Fighting fleas

Kim Campbell Thornton • E-mail

Months of heavy rain in California, last year’s hurricanes in Florida and along the East Coast, and a mild winter and wetter-than-normal conditions in the West and Midwest all add up to one thing: the likelihood of a record number of fleas this year. Flea season has already started in most of the country, and pet owners in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Northern California are among those reporting problems with the biting beasties.

So what’s the best way to tackle fleas? Happily, constant bathing, dipping, spraying and powdering are things of the past.

The latest generation of topical insecticides, combined with the use of insect growth regulators (IGRs), has made flea control easier and more effective than ever before. But are the topical flea-control products sold in pet supply stores just as effective as or even the same as those available from your veterinarian? They certainly cost less, which can be a draw if you’re a pet owner on a tight budget.

While both types of products are applied to the skin between the shoulder blades, they contain different chemical formulations. "The chemicals used in the over-the-counter spot-on once-a-month formulations are in general less effective ... and don’t have the safety profile that the major commercial spot-on preparations have that are [available from veterinarians]," says Peter J. Ihrke, a veterinary dermatology specialist at the University of California, Davis.

"Over-the-counter spot-on preparations have a chemical called permethrin in them," he says. "Permethrins can be reasonably effective and they’re certainly better than a lot of the products available 10 or 15 years ago … but many of the permethrins cannot be used on cats. With many of the permethrin products, we’re reluctant to recommend using them on a dog in a household if there’s also a cat living in the same house."

Hartz product phaseout
Ihrke’s point is borne out by the announcement on June 3 by the Environmental Protection Agency (which regulates insecticides) that because of adverse side effects and some reported deaths, the Hartz Mountain Corporation will stop producing Hartz Advanced Care 4 in 1 Flea and Tick Drops Plus for Cats and Kittens, Hartz Advanced Care 3 in 1 Flea and Tick Drops for Cats and Kittens, and Hartz Advanced Care Once-A-Month Flea and Tick Drops for Cats and Kittens.

Tips for a flea-free home Florida veterinarian Link V. Welborn says flea-control measures fail for two main reasons: lack of awareness and lack of consistency. "Many people still waste money on less effective and less safe over-the-counter products instead of consulting a veterinarian," he says. "The second problem is a tendency for many pet owners to only use products until the flea problem appears to be under control instead of using them regularly to control and prevent problems." The following tips will help you get a jump on fleas: — Treat every animal in the household, not just the ones that appear to have fleas. — Keep cats indoors to reduce their exposure to fleas. — Vacuum frequently, and wash dog or cat bedding in hot water every week or two. — In the yard, limit the amount of overgrown vegetation in deep shade — that’s where fleas can develop.

The active ingredient in these products is phenothrin, a synthetic pyrethroid that kills adult fleas and ticks. Pyrethroids, which include pyrethrin and permethrin, are insecticides derived from the extract of a chrysanthemum species. Other over-the-counter products contain different forms of pyrethroids and some contain insect growth regulators, which prevent flea eggs or larvae from developing to maturity. Some may contain phenothrin, but at lower concentrations.

Their overall drawback is reduced effectiveness. After being in use for more than 20 years, the effectiveness of pyrethrins has decreased substantially because fleas have developed resistance to these types of chemicals.

The active ingredients in veterinary topicals — fipronil, selamectin or imidacloprid — kill adult fleas when they touch the animal’s skin. "These products are much more effective, safer, easier, and in the long run, more economical than anything we had before," says Link V. Welborn, a veterinarian at North Bay Animal and Bird Hospital in Tampa, Fla.

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