Hi Alison. The funny thing is that (although I agree that it appears safe), Revolution is not registered for use in ferrets here in Australia. The products that are registered contain imidacloprid and are listed in this article on treating fleas in ferrets.

Hi Andrew, I never had fleas until my dog was groomed a little over a year ago. They spread to four cats and then our six ferrets. Treating the dog and cats went well but dormant fleas made their way back to the ferrets (their play areas have extensive nooks and crannies). I treated with Revolution in dec and almost four weeks later, and both occasions adult fleas remained 24 hrs later. The flea bath worked but it appears Revolution kitten no longer does. Is there an alternative that is still safe for ferrets? I’d rather not use insecticides but flea stress is awful, and treating 11 animals expensive.

Hi Dale. I can see a couple of problems with your plans. The first is that 95% of the flea population is off the animal at any time, so treating with something that kills only the visible fleas will never eliminate them. Effective flea remedies either need to also treat the environment, or remain on the animal long enough to catch the fleas as they come and go. This leads to the second problem, which is that ferrets like cats groom themselves and so any residue left on the coat will be ingested. Trust me: it is far safer for you to use a thoroughly tested product like Revolution (which I have no shares in, and used on my own ferrets!) than to use untested, possibly toxic and less effective remedies (keeping in mind that fleas can kill ferrets).

Hi Susan. That’s very interesting – I hadn’t heard of this collar. I guess if it’s use has coincided with a disappearance of the fleas and there are no signs of skin problems, it’s worth persisting! However, I sincerely doubt it will work for ticks despite the name. The stakes are very high in Australia as we need to prevent even a single paralysis tick, which they don’t face in Europe.

The only thing that really stopped the plague was ordering a collar from “Ambertick” which is a business based in Lithuania. It was a long shot ordering something on-line but it was inexpensive and had a lot of good reviews so I thought I’d give it a try. Well, it was the best purchase, my cat has been wearing her collar for 3 years now and absolutely no fleas have returned (Sydney). I have no idea however of its efficacy in preventing ticks as I don’t live in a tick area but could not imagine dispensing with regular body checks.

In the past I have also applied “Benefical nematodes” to apply to my courtyard garden which supposedly eat the flea larvae in the soil – I’m not sure if it actually helped but the CSIRO have supposedly been involved in product research according to the website so I thought it was worth a try.

Thanks for the comment. That information came from a source I usually trust but I stand corrected and have updated the text.

Thanks Jo. It was a very helpful visit for me too!