# Flea treatment not working!?



## gatsby (Jul 7, 2012)

When i first got kit (he brought flea's home with him), i deflea'd him with Frontline, this had no effect, after using Advantage for the first time (and Acclaim'ing the house) i haven't had a problem for the past 18 months. 
I deflea'd him 03/07, and on Saturday found fleas crawling on him, i keep brushing him and thankfully got none this morning. 

Is it okay to flea him again after only 12 days, or is it best to try a different treatment and again will it be safe to flea him so soon!?

Thanks for any replies in advance!!


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## NWForest (Nov 26, 2013)

Taken from a thesis reporting on controlled and published experimenal studies using the popular brands of cat flea control. - >
The speed of flea kill does tend to wane during the month following dosing with Advantage flea control (as it does for all three major topical preparations prescribed by vets). A 2005 study published in Veterinary Therapeutics demonstrated this. It showed that Imidacloprid (Advantage flea control) had the highest % flea kill within 6 hours of initial dosing (out of Fipronil, Imidacloprid and Selamectin), but that all products had achieved a >95% flea kill by 24 hours of dosing. Fleas were re-introduced to the cats at day 7 (to mimic a reinfestation event) and all three formulations showed a similar effect, with a 68.4% flea kill at 6 hours post flea-introduction and a massive (highly effective) 99.4% flea eradication at 24 hours. At day 21 and then again at day 28, more fleas were introduced and there was no appreciable kill of those fleas within 6 hours. The new fleas did die, but they took longer (up to 2 days were allowed before the % flea kill was determined), showing that the speed of kill declines with the time passed since dosing.

The 2005 study published in Veterinary Therapeutics (described above) found that, at the 28-day mark, selamectin was still achieving a 99% flea kill within 2 days of fleas being re-introduced to the treated pet. Fipronil, in contrast, only achieved an 86.4% efficacy in that time and Imidacloprid (Advantage flea control) only achieved a 72.6% flea kill at the 28-day flea-re-introduction mark. From this study it can be said that Advantage is still effective 1 month after dosing, however, its efficacy (% flea kill) at that stage is nowhere near the efficacy seen in the first weeks of dosing. Of the three, selamectin seems to maintain its effect the best and have the highest residual activity. If this is true, then this particular short-fall could be quite easily remedied by dosing Advantage a bit more frequently than monthly (perhaps 2-3 weekly instead).


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## szrobi (Feb 2, 2014)

What is the product with Selamectin?
Thanks,


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

NWForest...thank you very much for that fascinating insight into the efficacy of flea treatments, I have never seen that info before.
OP....I would not use another spot on so soon....but you can safely use Capstar which kills fleas immediately but is only active for 24 hours.
I would also give the house a really good going over with Indorex or Acclaim.....hoover thoroughly first to wake the little blighters up, then spray liberally, remembering the underside of furniture and gaps along skirting boards.
I believe Stronghold uses Selamectin as the active ingredient, but it is a prescription product whereas Advantage is not.


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

I've found fleas to be an absolute bugger this year, and so has everyone else I have spoken to.

My lot have been frontlined, and I have sprayed all round the house and wash bedding etc twice weekly and hoover daily - I'm still raking the little bleeders of the cats and the dogs like no-one's business.

My son actually moved out of his house for three days and had it flea-bombed, as well as frontlining his (indoor) cat - it still has them (he blames me for letting flea eggs get not him when he visits - as he only comes round once in a blue moon because of distance, I think he's being a bit cheeky!)

However, fleas seem very resilient this year.


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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

szrobi said:


> What is the product with Selamectin?
> Thanks,


Revolution and stronghold


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## NWForest (Nov 26, 2013)

Another excerpt ->
Author's hint: To maintain high efficacy and speed of kill, you can apply Advantage more frequently than monthly. Applying Advantage flea control every 2 weeks (at least in the initial stages of your flea control program) is safe for the flea allergic pet and will ensure that speed of kill and % of flea kill are optimised. It will also ensure that higher levels of imidacloprid residues enter the environment of the pet (e.g. bedding), helping to kill flea larvae stages present in the carpet and bedding and thereby helping to eliminate the flea problem quicker.

The full article, bit heavyweight but very informative
Advantage Flea Control Treatment for Dogs and Cats.

hope that helps


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## NWForest (Nov 26, 2013)

szrobi said:


> What is the product with Selamectin?
> Thanks,


sorry I can't work it out, but I think others have suggested products with it in


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## Yellowboots (Apr 7, 2013)

They are really bad this year. We got Frontline Combo from the vets and it did nothing to reduce the fleas. The little buggers were everywhere. We ordered something else for a quarter of the price from VetUK and treated the house with spray and powder.


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## gatsby (Jul 7, 2012)

Ah so should be fine tomorrow as that's two weeks.

I went around the house with Acclaim and am hoovering like crazy! Fingers crossed i've gotten them before they got out of control.

Thank you for the article NWForest!

Thank you for your answers!!


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I am having a bit of a blitz on the house today....washing all soft furnishings, hoovering, steam mop and then Indorex or Skoosh depending on the surface.
I think you just need to keep on doing all you can as it obviously takes time to eradicate the beggars.


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## Ang2 (Jun 15, 2012)

Funny this subject came up  When I went to the vets this morning for my usual Advocate for the dogs, they tried to sell me some flea tablets that were £25 EACH!!! That would have been £50 for both! I use Advocate mainly for the worming so stuck to my guns, total £22.

When my friends little dog was absolutely infested with fleas (to her horror) I had a spare Advocate to give her. I kid you not, within two minutes scores of fleas were jumping off the dog dying.

Advocate is a double treatment for worms and fleas, so I find it cost effective. It doesn't do tapeworm, so you would need Droncit spot on for that, but still works out cheaper (the cat one is less expensive).


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

Ang2 said:


> Funny this subject came up  When I went to the vets this morning for my usual Advocate for the dogs, they tried to sell me some flea tablets that were £25 EACH!!! That would have been £50 for both! I use Advocate mainly for the worming so stuck to my guns, total £22.
> 
> When my friends little dog was absolutely infested with fleas (to her horror) I had a spare Advocate to give her. I kid you not, within two minutes scores of fleas were jumping off the dog dying.
> 
> Advocate is a double treatment for worms and fleas, so I find it cost effective. It doesn't do tapeworm, so you would need Droncit spot on for that, but still works out cheaper (the cat one is less expensive).


Thanks for this info - I haven't tried Advocate. Can you buy it online, or doe you need a prescription?


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## Jesthar (May 16, 2011)

lostbear said:


> Thanks for this info - I haven't tried Advocate. Can you buy it online, or doe you need a prescription?


You can get Advocate online, yes, but you DO need a prescription.

The non-wormer version, Advantage, you don't need a prescription for. I got mine from Animed Direct, but they only seem to have dog sizes in at the moment. That may be due to the drug company changing the packaging, I seem to remember someone mentioning. They have the small cat size (Advantage 40 for ut to 4kg) in at Viovet, but not the 4-8kg version (Advantage 80) - can't seem to find that anywhere right now.

Frontline Combo, even the vet version, is largely ineffective these days, unfortunately - that's how I wound up having to flea treat MY house.


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

Lillylass has pointed out to me that this product uses the same active ingredient as Advantage
ClearSpot Spot-On Flea Treatment for Dogs & Cats - VioVet


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## Janeylo (Jul 13, 2014)

My cat is allergic to all spot on flea treatments I have tried. I get away with treating the house with Indorex and that seems to control things really well.


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## szrobi (Feb 2, 2014)

I did Frontline spot-on on my kitten 6 days ago, vacuming and used Skoosh but not much change .. I can comb or event catch fleas with my fingers.

Not sure it makes sense or not, but fleas seem to be "smaller" now, so if fleas can grow in adult form I suppose they are newly hatched ones. So I will use Indorex ... I wanted to avoid chemicals with permethrin but started losing faith in Skoosh.

One question though, can I safely use flea tablet as one-off action if my kitten had Frontline spot-on 6 days ago?


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