Thankfully flea and tick therapy has come a long way from the former products that were available. People were using dog flea baths/dips on cats not realizing they were toxic to cats. Because of counterfeit flea/tick products being relabeled and sold in stores and on the internet, it’s always a good idea to purchase these from your veterinarian. Veterinarians purchase these products directly from the drug manufacturers so reliability, stability, storage, and safety are guaranteed.
Dr. Michael Dryden, the world’s leading flea, tick, and heartworm expert recently spoke to our Cleveland Academy of Veterinary Medicine members. For 30 years he has been the world authority on what kills fleas and ticks, what doesn’t, what is safe to use, and how to treat the environment. What he had to say I’ve outlined below:
- He prefers ORAL flea/tick preventatives for dogs as opposed to topicals—examples are NexGard and Bravecto tablets.
- Topical preparations for flea/tick prevention are still his preference in cats.
- In a Florida study, resistance was seen by fleas to Frontline.
- Vacuuming daily is comparable to using a flea spray in the home (and much safer!). Fleas like darkness and depth of carpet so it is important to vacuum under beds, kick plates, folds of upholstered furniture.
- The best way to treat Lyme disease is “never to get it” meaning tick prevention is very important with the above products, NexGard or Bravecto being excellent preventatives.
- Ticks are now all year round where formerly they were a problem in Ohio during April-October.
- A good yard spray for ticks is Bayer Complete Yard and Insect Spray.
- Not only are deer an intermediate host for ticks but newly discovered are wild turkeys-perhaps more so!
- It is advisable to purchase flea and tick products from your veterinarian as counterfeit products have been found over-the-counter.
Please feel free to ask us any further questions you may have on flea/tick control!