Spinosad at reduced rates for Flea control - Page 1

Spinosad ( the ai in Comfortis ) will give 3 weeks of excellent flea control ( or more ) at 1/2 of the recommended dosage according to research results.  See link to the table below.  It is always legal to apply or give a reduced dosage of a pesticide although the manufacturer will not honor product claims for poor efficacy if proper dosage recommendations are not followed.  Spinosad has also shown deleterious side effects in some dogs.  I have used spinosad at 1/2 dosage every three weeks instead of every 30 days as recommended on the Comfortis label with good efficacy.  Thus one full dosage recommendation of spinosad split into two 1/2 dosage 3 week treatments will give at least 6 weeks of good flea control while reducing the chance of unwanted side effects in my dogs.  A topical application of permethrin can be combined as a sequential split timed topical treatment with oral spinosad treatment to give dual action flea control and some control of ticks and other ectoparasites.  For large dogs (60.1 -120 lb dogs) the 1620 mg/treatment spinosad tablets can be split into halves and given on a three week schedule with good results.  Also given that the weight ranges on the spinosad label are quite broad there may be advantages in reduced side effects for reduced rates in certain weight range dogs which show deleterious side effects since a 55 lb dog gets a 810 mg dose while a 65 lb dog gets 1620 at full dosage.  Individuals must make their own decisions as to using reduced rates of pesticides but as long as an individual follows all instructions, precautions and label directions for the full dosage recomended on the label a reduced dosage or rate may be legally applied or given.  I am somewhat concerned about giving oral flea meds as they can not be "taken back" after given nor can the side effects be addressed by bathing or topical treatments as with topical flea meds.  Reduced rates of spinosad result in a 33% or more reduction in total dosage for my dogs and a 50% reduction in peak dosage levels which I find useful.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621083/table/T1/