Really good flea pills that require no vet visit?

[belle032]

If you're open to a collar, I started using the Seresto Flea & Tick collar on my lab this year and so far it's worked really well. Our tick season has been bad this year and after finding 2 ticks on him in about a week (we walk wooded trails a lot), I got one to try. It says they last about 8 months and I was told about 6 months if they swim with them on regularly. I recommend so far!

 

[mjkacmom]

I ordered some flea medicine for my outside cat from Canada vet. You can order prescription medications from them without a prescription.

Also, don’t you have to take your dogs to the vet for heart worm medication? I hope you have your dogs on heart worm medication.

That’s a good point, OP where do you get heart worm medication?

 

[HeatherC]

Try a Seresto collar. Worth every penny.

 

[kuhltiffany]

I order my stuff from here for my dog, no prescription required: https://www.pets-megastore.com.au

 

[mamapenguin]

I seen some called Capstar on Amazon that has good reviews. Might just get those.

The rescue that I used to foster dogs for used Capstar and it worked great.

 

[stsomewhere]

Flea collars are very different than the topical liquids. There is a new flea collar brand Seresto that is effective and worthwhile, but otherwise I agree with you to avoid them all. They can be irritating to the pet as well as people, and just aren't that effective. But the name brand topical liquids are pretty safe. They are not the same chemical as the flea collars.

I don't know offhand of any reliable oral flea preventative that is not a prescription. If the dogs currently have fleas, the fleas are in the house so you'll want to vacuum everything very well, wash the dogs' bedding, and remove the vacuum bag from the house. The Capstar does work, but a week later the dogs will be reinfected from going outside or sneaky indoor flea holdouts. And if they don't currently have fleas, Capstar won't accomplish anything.

A lot of people in my Aussie groups use Seresto collars.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Be careful with over the counter stuff. My last dog had epilepsy and that's how I found out that flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives--even the shampoo--can all trigger seizures. My dog was more prone to it because of his epilepsy but they can cause seizures even in healthy animals so maybe that's why your vet needs to see them.

 

[hsmamato2]

Capstar works great to eliminate fleas, super quickly. But it does not provide ongoing prevention, so it should be used in conjunction with a monthly preventative.

I found some fleas on my cats a couple weeks back (and they're indoor cats!) I deep cleaned the entire house and gave them capstar, it works within an hour, but only lasts 24 hours in the system. Yesterday I gave them another capstar dose, and now I'm heading to petco to buy a (good brand,not the hartz stuff) topical that'll ensure they're all gone- that lasts a month on them.

 

[smile145]

I suggest having the yearly exam at the vet but then getting them to give you a prescription for the Sentinel (or whatever med you choose) and buying it on Chewy. The annual exam is essential for many reasons but the vets do charge too much for the meds. Chewy will accept a prescription either directly from your vet or you mailing them a copy the vet gives you and the meds are much much cheaper.

 

[JeanfromBNA]

Look up Little City Dogs. They sell the active ingredients in flea and tick medications. We have used their products for years. We have an 18 year old outdoor cat who gets a daily dose of nitenpyram, and she is as healthy as can be, and her coat is gorgeous. I can't recommend them enough.

 

[LovesTimone]

When our beloved dog was with us, he... well had sensitive skin, and the drops irritated his skin, as well the over the counter chews did not work on him and made him sick... We had to give him the pills...

When we traveled with our a dog, Even with using the pills, I had a spray product that I would spray him down with before getting back into the Truck, so that if there were any fleas at the rest areas, or wherever we stopped, to let him go potty, a flea might jump on him and get in the truck... I would just spray him, then wipe it all over with a towel, then use another towel to dry him off with. I used old towels, cutting them up into small squares he was a chihuahua, and just bagged them and threw them away at the rest areas ... I got this product at the vets office, due to sensitive skin...

I do think that you can get a product over the counter, at Petsmarts or maybe in a feed store it kills fleas and ticks.

Our friends have 2 dogs and a motor home they use a over the counter chew-able, and it works for them... plus they get a bath weekly - with a product for fleas and tick's. When they travel and they use an over the counter spray-able product... every-time they start back get in the RV... and works really well... It cost them 1,500 bucks to get the RV treated, when some rouge fleas got on their babies and hitched a ride and got inside the RV and they set up housekeeping... So now they get sprayed and brushed down, and dried off before getting back into the RV... she said its a pain, but better then forking out 1,500 dollars, and the dang fleas eating them up...

As well you can have have your yard sprayed for flea's, which will help cut down on the possibility of flea's getting in the house... doing a flea treatment to for the inside of the house can get really pricey really fast.