Flea and tick medicine for dogs ??

We use Frontline.

Frontline.

I have used Comfortis, then Trifexis, and now just two days ago I picked up Nexguard from my vet's office. The Nexguard pill is a soft chewable one that smells stinky, so my dog just gulped it down. It kills fleas and 3 kinds of ticks. I have a heartworm pill coming in the mail that should be here today.

I have had animals in this house for 30 years and I have never ever seen a flea in here. No flea, no flea dirt, nothing. But this year, OMG, they are horrible. I've asked other dog owners and they have all said this is the worst year they have ever seen for fleas. I am at the end (I hope) of a major skirmish with the flea army that invaded my house last week.

I first noticed just one on my dog. We had been at the pet store that day, so I assumed that's where he picked it up. I killed it and got his comb and started checking him over for more. Picture lots of screaming and freaking out on my part. When I finished checking the dog and counted bodies, there were 19 fleas in my "kill cup."

These fleas are so teeny tiny that you can barely get ahold of them. If you get one and peek to make sure you have it, it jumps away. I've never seen fleas so small. I used a white cup filled it with rubbing alcohol. And when I thought I had one, I released my grip only when my fingers were submerged under the alcohol.. They die in there pretty quickly. I was also advised to put a squirt of liquid soap in the cup to insure they are unable to climb the glass to get out. The viscosity of the soap makes it too hard for them to swim and climb the glass edge.

My dog sleeps in my bed with me, snuggled up and touching me all night long. I didn't want to take the chance that I missed a flea, so I bathed him before I went to bed so I could guarantee there were no more. (And caught 3 more fleas.)

The next morning, I walked through the garage to get to the attached laundry room. Within an eye blink, my legs were covered with fleas! It was like some weird horror movie. There were tons of them. I think they must have just hatched in my garage that day because I didn't see anything the day before this. I spent the next few days on major flea patrol. I dosed all four cats with Advantage II. They hate it, but I would rather deal with them being angry with me than let them have fleas on them. I wonder if there is a good pill form for cats?

I have been vacuuming daily. I washed and tightly bagged up all the animal rugs, blankets, toys, and beds until this mess is over. The vet's office recommended a nontoxic spray for my front and back yard that I am picking up today. Oh, and I read that baking soda dehydrates them and they die within a day or so. I sprinkled a big Costco bag of it all over my garage and laundry room floors.

I believe I've won the flea battle this time. My plan is to keep the yards sprayed as often as I need to with the nontoxic stuff. I bought a flea comb and will comb my dog out on my front porch every time we are coming in from a walk or shopping trip. Now that it appears to be all cleaned up, I don't want to reintroduce any new fleas.

Are you having an infestation like I just did or are you just looking for flea products because you might come across some?

I noticed fleas first on one of our cats (that are indoor only). I tried cleaning and using borax but didn't seem to be making a dent in the problem. Once I put all the animals on comfortis, then had an exterminator come in and spray the house, the fleas were gone.