Fleas, Fleas, Fleas

I've had it with the fleas on my Dottie. The hot weather has literally made them multiply till she was scratching herself to death. Enter the veterinarian--yes I tried the "cheaper" over the counter flea collars and squeeze on drops. They did nothing.

Luckily the Vectra 3D the vet provided really works. It breaks the pocket book at $20 per month (three vials in the box). Since I've applied it, Dotty is in heaven. No scratching, no itching, and even when she goes outside, she doesn't pick up more fleas. They don't like the stuff.

A lesson in chemistry has kept me going.  The three active ingredients:

Permethrin

Pyriproxifen

Dinotefuran

 . . . take care of juveniles, repell adults, and block a flea's normal neurotransmiters. In other words, it kills them dead. Pay attention to warnings. Cats have died when given dog meds.

Our horse feed shop Kahoots, where I get my hay, sells Frontline and Advantage II. Both items are equally expensive and have active ingredients similar to Vectra 3D.

This link offers you a chemistry lesson. I looked up each ingredient independently online.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=521

Since the primary method of attacks on fleas is cleanliness, it behooves anyone with a flea problem to vacuum, wash bedding (especially the dog's) and follow up with a topical spray that kills eggs and larvae which have dropped off of the dog to the rug where they grow. The important ingredient here is methaprene which kills the eggs and larvae. BioSpot has it.

Hopefully the weather will change. Hundred degree temperatures increase infestations and Moorpark hit that record today. Fleas don't like cold. Below seventy degrees,, they hop away leaving behind their eggs for the next heat spell.

Good luck  with your research.

I still wonder if horse pucky would chase fleas away. My dog loves to roll in those little green apples, and I haven't seen any fleas on my horse . . .yet