EPA Report~ Spot On Flea & Tick Treatment Harmful?

[waterfaller1]

03/17/2010: EPA to Increase Restrictions on Flea and Tick Products

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/01/fleatick02.html
This was in the news today. Concerns about using flea and tick spot on products causing all kinds of problems, even death.I just recently switched to Comfortis, an internal treatment.

 

[GG.]

about time they stepped up

I use a combination of a spray and oral treatment

 

[birdlvr466]

I would never use a topical treatment. That is putting poison right on your pets skin. Luckily my dogs dont really seem to attract fleas. I feed a premium dog food, and also add brewers yeast and garlic to their food. I would go holistic and exhaust all those options before resorting to chemicals.

 

[GG.]

I understand what you are saying, the problem here is that we have fleas year round, there is no break from them - I didn't see any for the 2 weeks the lows were in the 20's but as soon as it was above freezing, I was finding a flea here and there

in this climate it is a neverending battle

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Wow how scary!

 

[birdlvr466]

Yes I can understand that GG in the warmer climates. We do get a reprieve up here for a few months.

 

[GG.]

I feel like a monkey sometimes - picking the fleas off - I hate having to spray them

I also put a capful of PineSol in their bath water - it is not enough to harm them (large amounts can cause seizures) but it penetrates the exoskeleton and kills the fleas and their eggs

 

[magni]

I feel like a monkey sometimes - picking the fleas off - I hate having to spray them

I also put a capful of PineSol in their bath water - it is not enough to harm them (large amounts can cause seizures) but it penetrates the exoskeleton and kills the fleas and their eggs

You can use avon skin soft spray, it works good. What I do is take my dogs swimming a lot, fleas drown in water. Or you can set a kid pool, which I do also or hose them down a lot.

 

[GG.]

I will try the skin so soft

they can swim, at least a short distance - if I don't put a little pine sol in the toilet, they will climb out

thanks for the tips!!

 

[birdlvr466]

There are a lot of good holistic products on the market now. Must be in the south you guys really get hammered with fleas.

 

[magni]

There are a lot of good holistic products on the market now. Must be in the south you guys really get hammered with fleas.

Yes Pat your right there is a lot of holistic products you can use. I have a few friends who go to an holistic vet. I will ask them what works the best

 

[saroj12]

I use Advantage Multi heartworm topical liquid for my cats. One cat hates it. Previously I used REvolution and it used to create a big sore at the application location. So after two doses I switched. They spit out pills...

 

[Lovebird]

After he had a bad reaction, I switched my pup to a product called sentinel last month which is administered in a pill rather than rubbed on the back of the neck. Now that I've read this article I'm worried about the treatment we've used on the cats. I haven't seen a reaction with them, but it sounds scary. I live in the same region as gg and we experience year round "bug" conditions of one sort or another. (Except during the freezing weather this year.)

 

[waterfaller1]

Yes, fleas are a huge problem here. And we have people who use nothing, let their pets suffer, and the fleas hop from yard to yard. I have to have my yard sprayed as well, which I do not like. In VA. my biggest problem was ticks{I lived up near the Blue Ridge pky}..here it is fleas,roaches, and spiders. The latter I can live with, as long as they are not the venomous type.

 

[Lovebird]

I use Advantage Multi heartworm topical liquid for my cats. One cat hates it. Previously I used REvolution and it used to create a big sore at the application location. So after two doses I switched. They spit out pills...

saroj, we just switched our cats from Advantage TO Revolution because the vet said it would be a bit milder. Wow, it's hard to know what to believe...

 

[waterfaller1]

They spit out pills...

Then you aren't doing it right.
Hold the cat's mouth open with one hand, and with the other push the pill down very far. My friend uses some kind of new pocket treat for her dogs to hide pills. Cheese or other favorite treats{a favorite meat or soft kitty treat?} work good too.

 

[GG.]

Yes Pat your right there is a lot of holistic products you can use. I have a few friends who go to an holistic vet. I will ask them what works the best

I would appreciate it if you did and let us know

I would rather use a natural treatment than chemicals

 

[saroj12]

Then you aren't doing it right.
Hold the cat's mouth open with one hand, and with the other push the pill down very far. My friend uses some kind of new pocket treat for her dogs to hide pills. Cheese or other favorite treats{a favorite meat or soft kitty treat?} work good too.

these were big horse pills
But maybe now they are made smaller...I'll check.

 

[waterfaller1]

How about cutting them?

Some good info on natural remedies~ WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTOS in first link
Pet allergies and hotspots - natural flea prevention and treatments

The Best Home Remedies to Kill Fleas in Your Cat or Dog.

Food grade diatomaceous earth for flea and tick treatment.

more ideas
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/980716c.cfm

 

[birdlvr466]

Yes Pat your right there is a lot of holistic products you can use. I have a few friends who go to an holistic vet. I will ask them what works the best

That would be great Denise

I use Advantage Multi heartworm topical liquid for my cats. One cat hates it. Previously I used REvolution and it used to create a big sore at the application location. So after two doses I switched. They spit out pills...

Well what does that tell you. Not enough regulation on pet products. My friend had a cat that had a bad reaction to a flea collar..I said THEN TAKE IT OFF! I mean if our pets are showing outward reactions to products we need to react. We have heartworm in our area so our dogs use Interceptor. We were told by our breeder that Aussies can have a reaction to ivermectin which is in Heartgard so we have it right in their charts that they are not to ever receive ivermectin