Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs Review

Welcome to our Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs Review.

Warning as of March 2, 2021: Reports have recently been released showing alleged dangers of Seresto Flea and Tick Collar. As of now, I would recommend Only Natural Pet EasyDefense Flea & Tick Collar for Dogs instead. I receive a small commission for its sale, but you pay nothing extra and it helps me run this site.

Every dog has an itch every so often, but what happens if they start scratching more often?

Your dog may start itching their ears, chewing and nipping their backside, rolling around on the floor, and then you see the dreaded little, black dots jumping from their back – fleas.

Your fur baby could eventually suffer from fur loss, sores from scratching, and infections from all the bites.

And if that isn’t bad enough, the fleas could infest the rest of your household and force you to use harmful chemicals or toxic “gas bombs” to get rid of them!

Bayer’s Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs is meant to protect your dog from fleas, ticks, and even lice to keep him happy and healthy.

Here’s why Seresto collars are an ideal choice for your pup.

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Key Benefits of the Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs

Warning as of March 2, 2021: Reports have recently been released showing alleged dangers of Seresto Flea and Tick Collar. Until further notice, I do not recommend this product until further information is released.

Head-to-Tail Protection

Most flea and tick medications dump a high concentration of chemicals onto your dog’s fur all at once.

In contrast, the Seresto Dog Collar has a gentle-yet-effective approach using sustained-release technology. It continuously releases two active ingredients – imidacloprid and flumethrin – in low concentrations over several months.

As the collar releases the active ingredients, the compounds spread from your dog’s head to their tail, adhering to his fur where ticks, fleas, and other pests try to burrow their way into his skin.

With sustained-release technology, the Seresto Dog Collar effectively gives your dog an invisible full-body suit of armor to protect against fleas and ticks. And because it is a slow-release instead of an onslaught of harsh chemicals, the Seresto collar is safe to use on puppies as young as seven weeks old.

Long-Lasting

Because the Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs uses sustained-release technology, it also lasts much longer than topical flea and tick medications. One Seresto collar will protect your pup from fleas and ticks for up to 8 months at a time!

Keep in mind that if your dog swims a lot or you bathe her more than once a month, the lifespan of the Seresto collar shortens to five months of protection from fleas and seven months from ticks.

However, that’s still much longer than many topical or oral flea and tick medications. Additionally, the collar is water-resistant, so you’re free to let your dog swim or bathe with it on; you’ll just have to change it more frequently.

Easy to Use & Non-Greasy

Topical flea and tick treatments are a mess. It’s hard to apply them to your dog’s coat, and even when you do, it leaves your dog’s coat feeling greasy or tacky even for days afterward.

In contrast, the Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs is easy to use – just clip it around your dog’s neck like you would with a regular collar. There’s no messy application, no smelly odors, and no time spent waiting for a formula to dry on their coat.

And when eight months have passed? Just swap the old Seresto collar out for a new one. You’ll be done in less than one minute, and your dog can go back to romping around outside with no worry of unwelcome pests jumping onto his back.

Kills Pests on Contact

If your dog is on an oral flea and tick medication, those pests will die as soon as they ingest your pup’s blood. But for that to happen, your dog has to suffer a bite from the little creeps anyway!

The Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs kills pests on contact. Your dog doesn’t have to feel the pinch of a tick or flea bite before the Seresto ingredients kill them, and your pup doesn’t run the risk of disease transmission from those bites.

And once you put the Seresto collar on your dog, it will kill any fleas already on your dog’s coat or skin within 24 hours. As for ticks, Seresto prevents infestations within 48 hours and repels new ticks within six hours.

Tackles More than Just Fleas and Ticks

Not only is the Seresto Flea and Tick Collar effective against fleas and ticks, but it also handles more than those pests. The collar’s active ingredients also kill lice on contact and can help control and treat sarcoptic mange, a skin condition caused by a parasitic mite.

While other flea and tick treatments only protect your dog from two pests, the Seresto collar really protects her from four different ones.

Break-Away Safety Feature

Some dog owners worry that their pup could get caught on a branch outside, the fence in the backyard, cabinet knobs, or with another pet’s collar while they’re playing.

Most ID collars have safety features to prevent strangulation in these instances, and the Seresto collar follows suit.

Seresto collars – for both cats and dogs – are equipped with break-away release mechanisms that will easily snap off if your dog were to get caught on something.

Features & Specs of the Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs

• Sustained release technology for head-to-tail protection
• Safe to use with puppies as young as seven weeks old
• Protection from fleas and ticks for up to eight months (five months for flea control and seven months for tick control if your dog swims often or you bathe him more than once a month)
• Easy to use – no messy topical application, powerful odors, or greasy fur
• Kills fleas within 24 hours of application
• Prevents tick infestations within 48 hours of application and stats repelling new ones six hours after application
• Offers protection from lice and sarcoptic mange
• Break-away release mechanism to prevent accidental strangling if your dog is lost in the woods or caught on your fence

What Customers are Saying About the Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs

The Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar has quite a fan club mostly made up of owners who were frustrated with other flea and tick treatments and desperate for something that actually worked.

One reviewer wrote that they had tried drops that did nothing to solve their dog’s flea problem and chewable tablets that just made the fleas jump off the dog and into the carpets and furniture.

Then the fleas would jump back onto their poor pup a few days later, anyway! They tried the Seresto collar, and within a few days, the fleas were dead, and their dog was much happier!

This owner says they hadn’t tried Seresto first due to the collar’s price, but now they recommend starting with Seresto to eradicate flea infestations.

A greyhound owner wrote that they tried Seresto because they heard the collar was “greyhound-safe.” While greyhounds tend to have bad skin reactions to topical flea and tick treatments, and even other collars,

Seresto Dog Collars are gentle enough for this sensitive breed. The reviewer says that eight years later, they still use Seresto collars for their four dogs – some greyhounds and others that are different breeds.

They have seen a couple of ticks in that time but never latched onto their pups, and they haven’t seen a single flea since they started using the collar.

Another reviewer used to apply Frontline to their dogs but found that it was a pain to remember to buy and re-apply it month after month.

For the sake of convenience, they tried the Seresto collar for their pups but found that the collars worked much better than the liquid Frontline anyway!

Now they use Seresto Dog Collars for their Blue Heeler and haven’t looked back since.

A Few Drawbacks of the Bayer Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs

To make sure you give your pup the best choice for flea and tick control, there are a few drawbacks you need to consider before making your final purchase.

1. May Not Work Well for Dogs with Thick Coats

The sustained release technology of the Seresto Dog Collar is effective for fine to medium coats, but it may have trouble when it comes to dogs with thicker coats. The active ingredients may have difficulty reaching your dog’s skin through thick layers of fur, so it may not be as effective if your pup has a thick or curly coat.

2. Mild Reactions are Possible

According to BayerDVM, some dogs may experience some reactions or discomfort within the first few days of wearing the Seresto Flea and Tick Collar. These reactions typically occur only if your dog has other sensitivities, and they usually aren’t severe.

You may see your dog scratching at the collar, some redness around the collar area, or some hair loss, but these symptoms often resolve themselves within a week or two.

Of course, if you feel that your dog is genuinely uncomfortable or feeling any pain, you should remove the collar and consult your vet before continuing use.

The good news is that these skin reactions don’t occur very often, and they can be easily remedied if they do happen. Just make sure you don’t tighten the collar too much the first time you put it on your pup.

How do Dogs Get Fleas?

The cycle usually begins with an infected wild animal. As that animal roams around the neighborhood, it can deposit fleas on anything it touches (grass, shrubs, trees, other animals).

Of course, your dog doesn’t live outside. Eventually he needs to come back in the house again. Well, now you have fleas in your house, finding their way into your carpeting, beneath couch cushions, bedding, even sometimes YOU.

Those fleas deposit their multitude of microscopic eggs around your house, which grow to become adults and the cycle repeats. Fleas can reproduce very quickly; you can have an infestation before long.

What is Imidacloprid?

Imidacloprid is an insecticide created to mimic nicotine, which is found naturally in several plants and is toxic to insects.

This is popular for controlling ‘sucking insects’ on pets, like fleas and ticks (also termites & certain soil insects). Since 1994, this has been used in the United States.

Though it is toxic to insects, there is much less of a concern for pets.

What is Flumethrin?

Flumethrin is another insecticide, used commonly with livestock and domesticated pets (dogs/cats) to protect against fleas, ticks, flies, and other insects.

It actually interferes with an insect’s nervous system by interfering with sodium channels. In other words, it causes over excitement before an ultimate death.

Seresto vs. Topical Ointments

Many pet owners have used topical flea and tick preventatives that come in squeezable tubes. These are a more traditional treatment, used for many years. They need to be administered monthly and must be absorbed into the skin.

The problem with this is pretty obvious. It is difficult to get through both the topcoat and dense undercoat of your dog to actually expose their skin. After all, these coats were usually designed by nature to repel and prevent water from contacting their skin.

If not applied correctly, you’ve wasted the treatment and the money you spent on it.

Seresto vs. Traditional Flea and Tick Collars

Traditional flea and tick collars became popular around the late 90’s and early 2000’s, but have fallen out of favor with many pet owners because of several flaws.

Not only can they irritate your dog’s neck, sometimes they cause fur loss, and often only protect your dog’s neck and shoulders instead of their entire body.

Some of the cheaper collars even use ingredients that can be toxic to cats that happen to come into contact with the collar.

Seresto vs. Chewable Flea Preventatives

Chewable flea and tick medications are relatively new to the market, work well, and are much easier to administer than topicals.

BUT- they are very expensive.

There are dangers with overdosing on this medication also.

Sources Cited

Bayer. (2019). Bayer DVM. Retrieved from https://www.bayerdvm.com/products/seresto-for-dogs/

National Pesticide Information Center. (May 2010). Imidacloprid. Retrieved from
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/imidagen.html

Tick Repellent Guide. What Is Flumethrin And How Does It Work?
Retrieved from https://tickrepellent.net/what-is-flumethrin-and-how-does-it-work/