Christine Hill asked 8 years ago
10days after Frontline Spot on my cats still have fleas and are shedding hundreds of new eggs every day. How long before I can apply Advocate please? I have sprayed the house with Indorex. The information on your website has been an eye opener. I now fail to see the point of flea treatments that do not break the cycle. Thank you The cats are about 6 10 and 19 years old.
Adam Retzer Staff answered 8 years ago
Hi Christine, I’m glad you find the website a helpful resource!
Time Frame Expectations
10 days isn’t long enough to tell if the treatment is working or not. 95-99% of the infestation is composed of immature fleas (eggs, larvae, and pupae). As these stages mature and reach adulthood, they’ll emerge from the carpet and jump on the pet. After jumping on a treated animal, they’ll be killed within a few hours.
So, even after all the proper treatments are in place, you’ll still see fleas for 8 weeks (or longer), because of the large amounts of developing stages in carpets. However, the number of fleas will greatly diminish after the first couple of weeks.
The eradication process can be sped up by treating the environment. Two crucial components are vacuuming at least every other day, and laundering rugs and pet bedding once a week. Optionally, you can spray an insect growth regulator (IGR) on the carpets to prevent eggs from hatching and to prevent larvae from pupating. Indorex contains pyriproxyfen, an IGR, so it seems you’ve got that covered.
Switching Spot-On Treatments
The main flea-killing active ingredient in Frontline is fipronil. In Bayer’s products, the analogous insecticide is imidacloprid. Even though these compounds are different, you may be risking over-dosing your cats and causing toxic effects if you apply a new spot-on treatment before the full month has elapsed. However, this question is best addressed to your veterinarian.
Generally, switching between spot-on treatments is discouraged, as it can lead to increased resistance. In addition, there hasn’t been any proven decreased flea susceptibility to either imidacloprid or fipronil. Why are you wishing to change treatments?
The most popular spot-on treatments, with the best reviews, are Bayer Advantage II and Frontline Plus. Both of these products contain an adulticide (imidacloprid or fipronil) to the kill adult fleas, and an IGR (pyriproxyfen or methoprene) to sterilize the females. This way, the females can’t lay viable eggs even if they don’t succumb to the adulticide immediately. Are you using Frontline or Frontline Plus (Plus contains the IGR)?
Advocate contains the active ingredients imidacloprid and moxidectin. Imidacloprid (or alternatively, fipronil) is already contained within Frontline and Advantage. And moxidectin isn’t a flea-killing insecticide. Moxidectin is used to kill parasitic worms. If your cats don’t have worms, and aren’t at risk of getting worms, Advocate wouldn’t be the best option.
If you choose to switch treatments, Frontline Plus or Advantage II would be the better options. If you’re already using Frontline Plus, try giving it more time before determining it is ineffective.
Hope this helps!
Adam
Christine Hill
replied 8 years ago Thank you Adam, although it wasn’t* the answer I was hoping for! I had hoped you would say that Fibrinol and Imidacloprid were compatable. The Frontline Spot on i used contains 50 mgs of Fibrinol and is supposed to last 15 weeks, not 4 weeks as the Advantage. Please dont say I have to wait 15 weeks. I have already purchased the Advocate from the vets. The reason I changed was to have the benefit of the IGR to break the cycle. I do now understand the life cycle of the flea, thanks to you, and realise newly hatched fleas could jump onto my cats. Thing is, I have confined them to the conservatory with a tiled floor and line their indorexed wooden beds with newspaper, hoover and mop every day. I have sprayed every inch with Indorex which I know is unable to kill the pupae, but I thought it killed the emerging flea.I have thrown out every rug (no carpet) and fabric cat bed. Could you please confirm when I can use the Advocate. Many thanks from 3 miserable cats.
Christine Hill
replied 8 years ago Just read my reply to you and the first sentence should read it WASN’T the answer I was hoping for! Also, I was expecting your reply by email, hence the delay in replying, sorry.
Adam RetzerMy apologies for you not receiving an email giving you notice of the reply. The email system isn’t working properly. I hope to get it fixed soon.
It sounds like your cats are quarantined well, with the tile, newspaper, Indorex, and cleansing. Fleas will have a very hard time surviving in that environment.
As far as switching products, I recommend you call your vet and ask if it will cause any complications. I lack expertise in this area, and don’t want to give any advice that may cause adverse health effects to you or your pets.
By the way, what IGR is in Advocate? I didn’t see any on the product label, but may be looking at the wrong product.
Christine Hill
replied 8 years ago Thank you for your reply. You must spend a lot of time dealing with people like me. It is appreciated.
The ingredient in Advocate is Imidacloprid. 40mg for smaller cats and 80mg for the large boy. Vet says I can treat 3 weeks after Fibrinol, and that is today! Hope I don’t do any harm. I still believe that the fibrinol did not work as the amount of flea eggs and flea dirt on the newspaper has not decreased during the last 3 weeks. I will report back to you the results of the Advocate treatment.
Thank you for returning to let us know what the vet said. That may help others who visit this page in the future. And please do report back with your results! I hope it works out well and that you’re flea-free soon.
Christine Hill
replied 8 years ago Hello again. The Advocate was amazing. In just a few hours fleas were dropping from my 3 cats. After 1 day all flea eggs and flea dirt stopped and the bedding was clean. There were no ill effects on my 19year old, but all were scratching and irritated for a few hours. Then they found peace and slept and slept. My heart goes out to any ferral animal with a flea infestation, their lives must be so miserable.
I now realise I didn’t properly answer your question about the IGR in Advocate. It seems there is none, though I was led to believe that the product interupted the life cycle of the flea! ? After searching Google it appears that the only spot
ons in the UK that contain an IGR, namely methoprene, are Frontline Plus, Frontline Combo and Broadline. All use Fibrinol as the adulticide. I don’t think I could ever bring myself to use Fibrinol again after this nightmare. I am hoping that between Indorex, Advocate and good housekeeping I can control those pesky fleas! Thank you once again, you and your website helped save my sanity because I realised I wasn’t the only one suffering this.
Incidentally, what do you discuss in the pub at night? Please not fleas!
Thanks for the report back. Best wishes to you!
I play billiards in pubs. Keeps my mind off fleas for a while 😉
