We are really struggling with fleas.
Never had them before so used the following but still 1 month after first treatment have found a flea on one of them and 2 out of 4 now have hotspots and others have irritated red patches (that will probably turn to hotspot) really need to get rid of these NOW.
Vet said not to worry it will take a while for the fleas to die but this has now been longer than a while and soon I have skin problems in all of them (none suffer from any issues normally).

Acclaim sprayed the house(washed everything I could e.g. bedding, blankets etc first time a month ago, gave them Capstar tablets when I treated the house as I'm pregnant so did not want to use spot one...
2 weeks ago still fleas, acclaimed the house again and used frontline combo vet spot on, STILL found a flea yesterday and dogs still scratching!

I have now obviously used spot on and have since read frontline is not as effective as before and it obviously has not worked.
Can I use a different one with different effective ingredient like Advantage?
Has anybody used the Program tablets and did they work? I have tried to read about them but can't find much info on exactly how they work.

Are you feeding garlic to your dogs?  And benzyl benzoate will fix the hot spots quickly but of course much better not to get them. :(

Yes, you need to use Program tablets too - not just the Capstar.  Capstar kills all current adult fleas on the dog.  It doesn't stop eggs or immature fleas from developing.  Program does that. 

I'd just start the Program - you need to give it monthly for several months.

I have only used Garlic Oil 2mg capsules for about 8 yrs now and not seen a flea when others are complaining and using all sorts of chemicals to no avail, the dogs take them daily like a treat, Tesco do them 240 in a pot and sometimes have offers on.

Me too.  Before my 'more natural days' :)  I used to import 11 month flea collars full of chemicals from America when you couldn't get them here and swore by them. 

Since I went on to the garlic regime I didn't see a single flea on my dogs, even after I'd had dogs (and me!) running with them in the grooming parlour.  Got to be better than filling your dogs and your home with chemicals???? :(

> I have only used Garlic Oil 2mg capsules for about 8 yrs now and not seen a flea

Trouble is I never used garlic but would go 20 years without a flea :)
Can imagine it might be a deterant though but not sure it could deal with an infestation if the little blighters did decide to hold their little noses.

I have had dogs for 20 years and this is first time we have fleas (not used chemicals like spot ons either).

I'm not happy about all the chemicals I'm having to use, because of the dogs, because of being pregnant myself and bringing baby to the house as well :(!

Acclaim is supposed to kill adults in the environment and stop eggs developing for 12 months but it is obviously not working or working very slowly (this is what the vet said, it will take some time to kill adults already in the environment but it has now been a month and the dogs are still bitten!)

We are not over taken, e.g there are days I don't see any and I think yay, gone!
But then spot one and obviously the dogs are bitten and itchy still, maybe not to the level they were before but I need to get rid of all of them not just cut numbers!

After this ordeal and when we get rid of them (if we ever get rid of them!!) I think my dogs will get the garlic too as have heard many people saying it will work as deterrent...
:( :( :(

http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Bob-Martin-All-in-One-Flea-Spray-300ml/productinfo/FLEASPALL/

Also available at PAH in an emergency ;-)

The active ingredient is a form of silicone - dimeticone.    Same as used in hair serum.

Can be used on carpets, furnishings, floors etc as well as dogs/pups, cats/kittens.   Careful if you've got hard floors as they may get a little slippy ;-)

I used this when a client's dog brought them in last summer, I knew I'd missed a few and they were in the workshop, but ths stuff meant my dogs didn't catch them.

Big thumbsup from me :-)      

I can't use anything with pyrethrum/permethrin as my one bitch is very allergic to it - it's in most other flea sprays and house treatments

Last September I found one flea on each of 3 dogs.  I have a houseful of dogs.  I blasted the dogs that I'd found a flea on.  Used Frontline spray as it is my standby that never gets used. 

The remaining dogs were given flea collars.  I waited a week before issuing a collar to the 3 that had been blasted.  I only left the collars on for a month, and haven't found a flea since.

I had the same problem last autumn when a visiting dog left me with "visitors" which seemed resistent to all my efforts of murder. Spot-ons won't be effective for my lot as they swim daily. In desperation (having sprayed the carpets, etc.) I bought COMFORTIS tablets. A miracle. Within 2 hours of giving a tablet to the little dog, I combed about two dozen of the blighters, dead or dying, from the dog onto a white duvet cover. Gruesome but COMFORTIS did the trick. My dogs were not vomiting which the drug sheet warned as a possible side effect. To be sure, I repeated it a month later and had no reccurence of fleas ( not vomiting!) It seems that the current flea is extremely resistent to being killed! Comfortis only available from the vet and costs about £44 for 6 ( give one a month.) My vet wouldn't split a box but I found a friendly vet who sold me just two tablets. It's a real nightmare problem and I hope not to get it again. Like others, I have not had fleas in the house for over 25 years prior to this.

http://www.comfortis.com/ Don't think I'd want to use it on breeding animals

> Don't think I'd want to use it on breeding animals

Maybe not, although worth finding out the half life and just stop using it well before mating, however, for an owner who is pregnant it seems a much safer alternative to sprays particular if they get someone else to handle the tablets.

We have just moved house so are back to carpet in the lounge, absolutely horrified to admit that we were plagued by fleas since moving in- I blame the feral cats they were feeding. All 4 of my dogs were infested, I was picking off about 12 a day each. My oldie then had a reaction to the fle bite :( skin very red.
I raw feed and give garlic, I also do not like using chemicals.

Fingers crossed I am hoping we have sorted it. I had to vaccum every day as fleas hate vibrations, I had a flea cat collar in my dyson in case there were eggs hatching. I showered the dogs in Johnsons medicated shampoo and I used Diatomaceous earth ( must be FOOD GRADE) on the carpet, it basically cuts into insects and chops them up, it is safe near other animals. Be careful if you have a hoover with a belt as it also eats this!! According to websites you can also use DE on the dogs but I didn't.

If all else fails I have been told that Indorex spray works on the carpets.

It's just about breaking the cycle but I admit I was wondering if it would ever end.

Good Luck

I had this last year, frontline/effipro didn't help, capster didn't help.  I ended up having to Beaphar the house and Advantage the dogs.

It did the trick through but most of them reacted to the beaphar :(  So I'll not use that again.  I just didn't have time to get Indorex, I had a lot of people recommend that.

You don't need to handle the Comfortis tablets as they must be given with food so I put it in their dinners. Mine eat anything.

How do they get into their dinners? :) 

Would really recommend Program monthly.  Capstar only kills adult mature fleas.  It doesn't kill immature fleas or eggs.  Used alone it only provides a temporary respite of a day before eggs hatch and so on...  You need Program to stop the development of eggs as well. 

I know you aren't a fan of chemicals but I you want rid quickly I'd be looking at Advocate! Get it done so that you can look to them sort out their skin. While I see others are putting ideas ad options up which are more suitable to your way of thinking that will take a lot longer to eradicate them if I'm honest! Use that and do it once and then another round in 2 weeks time, it's not harmful to yor dogs as was recommended to me one time with a dog, not with fleas and it worked.

Hotspots are a menace and if its the flea bites which are triggering then you will be battling this whole situation for longer if you go down the natural route. Would these spot ins really affect your unborn child? What about your oh putting them in the dogs so you don't have direct contact with the chemicals or use surgical gloves when applying and do it outside or a well ventilated room

Spot ons get everywhere:  Everyone who pets the dog, the dog sits on furniture, putting the dog's collar and lead on...  Not for no reason do the leaflets suggest not letting kids and dogs sleep together.

Mifwife has assured me it is safe to use the flea products at this point of pregnancy although not a fan of the idea we have as can't have the dogs ripping themselves to shreds (well one of them seems to really react).
We have already used chemical spray that is supposed to kill adults&stop development eggs(had good reviews in doing the job, not cheap supermarket one) & a frontline combo vet spot on on dogs...

The problem is it has not worked so trying to figure where to go from here :-( looks like more chemicals need to be added to the mix... so not happy but need to get this sorted!
advocate seems to have different active ingredient to frontline(which some people say is not effective anymore?), so although frontline is supposed to cover for 8 weeks, should we add another spot on?
The vets were not very helpful & told us to just wait but how long do you wait when it is pretty obvious it is not being sorted :-(
Program tablets are out of stock due to manufacturing issue in all places i have looked but even if i get those need the biting adults gone too!

Nikita did you advantage the dogs although had frontlined them already(with same results as we =no result)?

Program:

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/flea-treatments-program-flea-treatments-c-3_164

http://www.medicanimal.com/setSessionLocale/product?product_id=735&newLocale=en_GB&ptc=googlebase&utm_source=uk_googlebase&utm_medium=uk_googlebase&utm_campaign=uk_googlebase&gclid=CID375j5sLUCFefJtAodLXgABw

http://www.bestpet.co.uk/product/~product_id=735;jsessionid=BC03834858E2F4605FAB1697C2840075.jvm1

Seems to be in stock in plenty of places?

When you click to order, out of stock message comes up in two of your links... and many other places I have looked...
But seems the top link has it in stock, thank you I only need one place that has it in stock of course!

> it has not worked

chances are it is working/will work fine to stop new fleas hatching/developing, but could new adult fleas be being re-introduced to your house?  Do you have free ranging cats, or neighbours cats coming into your garden.  It might pay you to give the neighbours some flea stuff for the cats.  Do you have outbuildings where fleas may be hibernating, treat the shed, kennels, garage as well as the house.

A friend had a day boarder that she had bred and she would treat the dog for fleas, and when it came back after the weekend it was running alive with them and it was affecting her own dogs, one being sensitive to flea bites and ripping it's coat out.

The owner would not accept that her house was infested, and my friend had to say she could not board the dog any more.

> Nikita did you advantage the dogs although had frontlined them already(with same results as we =no result)?

I did, although there was about a couple of weeks between them I think - certainly no sooner though, but for their sakes I didn't wait too long as two of them were just going nuts with it.

Just to update if anybody else is having the same issue.
We have now used Advocate and it seems to have worked, which frontline or other products did not do.
I have a top up to put in in weeks time just in case but finally I have not found any fleas for few days!

We don't have any other animals that could be bringing them in or outbuildings etc.

It has been real struggle to get rid of these fleas and still not sure if they really are gone!
We have now missed 1.5 months of training, shows etc which is a shame as I'm now myself getting to size I can't do much comfortably so the dogs will have to have a break as it is :(.

If you have an outbreak which is hard to stop, it's best to continue treating for a few months (not just one month and see how it goes) - and also to hoover thoroughly to get any eggs or fleas in the carpet. 

If you continue treatment for a few months, you will totally break the lifecycle and should get rid of them permanently.

Advocate it says you can do a top up treatment week after the first treatment so will do that and will continue treating although the environmental spray is supposed to stop them hatching for a year.

Still not seen any more fleas so I think we have finally found a product that works :-) Thanks to those whose suggested Advocate!

I've also not had fleas for years. Two months ago they were all bathed in Insecticidal shampoo, then a week later Frontline spray. A month later Stronghold (recommended by vet as she thought it was mange not fleas) they were all scratching like mad. Flea combed the two girls and found 5 fleas on each, only 2 weeks after giving Stronghold (which should have done fleas and/or mange). Vet has now recommended Comfortis.

Yes the house has been done, all bedding washed on high temperatures, steam cleaned kitchen floor etc etc.

I am usually very reluctant to give them anything like any of the above products, (especially as I have a breed susceptible to auto-immune issues) they all have garlic (but that doesn't seem to be working this year).

I have read up on Comfortis, side effects/reactions/effectiveness. Any other suggestions or views?

I had to resort to Comfortis last year and it worked like magic and within an hour. Nothing else worked and the little blighters have not returned.

Just to update. I did use Comfortis, none of the dogs had any adverse reactions and fingers crossed it seems to have worked!