Flea Control

Topical flea-control treatments

Like practically all other veterinarians we found online, vet Bob Judd recommends topical anti-flea medications as a first line of defense, which are smeared once per month on a pet's back (on its neck or between its shoulder blades) and remain effective even after bathing and exposure to rain. There are three main topical flea control brands -- Advantage, Revolution and Frontline -- all of which are available in formulations for cats and dogs. These medications are meant to be used for short-term flea control; if your pet is susceptible to fleas and you'd like to keep him pest-free for his natural life span, experts say you should look into internal flea medications (see below).

For dogs, Advantage Once-a-Month Topical Flea Treatment for Dogs & Puppies (*est. $50 for four-month supply) is recommended by veterinarians, pet experts and pet owners more than any other anti-flea remedy. Advantage kills all fleas on a dog within 12 hours, and prevents re-infestation for a period of four weeks per application. According to a helpful chart on the Doctors Foster and Smith website, Advantage can be used in conjunction with internal medications like Program or Sentinel (described below).

Although Advantage for Cats receives many recommendations, we were swayed by the preference of some professionals for Revolution for Cats (*est. $40 for a three-month supply, depending on the cat's weight). Like Advantage, Revolution is applied once a month to the nape of the cat's neck -- but unlike Advantage, this topical flea-control medication will also control ear mites, heartworm, hookworm and roundworm. A veterinary assistant posting on Helium.com makes a convincing case that Revolution is "the best bet for economical parasite control" in cats, but is more expensive when used in its formulation for large dogs.

One popular topical flea-control medication that we chose not to include in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers is Frontline TopSpot (*est. $50 for a three-month supply, depending on the pet's weight) . In this assessment, we were swayed by the opinion of PlacervilleVet.com, which concedes that Frontline is slightly more effective than Advantage, but also more expensive. More worryingly, the author of this article says that "we are starting to see resistance" to Frontline's active ingredient, and recommends a beefed-up (and more expensive) formulation called Frontline Plus (*est. $55 for a three-month supply) . Unlike the case with Advantage and Revolution, veterinarians warn against bathing pets (or allowing them out in the rain) for a few days after applying Frontline, because this topical is spread by natural oils in a pet's skin.

You should be aware that one source ranking high up in our review chart -- Main Street Pet Care Animal Hospital -- is fairly negative about topical flea control in general, compared to internal medications like Program, Sentinel and Capstar. Editors say that topical treatments are a stop-gap, short term solution that shouldn't be your only approach toward permanent flea control.

In this light, it's interesting to see the reaction to a new version of Advantage, Advantage Multi, which is designed to control fleas and heartworm in both dogs and cats. In the summer of 2007, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to Bayer (the maker of Advantage), taking it to task for not mentioning Advantage Multi's possible serious side effects in its TV commercials. Needless to say, Main Street Pet Care is even more disparaging about this topical, saying that they expect problems. We did not yet find evidence either way on this new product other than the FDA warning about side effects.

Internal anti-flea medications

While only a small minority of veterinarians and pet experts believe topical anti-flea medications can have potentially deleterious effects on pets, there is a good alternative for the wary pet owner: internal medications, which are administered in pill or suspension form. These medications cause the animal's skin to secrete a substance that inhibits the development of flea eggs, thus interrupting this pest's life cycle. The advantage is that the pet isn't constantly exposed to topical insecticide; the disadvantage is that these medications take a few weeks to work, and flea infestations will persist until they do (and the pet may even pick up fleas between the time the pill is administered and it starts to work). Also, to the surprise of many owners (especially if they haven't been adequately briefed by their vets), anti-flea pills or suspensions have no effect on adult fleas.

On the whole, veterinarians recommend internal medications for pets that are chronically susceptible to flea infestations or that are constantly exposed to flea-infested environments. While there's no evidence that a six-month stint on Advantage or Revolution will adversely affect a pet's health, few owners would be willing to smear these topical medications on their dogs and cats for the extent of their natural life spans. We found no qualms from pet experts about keeping pets on internal anti-flea medications for years at a time, though of course no one can be absolutely sure about long-term side effects.

As with topical medications, we found that the majority of veterinarians and pet experts recommend different internal medications for dogs and cats. For cats, there are many positive reviews of Program Once-a-Month Oral Suspension (*est. $45 for six-pack) . (Program is also available in pill form, which is slightly less expensive, but harder to administer to felines.) One advantage of Program is that it's not technically a prescription product, though it's still sold primarily through veterinarians -- and it's always a good idea to get the opinion of a vet where fleas are concerned. You can also ask your vet to administer Program to your cat in a single injection good for six months.

Although Program is also available for dogs, many of the sources we found recommend Sentinel Flavor Tabs (*est. $60 to $85 for six-pack, depending on the dog's weight). Sentinel contains the same active flea-control ingredient as Program, combined with a chemical that controls heartworm, hookworm, roundworm and whipworm. Like Program, Sentinel can be used safely in conjunction with most other anti-flea measures, including collars, shampoos, dips and even some topical treatments (for killing adult fleas).

We found one other pill-based flea medication that's recommended by some veterinarians. Capstar (*est. $25 for six tablets) is a pill that starts killing fleas on your pet within half an hour, and continues to work for 24 hours. However, unlike the topical and internal medications discussed above, Capstar is not a long-term flea control solution, since it doesn't interrupt the flea life cycle (by killing eggs) or prevent re-infestation after its effects have worn off. Still, many experts and owners say Capstar is a good, short-term solution to an acute flea crisis. Like Program, Capstar is not a prescription product, so you don't need a vet's prescription to try it.

Flea-control shampoos

As stated above, the only anti-flea product (besides topical and internal medications) that still has some currency among pet experts and owners is flea shampoo. While flea collars, flea dips and anti-flea sprays have become increasingly taboo, the same isn't the case for flea shampoos, which many experts seem to regard as a harmless (and occasionally even effective) way to control fleas in pets.

There are two catches here, though. First, the fact is that pretty much any shampoo, when kept lathered on a pet's fur for ten minutes, will kill any adult fleas (that is, if they haven't drowned first). Second, a flea shampoo will do nothing to kill flea eggs, or prevent re-infestation the very next day.

Still, there are a fair number of flea shampoos out there (which usually also promise to kill ticks). One brand that pops up repeatedly on review sites is Adams Flea & Tick Shampoo (*est. $12 for 12 ounces) . Owners say this shampoo not only kills fleas, ticks and lice, but leaves the pet's coat shiny and odor-free. We were especially impressed by a lengthy, thorough review of this product on Epinions. Even its adherents don't claim that Adams is a long-term solution, but as far as we can tell, there's no harm using it in conjunction with the flea-control medications described above.

Important Features: Flea control

Reviewers say the following about shopping for flea-control products:

• Act quickly when you spot fleas. Fleas have a tendency to multiply, and if they've made a home in your pet's fur they'll soon spread to your carpets and furniture (or to you). Also, flea infestations are a torment to cats and dogs. Don't ignore the problem and hope that it will go away; it won't.

• Don't take half-measures. As stated above, the only truly effective way to control fleas is with a topical or internal medication. Washing your pet with flea shampoo will kill adult fleas, but won't prevent it from picking up more fleas the next day (nor will it prevent the flea eggs on its skin from hatching later). Veterinarians and pet experts say flea collars, dips and sprays are largely ineffective.

• Consult your vet. Many of the most effective topical and internal anti-flea medications are available by prescription only, and even the ones that don't require a prescription are usually sold at veterinary clinics. Also, your vet can warn you about any possible side effects or interactions with other medications your pet is taking.

• Shop for the best price. It may not be necessary to buy anti-flea medication directly from your vet; with a prescription, you can order them from an online pet pharmacy. You may be able to save some money, which is not a small consideration for a flea ointment that costs $10 per dose.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of picks	Model(With Retailer Links)	Details from Amazon.com
6	Advantage (*est. $50 for a four-month supply)	details
3	Frontline (*est. $50 for a three-month supply)	details
3	Revolution (*est. $40 for a three-month supply)	-
3	Preventic Flea & Tick Collar (Not available)	-
3	Adams Flea & Tick Shampoo (*est. $12 for 12 ounces)	details
2	Sentinel Flavor Tabs (*est. $60 to $85 for six-pack, depending on dog's weight)	-
1 each	Capstar , Hartz 2-in-1 Flea & Tick Collar , Program , Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo , EctoKyl , Flea & Tick , Only Natural

Most recommendations for flea-control medications such as Advantage, Frontline, Revolution, Sentinel and Program come from veterinary websites. Advantage is also cited frequently by pet owners and non-vet experts. Although the Preventic Flea & Tick collar earns some recommendations, we haven't included it in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers because it is no longer available. Other flea collars aren't recommended.

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