Originally Posted by
Catlady711
I have worked as a vet assistant for over 6 years, so I have narrowed my flea tirade down to my standard 'flea speech'.
Start of 'flea speech'
By the time a person notices fleas jumping on them in their houses or biting the family you already have a very, very bad flea problem. To prevent that keep a careful eye on your pet looking for fleas. Fleas can either be identified by actually seeing the adult flea, or by seeing little black specks the size of a pin head close to the skin (those are flea droppings, yuck). A cheap flea comb from any pet store will help with this especially if your pet has dark or long hair. On cats fleas are more typically found around the head/neck area. On dogs they are usually found along the spine near the tail, or on the belly.
A single female flea lays about 2,000 eggs in her lifetime! Out of the flea population ONLY 5% is visable as adult fleas. So for every five fleas you see, there are 95% more microscopic immature flea larva/eggs that you can't see. Immature fleas can live inside carpets, pet bedding, etc for up to 2 YEARS before hatching. Fleas can even manage to reproduce in homes with only hardwood flooring in cracks and crevices.
Frontline PLUS is a liquid you put on the back of your cats neck on the skin. It soaks in and attatches to the oils in your cat and circulates over the whole body. Within 24 hours it goes to work. It is important not to bathe your pet for 2 days before and 2 days after using Frontline PLUS, as bathing washes the oil out of their skin and make it hard for the product to circulate properly. However after that 2 day period if you want to bathe your pet, go ahead, it's in your pets skin and is waterproof.
Frontline PLUS works at fleas 2 ways...
1. Fleas are killed upon contact with a pet with Frontline PLUS. Fleas do NOT have to bite the pet for it to kill the flea. It kills the flea before it's had a blood meal (which is required for reproduction).
2. It also contains a 'growth regulator' that as your pet sheds hair/dandruf, it carries the PLUS part of the ingredients down into your carpets, pet bedding etc. This messes up the life cycle of the larva so they never hatch into adult fleas. This part of the process takes patience, however it is the most important part.
Regular and long term use (1-2 years without missing a month), will eliminate the need for messy/expensive flea bombs, sprays, powders, dips, collars etc. It is important not to stop using Fronline PLUS once the flea problem seems to be slowing down or gone, those flea larva may still be lurking in your house for up to a year yet!
Frontline PLUS is somewhat expensive, until you realize how much money has been spent on all the other things that don't work, not to mention the dangerous chemicals, it is def. more cost saving to use Frontline PLUS. The main ingredient of Frontline PLUS (fipronil) has been used in fruit orchards in the US since the 1980's and ONLY affects the system of an insect, not mammals, so it's a safe product.
Many OTC flea products contain more risky ingredients like pyretherins/phenothrins which are not only unsafe, (EPA about Hartz flea and tick drops) but also don't work well. Most OTC flea products only kill the existing adult fleas on your pet at that moment. So you can bathe away in a chemical laden bath and the moment you set your pet back on the floor...whamo, you've got fleas again. Also since the pyretherins have been used for so many years many fleas have become immune to the effects of them resulting in poor perfomance of the product.
End of standard 'flea speech'. LOL
As my standard disclaimer goes.....
I do not work for Merial (maker of Frontline) I do not recieve any compensation for recommending this product, and I only personally recommend products I trust to be safe and are effective.
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