FLEAS! FLEAS! FLEAS!!!!!
Tracie A. Daniels, DVM
North Florida Animal Rescue, Wellborn, Florida
Fleas are a HUGE problem if you are in Florida. Our weather and climate are perfect to grow millions of
fleas. Complicating the issue is the overwhelming capability of fleas to reproduce quickly and produce
eggs and larvae that can survive in our homes and yards for long periods of time. There are two
categories of animals that are exposed to fleas:
1) Animals that are allergic to the flea bites (can be mild to severe)
2) Animals that are NOT allergic but still suffer from the crawling, biting fleas
The first thing you must do is to figure out where you are on the “flea risk scale:”
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HIGHEST FLEA EXPOSURE
Pet lives exclusively outdoors and has access to cool moist places (under mobile home)
Pet lives exclusively outdoors and can sleep and lounge in the yard and dirt
Pet lives exclusively outdoors but in concrete-floor pen / kennel, no dirt
Pet lives indoor-outdoor, spends some time in the yard
Pet lives 100% indoors but another pet in the family goes in and out frequently
Pet lives 100% indoors but goes outside in yard to use the bathroom
Pet lives 100% indoors but has screened door or porch access to the outside
Pet lives 100% indoors, never goes outside and no other pets go outside
LOWEST FLEA EXPOSURE
People who are lower on the scale find that many products seem to “work,” ranging from no flea control
to periodic flea combing, topical sprays, or flea products with no “adult killing” properties (such as in
Program or Sentinel). However if you are like most people, you have tried other “adult killing” products
but you are still seeing fleas.
We hear a lot that the products “don’t work anymore.” Although it is true that different products seem to
work better in different situations, most people are looking for the quick fix that will zap out fleas once
and for all. That product simply does not exist; all of the topical and oral products should be used along
with environmental control for the best possible overall result.
Think of it this way. Flea products are like blue electric bug zappers. Your pet is like the blue light inside
the device; it is what attracts the fleas/bugs. But, even though every bug eventually dies when it meets
the electric field around the light….if you put the light in an area with thousands of bugs, it will be
overwhelmed and never actually be able to make a “dent” in the flying insect population. It’s the same
with the fleas. If you put the animal in an environment (inside OR outside) with a lot of fleas…expect
even the best products to be overwhelmed.
Finally, in yard situations there is a constant flea population being brought in by rodents and other
roaming animals, so sometimes your flea control is being sabotaged.
You must treat the flea war on three levels:
1) The pet
2) The environment inside (carpets, bedding, fabrics, furniture)
3) The environment outside (shrubs, shady cool moist areas, dirt holes, pet lounging spots, lawn
areas near shade, underneath mobile homes or structures)
To complicate matters further, different products target different stages of the flea life cycle, including:
 Adult fleas
 Young flea stages like larvae
 Prevention of flea offspring from living (insect growth regulators or IGR’s)
PRODUCTS FOR THE PET:
For mild infestations, try Advantage II, Frontline Plus, or we also recommend Revolution for cats. For
significant infestations and flea allergic animals, we recommend the products Vectra (fleas), Vectra 3D
(also gets ticks, dogs only), and Comfortis. Assurity is a topical form of Comfortis for use in cats. In
some cats the regular dog Comfortis has been used orally as well. Discuss how often to use each
product, how to combine products, and risk factors for each product with your veterinarian.
In our office we carry Vectra 3D (dogs), Comfortis, Assurity, and Trifexis (Comfortis plus heartworm
prevention for dogs). All other products can be purchased through our online website at:
http://northfloridaanimalrescue.vetsourceweb.com.
PRODUCTS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT:
Current recommendations involve products from three manufacturers: Bayer, VetKem and Virbac.
The first is available in home garden centers and is made by
Bayer. “Complete Insect Killer.”’ It is available as a
concentrate for use as a premise spray and as granules for
spreading around the yard and outside of the home. It has
some residual time and can also treat other lawn and garden
pests (see label for instructions).
The second line of products is made by Vet-Kem, including sprays and treatments for inside the home as
well as outside in the yard:
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Siphotrol Plus II Premise Spray
Siphotrol X-Tend Carpet Spray
Siphotrol Plus Fogger
Siphotrol Plus Area Pump Spray for homes
Siphotrol Yard Spray
Siphotrol handheld Yard and Patio fogger
The third line is made by Virbac Allerderm and includes sprays for inside the home:
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Virbac Knockout area treatment
Virbac Knockout E.S. area treatment
Virbac Knockout Room and Area Fogger
The Vet-Kem and Virbac products are combinations that kill adults, larvae, and
have IGR’s in one spray. See the individual product sheets online or in our
office for more information. All of the Siphotrol and Virbac products can be
ordered through our office at NFAR.
ALSO: Ask about our handout on using Borax at home in carpets for additional flea control!!
GOOD LUCK!