Saturday, July 13, 2013

REVIEW: Seresto collar flea treatment for dogs

I remember flea collars -- the white, kinda powdery strips of of rubbery material that we kept trying to put on the cats. They didn't do anything for the fleas and kinda smelled funny.

This ain't your mama's flea collar.

Seresto is the gray collar above the purple collar.

This is Seresto, from Bayer, the makers of Advantage, Advantix and Frontline. Seresto came out earlier this year, after being on the market a year in Europe. Lulu has had it on about a month.

Seresto uses the same basic ingredient as the topicals, but the way this works, you don't have to apply it once a month, or as needed (who hasn't had to apply Frontline or Advantix more than once a month?). The collar slowly releases the active ingredient, Imidacloprid, to kill and fight off flea infestations.

Seresto also uses Flumethrin, a European treatment to repel and kill ticks.

If done right, Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar can last up to eight months.



The collar comes wrapped in plastic inside a tin. You shouldn't open it until you decide to put it on your dog.

Now the Bayer website says it kills fleas within 24 hours, but I found (and most people find, from the reviews I've read), that you really don't see a difference until about a week after. Also, you should probably wait a couple days after bathing a dog before putting the collar on for the first time.

I found after that first week it worked very well. Lulu has not had any problems with the collar. She also hasn't had any irritation from it, something that I understand can be a problem with collars. She doesn't scratch at it, and there's no redness or loss of hair.


Something else I've noticed -- Galadriel has stopped scratching. She is an indoor cat, but she has seemed to be a carrier of fleas in the past, so Lulu will still be dealing with fleas even when treated. And Galadriel is a pain in the butt to give treatment to.

Seresto, according to Bayer, not only kills fleas before eggs can be laid, but it helps curbs flea larvae in the dog's surroundings. Lulu's surroundings are every where in the house, and Galadriel shares them. I haven't seen a flea on the cat.


Pros:
  • Seems to effectively kill and keep fleas off the dog.
  • Doesn't require applying the treatment once a month -- Lulu hates when I tried to put the topicals on her, but I was not fond of giving her Comfortis, even though it worked well.
  • Also provides protection against several kinds of ticks. Bayer also says it helps ward off tapeworm infections, chewing lice, and helps treat sarcoptic mange.
  • Is easy to put on and doesn't bother the dog.
  • You don't have to take it off to wash the dog.
  • Works for up to eight months.
  • Not greasy, or powdery.
Cons:
  • Seresto is a chemical treatment for fleas. I know many are not a fan of this. I live in Florida. I know it can be possible to naturally deal with fleas down here, but I have never been successful. I live in an apartment complex, so that makes it harder. I promise to look into more natural remedies at some point.
  • Seresto lasts up to eight months. But in order to ensure that, you can't bathe the dog more than once a month. When that happens, it reduces the duration of the treatment to five months. With a beagle during the rainy season, that can be a problem. Not because of the rain, but because she likes to run in mud afterwards.
  • Because of that issue alone, Seresto may not be economical for you. When comparing it to K9 Advantix II, it's more expensive than a six-month supply. 
  • Some vets suggest not putting flea and tick treatment on all the time. If you subscribe to this, you may not want something that get this.
As always, if you have real questions, you should talk to your vet first.

Seresto is now available in stores everywhere, and you can check with your vet too. It comes in small dog (up to 18 lbs.), large dog (over 18 lbs.) and one for cats.

You can also buy Seresto on Amazon.com.




DISCLAIMER: I received a Seresto flea collar for free from Bayer at Global Pet Expo in Orlando in February.

13 comments :

  1. Gizmo's been wearing the Seresto since May and I'm very happy with the results so far

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  2. Great review! Gizmo mentioned these to me awhile back and I was really intrigued. However, with 3 big rowdy dogs... I just don't think they'd work. Rosie, especially, likes to grab Jeffie and Rudy's collars. I sure wouldn't want her biting into a chemical collar :-(

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  3. Mine is still working pawsome! I was on Anvantix before Seresto, and put the collar on 2 days my bath instead of a new dose of Advantix. Mom never saw a flea or any flea dirt on me. Pom fur (like most Nordic Spitz breed coats) naturally repels dirt, so I don't need a bath more than once a month. You can't even see the collar in all my fur. BOL!!
    Hugs
    Pepper

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  4. I've been curious about these ever since I first heard about them. We've always used an internal flea preventive (a pill) called Program - I actually did a post about flea prevention a while back. But Program is no longer being produced, so we've been thinking about switching to Sentinel when the last of our Program runs out. (Sentinel is flea prevention and heartworm prevention all wrapped up into one pill.)
    We've never tried the topicals, but to have a topical integrated into a collar like this is a very interesting concept. Although it may be a collar, it's nothing like the flea collars of the past, which like you say, didn't do a diddly thing but smell funny.
    This is a great review and thank you for indicating that you're not seeing any redness or irritation so far, because that would definitely be one of our main concerns.
    I love that companies are bringing more options into the market. Regardless what people choose to use, it's great to have a lot of choices!
    And yes, some people choose to go the natural route, and that's awesome as long as it works. It's all about effectiveness, and in places like Florida... from what I understand, natural just doesn't cut it ;).

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  5. I purchased the Seresto collar for my beagle. It worked for two months, but now not only is it not working, our flea problem has doubled. We've tried everything from natural remedies, shampoos, bug bombing the house, combs, treating carpet, throwing away and replacing dog beds, trips to the vet and trips to groomer. I feel so awful for my little guy. I have a hunch that the wet, humid climate is part of the reason and that the problem is our backyard. The only thing we haven't tried is food grade diatomaceous earth, which I am ordering today. I feel bad using chemicals for Rosco and I hope we have luck with the DE.

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  6. We had major issues with fleas. We tried everything, from the normal flea repellent, k9 advantix, shampoo, to Cedar oil. Absolutely nothing worked. I bought a Seresto flea collar for my dog, and amazingly, a couple of days later, flea free! No more fleas in bed or on me. I absolutely recommend this product to everyone.

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  7. Double check your math with K9 Advantix unless the Bayer product reduced its price. For 6 month Advantix comes down to just under $11/ month. Let's say $10.50. The Seresto collar is $50 for 8 months, or 6.25/month. This was using both dogs over 55lb. This difference works out to about a $50 savings per year for the collar. Also, I don't believe the Advantix repels ticks while the collar does.

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    1. But again, that's only if you need to bathe the dog more than once a month, which some people do. In Lulu's case, I don't need to bathe her more than once a month. However, I did find a flea on her today so it's possible this is starting to wear off.

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    2. Can't you take the collar off to bathe them?

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    3. Advantix does repel ticks as well.

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  8. I had a horrible issue with fleas, earlier this year. Normally have no issues at all. Finally put down diatomaceous earth (food grade) in the only carpeted room I have. The rest of the house is hardwood and tile. I bathed my Lab, and the five indoor cats, with Dawn and baby shampoo. No more fleas.

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  9. head and shoulders, cover head first then body fill tub with water until only head pokes out. wait,wait,wait. fleas will die and float. you have to wait..:)
    We used dry scalp with almond oil.
    puppy is now wearing seresto collar, we did kills over 40+ fleas with bathe first
    Chemicals are better than flea infestation. Sad way to pass away.

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  10. How is the Comfortis? Worked better than Seresto? I'm struggling to decide which one for my dog...

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