It kills fleas and ticks together. What's interesting about fripronil as a product is it's absorbed

1:53 into the fat of the skin. Therefore, it is essentially waterproof. But the truth is we know that frequent bathing can disturb the efficacy of this product. I would suggest do not bathe 2 days before application of this product and 2 days after application of this product. Another product that I particularly like

2:14 for cats especially is a product called Revolution. In this particular product, it has a medication in it called Celctin. This will protect dogs and cats alike, but I personally really like it for cats. I think it's highly effective. It protects against fleas, ticks, heartworms, intestinal parasites, some

2:36 ear mites, and some skin mites all from one product. Now, these are all potential parasites that your cat, maybe indoor, outdoor, may come in contact with as they go and inspect the neighborhood and just enjoy the outside life. So, keep your cat protected with once a month revolution. One product

2:57 that is very similar to Frontline, I like to call it a high-powered Front Line, is this particular product called Certifect. This has the same product that's in frontline which is called fippron but it also has methoprne and amitraz in it. Now methoprne and amitraz both of them can kill ticks very fast.

3:19 So, if you have a dog or a cat who is in contact with a lot of ticks or in an area where there's a lot of ticks, you may want to consider Certifect because this will keep your dog protected against ticks, which can spread deadly Lyme disease. Result tickics. This is strictly for ticks, not for fleas, and

3:40 it is for rapid killing of ticks. It's actually just a spot-on application. You see a tick, take the product out, spray it on. The tick will die in three hours. If it falls off, you probably want to discard of that tick somewhere else so that the tick is not consumed. But again, this is a spot-on rapid kill

4:01 product for ticks. Now, flea shampoos are great for severe infestations. They produce a very rapid kill, and they get fleas off of your pet immediately. But what do they lack? Residual activity. So they don't really last longer than 24 hours, maybe 48 hours. And anything longer than that, you're really

4:24 stretching the efficacy of this product. So again, flea shampoos certainly have their place in rapidly killing a lot of fleas, but they don't last very long. Let's talk about some really popular products that people really seem to like. One product that people really seem to like is something called a flea

4:44 collar. Now, flea collars can be effective in some cases, but here's some disadvantages of the flea collar. First, the flea collar tends to be only effective locally. That means where you apply it, that's the only place it's generally going to work. Second, it doesn't have a lot of residual activity.

5:05 For instance, some of the products I just talked about last up to one month. Flea collars may last a week to two weeks max. Second thing is sometimes they can be toxic to your dog. Sometimes they can be toxic to people who touch because a lot of times the product is actually on the

5:25 hair. So flea collars, I wouldn't necessarily pick them as my first choice. I would pick something that has long residual activity, like his spot-on treatment, and I know has been tested and is effective. Now, we're on to oral medications. This is where it gets interesting because some of these

5:43 products only last for 24 hours so that it kills fleas very rapidly and some last a whole month. The first product I'd like to talk about is Capstar. I like this product because it works and it's safe. This is a great product to use if you have your pet who is severely infested with fleas or let's say you

6:04 rescue a dog who is severely infested with fleas. You know that immediately once you give this product it will start killing adult fleas in 30 minutes. And it lasts about 24 hours, sometimes up to 48 hours. And so Capstar, not only is it extremely safe, but it's also very effective. Another product that I really

6:26 like to use in certain situations is Sentinel. Now, Sentinel is great against heartworms and fleas. Now, the way it kills fleas is interesting. It's classified kind of as an IGR, insect growth regulator. That means it targets a specific part of the flea life cycle. It prevents hatching of eggs and it also

6:46 prevents larae from becoming adult fleas. You give this product and it prevents fleas for the whole month. Now, some people might say, "Doc, I gave my dog Sentinel, but I still see adult fleas." Well, Sentinel kills flea eggs and larae. That means if adult jumps on your dog, you may see that adult. That

7:08 adult may lay eggs and larae, but again, those eggs and larae are never going to mature, thus completing the life cycle. Two products that I really like to use for flea prevention are Comfortis and Trifecus. Now again let me repeat all these products do target a specific part of the flea life cycle. These two

7:27 products actually target the adult flea and so they start killing fleas within 4 hours after giving it and it lasts for 30 days. Trifectus actually combines another product to prevent heartworms and some intestinal parasites like round worms, hookworms and whipworms. While Comfortis just is focused on the flea.

7:49 These products are super safe and in severe cases can actually be used in conjunction with Frontline or any of the spot-on treatments. So, you have three categories of products when it comes to flee and tick control. The spot-on applications, your collars and shampoos, and then your

8:13 oral tablets. Talk with your veterinarian about what would be best for your pet because all of it is determined upon your pet's risk. For instance, some might say, "Doc, my pet is indoor only. My dog is indoor. My cat is indoor. I don't need flea prevention." Remember, fleas hitch a

8:33 ride on our clothes and our shoes and everything. That's why an indoor cat can be loaded with fleas without you knowing it. So, every pet needs to be protected. And it's important to have a really thorough conversation with your veterinarian about what would be great for your pet.

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