Do you have to use flea treatment monthly

[Nottinghill1]

We took our dog to the vets for a preventive flea treatment,they use advocate I think it's called. They said it has to be done once a month? It was around £8 for one dose is that about right?

I have never treated my dogs, one is coming up 14, the other is 3.
Neither have ever had fleas, if they did so, then I would treat.
I do regularly worm.

I personally think this is a bit of a scam from the vets and manufacturer to get you to spend money.

My dog and cat never get fleas in the winter months and while we might have an episode of fleas in the summer, it is rarely for more than a month.

As long as you check for fleas regularly, I think it is fine to just treat as and when you need to, rather than preventatively.

I have to treat my dog once a month, before we even get to end of the month she will start getting fleas as does my cat too. Maybe it depends on the area. I also treat the house regularly too, hate fleas!! Jealous of factoring

Ask someone who's had a flea infestation and they will tell you why it's wise to treat monthly it is not fun to try and break the cycle, or to worry that visitors to your house will go away with flea bites six months down the line, or to live with the paranoia. If you've never had a flea problem I can see why you might not see the importance of prevention but it really isn't nice. It's also utterly miserable for your pet (and it never ceases to amaze me how frequently people don't notice that their pet has picked up fleas!).

Winter is also bad for fleas because central heating leads to dormant eggs hatching and fresh infestations. I saw two cases in the last couple of weeks in dogs whose owners hadn't treated for fleas since summer.

We moved into a house when we were teenagers. The house was absolutely crawling with fleas, sitting on the floor wasn't an option, and they make you feel grubby for some reason.
And yes, our poor dog at the time did become riddled with them.
Nightmare to get on top of, which is why I am chuffed ours don't get them. I'm at a loss as to why they don't mind.

Advocate is administered once a month, I think Frontline is once every 3 months but doesn't protect against as many things. It's bloody expensive!!

Thanks for all your posts,all very interesting.

Frontline is also monthly. Bravecto is a new product which is given every 3 months and appears to be very effective. There are loads of options though - vets are generally the best people to talk to about this given we are trained and experienced in flea prevention.

I suppose if we didn't have the NHS people would think cervical screening and blood pressure checks were a scam to get you to spend money

How effective are garlic, apple cider spray, and diameteous earth?

Not at all, MarcoPolo. And garlic could be toxic in enough quantities too.

Yes, Advocate needs to be given monthly. And is not just a flea treatment- it's a combi product that covers against a lot of other parasites too, most importantly lungworm, which can be fatal, you can't prevent exposure to and none of the other flea products cover.

Listen to your vet about what your local parasite risks are- they see the fallout when things go wrong.