It’s that time of year again! The birds and flowers are waking up, which means fleas and ticks are too! Today we are looking at flea and tick remedies for pets – how they work, and helping pet owners make the decision of which treatment is right for their pet.
Natural and Chemical pest remedies:
Cedarcide and our other natural flea and tick remedies use Cedarwood oil and any combination of soybean oil, lavender oil, or peppermint oil. For homes who do not wish to use chemical options, this is their best bet, and is always our first recommendation over chemical flea treatments.
- Cedarwood oil works in a number of ways to kill fleas and ticks, primarily by eroding their exoskeleton and rapidly dehydrating their bodies. Cedarwood oil also suffocates insects and breaks down their eggs the same way it does their exoskeletons. Almost all of our natural ingredients is based with cedarwood oil and may have other pest preventions added.
- Peppermint oil – in the concentration that makes it safe for pets is not strong enough to kill adult fleas, but will kill their larvae. While peppermint oil won’t kill adult fleas, it is still very unpleasant for them and they recognize the environment as inhospitable when peppermint oil is present.
- Much like Peppermint oil, Lavender oil only kills flea larvae, but is repulsive to adult fleas and will repel adult fleas while also disrupting their life cycle.
How often do I reapply? In warm seasons, I would recommend applying 2 or 3 times a week, as well as prior to starting an outdoor outing like a hike. In cooler seasons, once a week is appropriate.
Who is Cedarcide or natural products’ customer? Customers who are concerned about chemical flea and tick treatment harming their pets should turn to cedarcide. Customers who have spotted one or two fleas on their pet, or are trying to prevent an infestation but do not have an active problem.
Pet Lock Max for Dogs uses a combination of chemicals to kill fleas, ticks, and mosquitos for up to four weeks. It has the exact same ingredients as Advantix II, without the expense of purchasing this name brand! Pet Lock is a dermal treatment that comes in the form of liquid drops that should be applied at the base of your pet’s skull.
- Imidacloprid 8.80% – a neurotoxin that shuts down the central nervous system of insects, causing subsequent paralysis and death.
- Permethrin 44.0% – Also attacks the nervous system of pests – specifically an ingredient to kill ticks.
- Pyriproxyfen 0.44% – mimics natural growth hormones in insects to prevent maturation of young insects into adulthood, thus prohibiting reproduction.
How often do I reapply? Once a month, and no more frequently than this.
Who is Pet Lock Max’s customer? Individuals who come looking for Advantix, obviously! In addition, folks who cannot remember to reapply natural remedies as frequently as they need to, or feel they have an infestation that is more severe than a natural remedy can handle.
Pet Lock II for Cats – uses the same active ingredients as Advantage II for cats! You will notice it has two out of three of the same ingredients as Pet Lock Max for dogs, but it lacks Permethrin – this is because Permethrin is toxic for kitties! Pet Lock kills fleas at all varying stages of their life cycle. Pet Lock is a dermal treatment that comes in the form of liquid drops that should be applied at the base of your pet’s skull.
- Imidacloprid 9.10% – a neurotoxin that shuts down the central nervous system of insects, causing subsequent paralysis and death.
- Pyriproxyfen 0.46% – mimics natural growth hormones in insects to prevent maturation of young insects into adulthood, thus prohibiting reproduction.
How often do I reapply? Once a month, and no more frequently than this.
Who is Pet Lock’s customer? Individuals who come looking for Advantage, obviously! In addition, folks who cannot remember to reapply natural remedies as frequently as they need to, or feel they have an infestation that is more severe than a natural remedy can handle.
Pet Armor Plus uses a combination of chemicals to kill fleas, ticks, and mosquitos for up to four weeks. It has the exact same ingredients as Frontline Plus, without the expense of purchasing this name brand! Pet Armor Plus is a dermal treatment that comes in the form of liquid drops that should be applied at the base of your pet’s skull.
- Fipronil 9.80% – shuts down the central nervous system of insects, causing subsequent paralysis and death.
- (S)-Methoprene 8.80% – A hormone that interrupts the maturation cycle of insects, thus preventing reproduction.
How often do I reapply? Once a month, and no more frequently than this.
Who is Pet Armor Plus’ customer? Individuals who come looking for Frontline, obviously! In addition, folks who cannot remember to reapply natural remedies as frequently as they need to, or feel they have an infestation that is more severe than a natural remedy can handle.
CapAction uses Nitenpyram to kill fleas, ticks, and mosquitos as quickly as 30 minutes after taking it. It has the exact same ingredients as CapStar, without the expense of purchasing this name brand! CapAction only works short term to kill what is actively on a pet, but is safe to use as frequently as every 24 hrs. Unlike the above treatments, CapAction is an oral treatment.
- Nitenpyram – a neurotoxin that shuts down the central nervous system of insects, causing subsequent paralysis and death.
How often do I reapply? Once a month, and no more frequently than this.
Who is Cap Action’s customer? Individuals who come looking for Capstar, obviously! In addition, folks who cannot remember to reapply natural remedies as frequently as they need to, or feel they have an infestation that is more severe than a natural remedy can handle.
As you can see, all chemical flea and tick treatments use chemicals that work in essentially the same ways, picking different chemicals that are in the same classes as one another. Some regions find that their local pest populations may develop immunity to different chemicals, and this is why flea and tick treatment are not a one size fits all category of product.
Products to Supplement the Above with:
Earth Animal’s Nature’s Protection Herbal Topical Powder works the same as Diatomaceous earth, but uses limestone instead of silica. Limestone has a microscopically abrasive surface that penetrates the exoskeletons of fleas when they come into contact with it, causing death. For extra efficacy, this powder is infused with cedarwood oil and peppermint oil! This powder is safe to use both directly on pets or around your home to kill fleas and ticks.
Flea Comb – Sit with your pet a couple of times a month to comb their fur to confirm the absence of fleas. Flea combs have fine enough teeth that they can comb fleas from your pet’s fur. The base of their tail is a great place to check for fleas and flea dirt and this can help you decide about treatment.
Earth Animal offers Natural Flea and Tick spot-on treatments and collars for pets. Just like our other natural remedies, these products use Cedarwood oil for their primary ingredient.They will be less effective than Cedarcide or other natural sprays, and should be used in conjunction with other products, or for pets who are exclusively indoors, and their parents just want to take extra precautions.
Shampoos – Much like Cap Action, our natural varieties of flea shampoos are a way to kill pests that are currently on your pet, but will not prevent reinfestation long term. We recommend using a longer term preventative like Cedarcide or chemical options in conjunction with shampoos. When recommending a shampoo, ensure that customers know it needs to sit on the pet for several minutes to be effective.
Earth Animal’s Nature’s Protection powder and tincture– works by making your pet taste bad to pests. It is never something I recommend as a first line of defense, but some of our customers swear by it. I would recommend using another treatment in conjunction with Nature’s Protection. It needs to be used for several weeks to be effective.
Cedarcide’s Yardsafe Spray – a super concentrated formula for individuals who believe their yard may be infested with fleas! Hook up to a hose and use it to spray your yard, eliminating pests inside and outside of the home. A good option for folks who are concerned that a neighbor’s infested pet may be bringing pests to their yard too.
When recommending flea treatments, please remember…
- ALL flea and tick remedies will have age limitations listed on the back of their product. It is important to follow these guidelines, EVEN for the natural remedies.
- All of these products will have weight limitations, particularly for chemical products, and these guidelines must be adhered to. It is not safe to buy 1 big dog dose of Pet Lock to split amongst 4 little dogs (oh yes, I’ve been asked this many times).
- See a singular flea? Don’t panic! One flea is not indicative of a whole infestation. Give your pet a careful go over, and a spritzing of Cedarcide. No need to panic buy $300 in flea products over a singular flea.
- Cedarcide is the only safe tick medication for cats. There are no safe chemical tick treatments for cats at this time.
- Natural and chemical flea treatments CAN be used together, when following correct usage guidelines.
- If an owner is looking for recommendations for a pet that has major health conditions, please redirect them to a vet for advice.
Some scenarios:
- My dog has a pretty bad infestation of fleas, but I’m wary of chemical treatments. What should I do? For this customer, I would recommend using Cap Action, which will work to kill all the fleas that are present on their dog. For their home, they should simultaneously use Diatomaceous Earth on floors/carpeting and vacuum back up, as well as washing all bedding. They can then follow up with regular usage of Cedarcide to prevent reinfestation.
- My cat is indoor only but he escaped once and now he has fleas! What should I do? This problem can be attacked with any one of our cat safe lines. Of course a spritz with cedarcide should knock this issue out, or an owner can pick out a line of chemical products to use now, and have some extra tubes/pills kept away in case it happens again later.
- My dog takes Bravecto (prescription oral flea treatment) and still gets fleas, help!! Bravecto kills fleas and ticks once they bite your pet – but has no agent to repel pests from biting your pet in the first place. Use Cedarcide in conjunction with oral flea meds to repel pests, preventing flea bite discomfort.
- I have an [insert any animal that is not a cat or dog], what flea treatment should I use? Ask your vet for a species specific recommendation!!
- My pet is violently itchy. I think he may have fleas, but I haven’t seen any! Help! This is a good time to ask fact finding questions. Sometimes people suspect their pet has fleas due to itching, but it is actually an environmental or dietary allergy. Below is a (gross) picture of “flea dirt” (aka flea poo poo), which will be present on pets in the event they are carrying fleas. If no fleas or flea dirt are to be found, a pet’s issue may not be pest related. An easy way to check for flea dirt is to use a flea comb and then run the comb along a wet paper towel. Flea dirt will form red streaks.
