Hack for fleas and ticks using Frontline!

0.17 ml = 05.0 lb dog
0.34 ml = 10.0 lb dog
0.51 ml = 15.0 lb dog
0.68 ml = 20.0 lb dog
0.9 ml = 25.0 lb dog
1.0 ml = 30.0 lb dog
1.2 ml = 35.0 lb dog
1.4 ml = 40.0 lb dog
1.6 ml = 45.0 lb dog
1.7 ml = 50.0 lb dog
Etc., etc.

For bigger dogs than what are listed in the above chart, all you do is add .17 ml of product for every 5.0 lb of body weight.

Ticks are everywhere there are grasses, trees, and shrubs ... and they carry a whole host of potentially-deadly diseases that they can transmit to your dogs when they bite. The time to start treating your dogs begins at the age of 4 months and your vigilance in keeping them treated should continue for the rest of their lives.

How long to keep your dogs protected throughout the year depends on the area where you live , which can range from minimal applications during spring to summer (in colder areas) , to being an all-year effort (in tropical climates). There are many ways to approach the problem of preventing fleas and ticks, and there are an incredible amount of products to choose from, but I will only discuss the most effective of these here:

Frontline main ingredient is fipronil

Advantix, imidacloprid, not only is weaker than fipronil but it washes off easier as well. Fipronil is also cumulative in the sebaceous glands when applied, which means it adds-up over the months, ensuring that it does a better job at killing the fleas and ticks with each application.

The other active ingredient to Frontline Plus, s-methoprene, is an insect growth regulator (IGR). Of these two drugs contained in Frontline Plus, fipronil is the most important component because it actually kills fleas and ticks, while the other just doesn't allow the buggers to mature and reproduce.

(COST)Unfortunately, however, all of the spot-ons can be prohibitively expensive, especially if you run a large yard. For example, Frontline Plus comes in four sizes. (1) Up to 22 lb, (2) 23-44 lb, (3) 45-88 lb, and (4) 89-132 lb. At best, you can buy six applications per package (one given per month)

Just to give you an idea of the cost of this product, size 3 (which covers a 50-lb dog) is about $100 for 6 treatments ($98.42 at my local vet, although the price will differ in different regions). Regardless, $98.42 divided by 6 means I would be paying $16.40 per dog, and at this price it would cost an average kennel $492.10 to treat a yard of 30 dogs. In other words, if you buy Frontline at retail, that is a bleepin car note to treat a yard of 30 dogs each month!

If you do the math, you will discover that each of the #3 size of Frontlines applicator tubes is 2.68 ml, and if I get 6 of them (16 ml) for $98.42, this means I get a total of only 16 ml of fipronil for almost a hundred dollars that is nearly $200/ounce (or twice as expensive as cocaine!).

Who needs to spend that much? Well, I will show you a way around this extreme expense:

If you do the math, you will find that Frontline is precisely dosed to be administered at .1675 ml per 5.5 lb of dog weight. Rounded-off, this means for every 5 lb your dog weighs, you need to put .17 ml of the Frontline-Plus product on his back for flea & tick prevention.

However, the way Frontline packages its product forces you to waste money.

To illustrate, lets suppose you have a 46-lb dog and you buy the 2.68 ml size Frontline tells you to use for a 46 lb dog. Well, if you do that, you have just wasted over 1.2 ml of product because a 46 lb dog actually only needs about 1.4 ml of product and you just dumped 2.68 ml on him! In other words, the  2.68 size of pre-packaged Frontline is for 45 to 88-lb dogs, so at the end of the day that amount is capable of handling the maximum size of an 88 lb dog, and yours was only 46 lb! So, not only is it clear that (if you buy according to Frontlines pre-fabbed dosings), youre wasting a lot of product, but it is equally-clear that there is a wide margin of safety in fipronil, as youre essentially double-dosing your dog. Now is where the savings come in:

If you have a large yard of dogs, it makes no sense to buy Frontline by the size for your dogs. Instead, buy a 6-month supply of the largest size (4.02 ml), for 89-132-lb dogs, and dump each of the 4 ml vials together into a shot glass. Six vials of 4.02 ml of fipronil will give you a total 24.12 ml of Frontline product. Now, if you then remember what the true dosage is for Frontline (.1675 ml per 5.5 lb of dog weight), you can then take a syringe and draw-out exactly what each of your dogs needs, according to the following table (again, volume and sizes have been rounded-off to an ever-so-slight excess, to ensure that the fleas & ticks are handled, as there is a large margin of safety in fipronil):

0.17 ml = 05.0 lb dog
0.34 ml = 10.0 lb dog
0.51 ml = 15.0 lb dog
0.68 ml = 20.0 lb dog
0.9 ml = 25.0 lb dog
1.0 ml = 30.0 lb dog
1.2 ml = 35.0 lb dog
1.4 ml = 40.0 lb dog
1.6 ml = 45.0 lb dog
1.7 ml = 50.0 lb dog
Etc., etc.

For bigger dogs than what are listed in the above chart, all you do is add .17 ml of product for every 5.0 lb of body weight.

It is better to make sure you actually KILL the ticks with a bit too much, than it is to waste the product by giving your dog almost the right amount,

Anyway, if you do the math, you will find that the 24.12 total ml ofn the 6-month supply of the jumbo Frontline product will treat a total of FIFTEEN 45-lb dogs or TWENTY-FOUR 30-lb dogs for the price of only six jumbo dogs in one month,

which is a pretty big savings compared to buying 3 sets of smaller Frontline vials in their pre-fabbed sizings.

I hope this idea helps some people, because you need to use this product if you live anywhere fleas & ticks may be.

Frontline should be applied to your dogs every single month during the tick season which is generally between the months of March through September. In most areas, I suggest you begin the process in February though, before the ticks actually come out, so that you have a good build-up of this chemical in your dog to nip these buggers at the bud. Also, it is good to continue to treat for ticks one month after tick season, just to make sure you cover any late stragglers as well. To apply, put the liquid through the fur and apply it directly to the skin of your dog, gradually running it down his spine. Make sure the dog is clean and dirt-free when you do apply the product, and make sure he stays that way for at least 24 hours after application.