Spot-on flea treatment is normally applied to the back of your pets neck, this way the ingredients from the flea treatment can be absorbed into the skin without easy access for you pet. These usually last about a month, but can be different depending on the spot-on purchased.
Advantages and disadvantages:
Spot-on treatment costs less and lasts longer so can be great if you’re on a budget. It’ll also mean you won’t have to get a tablet down your pet’s throat, which to some owners will be a great relief. Spot on treatment can also be applied any time of the month and only needs to be applied once every 4 weeks, compared to the every 2 weeks for tablets and is also quick to work and easy to apply.
Although it sounds like a winning product, spot on treatment takes a couple days to completely absorb so can be dangerous to children or other pets in the process and can cause skin sensitivities.
Some other examples of disadvantages to spot on treatment:
- Very dangerous if your pet ingests it
- Harmful to humans
- Has to be places in exactly the right position otherwise it won’t work or your pet will be able to lick and scratch at it
- Some treatments need your pets to be bather before and/or after treatment
Efficiency of spot on treatment
Flea spot on treatment is almost impossible to be completely efficient due to a couple of factors. The first hurdle is that the pipette is the perfect dose for an animal of that size, however you’ll never be able to completely get it all out making it inefficient. It’s almost like trying to get all the toothpaste out of a tube – virtually impossible. Also, if your pet gets wet within 48 hours of application the treatment can completely wash off. Treatment can also wash off partially if you wash your pet halfway through the course – even if it’s just a splash in the sea. For the treatment to work the most efficiently, be sure to follow the instructions as close as possible as instructions tend to vary on individual products and keep your pet dry for as long as possible.
varying spot-on flea treatments
Depending on where you buy your treatment will depend on how strong it’ll be and how quickly it’ll work, with vet prescriptions being the strongest and supermarkets being the weakest. It’s best to buy treatments on your local pet specialist’s advice as they’ll be able to sell you treatment that’ll best suit the type of animal you own, including the weight, and also recommend how many doses are needed per treatment.
Team Shanklinpets