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My dog still has fleas after Bravecto. What should I do next?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Jack Russell Terrier | Male | neutered

I gave my dog Bravecto 3 weeks ago, but he has still got fleas, is there anything else I can do for him.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Amber W

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on August 17th, 2017

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Fleas can be frustrating to eradicate even when using a quality product like Bravecto. You may wish to consider a product like Capstar or even a topical flea medication in addition to the Bravecto. Products like Frontline Gold, Vectra and Advantix tend to work well. The flea life cycle sometimes necessitates that you also treat your household and even your yard to fully eradicate the infestation. Regular laundering of pet bedding can help but you may still end up needing to have an exterminators help. Finally, make sure all pets in the household are treated with a safe, quality flea preventative as often house cats that have not been treated can harbor fleas. Good luck!

9Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Macartney, BVet Med, MRCVS
Veterinarian
The next steps would be treating your home for fleas. Fleas live most of their life cycle off of your dog. Therefore treating your home with a spray available at several pet stores, from your vet or online, will kill the large flea larvae population in your home which continues to reinfect Jimmy.

Three solid months of topical flea prevention medicine and treating your home is what is advised to rid yourself of fleas all together. Best of luck!

https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-get-rid-of-fleas/
5Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By David Darvishian
Veterinarian
Published on August 24th, 2017
Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Jimmy. Fleas are particularly bad this time of year (late summer). If that is the case, I would assume that you have a flea infestation in the environment. Adult fleas feed on blood on the pet then the female fleas start laying eggs. Those eggs fall off in the environment so when you notice fleas on your pet that is only about 5% of the problem. The majority of the problem is environmental. You will probably need to use a topical product advised by your veterinarian along with the Bravecto already given. This will give him added protection. You should only have to do this a few months. I would advise treating his environment and I would follow the advise of your veterinarian. You will also need to vacuum frequently and dispose of the contents of the canister or bag each time you vacuum. This will remove a lot of the eggs from the environment but the eggs can hatch in the vacuum so you must discard that each time you vacuum. They can discuss the surfaces involved and advise the right environmental products to kill not only eggs but also the adult fleas there. Outside environments also can be treated, again I would consult with your vet on this. I'm not familiar with the products available where you live only the products available in the United States. Good luck with Jimmy.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Smart Picks for Smart Questions

Related Questions

My dog is still itchy after Bravecto. Can I use Advantage too?

I would wait another week before adding another flea medication. Also, you need to treat your home environment. If you use a pest control service, tell them you are having a flea problem and they can adjust their treatment. Use a premise spray that also contains an IGR, insect growth regulator. This will keep eggs and larvae from maturing into adults and helps break the life cycle. Also, vacuum EVERY DAY, throwing out the bag or emptying the canister every time into an outside receptacle and spraying the contents with insecticide to kill the fleas you’ve vacuumed up. Treat your yard as well, since fleas are opportunistic and will hop a ride into your home on your pant leg without you knowing it. Concentrate on areas under bushes, in the shade. Fleas are less likely to be located in open sunny areas where it gets hot. If chemicals are a problem for you, you can use borax in your home. Sprinkle it into rugs, into corners and under furniture, use a broom to work it into the fibers and let it sit for hours, days even. It won't hurt you or your cat to have it present. Then vacuum it up, reapply as needed. Food grade diatomaceous earth can be gotten from a health food store and worked into the rugs and corners in the same way as borax. These treatments aren't as fast and effective as chemical insecticides but they can help. You might want to consider boarding your pet for the day at your vet, to give you the opportunity to flea bomb your house without having to worry about your pet being exposed. They can bathe your pet and give a dose of Capstar while you treat your home. Be patient, you may have to repeat these steps multiple times 10-14 days apart to help break the flea life cycle.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

My dog still has fleas after treatment. What should I do next?

Capstar will only kill those fleas that are on the dog and sucking blood once. Getting rid of fleas is relatively easy but entails work for a few months: Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment: 1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly )Bravecto/Nexgard/Seresto will last longer) 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas. Flea products: Spot-ons: Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto/Nexgard spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well) House spray: Indoorex Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you so much!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My cats still have fleas after a year. How can I get rid of them?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I certainly understand your frustration. There are 2 products that I particularly like in these cases where different therapies have failed to help. I like Bravecto as a preventative and Capstar to be used concurrently as needed for fleas. Capstar is crucial because it can help kill a lot of fleas at once and it can be used as often as once daily to effect. Also, it is important to vacuum the house and all things that have contact with them frequently. Try this for 1-3 months and if does not make a difference, they may have another type of allergy such as a food allergy or environmental allergy. This is likely going to help. Good luck and have a good night!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

My cat still has fleas after Advantage. What flea treatment can I use?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, you may in about 5-6 days. However, I would highly recommend you use a stronger and likely more efficacious product. There are plenty of flea products in the market and a lot of them are very effective. I prefer Bravecto and Frontline plus. You can pick one of those products. The nice thing about Bravecto is that it is very effective and it is only applied once every 3 months. You can also use a product called Capstar along with one of the previously mentioned products which can help kill a lot of fleas at once. Remember to vacuum all the surfaces that have contact with your pup regularly. This is very likely going to work well. Good luck and have a great day!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

My dog took Bravecto, why is he still scratching after 2 weeks?

You have to treat the environment as well, as fleas don't live on the dog, they live in the home. If you haven't treated your home, that could be why Kobi is still scratching. Wash his bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. I hope this helps.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

My cats still have fleas after Bravecto. What should I do next?

I would Sophie Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas in 30 minutes, and it's safe to give her now. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash their bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. I hope this helps!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

Cat losing fur, itching, and fleas. Is Advantage or Bravecto better?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Thankfully, you have a few options here. I recommend you consider using a product called Capstar which is to kill a lot of fleas at once to complement a flea preventative product like Advantage. You can go ahead and give another dose of Advantage now as well. I would not give up on Advantage just yet. Continue to use it for now as this flea may be was a one time occurrence and the Advantage was still being effective. Another option is switching to Bravecto now though again Advantage may still be effective so it may be best to exhaust its use. Good luck and have a great day!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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