Ah summer is near! Time for warm lazy days… and fleas! Eek!
i’m the type of person that chooses my battles. I tend to be more holistic in my approach to food and medication, but with fleas? Oh hell no, we are killing those suckers. Frontline’s my favorite weapon. It is not a systemic drug, meaning, it does not go in the bloodstream to work. It distributes its poison through the skin. I’d rather have that stuff in the skin than the blood stream. Plus it works.
But I had a dilemma a few years ago. I had a litter back then, and they enjoyed a wonderful summer outdoors being raised by a great momma and loads of enriching experiences. Unfortunately it included fleas! I hate putting anything harsh on a baby puppy!
Thank goodness for DE, diatamaceous earth.
What is it? Kind of strange, but it’s finely ground up fossilized algae. It’s a super fine white powder like baking flour and in microscopic form it’s so sharp it penetrates bugs and they dehydrate to death! Be sure you wear gloves when you use this as it will dry out your skin, and you definitely don’t want to breath this stuff in.
But put it carefully on a little puppy, and you will safely get rid of fleas! It works mechanically not chemically, meaning that the sharp edges of the powder dries out and kills the fleas with no chemicals getting near your puppy.
Best prices as usual are on Amazon, be sure you get food-grade DE!
I do still use Frontline on healthy adults. For dogs that seizure with flea preventatives or for young puppies, DE is a really safe and effective alternative. Here’s the pup that I used it on!
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I wonder if this works on ticks? How long does it last? How often do you have to reapply?
It should work Renee, since it’s a mechanical action, so it’s not that there’s some chemical that “lasts” anywhere, does that make sense? It will cut into the bugs’ exoskeleton and then dry them out. If you ever get some on your hands, your hands will get really dry, almost reminds me of touching fiberglass in a way, except its a powder. I only ended up applying once to my puppies but I can see how you can get reinfested and then have to do it again.
People also use it to sprinkle on carpet, on grass, etc. Also people have put it between matresses for bed bugs.
I wouldn’t count on being 100% bug free, but I was very relieved that I didn’t have to put Frontline or anything harsh on a little puppy at the time, and it did the job I was looking for.
DE is also well known as a wormer for horses. Many people swear by it for keeping bugs , slugs,etc out of their gardens. I use it and never use any other flea products. I use Flea spray but not for fleas- I use it for Mosquito protection. Great product. Be sure to get the REAL DE….its a different level of DE thats in the Pool supply section.
I wonder if it will also work on the “no-see-ums” in my backyard on the grass. All kinds of flying things that you can’t see when they land. Yuck. Also, if I treat my grass, what would happen if the grass eating blue dog eats it?
It’s fine to eat (FOOD GRADE), some people use it to worm dogs and horses. It is dangerous to breathe it in though…
As I recall DE is actually ground up limestone based animal spicules from coral reef. It is very sharp microscopically. It is used in all kinds of filtration such as swimming pool filters. You’re right, try not to breathe it, like sharp asbestos fibers, it causes small cuts in lung tissue and can hurt you with generally longer term exposure… such as a swimming pool maintenance person. It is the principal component of fleabusters. When they come to your home they sprinkle the DE in your carpet and then use a HEPA vac to suck it up. I’m not sure if swimming pool DE is food grade or small enough for de-flea-ing uses, but it is definitely small and powdery and very cheap. 10 pounds from a pool supplier is only a few bucks. You would want to rub it in through the dog fur to get it down to the skin level in order to get at the fleas. Do you wash off the dogs after rubbing it into their fur?
As for Frontline here in Venice CA the fleas seem to take baths in the stuff without any effect. I think our fleas have developed resistance to Frontline. A recent Vet visit resulted in buying a new expensive anti-flea med that is applied the same way. The name of this stuff is “Vectra 3D” … what an expensive joke this stuff is. I think I’ll go back to Advantage. That worked last year at least.
I would use some caution on commenting on Frontline(fipronil) not getting into the animal’s blood…….
It is a fact that the chemical, fipronil, is a neuro-toxin.
Other studies incld one by an EPA doctor, Dr. Virginia Dobozy found,”significant amounts of radio-labeled fipronil were found [not only] in various organs and fat…[but they were also] excreted in the urine and feces and were present in other parts of the body…which demonstrated that the chemical is absorbed systemically.”
Such findings raise concerns among many animal activist and consumer rights groups that Frontline may have long-term neurological effects. Dr. Dobozy’s studies singled out thyroid as an area where Fipronil may spur cancer after long-term use.”
I am not offering any personal opinion/judgement to use or not use the product(s)- I only want to bring awareness of the current studies taking place. Neuro Toxins are not “safe” or worry free.
What D said – the one-spot flea and tick control goes on the skin, but gets into the bloodstream and it is a neurotoxin. I’ve met and heard of too many critters that “weren’t quite right” after use of the stuff (not always the first use, sometimes several uses later). It’s got a place in the arsenal in areas where fleas/ticks are especially bad, or for dogs that are especially sensitive to them, but I’d approach it with great caution. Anything that says on the package “use gloves, do not get on your skin” strikes me as something to be wary of.
I’ve also heard reports of them losing effectiveness in areas where the use is widespread. Just anecdotal as far as I know, but something else to keep in mind.
After I published this piece, there have been several comments made to me personally, here on the site, and on Facebook about Frontline losing its effect after prolonged use. I think this warrants a followup piece which I plan on doing. It’s thanks to the commentors that allows for this kind of timely information which I really appreciate! Thanks!