# Which flea and tick preventative is best?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-flea-and-tick-preventative-is-best/353433>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 20, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-flea-and-tick-preventative-is-best/353433 "2006-04-20T05:46:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-flea-and-tick-preventative-is-best/353433/21 "2006-04-21T15:44:01Z")

</div>

**adam** ,The problem is that Sentinel only reduces the number of fleas. New fleas introduced from outside are not killed. They ingest Lufenuron when they feed on the dog’s blood, and their eggs are subsequently sterile. Over time the population dynamics come into play. However, most people do not want fleas. Period.

Your question depends entirely on location. Where I am located, heartworm is a very minor problem. Close to 90% of the population I see is not on a heartworm product, yet the only cases I’ve seen have been in pets that have been taken to other areas. The eastern part of Pennsylvania is pretty bad for heartworm, yet Western PA is not.

The same is true with ticks and tick-borne disease. In my area most people have never seen a tick. Erlichiosis and RMSF are very rare here. There have been changes the past few years and that is changing, however. It also matters what pets you have. IME Advantix is not a good product to apply to your dog if there is a cat ion the same household.

Generally, a heartworm product (Ivermectin or Milbemycin) along with a flea/tick product is great.

As an aside, many heartworm products are formulated so that the tablet cannot be divided and still give accurate dosage. If you take the product for a 100 pound dog and quarter the tab to treat four 5 pound dogs, there is not an equal amount of drug in each quarter.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-flea-and-tick-preventative-is-best/353433/22 "2006-04-21T15:47:48Z")

</div>

jeesh. That should read four **2** 5 pound dogs. 4x25=100. 😉

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-flea-and-tick-preventative-is-best/353433/23 "2006-04-21T16:05:29Z")

</div>

> [@vetbridge](#):
>
> **PapSett, Lissa, StGermain,** …
> 
> Note that I specifically said “Advantage”, NOT Frontline, Advantix, etc. Other than wasting $$, there is no problem with applying a full tube of Great Dane **Advantage** to a cat. In fact, the proprietary carrier compound is more toxic than the imidacloprid. All one needs to do is look at what volume you desire to apply and measure it (with an insulin or TB syringe). Both canine and feline Advantage are 9.1% imidacloprid.

Oops. :o (And that is showing embarrassment, not a blow job.)

Sorry Vetbridge, I missed that. I just always use Frontline on my crew, so I jumped to conclusions. My bad.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-flea-and-tick-preventative-is-best/353433/24 "2006-04-21T18:16:17Z")

</div>

Thanks for the input **vetbridge**. I’ll converse with my vet about this next time I’m there.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-flea-and-tick-preventative-is-best/353433.md?page=1)