What do you do when your dog comes home from playing in the yard and won’t stop scratching? Of course, this is a trademark signal that your pet might be the latest victim of a flea infestation, but this poses the bigger question.
How to get rid of them, and how to get rid of them FAST? This is where Capstar for Dogs comes in.
This company promises to make a product that acts as a sort of bug bomb on your dog or cat, clearing out parasites with one pill. How do their promises hold up to the results this product gets?
Keep on reading to take in our full guide!
4.6
Over 90 years of experience
Nationwide service area
Free retreatments if pests return
4.7
Treats 20 types of pests
Offers instant online quotes
30-day money-back guarantee
The Rating
While many consumers view this medication as comparable to a flea drop or serum, this actually isn’t the case: Capstar is actually more of a one-and-done parasite eliminator, NOT a preventative measure for pests like fleas and ticks.
Think of this product like duct tape: it works spectacularly in a pinch, but you’ll eventually need to invest in a long-term fix. Because of its delivery method, this pill will flow through your pet’s body and deliver poison to parasites within mere hours. Pills can be given once per day, and can be administered to either dogs or cats.
Today’s Homeowner Rating
Does exactly what it says, with some slight side effects.
The Key Features
What are some of the main characteristics that Capstar brings to the table?
Check out our cheat sheet below for the full scoop.
A Departure From the Usual
This product is unique in that it has escaped the usual flea serum setup. These are caplets which need to be ingested by your dog. This, in and of itself, can be a burden of a task to complete, but with a few tricks, it can absolutely be done.
It Just Takes One Bite
The pill dissolves inside your dog and flows to all areas of its body, forming a toxic layer to fleas when they begin to feed. The solution will paralyze the fleas until they starve to death and fall off of your dog.
Rapid Action and Results
The active ingredient attacks the nervous system of the flea or tick when it bites into your dog or cat in order to feed, so your pet will be flea-free in 6 or 7 hours.
Daily Dosage
The dosage is designed to be administered daily in the form of one pill. The caplets are sold either in a small 6-count or much larger 60-count package.
Ensure that you only feed your pet one dosage per 24 hours. As always, read the package and follow the directions closely.
The Review
When evaluating products, we use five criteria:
- Company Reputation: Is the company that makes this stuff reputable?
- Active Ingredient: What’s actually inside the product that makes it work?
- Easy Of Use: How easy is it to use the product?
- Pet and Child Safety Rating: Should you worry about your pets or children around the product?
- Overall Effectiveness: At the end of the day, does the product actually work?
Novartis is the manufacturer of Capstar for Dogs.
This company is a Swiss pharmaceutical giant founded in 1996 and currently headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.
While Novartis does oversee the manufacture of some animal health products, their main focus is on human pharmaceuticals, in the form of generic prescriptions, over-the-counter meds, and vaccines.
One thing to note was that they were recently approved by the FDA for a gene therapy cancer treatment. It’s clear that Novartis is a on the upper echelon of reputable companies, so that’s a plus in our book.
Nitenpyram, which works by targeting and arresting the nervous system of external parasites like fleas and ticks.
Its orally administered and it makes the blood within the animal toxic. When the fleas feed, they die from the active ingredient.
In 2003, a report was published that looked at how effective Nitenpryram as a single dose. Upon the initial treatment and over the next 24 hours, 100% of the adult fleas were killed. From the 24-48 hour mark there was a 98.6% reduction in adult fleas. After 48 hours of the initial treatment went down to 5% adult kill rate.
As for the eggs, there was a 95% reduction through the first 72 hours. To be clear, this was becuase the adults were killed and stopped laying them.
Nitenpyram, doesn’t actually kill flea eggs on your pet, rather you’ll need a cat flea shampoo or a dog flea shampoo to ensure the eggs that remain are removed.
The only drawback was that it caused itching, biting, and scratching 7 hours after the initial treatment.
If you can get your pet to take a pill, this will be a cinch.
However, many users have reported that getting their pets to swallow the caplet is a struggle, which is why this product isn’t as favorable as the usual serum solutions.
As mentioned in the “Active Ingredient” section, pets do show signs of increased itching and scratching for the first 7 hours after the initial treatment, but is safe for cats and dogs 4 weeks or older (and 2 pounds or heavier).
The active ingredient Nitenpyran, is toxic to humans, so make sure to keep it locked away away from your children.
At the end of the day does Capstar work?
Yes.
Capstar tablets serves a very specific purpose to kill adult fleas currently feeding on your cat or dog.
After applied you’ll have about a 24 hour removal window to clean, sweep, and eradicate the infestation in your home.
This means that the fleas living around your home in the floors, pet bedding area, etc will have to be removed through the use of flea sprays and other methods of removal.
It’s advised to use this only to deliver quick results to a pet that has an abundance of fleas or ticks, and not as a daily routine.
Do not use this as a primary method of removal as it may make your pet sick after continued usage. Please consult your veterinarian for specific questions on your pet’s breed and how Capstar may react with their body.
How Does It Compare Against Competitors?
Just so you’re able to make a complete decision, have a glance at the way Capstar for Dogs performs in relation to its competition.
- K9 Advantix II
- Seresto Flea Collar
- Adam’s Plus Flea and Tick Shampoo
While it may seem like these two products are comparable, they are actually used for two entirely different things. They both kill fleas and ticks, but K9 Advantix II is more of a preventative treatment as its rated to repel fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.
Capstar is best used to knock out a large flea infestation within a short time span to give you ample time to treat an infested area (usually your home).
Also, K9 Advantix II can ONLY be used on dogs, whereas Capstar can be taken by cats as well.
The Seresto Flea Collar is used to continuously apply a low dose of insecticide on a dog over a period of time to kill adult fleas and ticks over an 8 month period of time.
Capstar pills are small tablets to be ingested orally by a dog, and the Seresto collar is an actual collar with medication inside to be dispersed over intervals of time.
The Seresto collar is meant to provide lasting protection, whereas the Capstar pills serve as one quick boost of flea protection.
These products are similar in that they can be used by a dogs and cats in a variety of sizes, but the similarities mostly stop there.
Capstar uses a chemical nerve agent to attack parasites, and Adam’s Plus Shampoo uses natural aloe, lanolin, and oatmeal to clean your pet and wash away the fleas and eggs at the same time.
The ingredients in the shampoo work to keep your pet flea- and tick-free for 28 days, while Capstar’s pills work to clear out problem fleas fast, but on a one-time basis.
We do recommend also combining the use of Capstar products with a good shampoo to ensure all the dead fleas have been removed from your pet.
Think you might need professional help with your fleas problem? Use the form below to connect with local pest control pros:
