question about flea treatments

[Katie T]

I have heard that tea tree oil works to keep fleas off of your pet. Is this true and how much and how often do you apply it? I would love to not spend the money on the chemicals from the vet but not at the expense of getting fleas in the house.

We have a Bishon Shitzu mix. Thanks so much.

Also if you know of anything else that works if this doesn't feel free to share.

[SquishyKitty]

I would not use tea tree oil, as it can be toxic to dogs and cats. There is no known "safe" level, just a lot of anecdotal information heard second-hand.

Frontline works really well for fleas, but not very well for ticks.

[SquishyKitty]

Also, if you're looking to save money, I'd look at just trying a simple flea collar from the drugstore first. We use the Hartz ones on our cats and it keeps even the ticks off of them, but for some reason they just don't work well on our big dogs. So, that might be reasonable for your smaller dog.

I have also heard that, to keep fleas from spreading through the house, to put a flea collar in your vacuum bag or canister to kill the eggs when you vacuum up. We don't have a flea problem (at least not in this area, just ticks) but if we did I'd definitely look into that.

[Katie T]

Originally Posted by SquishyKitty

I would not use tea tree oil, as it can be toxic to dogs and cats. There is no known "safe" level, just a lot of anecdotal information heard second-hand.

Frontline works really well for fleas, but not very well for ticks.

Yikes, I didn't know that, but good to know! I am scared to do flea collars with the little ones around. Anyone know of anything else?

[Pogonia]

I heard a vet one time say that when dogs or cats wear flea collars, their livers slowly turn to mush. Anyway, I never used flea collars when my kids were little because they were always petting the animals.

Although I HATE chemicals, I do resort to Advantage for my cats every spring and summer. There seemed to less negative reactions to it than Frontline.

My two-cents worth.

[Katie T]

Seems like Advantage is my only option. It is so pricey and for a couple days after putting it on I worry about the kids touching the area it was applied. Thanks guys!

[Arduinna]

Fleas love me so I do everything I can to make sure they do not end up in my house, one of our dogs got some in the yard when we moved to our new place and we used Advantage to stop them immediately and it stopped any further bites, we are using Sentinal for the flea birth control LOL and heartworm effects.

[~Adorkable~]

Hartz as a brand has had a VERY VERY bad safety record. There products have killed many animals, please google "hartz killed my cat" and read for yourself.

Frontline, Advantage and my favorite Revolution do not seem to have the same issues. The reason I choose Revolution is that it also covers heart worm and I was once living in a state that those were a huge concern.

[Katie T]

Originally Posted by •Adorkable•

Hartz as a brand has had a VERY VERY bad safety record. There products have killed many animals, please google "hartz killed my cat" and read for yourself.

Frontline, Advantage and my favorite Revolution do not seem to have the same issues. The reason I choose Revolution is that it also covers heart worm and I was once living in a state that those were a huge concern.

I will not use Hartz, it killed my friends dog. I usually buy the separate heart worm pill and give it every months when I put the flea treatment on. Is it cheaper to get them together? I don't remember the name of the stuff I usually get but it is either Frontline or Advantage. It is so pricey though. I get it from out vet maybe if I look online I can find it cheaper...any great advise there?

[JessicaS]

I did try tea tree in my dog's shampoo at first. Tea tree needs to be diluted for dogs and it is ok but it is VERY toxic to cats.

I didn't find tea tree to be at all effective.


I eventually gave him frontline.