Fleas Fleas everywhere.. - Page 3

Two moons,  if you know about that stuff you should also know that cedar bedding is not good on dogs lungs.........trading one problem for another eh?

I make my own (fresh) and have used them for over twenty years with no apparent problems.
Maybe what you buy is more dust than shavings (old), mine gets refreshed when it gets old and I don't use it year round.
My dogs sleep where they lay most of the time, either in the house or outside on the ground, sometimes on the deck but they prefer the ground.  When in the kennel they sleep on the Cedar.
But I don't have fleas.   I don't allow others to bring their animals to my house unless I know the condition of their dogs first.
I have no cats, and keep the wild critters under some control.
Long term exposure to sevin dust is probably not good for a dogs lungs either.
Excessive use of dips, pesticides of any kind, including I believe products such as frontline are also not good for a dog.

Once you get infested with something like fleas you don't have a lot of options.
Prevention is worth a pound of cure.


P.S.
What I get a special kick out of are the sonic devices sold to repel rodents and insects.

I don't buy any.  Thats what vets have told me not to mention a few well respected members on this board, one who was a vet told me also.

I give my Dogs a Garlic Tablet twice a week, but it is good for keeping the blood nice and flowing, I do not give them against Fleas, i have never ever had that problem
 Going off the subject to the Racing Pigeons the Pigeons get Garlic Cloves Crushed and dropped into the clean drinking water i use one clove for two Days and they get it 4 times a week, Yesterday i walked into the loft and you could smell the Garlic i said to myself there will be no feather lice on those Pigeons, and there was not one to be seen the smell will knock them out alone  and it will keep the Vampiers away at the same time, Yes it certainly is not harmful for Dogs if kept in the right context and given in moderation
Against Fleas and Ticks on the Dogs i treat periodically with Advantage
Steve1

Cedar oil can be toxic to some animals (particularly parrot babies - we use aspen in the nursery) and irritating to some dogs, but I remember using it in dog beds years ago and never had a problem with the wood. A puppy owner of mine did have a dog who was sensitive to cedar in her beddding though and they had to change to aspen.

Used Sevin dust when I was a kid - on the dogs and garden. It could kill any bug, it seems. lol Frontline kills fleas, but is still a chemical. No way to not use some chemical regularly down here in the south...

Those Capstars are great or use a good dip to get a quick kill while you are treating the environment and getting it under control.

To answer your original question - here is info on the newest products for fleas that really work-
I live in the southeast and we have lots of fleas and ticks year round.
Beware of ticks they carry LYME disease and Erhlichia and we are seeing more and more of this in the dogs.
Ask your vet for a LYME vaccine this year!!!

Frontline and Advantix have been around a very  long time, and still work okay in some areas, but we are seeing alot of resistance and in some areas these old products just dont work anymore.
There are several new products.

Promeris- topical once a month lkills fleas and ticks, repels mosquito, treats and prevents demodex mite infestations-works great but does contain  amitraz, so rarely causes some lethargy in some sensitive dogs for a day or so after application. The cat product does does not contain amitraz and is not labeled for ticks.

Vectra 3D- topical once a month kills  fleas and  ticks and repels mosquitos, with no common side effects . Contains permethrins. The cat product is not labeled for ticks. 

Comfortis- Once a month chewable tablet.  This is the BOMB for fleas, if you have a flea problem this will cure it! Does not provide tick control. Can pair this up with a preventic collar if you need tick protection. This is my favorite combo for the outdoors dogs that get wet alot. You dont have to worry about them getting wet and washing the topical products off and the preventic collars work even when they get wet.  They do not have a product YET for cats, but it is coming soon.

All of these are available through your veterinarian.

Sentinal is interceptor(heartworm prevention) with the old flea sterilization product in it, it does not kill live fleas but does keep the females from reproducing. It is okay if you don't have fleas and occaisionally take the dog somewhere that it does pick up a random flea, but it won't work for true infestations, or for pets that are allergic to live fleas.

I usually use Frontline, but tried Advantix for the first time this year. We don't have fleas, haven't for years, but we had a tick early this spring, & i haven't had to pull a tick off of my dogs for 5 years, so this was the 1st tick in a while. I stay vigilent, check them when they come in....years back I had a really bad flea problem, & swore I'd never allow that again. I had to bathe all ther critters in flea dip, treat the carpets, (had to tear the carpet out of my son's room), re-treat the pets, spray outside......it was awful! It was so difficult to get rid of them, now I do a weekly check, but we haven't had a flea for 15 years!

jackie harris