(Part 2) Best dog flea & tick control products according to redditors

If the ticks haven't attached yet, you can simply brush your dog to get most, if not all, ticks. You need to be thorough, as they can be in places you won't necessarily think of, such as the back of the legs.

I use a slicker brush on my Aussie, as I like the better coverage of the many fine teeth.

Once ticks are attached, it can be a pain depending on your dog's fur type. For instance, with an Aussie, it's easy to miss ticks, especially ticks that are attached, until they have plumped up. Regardless, the simplest and safest way to remove them is with a tick twister (there are various kinds, such as http://www.amazon.com/J-A-K-Otom-Twister-Silicone-Handle/dp/B0037DD27U/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1382917225&sr=8-14&keywords=tick+twister).

You shouldn't just pull them out or use other methods such as Vaseline or matches. One, Vaseline and matches aren't really effective, and two, pulling can cause you to squeeze tick juices in which can infect your dog with disease a lot quicker. You may also accidentally separate the body from the head, leaving the head embedded. Plus, sometimes those suckers are really attached and just won't pull out.

Did the dog at least get puppy shots or an initial series of vaccines? If the dog has been vaccinated, chances are it still retains immunity for most if not all of the major diseases it was vaccinated against. I do minimal vaccinations. I do periodic titer testing to make sure my dog has immunity against core diseases (distemper and parvo). The only vaccine I normally keep up to date is rabies, but the dog I have now is immunocompromised so I get a waiver for rabies vaccine every three years. I usually have to vaccinate every 5-7 years!

Tick borne illnesses and heartworm disease are serious diseases your roommate is subjecting her dog to. Thankfully, neither of those are communicable to humans or other dogs. Fleas may be an issue depending on the area, and an infestation in your home may happen. At the very least, I would urge her to keep her dog on the cheap generic Frontline. You can get a 3 month supply for a dog that size for around $16 plus shipping. Here's a link http://www.amazon.com/Sentry-Fiproguard-Squeeze-dogs-lbs/dp/B004SP46SK

The other concern I have is that she may hold you liable if her dog gets sick or injured from playing with your dog. Broken teeth and abscesses are common when dogs are playing a little too rough. These are relatively inexpensive and easy to treat problems if you take care of them immediately, but if you wait to see if they get better on their own, it could be an expensive if not fatal problem. I don't want to scare you, but I saw something similar to that happen to a client of mine. Someone's dog broke his canine on her dog's collar at a dog park, ,and the dog needed emergency surgery to save his necrotic jawbone from the untreated injury. The owner took my client to small claims court over it!

I think it's good to treat the carpets at the same time you treat the animal. We used some Fleabusters (and then diatomaceous earth after we ran out) on the carpets and Vectra for the animals (cats in our case).

Oh shoot. Well this is the flea spray and this is the dish soap so maybe you can find something comparable. Best of luck to you! I hope things work out soon and you can start prepping for your little one 💙

Edit: cat baths... Super fun! /s but some are easier than others. Hopefully theirs are ok with it.

hairdresser here: get the kind of clippers one can use without a guard on skin if he wants it shaved off, like it sounds he does, instead of shaved short. i use these. they shouldn't cut your skin, and the ones that go with a guard are best with a guard on, or with a comb between skin and blade.

i use this brush to brush the hairs off the blade.

VERY IMPORTANT: you need clipper oil to oil between the blades to keep your blades working as long as possible and not rusting! put a few drops where the blades meet each other, turn them on for a sec, wipe them off, start clipping!

Polish Really they are are amazing.

This is also from etsy but its $10.50 Dream catcher bracelet - dreams are an out of this world experience

Dog shampoo Cause right now my dogs smell out of this world plus my dogs and I lay outside and watch the stars, weve both came in with ticks!

This has worked well for myself and my dog.

https://www.amazon.com/OTom-Tick-Twister-Pack-Green/dp/B004M5O9TW

Eradicating fleas in a home is so dead easy and you can be the hero to this lady. I have a house rabbit, 5 cats, and I foster little street urchins for a local rescue. I have not had fleas on my animals or in my carpets in 20 years.

The cure is, of course, Advantage for the cats, since her pets are indoor/outdoor. Best price for that is on Amazon and best dosing instructions [are written in the comments]
(https://www.amazon.com/Bayer-Advantage-Extra-55-Pound-4-Month/dp/B004QBL9IQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1478704931&sr=1-1&keywords=advantage+for+dogs).

And for the house, sprinkle boric acid in the carpets and furniture. It kills the fleas and the eggs and works until it gets wet. Don't vacuum right away, let it get deep in the fibers where the eggs are. The vet told us to apply it with a flour sifter and a shoe to beat it into the carpets, and that's exactly how I used to do it but that was back before they invented all the wonderful topical pet treatments. Nowdays, I get kittens that are hopping with fleas when they get here and we pop 'em a capstar and that's all we have to do. We don't even have to use Advantage on our cats, just the momma cats and just on the kittens before they go to the shelter for their surgery and to be put on display with other kittens for adoption. No fleas, not in 2 decades. Anything the meds missed drop off and are desiccated by the boric acid. People with outdoor pets should expect to sprinkle boric acid more often to their carpet and furniture.

We used to be able to buy boric acid at Home Depot but now they mix it with pesticides so I don't buy that. I bought some on Amazon a few years ago, simply don't need to use it very often because my pets are all indoor. I've heard some people use 20 Mule Team Borax, but that's a soap mixed with boric acid and although it works, what happens when your carpet gets wet? Endless suds? I just get the exact stuff I want on Amazon and be done with it.

If you own a dog or cat (or any other animal that can get ticks) get some Tick Sticks (e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Mercola-Tick-Stick-Removal/dp/B005N7O6RI).

There are various designs, but they all work in the similar principal of hooking round the base of the tick and then twisting it out of the animal.

Burning off the tick may cause it to disgorge its blood meal back in the animal. Pulling the tick off by hand is likely to leave the mouth parts of the tick in place. Both are liable to cause infections or cause the tick to spread disease to the animal. Using a proper tick stick will remove it without a) leaving the mouth parts in the wound b) shocking the tick and causing it to disgorge the blood back in.

Pet Armor is $10 for three months.

I'm on mobile now so I'll have to look through my computer history later. But I do remember reading many alarming Amazon reviews (for what they're worth):
http://www.amazon.com/Wondercide-Natural-Flea-Tick-Control/product-reviews/B00A755T1S

There are other pages with hundreds more reviews, and symptoms like paresis, lesions, ataxia, vomiting, and tremors were described too often.

A general article about EO use on pets, from a vet: http://m.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/dr-coates/2014/may/essential-oils-pets-medicine-or-toxin-31617

A summary of a few studies on EOs on animals:
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consultant/Consult.asp?Fun=Cause_3091

Flea comb

Damn dogs.

I’m not exactly sure what you’d be dealing with, considering all the product buildup, but when I brushed out my (real, not twisted) locks I just turned on Netflix, started at the bottom, worked my way up, and three days later they were all brushed out. I used a flea comb since it had metal teeth.

I’d suggest the wider tooth side.

my cat had a very bad flea infestation a few years ago and I didn't want to use Advantage or Frontline or other pesticide-based OTC flea treatments because they made my cats sick, they were stumbling around like they'd been poisoned, very scary experience, thought they were going to die. will never use Advantage/Frontline/Bayer pesticide-like flea meds again. many reports of these types of flea meds killing pets. there have been reports of Bravecto killing dogs too. i didn't know any better when i was younger, gave this stuff to my pets too, because my vet recommended it. turns out, there are a lot of shitty vets out there. but anyway.

some people will recommend diatomaceous earth or borax, but this did not help me at all, in fact made things worse because it clotted with the blood and fur on my cats lower back, where he couldn't reach in order to groom, and I couldn't effectively clean off with soap and water, so the DE created a warm, wet breeding ground for flea larvae to thrive in and made the infestation worse. dusting your home with this stuff is messy and gross too. would not recommend.

what DID work better than any other flea treatment i've used, and is recommended by many (good) veterinarians, was a mix of cedar oil and water in a spray bottle, and putting a couple of drops of cedar oil directly on their collar. cedar oil worked very well to clear up a moderate-severe flea infestation. quite impressed by how effective it was. it's been a couple of years and my cats haven't had any fleas ever since. cedar oil also helps repel moths from eating wool sweaters and clothes in your closet. unintended benefit. moths hate cedar oil.

i have never used Wondercide but it's basically just cedar oil and water, and if reviews are to be believed, it's pretty popular as a flea repellent, in case you don't want to make your own spray at home. good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/Wondercide-Natural-Flea-Tick-Control/dp/B00V75QXEY

It was this. Bought it at Petsmart for $40.

There us a product by Bayer called Resultix. It is over the counter, but I'm not sure where to purchase it. Perhaps Amazon? Anyway, Resultix is a spray that kills ticks without you physically having to pull them out. It essentially dehydrates the tick. Very effective. My clinic used to stock it till Petsmart was carrying it for half the price.

After that, get her on a Seresto Collar. It lasts for 8 months and isn't the standard, ineffective flea collar. It actually works. Little pricey, around $65 or so, but dollar for dollar, nothing beats that. It's labeled for fleas and ticks.

Be sure to still keep her on a monthly heartworm prevention, though if you get a Seresto Collar, Trifexis is really overkill. Ask your vet what they would recommend if you have the collar.
Resultix Spray to kill ticks

I did tell them today, and the landlord seemed kind of pissed off about it. His coworker/landlady is actually pretty nice, if I can get her. I might just keep calling and pestering them until they do something about it, even if it's just getting the outsides of my neighbor's apartments.

I know I should vacuum 1-2x a day, but how often do you suggest I spray? I've been using this - if you have a better carpet cleaner in the same price range, please let me know, as I'm almost out of Sentry already.

It's a B-vitamin complex. Supposedly the high amount of b-vitamins makes the cat smell bad to the fleas. It has good reviews.

Looks like one of these dog flea combs:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-85838899-Flea-Comb/dp/B001MZWTBU&ved=2ahUKEwiOzuHlqYriAhWswAIHHf-nAjkQFjAAegQIBhAC&usg=AOvVaw0GnIAM-Sfn6P0FWI5Sf0cG

Edit: typo

Are you willing to try generics? That's what I use on my dog, and we haven't had any issues. They are cheap on Amazon. Or, do you know anyone with a Sam's Club/Costco membership? They carry generic and brand names for a few bucks less than the vet.