RML asked 6 years ago
Hi, I have an infestation gong on in my house at the moment. I gave Frontline to my cats 1 week ago and one of my cat, still leaves a trail of flea eggs every time he leves his blanket. i’d say im hoovering from the blanket about 100/day. Just 1 minute ago i saw a flea jumping in the couch, i got my light on to try and catch and she laid an egg in front of me! Not sure if she was poisoned as she was jumping but i managed to kill it. I just bought frontline Plus for next time but… i thought frontline would kill the fleas before they got the chance to lay eggs! Im finding 3-4 fleas dead per day so i suppose its working. My cat is diabetic and has insulin shots to the back of the neck, so i don’t know if that might have had some impact on the effectivity of the treatment. My other cat… i have seen like 5-10 eggs only on the last week. I googled it but nobody seems to complain of flea eggs after treatment.
Adam Retzer Staff answered 6 years ago
RML,
The Frontline treatment should kill the fleas before they have a chance to lay eggs. Usually death occurs within a few hours, but can sometimes take longer. Still, the fleas need to be feeding on the host for at least 24 hours before they can successfully mate and lay viable eggs. So, it’s strange that the fleas are capable of surviving and depositing eggs on the treated cats, as you’ve pointed out.
No treatment is 100% effective, which is why infestations should be attacked with multiple techniques (adulticides, IGRs, pet treatments, environmental treatments, vacuuming and sanitation). Frontline Plus will add a 2nd layer of control on the cats, as it contains methoprene, an insect growth regulator (IGR). The IGR mimics natural insect hormones, and one effect is that exposed adult females become sterilized. So, hopefully your problem resolves once you switch to the Plus product.
As an aside, you can save some money by using a generic version of Frontline Plus for Cats.
Hope this helps!
Warm regards,
Adam
