Is frontline really working to get rid of fleas?

[Freddie]

I just put frontline on my dog about 2 weeks when i first got him, and i still see fleas occasionally on him. It's not a serious infestation, but I do see them and i was just trying to find what the cause was b/c today this morning I found 3 fleas crawling around his head. The crate that I got for him, I got it from my friend who has a dog that was infested with fleas, but the dog never stayed in his crate so he gave it to me for this dog. I cleaned it good and check it for anything kind of fleas or flea eggs before I let my dog stay in it, but is it possible that maybe there are fleas still in the kennel that i can't see that are jumping on him when i put him in there at night?

The other thing is, and i did bring this up before, the vet's assistant told me the way frontline works is that i put it on him and fleas just jump on him and die in a day and eventually i got to let all the fleas jump on him and die through his skin to get rid of them. So to see fleas on him occassionally is normal and it means the process is working. I don't know why, It just seemed kind of strange to actualy want fleas to jump on him in order to get rid of them. Anyone have any opinons on this?

 

[chell78]

Well the assistent was right the product takes up to 24 hours to kill the fleas the fleas have to bite the dog whoch then picks up the frontline, which then kills them, its the most effective way of controlling them, fleas dont breed on animals they use them as taxis, they actually breed in the environment,your carpet,sand everywhere!!

it does sound strange they are saying they want the fleas to jump on the dogs for it to work, but the fleas are gonna jump on your dog whether they are treated with frontline etc so at least they wont survive on a treated animal. does that make sense?

The good thing about products such as frontline and advantage is they continue to work for up to a certain period (depending on which one you get) wheras shampoos only kill the fleas on the dog at the time of washing and flea collars only stops the fleas from going near the animals neck. and the products such as sentinal only sterislise the fleas, so they cant breed but if you have an adukt flea problem or they go out to parks, beaches etc alot that is not the one to use.

 

[Vickih]

Make sure your carpets/bedding/furniture etc have been thoroughly cleaned to make sure you are rid of the fleas to start with.

Frontline worked wonders for Lucy and once we put her on it last year we didnt see a single flea. I think we only saw one tick on her too which is why we're using it on her this time around.

 

[Mordy]

fleas do not have to bite a dog to die from frontline, as it is not systemic. frontline is dispersed on the dog's skin and the contact alone is enough to be deadly for the fleas.

however, i've read many reports of people who have tried either frontline or advantage, and the one worked for them while the other didn't. i have made the same experience with my own animals. i wanted the added tick protection frontline offers, so i tried switching from advantage, but the frontline did not work for us at all. went back to advantage and the fleas are gone.

for a friend of mine it has been exactly the other way around, advantage didn't work, but frontline does.

try switching.

and when your dog goes outside, try a spray made from a few drops of essential oils of citronella, lavender and rosemary in 2-3 cups of filtered water and applied to the dog with a spray bottle. you don't need to wet down the whole dog, just apply a few sprays, especially on the legs and belly. fleas and other insects do not like the smell of essential oils and won't jump on.

 

[siemens716]

We use Frontline. Its great. Never have fleas or ticks.

 

[ButtGumbo]

Ditto on the Frontline...works great on Josie and our outdoor cat.

One trick that works for killing fleas in carpet. Liberally sprinkle Borax laundry stuff on the carpet and let sit for a few hours. An ingredient in borax kills fleas almost instantly. If you have a carrier that has/had a flea problem, you can clean it with a Borax/water solution.

-Kev

 

[Mordy]

borax is great, it also kills roaches etc.

another option is diatomaceous earth (food grade only, not pool grade). it can be sprinkled around the house and also on lawns and kills fleas and other insects by cutting up their outer "skin" so they die. if it is used outside, it needs to be replaced after rain tho.

 

[DobermanPinscher]

We've been using Frontline on my parents dog (CKCS) for ages and we always find that it works great unlike cheeper brands that are available in petshops and supermarkets. But we've been using the newer version called Frontline Combo which seems to work just the same and it actually kills the eggs and fleas where as the oringial only kills the fleas.

No problems so far, best product on the market over hear as well as Stronghold, which is another great product but more towards Ticks and Mites.

DP

 

[Freddie]

thanks everyone for the feedback