8 in 1 Flea & Tick Spray for Small Animals?

[DolciLady]

Anyone use this stuff on their rats or bedding?  I read somewhere a while back that it can be used for lice and mite relief, besides fleas and ticks.  Any experience with it?

All the rats will be getting a bath and Revolution in a couple weeks once my new baby boys come out of quarantine, so I was wondering if this might help the original brood a bit til then.  Don't know if SugarBaby (or anyone) has mites, but he is scratching himself silly, while the other boys scratch but not nearly as much.  Dunno if it's ok to bathe and treat the older boys now and then bathe the entire brood again in only two weeks when I start intros.  that seems like too much bathing to me.

So, whatcha think about this 8in1?

Robin

[jessiree]

I wouldn't trust it at all.  Just my personal opinion.

[lilspaz68]

When I adopted 4 old boys in September the previous owner gave me an 8 in 1 bottle with them.  I stuffed it away til I discovered on a Saturday night that the frailest boy had lice.  My vet was closed down 'til Thursday (off at a vet's conference) and I already had the first appointment for another boy.  I felt really bad because of the incessant scratching, so I thought what the hell.  I carefully put it on him by spraying my hand and rubbing it thru his fur backwards.  It worked.  It killed the adults and made his life a bit easier until I got to the vet for the real treatment.  I would use it again for relief if I ever end up in the same type of situation.   

[LifeInCircuit]

I wouldn't use it. Why not give them all a dose of advantage(or whatever you choose for a safe spot treatment) now? It will still be working in two weeks so you won't have to worry about re-dosing or anything. You can also smother them in olive oil for a while(not entirely positive how long you're supposed to do this, as I've never tried it) and then clean it off. If nothing else it will soothe their skin.

[aphoeniceus]

dont use it.  on another forum i visit, someone lost 4 rats to the stuff and 8 and 1 had no apologies because apparently on the bottle, rats arent listed as small animals.  after hearing her story there is no way i would use the stuff.

[forkyfork]

I wouldnt use it either.  I had rats over 20 yrs ago and back then there wasnt all this spot on stuff, there was probably ivermitecin but the vet didnt know about using it there werent any forums either    Anyway the only thing the vet ever reccomended was bird mite spray. I applied it with a slightly damp tiny paint brush sparingly because it was supposed to be sprayed but was worried about breathing it in so it had  to be rubbed on but not too much.  Birds have much more sensitive systems so it was assumed it would be ok for ratties as well.

Sprays are so difficult and stressful to get the right dose. A bath is diffucult as you run the risk of them swallowing some or getting to strong of a dose and its not exactly stuff thats reccomended for ratties anyway.

Also multiple insecticides can poison any animal so you have to be careful when using more than one type of treatment.

I think you are trying to time the bathing with the intros? and you dont want to wash the revolution off by bathing them again. If thats the problem then start a new topic with that question to see if you have to worry about washing it off.  If not then just treat everyone at once before the intros so you can get it under control now.

[LifeInCircuit]

As for the worry of washing it off....I couldn't tell you, but I know we have the dog groomed between treatments and so far it hasn't seemed to cause any issues...we now use frontline on the dog, though I've heard mixed things about it(such as it is safe to use, and that is can cause seizures..so I don't know what to think). I've read that frontline is more difficult to wash off than advantage(I don't know anything about revolution), but I couldn't say based on experience alone.

[ratzrkool]

I don't have the 8 in 1 stuff but it is a flea & tick mist (who knows it may be the same stuff just under a different brand name).  We got it for our little kitten because he was too little, when we found him, for any of the other kinds of flea treatment. The vet told us to spray a towel and wrap Voltron in the towel- leaving his head unwrapped.  Maybe that would work with ratties. Spray a washcloth and bundle them up for a few minutes like a burrito?!

[menagerie]

Rats groom, so putting a pesticide on their entire body is not recommended as they will ingest it.

For lice, what I do is cover them in olive oil and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. Then give them a bath, and rub vigorously to remove dead lice. You can also take a nit comb and try to get as many eggs out of their fur as possible. This kills the hatched lice. Give them a dose of ivermectin. Repeat this once a week for three weeks.

You can also do the initial olive oil treatment and bath and use Revolution (which should work for a month). I have heard bad things about Frontline.