do it yourself Advantage flea control

    I'm thinking about flea control now that the weather is heating up.

   My understanding is that Advantage works well, but is a little
pricey.   The active ingredient in Advantage is Imidacloprid, which is
gaining some ill repute from bee farmers, but is otherwise widely used
and available. You can get two liters of 21% Imadacloprid for under $70,
that certainly seems a lot cheaper than Advantage which is a few mL for
the same price.

   Who has any thoughts on mixing up home brew Advantage?

   Jeff

 
What's the other 79%?  Is it pharmaceutical grade?  I know nothing about
making drugs, for animals or people.  But there are a lot of ways for most
people to save $70 over the course of a year without much, if any
inconvenience or risk.  If you can't/won't afford routine care for a pet (or
were you thinking of using this on yourself?) you shouldn't have one.

I use Frontline on my cat.  It gives great results, though the cat hates to
have it applied.  But there are risks with any drug.  The World Health
Organization considers Imidacloprid as moderately toxic.  It has been known
to cause fatigue, cramping and in some cases asphyxia. It has also been
linked to thyroid lesions in dogs, as well as organ damage, muscle weakness,
breathing problems, and even reproductive problems in cats and dogs.

Products like Advantage undergo testing and clinical trials similar in many
ways to the testing that is done on drugs intended for human use - how many
animals are you going to test your home-brew on before applying it to the
family pet?

 Lou wrote:

I doubt Bayer makes more than one grade of Imadacloprid, why would they?

   As far as the other 79% that amounts to less than a .1 of a mL in a
cat size dose. All doses are 9%, and for a cat it is .8mL, kitten .4mL.


   I know nothing about

Fine, I wish you and your *one* cat well. Since I put in a cat door I
have more than one cat, a lot more. Spaying is an ongoing process. Would
you prefer I took them to the local kill shelter?


  If you can't/won't afford routine care for a pet (or

I find it unkind to have a single cat, why not a buddy for him/her?

   It gives great results, though the cat hates to

  The toxicity is fairly low, indeed it is safer than the widely used
pyrethrins.

  It has also been

   You are a piece of work... Is your desire to be helpful or critical?

  In the meantime, I'm buying dog size and subdividing from here:

http://www.joespetmeds.com/

   Jeff

 
Thanks for the link, petmeds wants a vets okay to order flea control and
joe doesn't and it's cheaper
Thanks agin

 

I don't know.  Apparently you don't either.


I wouldn't presume to suggest how many pets you should have.  I would
suggest you limit the number to no more than you can care for.  There are
pet doors that open only for your own pet(s).  If you have an open door, how
do you keep every animal that want to keep warm/dry from coming in?  Have
you seen


Had three, the other two died of old age.  This was the youngest.  My wife
and I are at the age where it's not unthinkable that a new kitten would
outlive us.  The cat is not house bound - he spends several hours a day
outside, free to roam the woods behind the house.


weakness,

Oh, the easiest one is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imidacloprid  - scroll
down to Toxicology.  I'll grant your statement that the toxicity is fairly
low, but you were talking about buying 2 liters.  I don't imagine you were
planning on bathing a cat or dog in it, but it could spill and you could be
at some degree of risk cleaning it up.


I work in human clinical trials, but have a passing acquaintance with animal
trials, but that's not your question.

Bluntly put, unless you know what you're doing, I think it's a terrible
idea, one that could put your pet(s) and yourself at risk of harm.  The
risk-to-benefit isn't worth it in my opinion.  If you like, I'm trying to be
helpful by being critical.