[jason41987]

hey everyone.. i have a bit of a flea problem this year, theyre everywhere, i cant stand them and im certain my dogs hate it more... so i need to get rid of them, whats the best solution for it?...

i was looking at flea drops and frontline plus and k9 advantix seem to be most recommended, but both are very costly, "fipronil" is the active ingredient in frontline plus and ive found some generic brands that use the formula for about $15 for a 3-pack, so thats one option..

the main ingredient in k9 advantix and advantage is "imidacloprid" which i can find in a concentrated solution, but cannot find a generic form of

so, has anyone actually used these pesticides in the same quantities to make their own flea drops at a lower cost?... ive considered trying that as well... umm, i hear some people recommend different ideas using essential oils, white vinegar, rubbing alcohol, but this is mostly third part information they give me and ive seen no studies that prove any of this actually works to eliminate or repel fleas

so... what should i do?

 

[Willowy]

Suck it up and buy the good stuff. . .no point wasting time and money on the off-brands. If your dogs are smaller, you can buy the largest dose and split it (you can find the proper dosage online). If you don't have cats, K9 Advantix is probably the best. If you do have cats, be super careful if you use it, because if the cat licks the dog before the stuff is dry the cat could die.

 

[jason41987]

my dogs are both around 50lbs, and would probably eat a cat if we had one.. so the poison would probably be the least of a cats problem if it came into contact with one of them... they were never trained to not like cats, but as hounds they tend to view anything smaller than them as prey.. so they really dont like squirrels either and there are tons of those here

anyway, for a generic brand to be sold it has to contain the same chemicals in the same quantities, which makes the frontline plus alternative the same thing.. would be nice if i could find a k9 advantix alternative at a lower price too, besides making it myself

 

[jason41987]

hmm.. what about the advantix "kits" which instead of giving you the pre measured packages gives you a bulk container of the flea drops and a syringe?... get about 12 months worth for $40

 

[Willowy]

That's the same thing as buying the largest size and splitting it. Syringes are something like 15 cents each.

I don't recommend using corn pesticide (imidacloprid) to make your own flea drops, unless you're a chemist. It's probably a different potency, plus it probably doesn't have whatever ingredient makes it spread on their skin.

I've heard that the generic fipronil drops don't work as well, but I haven't tried them myself.

 

[Shell]

Don't forget that you will need to treat your house well also. Fleas breed very very quickly, so while you for sure have to treat the dogs (I recommend K9 Advantix) that alone isn't enough. My opinion is to use a well known brand for treating the dogs and deal with the small price difference; I wouldn't want to start messing around with pesticides on my own. Remember that something like Adantix also kills ticks which can carry diseases and repels mosquitoes along with protecting against some worms. So there are many other benefits to help "offset" the cost.

Vacuum ALL fabric surfaces well. Like the couch, rugs, mattresses, curtains etc. Seal the vacuum bag in a trash bag and dispose of outside (for the bag-less vacuums, empty into a trash bag outside and wash the container). Vacuum the cracks of hardwood floors and around the baseboard molding. Throw any machine washable rugs, blankets, comforters, curtains and such into the laundry. A mix of baking soda and salt can be put down for a day along the baseboards, behind couches and such and then vacuumed after day or two; it kills adult fleas.

Closing your car windows and parking it in the sun for a day should raise the interior temps high enough to kill any fleas in your car. I still suggest vacuuming it well also.

Keep your yard cut short.

 

[luv2byte]

My brother wasted $200 trying to control fleas, he kept getting cheap stuff & foggers. I went down, got proper flea drops, stopped by a vet for some Knock Out spray. Poof! Less than $100 and all was well in the world again & hasn't had problems since. Do it right the first time, maintain correctly & you won't have issues.

 

[jason41987]

that reminds me... whats a good spray to get rid of the ones in the furniture?... i should also note that i live in a pretty urban area with very, very low risk of ticks, in fact, i havent actually seen a tick in atleast 15 years... if im not mistaken, advantage uses the same active ingredient as k9 advantix for fleas, but advantax has an added chemical for ticks, where advantage doesnt deal with them but is still a chunk less expensive.. so i would probably go with advantage instead

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

Don't forget that you will need to treat your house well also. Fleas breed very very quickly, so while you for sure have to treat the dogs (I recommend K9 Advantix) that alone isn't enough. My opinion is to use a well known brand for treating the dogs and deal with the small price difference; I wouldn't want to start messing around with pesticides on my own. Remember that something like Adantix also kills ticks which can carry diseases and repels mosquitoes along with protecting against some worms. So there are many other benefits to help "offset" the cost.

Vacuum ALL fabric surfaces well. Like the couch, rugs, mattresses, curtains etc. Seal the vacuum bag in a trash bag and dispose of outside (for the bag-less vacuums, empty into a trash bag outside and wash the container). Vacuum the cracks of hardwood floors and around the baseboard molding. Throw any machine washable rugs, blankets, comforters, curtains and such into the laundry. A mix of baking soda and salt can be put down for a day along the baseboards, behind couches and such and then vacuumed after day or two; it kills adult fleas.

Closing your car windows and parking it in the sun for a day should raise the interior temps high enough to kill any fleas in your car. I still suggest vacuuming it well also. Keep your yard short

THIS^^

That being said: If you are at all interested in homepathic remedies I can honestly say I have been using essential oils, AppleCiderVinegar and occasional dosages of Garlic for a number of years now with great success. ( I Have/Had many fosters and a couple of my own dogs over the years that were/are very sensitive to Chemical treatments.)

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

that reminds me... whats a good spray to get rid of the ones in the furniture?... I should also note that i live in a pretty urban area with very, very low risk of ticks, in fact, i havent actually seen a tick in atleast 15 years... if im not mistaken, advantage uses the same active ingredient as k9 advantix for fleas, but advantax has an added chemical for ticks, where advantage doesnt deal with them but is still a chunk less expensive.. so i would probably go with advantage instead

Before switching to the 'all natural method' I always had great success with ZODIAC PEST CONTROL SPRAY. I don't know if they still produce it, but I remember my dad getting something that resembled a cross between a laptop/bug zapper through them that he swore by.. (It came with 2-3 extra cartridges) You would set it up out of reach of pets plug it in and let it sit overnight. By morning it would be filled with dead fleas..

 

[jason41987]

i dont know about the all natural remedies, ive never had success with it for other things in the past.. most people who advertise them arent very scientific in their efforts so its hard to get quality information on what works, and whats just a bunch of hocus pocus.. ive heard about vinegar a few times before though but havent tried it

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

i dont know about the all natural remedies, ive never had success with it for other things in the past.. most people who advertise them arent very scientific in their efforts so its hard to get quality information on what works, and whats just a bunch of hocus pocus.. ive heard about vinegar a few times before though but havent tried it

No problem, I was just offering my opinions, based on my own experiences. We all do what we feel is best for our families. There is no harm in that. :')

 

[KodiBarracuda]

anyway, for a generic brand to be sold it has to contain the same chemicals in the same quantities, which makes the frontline plus alternative the same thing

Not nessesarilly. Generic brands have the same active ingrendient but may have a very different set of inactive ingredients, which are the ingredients that bind to the active ingredient and are like carriers (from what I understand.)

I just learned my mosquito allergy has intensified to the point where I get minimum quarter (sometimes up to 2 square inches) welts where a mosquito bites me. The doctor has me on a long term allergy medicine, a short term antihistamine and Pepcid (surprising but it works). I went to sams club to try to get my zyrtec for cheaper and they had the generic brand too. Zyrtec= 35 cents a pill. Generic=3 cents a pill.

Comparing the ingredients the main ingredient is the same but none of the inactive ingredients are the same, which means the way it is carried into the body and dispersed is different. I'm trying the generic, but I am under no delusion that it will for sure work the same as the brand name.

 

[jason41987]

do they actually work though? i mean, have you been able to test it in a controlled environment? such as spraying it directly on fleas and observing their behavior? or narrow down the specific chemical they cant stand?... does it just make them leave, or does it kill them too?.. im kind of in the mood for genocide with these things

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

do they actually work though? i mean, have you been able to test it in a controlled environment? such as spraying it directly on fleas and observing their behavior? or narrow down the specific chemical they cant stand?... does it just make them leave, or does it kill them too?.. im kind of in the mood for genocide with these things

To whom are you speaking??? If you are referring to me. No, I do not know exactly which chemical in the Zodiac spray actually does the damage. However, I have sprayed the little pests directly and watched them basically seize out. As for the holistic approach, the essential oils are said to irritate the senses of the insects and the garlic and vinegar cause the blood to "spoil" making the animal an inhospitable host. So they are deemed repellents.

 

[JohnnyBandit]

Diamatacious earth is a proven flea killer for furniture, carpets etc.... But you need to use food grade and it is dusty.....

 

[juliemule]

I wasted over $350 on name brand from the vet clinic, frontline, and advantage multi. Comfortis works well. I have sprayed the house, yard, cleaned, flea baths after the other wasn't working. Finally getting control now that the pups can have comfortis.

 

[JohnnyBandit]

In the old days we used to put tobacco dust in the dog's bedding areas. Worked well. You could buy a sack for a few bucks at any feed store.....

We used to get it from the cigar factories. You could get a 50 pound bag for like 5 bucks.

 

[jason41987]

hmm, well, no advantix here, i got some frontline plus for a month to get rid of them initially, and ill start baking dog treats with a proper dosage per treat after ive figured out what that dosage should be, theyll just be peanut butter cookies with garlic in it, since they dont like beef flavored treats, but love peanut butter

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

Here is a link that may help you to determine the correct dosage.

http://www.petremedycharts.com/Learning%20Center/Introduction%20to%20Herbs/LH%20Garlic/Garlic_for_pets.html