Last Updated on December, 2024
If you have a dog and you live in an area with a sizable population of fleas, ticks, or lice, then you absolutely need to have a way to get rid of these parasites from your pooch. Biting parasites like these can severely impact your dog’s quality of life.
Many parasite treatments are prohibitively expensive or just downright ineffective. The Seresto dog collar, on the other hand, has been proven to be effective and offers some of the best value for money of any other treatment method for parasites.
Read on if you want to learn more about the Seresto flea collar and how it works! Let’s get into seresto flea collar reviews.
Here are the 3 key points from this article:
- The Seresto dog collar is an effective way to protect your dog from fleas, ticks, and lice.
- The collar is made by Bayer AG, a large pharmaceutical company with a long history of developing effective pharmaceuticals.
- The Seresto dog collar contains two active ingredients, imidacloprid and flumethrin, which work by targeting the nervous system of the parasite.
TLDR: The Seresto dog collar is an effective way to protect your dog from fleas, ticks, and lice. It has a long-lasting formula and is water-resistant, making it a great choice for year-round protection. However, some dogs may experience side-effects from wearing the collar, so be sure to monitor your dog closely if you decide to use this product.
Table of Contents
Seresto Dog Collar Overview
The Seresto dog collar is an insecticidal collar for dogs.
It’s designed to prevent your dog from catching a case of fleas, ticks, and lice, which is beneficial not just for your dog but for you as well.
The collar is made by Bayer AG, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
They produce a huge variety of consumer products for both people and animals.
Bayer has a very long history of developing effective pharmaceuticals; in fact, Bayer is the original creator of aspirin.
But wait, let me tell you something
Before we get into how the collar works, let’s talk a little bit about fleas, ticks, and lice. All of these animals are tiny, annoying parasites, but the similarities between them more or less stop there.
Fleas
Fleas are very small biting insects that can be found almost worldwide.
Fleas only live for about two to three months, but at that time a female flea can lay about 2,000 eggs.
Fleas can’t fly, but they’re well-known for their astounding jumping abilities.
A flea can jump about 110 times its own body length, which is about the equivalent of an average human jumping the height of a 30-story building.
If your dog’s fur is infested with fleas, it’s not an inherently dangerous condition, but it will definitely be incredibly itchy and uncomfortable for your poor pup.
Fleas may spend a lot of time on your dog, but they don’t live permanently on your dog and tend to come and go as they please.
Ticks
Ticks are small, parasitic arachnids. Despite the fact that tick bites don’t make you itch as flea bites do, a bite from even a single tick is a considerably more serious issue.
Ticks are mostly known for being carriers of Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is a serious illness that starts off with you developing a rash in the vague shape of a bulls-eye.
It then progresses to a series of flu-like symptoms, and finally leaves you suffering from things like severe headaches, short-term memory loss, numbness in your limbs, and an irregular heart rate.
Both humans and dogs can catch Lyme disease from ticks.
Ticks can also carry diseases like ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. All of these diseases have generally flu-like symptoms and can sometimes be life-threatening.
Ticks can generally be found in areas with lots of tall grass. The ticks cling to the grass, then transfer themselves onto a host if the host brushes up against the grass.
If you find a tick on your dog, you should immediately remove it if you know how to properly do so. Otherwise, take your dog to a vet as soon as you can.
Lice
Lice are one of the less-common parasites you have to worry about as a dog owner.
Despite this, lice are perhaps the most annoying parasite of them all.
Bites from lice are incredibly itchy, and what makes matters worse is that lice spend their entire lives living on their host.
They eat, breed, and lay eggs all while on their host, so unless you’re actively treating them, lice can be a semi-permanent problem.
Human lice and dog lice are separate species, and humans can’t get dog lice or vice versa. In either case, you or your dog can get lice from touching other people/dogs with lice or from touching objects that have come into contact with lice.
There are two main types of dog lice; lice that irritate by chewing on your dog’s skin, and lice that cause irritation by sucking your dog’s blood.
Lice are incredibly small, about the same size as fleas. If you think your dog might have lice, look for tiny black insects in your pet’s fur. Also, keep an eye out for their eggs, which appear as small, flaky, white clusters.
how does seresto work?
The active ingredients in the Seresto dog collar are infused into the weave of the collar. The middle of the collar contains the greatest amount of these ingredients.
As time goes by, the active ingredients in the collar make their way to the surface, and from there they are transferred to your dog’s hair and skin.
Want to know the best part?
The effects of the dog collar (seresto reviews) don’t kick in right away. You’ll have to wait at least two days for the ingredients to coat your dog to the point where they’re effective.
It may take even longer, so we recommend that you put the collar on your dog about a week before they’ll actually need it.
The Seresto collar claims to offer up to eight months of parasite protection for your dog. It’s a good choice to go with if you live in an area where you’re likely to encounter fleas, ticks, or lice throughout the year.
Otherwise, if you live in a colder area where ticks and fleas are only around for a few months in the year, it might make more sense for you to use an insecticidal ointment on your dog.
The downside is that you have to apply the ointment repeatedly for it to be effective, but it’ll also probably be cheaper to use than the Seresto dog collar.
The Seresto dog collar is designed to be somewhat water-resistant, although if you soak it enough it will definitely lose some of its effectiveness.
Active Ingredients in the Seresto Dog Collar
The Seresto dog collar contains two active ingredients. Both of these ingredients are pesticides, and both of them work by targeting the nervous system of the parasite.
These two ingredients are imidacloprid and Flumethrin.
Imidacloprid
Imidacloprid is a substance that is actually similar to nicotine. But it’s also incredibly toxic to fleas, lice, and many other insects besides.
It works by completely shutting down the nervous system of the insect that comes into contact with it. It stops the nerves in the insect’s body from transmitting signals between each other, which results in the insect becoming paralyzed and eventually dying.
Imidacloprid is a slightly dangerous substance, although it’s worse for you if you take it orally. If you apply it to your skin, the potential that you’ll experience toxic effects is quite low.
The Seresto dog collar doesn’t have a very high concentration of imidacloprid (only about 10%) so that also helps to make it safer for your pet to use.
Flumethrin
The other ingredient used in the Seresto dog collar is flumethrin. Like imidacloprid, flumethrin is a pesticide that causes neurotoxic effects in various parasites, including ticks. Flumethrin belongs to a group of compounds called pyrethroids.
Again like imidacloprid, flumethrin can also be toxic to animals other than insects at higher doses.
However, each Seresto dog collar only contains about 4.5% flumethrin, so it’s safe for animal use (with the exception of cats because pyrethroids, in general, are very toxic to cats).
How to Use the Seresto Dog Collar?
In this section, we’ll go over not only how to use the Seresto dog collar, but also how to know when to use it and when to stop using it.
Using the Seresto dog collar is basically the same as using any other dog collar. Make sure you remove any plastic connectors attached to the collar before putting it on your dog.
Once it’s on your dog, you may have to cut away some of the collars if the length is excessive.
Make sure the collar isn’t too tight or too loose around your dog’s neck. A collar that’s too tight will obviously be cutting off your dog’s breathing, and a collar that’s too loose can fall off or potentially get caught on other things.
The best way to tell if your dog’s collar is on right is to use your fingers. If you can slip two fingers in between your dog’s neck and its collar, then you’ve got it on correctly.
The Seresto dog collar also comes in two versions; one for small dogs, and one for large dogs. Make sure you use the correct version depending on the size of your dog.
A small collar on a large dog might be ineffective at getting rid of parasites, and a large collar on a small dog might cause some toxic effects to your dog because of the higher concentration of ingredients.
When to Use the Seresto Dog Flea Collar?
The Seresto dog collar can be used as both a preventative measure against fleas, ticks, and lice, and as an active pesticide if you find that your dog has picked up some unwanted parasites.
If you’re using it as a preventative measure, you should find out when exactly flea and tick season is going to start and begin using the collar accordingly.
If your dog is going to be in an area where you think it’ll be likely to catch lice, then you should have your dog start wearing the collar well in advance of this.
Using the Seresto dog collar as a preventative measure is preferable, mainly because it’ll save your dog a great deal of irritation and suffering.
How to Spot Fleas, Ticks, and Lice?
If you live in an area where fleas and ticks are a year-round problem, you might not be able to use the collar preventatively (tick prevention).
In that case, you should keep an eye out for signs that your dog has an infestation of parasites.
It’s fairly easy to spot the signs of fleas and lice. Your dog will be scratching itself a lot more than normal and may even bite at itself if the itching is really bad. You might also notice red bumps on your dog’s skin.
Fleas and lice often tend to gather near your dog’s armpits and groin, because those areas are particularly warm and offer the insects the most protection from the outside elements.
Try parting your dog’s fur around those areas and looking for tiny black insects moving around. You can also look for flea dirt, which is another name for flea excrement. Flea dirt looks like tiny pieces of ground black pepper scattered among your dog’s fur.
A flea comb is a great way to find out if your dog has fleas or lice. The extremely fine teeth of the comb are great at capturing any stray insects.
It may be trickier to find out if your dog has a tick. Although ticks are bigger than fleas or lice, they can be harder to spot because their bites don’t make you feel itchy and because your dog may only pick up one tick, if any.
But unfortunately, one tick is all it takes for you or your dog to catch a serious disease.
Ticks also attach themselves directly to your dog’s skin, meaning they’ll be hidden under its fur most of the time.
To look for ticks, run your hand all over your dog’s fur. If you feel any weird little lumps that wouldn’t normally be there, check under the fur where you found the lump. It just might be a tick.
If your dog ends up carrying a tick for a long time, you’ll probably notice some symptoms. If your dog seems lethargic, unsteady, or feverish, take it to the vet immediately.
When to Stop Using the Seresto Dog Collar?
In general, if the Seresto flea collar is working at keeping your dog parasite-free and your dog isn’t reacting negatively to the collar, then there’s really no reason to stop using the collar.
Your dog will be protected from parasites as long as the active ingredients remain on its skin and fur, so just make sure to swap out the collar for a fresh one when the ingredients start to wear off and you’ll be good.
However, while the Seresto collar is safe to use for most dogs, there’s still a chance that your dog could experience some unwanted side-effects from wearing this collar.
It depends on the breed as well as the individual dog, but some dogs may be more sensitive than others to the ingredients in this collar.
Some of the side-effects of using the Seresto collar include:
- Severe skin irritation
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Trouble walking or standing upright
- Excessive fatigue
- Seizures
If your dog has been wearing the collar for a little while and you start noticing these symptoms, take the flea and tick collar off immediately and thoroughly bathe your dog.
In most cases after doing this, the symptoms will go away, but if they persist then take your dog straight to the vet.
Features & Benefits of the Seresto Dog Collar
Here, we’ll go over a list of all of the features that the Seresto dog collar has, and their associated benefits.
- Long-lasting formula – The delayed-release action of the ingredients in the Seresto flea and tick collar gives your dog coverage from parasites for up to eight months without changing the collar. This is one of the longest-lasting parasite control methods currently available.
- Water-resistant – The ingredients in the flea tick collar will continue to work even if your dog gets rained on or if your dog likes to take an occasional swim. It’s worth noting that the Seresto dog collar is not totally waterproof, and if your dog goes for a swim once a month, the longevity of the collar will definitely decrease by at least a few months.
- Night visibility – The collar comes with reflector clips that can help you find your dog in low-light situations, for example, if you take your dog to a dimly-lit park for a night walk and let if off the leash.
- Safety release – The collar comes with a safety release mechanism that will let your dog escape and prevent it from suffocating if the collar gets caught on something.
Proof of Results: Customer Testimonials
We came up with all of this information after researching this product ourselves, but don’t just take our word for it. Here, we’ll share a couple of customer testimonials with you to prove that the Seresto dog collar really is effective. These reviews were taken from the Amazon page for this collar.
“My dog got covered in fleas after I took her to a friend’s house where they had a flea infestation in their yard. I tried bathing her and giving her flea drops, but nothing worked. I decided to try the collar after having it recommended to me, and I was amazed at how quickly it worked. The fleas were gone only a day after I put the collar on her. It’s been three years since I’ve been using these collars, and my dog hasn’t had a flea problem since.”
-Jordan S.
“This product works great, although in my experience it takes a little while to kick in. My dog, Pebbles, is 13 years old and has a bad allergy to flea bites. She’d lost a lot of her hair and had sores and scars on her back because of it. I’d tried a lot of other products before I tried the Seresto collars, and I found that after about a month of wearing them I could notice a difference! Pebbles stopped losing her hair, stopped biting herself, and nowadays she just seems like a happier dog in general.”
-Cheri A.
Conclusion
If you need an effective way to treat an infestation of biting parasites on your dog, look no further than the Seresto dog collar.
This collar is cost-effective, long-lasting, and has proven to actually work.
Not only that but unlike some other Seresto flea collars, the Seresto collars are odorless and non-greasy.
If you’re still unsure about whether or not you should try one of these collars out, just talk to a vet about it.
They’ll help you figure out if these collars are suitable for your specific dog and whether or not you’ll need one at all.
If you’re sold on this product and you’re looking to buy, you can find it in many online stores, like Amazon, PetSmart, and Chewy.com.
In any case, treating biting parasites like these is essential for the happiness and well-being of your dog. Good luck with solving your pest problem!
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