Flea/Tick Meds?

Julee

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#1
What do you guys use? We used Advantix this past year and everyone got infested with fleas. Definitely using something else this year.
 

DJEtzel

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#2
I like natural/holistic things, so I use Bug Off Garlic and have been for the last three years. I have never found a single flea or tick on any of my dogs when using it, and they are always in ponds swimming, off leash hiking, etc. I just don't trust those chemicals.
 

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#4
We've never used much of anything. I might spray his legs down with vinegar, but that's the most I've ever done. But Zander's coat isn't exactly a flea or tick paradise, so...I'm probably no help here. :eek:
 

Julee

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#5
I dislike the chemicals as well, so I'm happy to try anything chemical-free. I may try the Bug Off Garlic stuff!
 

SpringerLover

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#6
I've always used Frontline as needed, until last year. I tried Vectra last year but had terrible luck with it! I don't know what I'll do this year.
 

DJEtzel

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#7
It comes in chewable tabs as well, but I'm not sure of the price or smell difference.

The powder is pretty smelly, but I like the smell of garlic so I don't mind it. XD
 

Fran101

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#8
Merlin has a home-made "everyday spray" that he gets sprayed before/after leaving the house to freshen him up.
It's apple cider vinegar + Lavender essential oil + Cedar essential oil. The essential oils are a great repellent and ACV is a great deoderizer (the vinegar smell goes away once it dries) it repels fleas/ticks and it makes the coat more acidic (less welcoming to bugs)
Haven't had a problem with bugs at all :)

I've also heard good things about bug off garlic and similar products!
 

Southpaw

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#9
Generally I don't use anything, but if I do it's usually Frontline. I used Certifect once or twice last year because I had some free doses, but I think that stuff is way too harsh for my suburban dogs that are in no danger of being mauled by ticks.

I have heard good things about Sentry Natural Defense but you always have to take into account how much of an issue fleas/ticks are in your area. I don't think fleas are really a huge problem here - at least, I have never known anyone to have a pet with fleas - so when people say their dog didn't get fleas/ticks on this product, well it really could have nothing to do with the product and just be that they weren't exposed to them :p

This year I don't plan on using anything!

ETA Fran how much of everything do you use in your little spray? I might want to have a little something like that on hand, mostly for Happy because it wouldn't be as easy to spot a tick on her like it is with Juno.
 
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#10
If I use something, I use Frontline. Depending on where you live, there are areas of the country (mostly deep south from what I've heard) where fleas are allegedly developing some resistance to it although the company claims it's actually usage error. In any case, up here it still works.

Whatever substance is in garlic that may or may not work, is also a chemical. Just sayin'. ;)
 

Saeleofu

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#11
I use Frontline every 3 months in the summer, and Trifexis monthly in the winter.
 

DJEtzel

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#12
Good note Southpaw!

We constantly have people coming into the dog park where I work to bathe their dog because it has fleas, and members frequently complain about ticks on their dogs in the warm months as well, so we certainly have them plentiful here!
 

DJEtzel

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#13
Whatever substance is in garlic that may or may not work, is also a chemical. Just sayin'. ;)
Garlic is a chemical?

I mean... I guess if you get really technical it is composed of molecules and atoms and all that scientific stuff... but it isn't a chemical the way most people think of the word. Garlic is a natural substance.
 
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#14
Garlic is a chemical?

I mean... I guess if you get really technical it is composed of molecules and atoms and all that scientific stuff... but it isn't a chemical the way most people think of the word. Garlic is a natural substance.
LOL just because something is natural, doesn't mean it's not a chemical.

ETA: If garlic is an effective repellent or insecticide, is contains an active chemical compound responsible for those effects. Just like you can purify some drugs from plants although it's usually cheaper to make them synthetically.

ETAETA: Just like Capsaicin - the chemical compound in peppers that makes them hot. It's not that "peppers" are hot - it's that they contain a chemical that makes them so.
 

DJEtzel

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#15
LOL just because something is natural, doesn't mean it's not a chemical.

ETA: If garlic is an effective repellent or insecticide, is contains an active chemical compound responsible for those effects. Just like you can purify some drugs from plants although it's usually cheaper to make them synthetically.
Like I said, still not how most people think of chemicals, because it's not man-made.

It's 100% garlic... I don't think there is any chemical compound? And from my understanding to be a chemical, there has to be a compound or process? Maybe I'm science dumb... I didn't learn that kind of stuff in high school OR college. So... I'd love to be enlightened. I googled the definition of chemical and it didn't help much.

eta; I have no idea what Capsaicin is.. so I guess I'm googling that too.

eta eta; I think I get what you're saying about make ups of organisms. So I will retract my statement to say that natural things are better than synthetic things in terms of dog's health in this case so I like the natural alternative since it still works. :p
 
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#16
Like I said, still not how most people think of chemicals, because it's not man-made.

It's 100% garlic... I don't think there is any chemical compound?

The definition of "chemical" is not "man made." Probably you missed my second edit while you were posting, but capsaicin is an example. It is the chemical compound that makes peppers hot. "Peppers" aren't hot - capsaicin is hot and it is found in peppers. Even 100% peppers.

Similarly, assuming that it is effective "garlic" isn't a repellent or insecticide. Garlic contains a chemical compound that is a repellent or insecticide. Even 100% garlic. It just hasn't been identified and named yet (to my knowledge anyway). The same way the toxic chemical in raisins isn't known (but surely exists) and the toxic chemical in onions didn't used to be known.
 

Fran101

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#17
ETA Fran how much of everything do you use in your little spray? I might want to have a little something like that on hand, mostly for Happy because it wouldn't be as easy to spot a tick on her like it is with Juno.
One part water + One part Apple cider vinegar... then just a bunch of drops lol I didn't really measure it out at all. Just a bunch.
Shake before using!
Really great for that doggy wet smell.
 

DJEtzel

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#18
One part water + One part Apple cider vinegar... then just a bunch of drops lol I didn't really measure it out at all. Just a bunch.
Shake before using!
Really great for that doggy wet smell.
Where did you get the essential oils? I'm interested in making something like this, too. Does it lose effectiveness after being mixed/sitting for a while?
 

Southpaw

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#19
One part water + One part Apple cider vinegar... then just a bunch of drops lol I didn't really measure it out at all. Just a bunch.
Shake before using!
Really great for that doggy wet smell.
Thanks! I'll have to keep this in mind this summer :p
 

Lyzelle

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#20
Vinegar is vinegar. As long as it doesn't come into contact with anything that would alter it (like baking soda), it shouldn't lose it's efficiency at all. I use regular white vinegar, but apple cider like Fran uses is actually way better and doesn't dry the coat out as much.

Plus it smells a little nicer. :p
 

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