Tuesday, March 04, 2008

New topical flea treatment

I've use Frontline Plus for flea and ticks for a while. I have also used Program which is a monthly pill that prevents formation of chitin in flea eggs and larvae, thereby killing fleas before they develop. Although Frontline still seems to be doing well for the dogs, I have read that long-term use of a particular product may reduce its effectiveness as fleas may become resistant. However, I haven't read any published papers to that effect for Frontline.

The other day when I went to the vets' office, I saw an ad for a new flea product called ProMeris.
ProMeris is a spot on treatment, just like Frontline. It is only available through your vets' office. Fort Dodge who makes ProMeris established a veterinarian-only sales policy because it believes veterinarians should be pet owners’ primary source of information to help ensure the health and well-being of their companion animals. And it is new so there isn't much information on long-term effects.

The active ingredients are Metaflumizone that has never before been used to control fleas before. It attacks fleas’ nervous systems by blocking voltage dependent sodium channels, which results in paralysis and death of the flea. Amitraz, the second active ingredient in ProMeris for dogs, is a well-established tickicide and provides dogs with up to four weeks of tick control. Amitraz works by disrupting the tick’s normal nerve function, leading to reduced feeding and attachment, paralysis and death of the tick.

ProMeris for dogs effectively controls fleas and protects against re-infestation for up to six weeks, and may be used as part of a treatment strategy for dogs suffering from flea allergy dermatitis.

I'm not sure whether I'll switch to ProMeris or not. There are a lot of squirrels, foxes and opposums at Surry which makes for additional problems when trying to control fleas. So I need something that remains effective for the dogs during the flea season. Hopefully, Frontline will continue to be effective.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do not use ProMeris. It is horrible. I tried it once on my cat when my vet quit carrying Frontline. While I'm sure it's effective it is also very toxic smelling. My poor cat almost broke his neck trying to get to it and lick off the smell. The smell stayed for days and days too. Anything that smells that toxic can't be good. You know the old saying, "if it looks like a duck and quack likes a duck..." I'm sure Frontline will continue to be fine. Good Luck.
~Kathy in Seattle

Anonymous said...

I tried Promeris, on several of my cats and I felt obliged to phone the suppliers and complain. With all the other products the fleas die quietly.. with this product they try and leave the animal and so you suddenly notice all the fleas crawling all over their fur and the cats scratch and scratch. The suppliers assured me they are 'walking dead' fleas and would be gone within 48 hours, but despite applying the treatment twice over three days, they still have visible fleas (which were not visible before) and I have returned to Advantage which means I dont have to see the fleas hopping and crawling!