I see so many posts about ticks throughout the year that I thought I would try to consolidate and merge my advice from other threads and create a thread for people to really discuss their successes and failures in treating these nasty, nasty little buggers. I hope this helps the NES community. Maybe it's a good sticky to have for a resource.
As a starter, I suggest all that want to better understand ticks and their biology and behavior, the diseases that they can carry, and the prevention/control techniques that have been shown to be effective (both natural and chemical) read the Tick Management HandBook put out by the Chief Entomologist in Connecticut.
The above handbook explain very well some practices you can put in place on how to make you property more of a safe haven from ticks. I specifically practice the twice yearly fogging/spraying of the perimeter of my yard with bifenthrin.
Now there are very many products OTC products available for you (see page 39 of the aforementioned handbook for an extensive breakdown of the types of products available for people) and your pets. With that said, my intent of this post is not to say which product/brand is better, but rather to highlight the chemical properties, the risks and safety of the the products that have been shown to work.
I did not list out the human products since the Handbook has it already typed up quite well.
For your pets though, don't buy into the hype on products that claim "repels mosquitoes" as a selling point. The only significant disease of dogs that is transmitted by mosquitoes is heartworm. And all dogs should already be on a heartworm prevention as well. Touting that it repells mosquitoes is like saying you spray OFF on yourself everyday for fear of a mosquito bite. It's not really that important. All pyrethrin/pyrethroids repel mosquitoes, and pretty much all insects. Just be careful with what you use.
Look at the chemical formulation for the high profile pet products below:
Topicals:
Advantix II: 0.44% pyriproxyfen (insect growth regulator), 8.8% imidocloprid (synthetic insecticide), 44% permethrin (pesticide)
Activyl Plus: 13.01 % indoxacarb (old safe insecticide use in ant traps), 42.5% permethrin (pesticide)
Vectra 3D: 4.95% dinotefuran (insecticide), .44% pyriproxyfen (insect growth regulator), 36.08% permethrin (non-specific pesticide)
Parastar Plus: 9.8% fipronil (insecticide) and 5.2% cyphenothrin (synthetic pyrethrin) - ie. very safe for most animals, not cats. The low level pyrethrin enhances the tick killing ability, but note the low percentage of the chemical. That is what makes it markedly more safe for animals especially if the larger size was given to a smaller dog. Cats are still a no go!
Certifect: 6.4% fipronil (insecticide), 5.8% s-methoprene (insect growth regulator), 7.6% amitraz (synthetic insecticide - with more of non-specific pesticide neuro affect when on mammals, and carcinogenic affects as well). I have avoided Amitraz usage for the last 10+ years for the neuro toxin and carcinogenic reasons above and I'm not about to start having owner put it on their dogs now.
Frontline Plus: 9.8% fipronil (insecticide) and 8.8% s-methoprene (insect growth regulator) - ie. very safe for all animals.
IIRC that at 37-38% Permethrin you can get toxicity issues (neurotransmitter blocker) and if you have other ailments or
poor reactions it can occur at lower percentages. Thus I am not a fan of Vetcra, Advantix and Activyl Plus.
Permethrin is a CHEAP, nasty, nasty chemical - that is why it does wonders on ticks, and pretty much all insects and your dogs nervous system, and yours too. The chemical is not selective to insects either, it affects you, your dog and it's heinous to the felines. Nearly all of its derivatives (in micro amounts too) all cause uncontrollable seizures in cats. So think before you apply to your dog if you have a cat that is buddy with your dog. With small kids in the house that hug a dog, I would be wary around transfer rates to them too. Not a risk I would be willing to take.
The safest products to use are ones that are classified as insecticides (ie. insects only are affected) and not pesticides (as in that it is not specific to only insects).
I prefer to use as little pyrethrin/permethrin containing products as much as possible for the drug resistance concerns (ie super bugs) and then the toxicity issue as well.
Compare - Parastar Plus 5.2% cyphenothrin vs Vetra 3D 36.08% permethrin vs. Activyl 42.5% permethrin
That is a significant jump in the permethrin/pyrethroid additive. That should indicate to you that they have to add more to make up for the fact that the other (cheaper) ingredients just don't have the killing/staying power that you would like. If they did you would be able to use a lesser and safer percentage of a permethrin. Is there ever a safe level though. I would say yes...I have used Parastar for 2 years now with clients and only seen like 1-2 that "felt ill" after. Novartis told me that in their studies that up to 7x was applied with no ill effects. Do the math - that is 7x the amount of a 5.2% solution, nearing the volume of one application of Vectra 3D. As as result it is what I use on my dog due to our tick burden on our property.
I do recommend Frontline to all my patients first. It's by far the safest. If they are still having tick issues I will step up to Parastar. I dropped Vectra due to the significantly high number of patients that didn't feel well after applications (ie. Permethrin toxicity) and that is seems to be less water resistant as well, esp. for those hunting/swimming dogs.
Oral Products:
Nexgard: afoxolaner - 1 month duration.
Bravecto: fluralaner - 3 month duration.
Both are from a new class of chemicals called isoxazolines with anti-parasitic properties. These novel compounds have activity against the GABA and glutamate-gated chloride channels with significant selectivity for insect neurons over mammalian neurons. Aka they are markedly more selective and active against insects over dogs and humans. Both are very good at killing fleas and ticks.
So whats the catch, it's an oral product that lasts 1 or 3 months depending, and kills both fleas and ticks rapidly. Well since it's an oral product, the flea and tick has to bite the dog to be killed. Speed of kill becomes very important and yes both do kill tick fast (<12 hrs) which is enough to theoretically prevent lyme disease. The issue is they the insects still have to bite. That is where the pyrethrin containing topical product win hands down. They still have the repellency going for them.
But for dogs that swim and wash topicals off faster - the oral products look extremely promising and seem to be the future of the flea and tick market. There is much talk of combination of heartworm/flea/tick medications in not to distant future.
Collars:
Soresto Collar (for dogs and cats): 10% imidcloprid (insecticide) and 4.5% flumethrin (sythetic pyrethroid that is safe for cats)
It only releases chemicals when in contact with skin. It is water resistant. It is non-toxic when eaten. It is radiographically visible if your pet eats it. It is safe for cats. It last for 8 months. It is over the counter. And it is receiving high praise amongst the veterinary and client community. I would suggest anyone looking into flea and tick products to take a look at it.
Now I'm not a fan of collars - they do get eaten, broken, lost, etc. but man, Bayer has got a good one here.
Disclaimer: You should always discuss any product with your doctor and veterinarian for safety and appropriateness of usage before applying it.
As a starter, I suggest all that want to better understand ticks and their biology and behavior, the diseases that they can carry, and the prevention/control techniques that have been shown to be effective (both natural and chemical) read the Tick Management HandBook put out by the Chief Entomologist in Connecticut.
The above handbook explain very well some practices you can put in place on how to make you property more of a safe haven from ticks. I specifically practice the twice yearly fogging/spraying of the perimeter of my yard with bifenthrin.
Now there are very many products OTC products available for you (see page 39 of the aforementioned handbook for an extensive breakdown of the types of products available for people) and your pets. With that said, my intent of this post is not to say which product/brand is better, but rather to highlight the chemical properties, the risks and safety of the the products that have been shown to work.
I did not list out the human products since the Handbook has it already typed up quite well.
For your pets though, don't buy into the hype on products that claim "repels mosquitoes" as a selling point. The only significant disease of dogs that is transmitted by mosquitoes is heartworm. And all dogs should already be on a heartworm prevention as well. Touting that it repells mosquitoes is like saying you spray OFF on yourself everyday for fear of a mosquito bite. It's not really that important. All pyrethrin/pyrethroids repel mosquitoes, and pretty much all insects. Just be careful with what you use.
Look at the chemical formulation for the high profile pet products below:
Topicals:
Advantix II: 0.44% pyriproxyfen (insect growth regulator), 8.8% imidocloprid (synthetic insecticide), 44% permethrin (pesticide)
Activyl Plus: 13.01 % indoxacarb (old safe insecticide use in ant traps), 42.5% permethrin (pesticide)
Vectra 3D: 4.95% dinotefuran (insecticide), .44% pyriproxyfen (insect growth regulator), 36.08% permethrin (non-specific pesticide)
Parastar Plus: 9.8% fipronil (insecticide) and 5.2% cyphenothrin (synthetic pyrethrin) - ie. very safe for most animals, not cats. The low level pyrethrin enhances the tick killing ability, but note the low percentage of the chemical. That is what makes it markedly more safe for animals especially if the larger size was given to a smaller dog. Cats are still a no go!
Certifect: 6.4% fipronil (insecticide), 5.8% s-methoprene (insect growth regulator), 7.6% amitraz (synthetic insecticide - with more of non-specific pesticide neuro affect when on mammals, and carcinogenic affects as well). I have avoided Amitraz usage for the last 10+ years for the neuro toxin and carcinogenic reasons above and I'm not about to start having owner put it on their dogs now.
Frontline Plus: 9.8% fipronil (insecticide) and 8.8% s-methoprene (insect growth regulator) - ie. very safe for all animals.
IIRC that at 37-38% Permethrin you can get toxicity issues (neurotransmitter blocker) and if you have other ailments or
poor reactions it can occur at lower percentages. Thus I am not a fan of Vetcra, Advantix and Activyl Plus.
Permethrin is a CHEAP, nasty, nasty chemical - that is why it does wonders on ticks, and pretty much all insects and your dogs nervous system, and yours too. The chemical is not selective to insects either, it affects you, your dog and it's heinous to the felines. Nearly all of its derivatives (in micro amounts too) all cause uncontrollable seizures in cats. So think before you apply to your dog if you have a cat that is buddy with your dog. With small kids in the house that hug a dog, I would be wary around transfer rates to them too. Not a risk I would be willing to take.
The safest products to use are ones that are classified as insecticides (ie. insects only are affected) and not pesticides (as in that it is not specific to only insects).
I prefer to use as little pyrethrin/permethrin containing products as much as possible for the drug resistance concerns (ie super bugs) and then the toxicity issue as well.
Compare - Parastar Plus 5.2% cyphenothrin vs Vetra 3D 36.08% permethrin vs. Activyl 42.5% permethrin
That is a significant jump in the permethrin/pyrethroid additive. That should indicate to you that they have to add more to make up for the fact that the other (cheaper) ingredients just don't have the killing/staying power that you would like. If they did you would be able to use a lesser and safer percentage of a permethrin. Is there ever a safe level though. I would say yes...I have used Parastar for 2 years now with clients and only seen like 1-2 that "felt ill" after. Novartis told me that in their studies that up to 7x was applied with no ill effects. Do the math - that is 7x the amount of a 5.2% solution, nearing the volume of one application of Vectra 3D. As as result it is what I use on my dog due to our tick burden on our property.
I do recommend Frontline to all my patients first. It's by far the safest. If they are still having tick issues I will step up to Parastar. I dropped Vectra due to the significantly high number of patients that didn't feel well after applications (ie. Permethrin toxicity) and that is seems to be less water resistant as well, esp. for those hunting/swimming dogs.
Oral Products:
Nexgard: afoxolaner - 1 month duration.
Bravecto: fluralaner - 3 month duration.
Both are from a new class of chemicals called isoxazolines with anti-parasitic properties. These novel compounds have activity against the GABA and glutamate-gated chloride channels with significant selectivity for insect neurons over mammalian neurons. Aka they are markedly more selective and active against insects over dogs and humans. Both are very good at killing fleas and ticks.
So whats the catch, it's an oral product that lasts 1 or 3 months depending, and kills both fleas and ticks rapidly. Well since it's an oral product, the flea and tick has to bite the dog to be killed. Speed of kill becomes very important and yes both do kill tick fast (<12 hrs) which is enough to theoretically prevent lyme disease. The issue is they the insects still have to bite. That is where the pyrethrin containing topical product win hands down. They still have the repellency going for them.
But for dogs that swim and wash topicals off faster - the oral products look extremely promising and seem to be the future of the flea and tick market. There is much talk of combination of heartworm/flea/tick medications in not to distant future.
Collars:
Soresto Collar (for dogs and cats): 10% imidcloprid (insecticide) and 4.5% flumethrin (sythetic pyrethroid that is safe for cats)
It only releases chemicals when in contact with skin. It is water resistant. It is non-toxic when eaten. It is radiographically visible if your pet eats it. It is safe for cats. It last for 8 months. It is over the counter. And it is receiving high praise amongst the veterinary and client community. I would suggest anyone looking into flea and tick products to take a look at it.
Now I'm not a fan of collars - they do get eaten, broken, lost, etc. but man, Bayer has got a good one here.
Disclaimer: You should always discuss any product with your doctor and veterinarian for safety and appropriateness of usage before applying it.
Last edited:
