Flea prevention and the products I use...
FLEA CONTROL: Hopefully after I type this out my long standing record of having no fleas will continue (knock on wood). To prevent fleas I am consistent with treating to prevent fleas during the warmer months of the year. I treat my dogs starting April 1st and give them their last treatment December 1st (skipping Jan, Feb, & March). If you live in a warmer climate you will need to treat them all year. You MUST use a treatment that kills all 4 life cycles of the flea. NOT ALL flea medications do this, so READ THE LABEL.
The products I use for my DOGS are FRONTLINE PLUS, K9 ADVANTIX II, and when I ran a grooming shop from my home I used MYCODEX PLUS (you can mist this in your home and it kills all 4 stages of the flea life cycle, ticks, roaches, ants, spiders, lice, crickets, centipedes, waterbugs, silverfish, and sowbugs for 210 days). Amazing stuff and flea bombs do not work but this stuff works when applied correctly. For CATS I use Revolution and make sure that you apply it on the skin high on the neck, like at the base of the skull so they can't lick it off, licking it can poison them.
FYI: The flea cycle lasts for up to 180 days and an adult flea can live without blood for 100 days. So whatever eggs, larva or pupa fall into the grass, the house and bedding etc... the cycle is three months on average that you must faithfully treat once you have a flea problem. So don't expect to see changes without fully treating everything for three months. I NEVER have issues with fleas and that includes when I ran a grooming shop from my home and people brought in their pets who had fleas. This is because I misted my floors and furniture with Mycodex Plus (I bought it through amazon and my vet clinic carries it too). It's a product that Purdue University designed to safely get kill of fleas and other bugs. Once you properly mist everything, it lasts for 210 days. The next step is using a flea product that actually works to kill fleas and their eggs and I use Frontline Plus or K9 Asvantix II. These must be applied correctly to work (you lift up the hair and apply directly to one spot between the shoulder blades and do not bathe them for 48 hours after you apply it). These can be bought online too. The flea topical needs done monthly for the next four months if you have a flea issue. You may also need to look into getting your yard treated. Outdoor cats and other critters are notorious for spreading fleas. Fleas give our pets tapeworm. The only way for a cat or dog to get tapeworm, is to be bitten by an infected flea. You will also need to treat your dog for tapeworm and that takes Safe Gard that you can get on amazon too. You treat for three days at 1 ml per four pounds of body weight. Tapeworm can cause all kinds of intestinal issues and once the dog has fleas, assume they now have tapeworm.
NOTE: All that products like Pet Armor or Capstar do is kill live fleas that are on the dog, it does not kill eggs, larva, or the pupa. It is a quick fix but does not address the flea cycle.
Lavender Oil, Tea Tree Oil (NEVER put tea tree oil directly on your pet!) these all the natural treatments do not work once you have an infestation. It sounds nice but unfortunately once their is an issue, it is of no help. I have successfully kept my home flea free for over two decades. I have cats and dogs. My dogs have no health issues from my prevention methods either. My oldest living dogs passed away in 2014 at the ages of 17.5 and 18 years old. I never had an issue treating them with stuff that works, caused them no health problems.
The products I use for my DOGS are FRONTLINE PLUS, K9 ADVANTIX II, and when I ran a grooming shop from my home I used MYCODEX PLUS (you can mist this in your home and it kills all 4 stages of the flea life cycle, ticks, roaches, ants, spiders, lice, crickets, centipedes, waterbugs, silverfish, and sowbugs for 210 days). Amazing stuff and flea bombs do not work but this stuff works when applied correctly. For CATS I use Revolution and make sure that you apply it on the skin high on the neck, like at the base of the skull so they can't lick it off, licking it can poison them.
FYI: The flea cycle lasts for up to 180 days and an adult flea can live without blood for 100 days. So whatever eggs, larva or pupa fall into the grass, the house and bedding etc... the cycle is three months on average that you must faithfully treat once you have a flea problem. So don't expect to see changes without fully treating everything for three months. I NEVER have issues with fleas and that includes when I ran a grooming shop from my home and people brought in their pets who had fleas. This is because I misted my floors and furniture with Mycodex Plus (I bought it through amazon and my vet clinic carries it too). It's a product that Purdue University designed to safely get kill of fleas and other bugs. Once you properly mist everything, it lasts for 210 days. The next step is using a flea product that actually works to kill fleas and their eggs and I use Frontline Plus or K9 Asvantix II. These must be applied correctly to work (you lift up the hair and apply directly to one spot between the shoulder blades and do not bathe them for 48 hours after you apply it). These can be bought online too. The flea topical needs done monthly for the next four months if you have a flea issue. You may also need to look into getting your yard treated. Outdoor cats and other critters are notorious for spreading fleas. Fleas give our pets tapeworm. The only way for a cat or dog to get tapeworm, is to be bitten by an infected flea. You will also need to treat your dog for tapeworm and that takes Safe Gard that you can get on amazon too. You treat for three days at 1 ml per four pounds of body weight. Tapeworm can cause all kinds of intestinal issues and once the dog has fleas, assume they now have tapeworm.
NOTE: All that products like Pet Armor or Capstar do is kill live fleas that are on the dog, it does not kill eggs, larva, or the pupa. It is a quick fix but does not address the flea cycle.
Lavender Oil, Tea Tree Oil (NEVER put tea tree oil directly on your pet!) these all the natural treatments do not work once you have an infestation. It sounds nice but unfortunately once their is an issue, it is of no help. I have successfully kept my home flea free for over two decades. I have cats and dogs. My dogs have no health issues from my prevention methods either. My oldest living dogs passed away in 2014 at the ages of 17.5 and 18 years old. I never had an issue treating them with stuff that works, caused them no health problems.
Where I get Mycodex Plus and Frontline Plus.
You can order Mycodex Plus from Amazon.com. I get Frontline PLUS from my vet and Walmart carries it now too. Only vets used to carry this product but now some retail stores do too. You can also get K9 Advantix II for fleas as well from retail stores like Walmart and Petsmart.
