Are fleas becoming resistant? Frontline doesn’t seem to work as well as it did a few years ago.
Hey, funny. I was just talking to my dogs groomer about this. Anecdotally, she said other folks are wondering the same thing. Try the PetArmour at Wal-Mart and see. Oh, heck it may be the same active ingredients though.
Anyone know?
We’ve been seeing this too. We’ve been mixing it up with flea control to help minimize this
Absolutely, and it’s highly localized & varies by region. Bunch of people in one area all use X and eventually fleas develop resistance & folks in that specific area will see better results using Y instead.
We used Advantage for years … then 2 summers ago we got a big flea issue and the local vet in our new neighborhood said not to even bother, and strongly recommended Frontline instead.
No luck with Advantage either in Central Arkansas.
I use Bayer’s Advantage, but I need to apply every three weeks where I used to get away with monthly application.
We’re currently using Bayer Seresto which uses a collar delivery system (not a traditional flea collar per se). The cats and dog wear it for three to eight months for continuous delivery. So far it’s been very good. It handled an emerging flea problem with one of cats effectively.
I thought the way these things worked was by interfering with the nervous systems of the insects. Is it even possible to become resistant to such things?
Our vet says that fleas definitely develop a resistance to the chemicals. When Advantage & Frontline stopped working, we moved on to Trifexis.
I’ve looked into the Seresto collar. The flea control chemical is imidacloprid, which is the active ingredient in Advantage, so it is really just a different delivery system. Because our dogs swim so often in the summer, I felt like I’d be constantly removing the collar.
I have heard great things about it, though, and may still switch.
Yeah- if you bathe your dogs or they swim al lot it does reduce effectiveness. The benefit for us is application- we were having trouble getting enough of the dose onto the dog, so it was at subclinical levels. The continuous dosing overcame that issue. For our cats, it replaced frontline, which stopped working.
There are rare, but serious side effects for this specific product, so if you do use it, keep close eye on the puppers.
I believe it is the same poison used in roach traps. Insects that bite the treated animal die.
People have Bayer and Trifexis working?
Coastal areas in Southern Cal have seen both Advantage and Frontline no longer"work", even at shorter intervals.
My vet has discussed this with myself and other vets as well. We have between 4 and 6 dogs, and had 10 when the problems were severe, and we have gone with Comfortis, which stopped the problem, within one week, and now rarely use flea meds, unless dogs go out in public. Or when a single flea turns up. Cats 4-6 are on Revolution. They also were having major problems, until we shifted.
The misery that flea allegic dermatitis cause is so bad, and the attendant vet bills for skin sores etc I would have drenched the pets in DDT if I could have.:eek:
This was almost 10 years ago that we noticed the fleas becoming resistant. I used to vacuum the outside cracks and crevices, spray pesticides around, and give a zillion dog baths a week…so, much better now.
Once the cycle breaks, of fleas laying eggs, its much easier to control them.
I switched over to Sentinel Plus, which is a once a month internal–just give 'em a treat once a month and no fleas. I’m in a state where heartworm is making a big influx so I take it seriously, having lived in an area where heartworm was at epidemic proportions. The dogs get it year round and the indoor only cats get topical treatments in the spring and summer, just in case the dogs drag in some fleas that aren’t dead yet. Haven’t seen a single flea in years.
Trifexis works here (CA and Pacific Northwest). Some dogs don’t tolerate it well, so you need to watch that.
Revolution still works.
I’m just starting something called Nexgard (made by the Heart Gard people). I’ll report back on how it does. So far, no issues.
I use Bayer meds for things like de-worming, but I can’t report on their flea meds. Sorry. 
My vet switched to K9 Advantix (a topical) at some point in my last dog’s life and then I think started my 2 new dogs on Advantix when I got them in 2014, but we’ve since switched to NexGard. NexGard is made by the same people as Frontline, but it’s a different drug and it’s oral (it’s awesome! No more goop!) It affects the bugs’ central nervous system the same as Frontline.
My dogs aren’t really spending too much time in the woods, but we do get out there sometimes. And we have LOTS of animals come through our yard. And we do daycare, boarding and dog parks. So I assume they’re exposed to nasties. So far we’ve never had a problem with fleas, ticks or heartworm on NexGard and HeartGard.
I also get them a lyme disease vaccination for what it’s worth.
I was having problems with the fleas this summer as fipronil (the active ingredient in Frontline) was not working the way it seemed to previously. Actually, it seemed to not be working at all. The vet suggested Bravecto (fluralaner) for the dogs. It’s a tablet and good for 12-weeks. Worked great with the majority of fleas gone in about 24-hours and it did work for 3 months.
I cannot find the thread I began some time ago, declaring that Frontline wasn’t working.
I do want to say that the second application is working well on the cats and one dog. One dog has a flea allergy, and is doing much better, hair growing back, but still scratches a lot.
Them fleas is carnivorous.
We use Trifexis. Talk to your vet.