Hartz Ultra Guard Flea Collar- Mixed Results

This collar is working fairly well to keep the fleas off the front half of the dog.I think if we had realized the flea problem before it got so bad that it would be showing much better results.

We are having a really bad flea year at our house.And I admit that I didnt notice until it was pretty much out of control.Even so, I am not attacking it with the strongest, most expensive products for a couple of reasons. One is the expense.Two, I havent owned a dog that died from some of those chemical treatments, but weve had several dogs that reacted very badly to them. This tends to make me leery.

So, when I noticed thatMaggie was going nuts, and sharing her fleas with me, the problem was already serious.I washed all the bedding and furniture covers.I started combing the dog and drowning the fleas in water with Dawn dish soap added (I read that it works as well as flea soap- and just as an extra tip here, I did wash down the dog with it and boy did those fleas jump off in droves).

I wasnt about to use the Hartz Flea and Tick Spray that I wrote about last year on her.That was a disaster.But I did use it to spray on a lot of fabric surfaces, rugs, etc.

Meanwhile I went shopping for a flea collar.I just cant justify the $40 treatments.I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Hartz has improved the scent of the collar.Im sure its just some masking odor, nevertheless the smell doesnt make you sneeze and gag like it used to.

The collar is the standard semi-soft plastic with a plastic buckle.You stretch it to activate the collar, then fasten it on the dogs neck, somewhat loosely.

The box claims that it kills fleas and ticks and prevents flea eggs from hatching.It also says that it will take several days for the effect of the collar to be maximized.It claims to be water resistant.Maggie is not a swimmer, so Im quite sure that wont be tested by her.

I put the collar on Maggie three days ago.At this point it is pretty much keeping the fleas off of the front half of her.Thats worth something!I keep combing her hindquarters, and spraying the couch before we go to bed. It says that it may be worn with a regular collar, but maybe its just the shape of her neck... the flea collar seems to sit right on top of the other collar.It seems to me that this would hinder the proper distribution of the active ingredients.I just took her regular collar off. Ill try that for a few days.

The active ingredients are tetrachlorvinphos 14.55%, and (S) methoprene 1.02%.This is a poison.Do not let children play with the collar, do not ingest the powder or get it in your eyes.Do not use on puppies under 6 weeks of age.

NOTE: the collars for cats and dogs, and also one for puppies, are different although the packaging is very similar.If you buy the collars, make sure you get the correct one!

If the collar succeeds in clearing the whole dog of the fleas, Ill post an update.

Update On Sep 08, 2009: The flea problem got even worse, and this collar was not up to the job.I had to buy the more expensive Frontline.