Fleas and ticks can create a serious problem for your pet or pets during the spring and summer months, and flea bites and tick bites can cause a great deal more than itchiness in your companions. Once a flea or tick infestation begins, it can be truly difficult to control it, let alone limit it, so using a good product for flea and tick control is absolutely vital if you want to create this problem from becoming something even worse. Tick and flea preventative products come from a wide variety of sources, each slightly different than the last. Not every product that you come across for tick control or flea control is going to be effective for you however, so it is important to consider the products that are actually going to deliver results for you.

Advantage - This is a topical flea preventative product that was developed by the Bayer Corporation. This fast acting topical liquid product is intended to be used on a month by month basis, and within 5 minutes the fleas will no longer be biting. Within an hour, many of the fleas on your cat or dog have died from the Advantage, and within 12 to 24 hours, 98 percent of all fleas are either dead, or close to it. This product is also capable of killing flea larvae which prevents the flea life cycle from continuing. This is an important way to cut the flea infestation off before it gets to be too overwhelming.

Capstar - Manufactured by Novartis Animal Health, Capstar is a flea preventative that is administered in the form of a tablet, and makes use of Nitenpyram as its active ingredient. This product is outstanding at killing fleas quickly but it is not meant to be as long lasting as topical forms of flea preventative. If you have a severely infested animal, Capstar is the right product because it can wipe out 90 percent of all fleas on a dog or cat within 4 to 6 hours, and begins killing after only about 30 minutes. Capstar can be administered to both dogs and cats as long as they are four weeks or older and are at least two pounds or more. Pregnant and nursing mothers can also receive Capstar without incident, which sets this flea control product apart from most topical pesticides.

K9 Advantix - This is another product manufactured by the Bayer Corporation. As the name suggests, this particular flea and tick preventative is for dogs only, and should absolutely not be applied to cats for any reason. If you have cats in your household, another product should be used because K9 Advantix can be extremely harmful to cats. K9 Advantix makes use of imidacloprid and permethrin, and is capable of killing and repelling fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.

Frontline Products - Frontline Plus is a topical flea control product that is manufactured by Merial and makes use of (S)-methoprene as its active ingredient. This is a quick acting flea prevention product that is also capable of handling ticks, flea larvae and flea eggs in addition to adult fleas. Frontline Plus is the only topical flea and tick control product that appears to be waterproof. Frontline spray is a quick eliminator of both fleas and ticks, and can be completely effective within about 24 hours after application. Both of these products can be used on both dogs and cats that are 8 weeks old or older, and can be used on pregnant or nursing mothers as well.

Revolution - Manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health, Revolution makes use of selamectin as its active ingredient. This once monthly treatment is applied between the shoulder blades like Advantage, Advantix and Frontline. However, Revolution is also capable of preventing more than fleas, but also heartworms, ear mites, sarcoptic mange and ticks in dogs, and heartworms, ear mites, roundworms and hookworms in cats. Dogs and cats six weeks old or older are capable of receiving Revolution treatment without incident.