Somebody posted on my blog that they used Vectra and their dog still had fleas so they were off to buy another product. I suspected that this was a planted comment, put there by the competitors to Vectra who are very nervous about the “new kid on the block” having newer better technology and taking a bite out of their apple. But if I was wrong — and there truly were still fleas after applying Vectra — I turned to Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins to see if such a thing was possible. Here’s what she explained about how flea infestations are destroyed by Vectra — if you give it a chance:
When I hear a comment like this, I always ask for particulars, like what (if any) product was used previously and how many doses of Vectra were used. When a pet that has had no previous product or an inferior one that does NOT rid the premises of flea immature forms, applying Vectra for the first time will occasionally result in what appears a lack of efficacy during the first week after application. If there are lots of immature fleas and flea eggs in the environment, as when no product has been used or when products like Advantage (with no insect growth regulator (IGR) at all), or Frontline (with its light-sensitive IGR) is used, there are still hundreds or even thousands of immature fleas developing in the environment off the pet because the flea spends 90% of its life off the pet in the home environment. When the flea becomes an adult and jumps onto the Vectra-treated pet, it begins to move around frantically prior to death. At this point, it may appear that these new fleas are unaffected by the product, but this is not the case. If owners just wait a day or two they will see that the new adults arriving on the pet die off as we guarantee. Continued use of Vectra will start to eliminate even the immature fleas in the environment, because of its superior IGR, and eventually no new fleas will be around to jump onto the pet.
Another problem is that Vectra will cause healthy fleas that are living at skin level at the time of application to quickly move up the hair shaft and move around to try to get away from the product. These fleas are essentially “dead fleas walking” but people may not realize that they are trying to flee from the surface of the pet, and they will subsequently die. According to the Companion Animal Parasite Council (www.capcvet.org), all pets should have regular, year-round application of effective ectoparasiticides in order to control not only the adult parasites, but all of the generations waiting patiently in the carpets, furniture and hidden corners of the home for their turn to infect the pet and even the people who live there.
We know Vectra works as Summit says it does, not only because it has been tested by Summit during research and development of the product, but because it has been tested by all of its competitors, with the same, excellent results.
