https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/03/02/seresto-dog-cat-collars-found-harm-pets-humans-epa-records-show/4574753001/

Flea collars are killing dogs. We dont do flea and tick prevention because of cross reactions with heartworm meds but most everyone here lives places with fleas and ticks.

Its not just pets look how many of their owners have gotten sick.

This UK Link gives another view of that report. Let me say that I am not the least impressed by the opinions expressed by the representative of the company distributing the collars in the UK.

Wow thats even worse then the usatoday report

Unfortunately, I have a different view. Flea/tick, mostly tick, preventives are an absolute here. Ami is now on his second round of symptomatic Lyme disease. Those spring nymphs/juveniles, are tiny. Ami is a big dog and had an unbelievably dense undercoat. But. I don't apply them monthly. From what I've read, permethrin topical is effective against ticks for 6 weeks (though not great for fleas after 3 weeks.) but the pyriproxyfen insect growth regulator is good for 4 months. Fleas are not a huge problem for us except maybe June through October. Since fipronil is excellent for fleas for 3 months, they get an application once at the end of May and once at the end of August. Fipronil has a decent profile for ticks for 30 days. So those months, no permethrin.

As for heartworm meds, I rarely use them, we have few mosquitos up here, the incidence of heartworm in the region can be counted on one hand and the permethrin repels mosquitoes. If we travel to a heartworm endemic region, the get an ivermectin tablet when we get home. They are tested yearly for heartworm.

I've never liked the setting collar, or any flea tick collars. Mostly because the way huskies play, they grab them, tank them off and also because manufacturers say they need skin contact. Which ain't gonna happen with my wooly boy. Even Z'ev has an enormously thick neck ruff, the collar would have to be tighter than I like. And I don't like the anecdotal seizure stuff with some of the pill preventives.

But. I don't like Lyme disease either. I suspect it had shortened Ami's life expectancy. Certainly it has his comfortable life expectancy.

Sigh. Husband always says every medicine has its side effects. Though, to my mind death should not be one of them. Maybe the publicity will make the FDA reconsider in the Seresto. Thigh I know several people who swear by it.

I used every topical and flea pill under the sun to the tune of a lot of money and zero effectiveness at keeping fleas at bay for several years before getting the saresto. Have used it the last few years for mine with no issues and finally no fleas or ticks brought into my poor cats who are really the biggest challenge when it comes to dealing with the pests. But like Amy, I don't do anything for heartworms. I do ivemectin for the first little bit after I get a dog but mostly I focus on having a good diet and dealing mosquitoes when I know we will be in an area with them. Anytime you are dousing your animals with all kinds of chemicals to deal with a variety of things reactions are going to happen. Especially if said animal is also on medication for other things as so many pets are now days. People give their animals too much stuff in general. Half the animals out there are on shots for allergies, flea and tick meds, heartworm pill, supplements their owner thinks they need, then fed food that is made imbalanced by toppers and treats to "spoil" them. We have become a society of hypochondriacs for our pets and are killing them with kindness.

Cats. Ugh. Cats are a problem. Cannot use permethrin on them, it's lethal! But. They don't seem to be as bothered by Lyme disease as dogs. They are, however, the source of most fleas on dogs, or so I've read.

Ticks are an issue here but being my yard is sand its not an issue. I only do heartworm seasonally because while we dont have it here, squirt goes everywhere and i lost a cat 10 years ago to heartworm. We have mosquitoes that could challange anywhere in Florida or texas because i have an irrigation ditch as a property line but our local ones its west nile we worry about.

Before i go anywhere ticks may be i spray squirt with either the adams flea and tick spray or my horse stuff in the silver bottle by farnam that claims to be dog safe (i also use it in the house during fly season) now fleas you only see in rodents and prarie dogs, and i dont know anyone thats ever delt with a flea infestation up here that wasnt caused by an animal spending too much time around prarie dog colonies. Good thing too because those carry bubonic plague.

I miss having cats