You buy it, put it on and then forget about it for months – but how does your pet’s tick and flea collar keep them safe?
Seresto is the longest lasting tick and flea product for dogs and cats, and the only product that protects against the diseases that these parasites can spread, including deadly ehrlichiosis in dogs. Unlike other tick and flea products, Seresto works on contact, meaning that fleas and ticks do not need to bite your pet to die. As well as being easy to apply, Seresto is odourless, water resistant, and can be safely used in puppies from 7 weeks of age and kittens from 10 weeks of age. So how does Seresto work, and how can it keep protecting pets against ticks and fleas for up to 8 months?
How Seresto works
Firstly, not all tick and flea collars are the same. Seresto works different to all other collars, using advanced polymer formulation technology to ensure its safety and long-lasting efficacy in dogs and cats.
Seresto contains two active ingredients, imidacloprid and flumethrin, which are safely stored within the polymer matrix of the collar and are only released as they are needed, to maintain effective consistent concentrations within the skin and hair coat of your pet. Imidacloprid gives fast relief from fleas, stopping fleas from biting within 3-5 minutes by paralysing their mouthparts, and killing them within 2 hours. Seresto also works to keep your home flea-free, by killing flea larvae (a younger, maggot-like life cycle stage) that hide in the places your pet rests. Flumethrin works on contact against ticks, protecting against paralysis ticks for 8 months (in dogs and cats); and bush ticks, brown dog ticks and tick-borne diseases for 4 months (in dogs). Ticks that come into contact with a pet wearing Seresto detect flumethrin, and most will be quickly repelled and will die without biting your pet. That's why Seresto is the only product that protects dogs against the deadly tick-borne disease, ehrlichiosis, which is spread by brown dog ticks when they bite.
Unfortunately, paralysis ticks are deadly, and a single tick can kill a dog or cat. Using an effective tick product, like Seresto, is so important to reduce the risk to dogs and cats, but does not replace the need to check your pet for paralysis ticks regularly, especially during tick season (Spring-Summer) when the risk of tick paralysis is highest. Paralysis tick season varies depending where you live, so talk to your vet to find out when your pet’s risk of tick paralysis is highest.
Safety features of the Seresto collar
For the safety of pets, Seresto is designed with one or two built-in safety features: a ratchet-release mechanism (to allow the collar to loosen or open) in all collars; and a breaking point (that gives way in case of an emergency) in the cat and small dog collars only.
As with any collar, it's important to fit Seresto correctly, neither too tight nor too loose, and to check the fit regularly. A benefit of the Seresto collar is that the collar can be loosened as your puppy or kitten grows. Find out more about Seresto flea and tick collars and read the product leaflet before using.
