Dog Problem

We have had a very wet summer here. Amazingly, no real mosquito problems, but fleas are driving the dogs (and their Mamas) slightly nuts. Any suggestions? I know we have a bunch of dog people here, have to be some ideas

?

We would prefer to do something with the yard. Napalm? Dogs are getting Capstar, but we want something on the ground.

I had a problem one year that was solved with general insect killer granules spread around the yard. Go to your local big box home store and look for one that lists fleas on the back.

sobe_death wrote: I had a problem one year that was solved with general insect killer granules spread around the yard. Go to your local big box home store and look for one that lists fleas on the back.

This.

We use the Bayer brand of Insecticide formula that you attach to the garden hose. spray the yard down twice a summer (tree foliage too). Its not toxic to pets or kids after it dries (about 6 hours IIRC). A combo of that and a frontline generic has kept our Husky flea and tick free for 5 years in a relatively rural area with woods behind our fence, so I think its pretty effective. Kinda spendy, about $15 a bottle, but it works pretty well, so its worth it - besides fleas and ticks, it also takes care of mosquitos and grubs (we have had baaad mole problems before, this helps a a lot!). Keeps the backyard a pretty nice place to hang out.

Frontline or the other one, put on at 2 to 3 week intervals (not monthly) until the fleas are gone. Ivermectin once a month (oral). Granules for the yard.

Or, nuke from orbit.

Ask your vet, I remember mine saying something along the lines of the oral flea/tick stuff working better on one or the other than the frontline. I just cant recall which was which.

frontline for some reason has become ineffective in recent years, we've gone to confortis, with good results so far. we did have a bit better result from the advantix stuff, but the confortis is definitely the winner.

The only flea treatment that works for my hounds is Comfortis

It is made of magic or something and since it is internal it can't be washed off or rubbed off by rolling around a wet lawn as my bassets are apt to do.

Comfortis does indeed work quite well.

I had a flea infestation near my garage this summer, and nothing I did really seemed to put a dent in them. Diatomaceous Earth didn't do anything and was gone as soon as it rained. A flea killing spray worked on the adults but does nothing to eggs, which are dormant for some time, and so needs to be repeated daily for like 3 weeks.

A spray that contains Methoprene or similar Insect Growth Regulator is pretty much all that works long-term by killing larvae.

Fleas have a short life cycle and need to feed within 24 hours of hatching. If your dogs are treated, then they have to be able to feed elsewhere to reproduce. You may have a rodent problem.

Capstar with comfortis will give imediate results, especially if you let the dogs hang out where your infestation is the worst. Comfortis seems to really really work. As in we treat ours (8 rescues) every 3 months or so, That's about the limit as far as we start seeing them again. This summer was just bad.

Frontline doesn't seem to work anymore, damn mutant fleas is my gues. That and we have one dog that just can't have it on him, like we put it on him one afternoon and the next morning that area between his shoulder blades was raw.

or there is trifexis which is comfortis plus a heart worm thing, it murders fleas, can kill ticks and does the heartworm all at once, and I've heard talstar is professional grade bug killer.