The tricky thing about these is it's a little bit of a crap shoot. Hartz and Adams' spotons are definitely bad - they're basically the same poisons as in the Adams' spray- but they stay on the body longer. At the same time, the Adams spray itself is pretty darn safe - it doesn't last long, but it kills lots of fleas and is pretty safe for even tiny pets. (It's what I use on puppy fosters who have fleas, usually). My puppy and adoption contracts specifically require people NOT ot use spot-on products other than Frontline, Advantage, and Revolution. I've used Biospot safely in the past and never had a problem with it, but I've also not found it terribly effective. It's just a poison, unlike Frontline, which contains an IGR.
Wings' seizures started 24 hours after a frontline plus application. But she'd had frontline a few times before and tehre were other factors as well so the timing may well have just been coincidence. I use Revolution now, which is a flea/tick/heartworm product, and I've been happy with it.
DE and Neem are great, but in my experience it takes a lot more care ot make sure you don't bring fleas home with you, and that DE and Neem are not terribly effective at eradicating an actual infestation. (A single flea or two that you picked up at the dog park? Probably not a big deal. A rescue dog seriously infested from the shelter and dosed with Capstar but nothing else? DE and Neem won't do the job.) I think I'd have more faith in them for someone whose dogs did not travel regularly (we've gotten fleas from a motel room, UGH.), whose dogs are not frequently in contact with strange dogs (we've picked them up at a dog show, too, also UGH), and who doesn't do rescue (or at least, doesn't bring home fosters straight from the shelter but gets their fosters from another person who has dosed them twice with capstar 7 days apart or so.)
Natural stuff is great when it works. The thing is, if many of the natural solutions were so effective, we wouldn't have so many commercial things developed that do the same thing.
Wings' seizures started 24 hours after a frontline plus application. But she'd had frontline a few times before and tehre were other factors as well so the timing may well have just been coincidence. I use Revolution now, which is a flea/tick/heartworm product, and I've been happy with it.
DE and Neem are great, but in my experience it takes a lot more care ot make sure you don't bring fleas home with you, and that DE and Neem are not terribly effective at eradicating an actual infestation. (A single flea or two that you picked up at the dog park? Probably not a big deal. A rescue dog seriously infested from the shelter and dosed with Capstar but nothing else? DE and Neem won't do the job.) I think I'd have more faith in them for someone whose dogs did not travel regularly (we've gotten fleas from a motel room, UGH.), whose dogs are not frequently in contact with strange dogs (we've picked them up at a dog show, too, also UGH), and who doesn't do rescue (or at least, doesn't bring home fosters straight from the shelter but gets their fosters from another person who has dosed them twice with capstar 7 days apart or so.)
Natural stuff is great when it works. The thing is, if many of the natural solutions were so effective, we wouldn't have so many commercial things developed that do the same thing.
are those who are serious and dedicated owners who are most likely careful about fleas/ticks. We do plan to do a lot of camping this summer, but there aren't that many dogs and the sites at the campground I frequent are pretty far apart. As far as rescue is concerned, I do plan to adopt a Rottie from a rescue, but this would be a dog that has already been in foster care and likely will be de-infested. 
