Some of the pests each dog treatment tackles
Our pick: Simparica Trio Chewable Tablets for Dogs
Top pick
This monthly, prescription-only chewable tablet for dogs treats and controls a wide spectrum of parasites, including fleas, hookworm, roundworm, and five kinds of ticks. It also helps prevent heartworm disease.
Simparica Trio Chewable Tablets for Dogs is a monthly chewable treatment that offers the broadest protection for the lowest price. It kills fleas and ticks, prevents heartworm, and treats hookworm and roundworm, all with one liver-flavored nugget. It can be used in puppies eight weeks and older who weigh at least 2.8 pounds.
Simparica Trio is one of the few products we’ve found that uses three active ingredients to tackle a wide spectrum of parasites. (The only other treatments we’ve seen with similarly broad coverage for dogs are Nexgard Plus, which is more expensive and covers one fewer tick, and the newly released Credelio Quattro.)
The first of these ingredients is an isoxazoline compound called sarolaner (all isoxazolines end in “laner”). It kills any fleas and ticks that are camping out on your pet. And it can also help get home flea infestations under control within four to eight weeks, if all of your pets are treated regularly, according to Chris Adolph, a veterinary parasitologist on staff at Zoetis, the company that makes Simparica Trio.
The second and third ingredients are moxidectin, which protects against heartworm, and pyrantel, “which extends the spectrum to include adult and immature stages of two species of hookworms, two species of roundworms,” Adolph said.
Simparica Trio kills five types of ticks, including the Gulf Coast tick. Concern over this tick is growing, as it expands its geography up the East Coast and into the Midwest, according to the Companion Animal Parasite Council (video).
But Simparica Trio is not currently labeled for the Asian longhorned tick, so if this tick is a concern for you, our also-great pick might be a better choice.
You can usually get a good value per dose in the six-count packaging, although buying it this way can be a significant cost all at once. Check the color-colored ovals on the front of the box to make sure you’re buying for the appropriate weight range, which spans six groups of dogs, from 2.8 up to 132 pounds. You can give these tablets to even bigger dogs, too, but as with most of these treatments, you’ll have to calculate the correct number to give them. You can give this tablet with or without food, and it comes in an individually wrapped blister pack.
Kills or repels:
- fleas
- black-legged tick (deer tick)
- brown dog tick
- American dog tick
- lone star tick
- Gulf Coast tick
- heartworm
- hookworm
- roundworm
Price per year: about $350 to $405 (depending on dosage)
Best for a longer-lasting flea and tick treatment: Bravecto Chew for Dogs
Best for…
One chew lasts for 12 weeks, so you can administer it less frequently than any other oral treatment we recommend. But it doesn’t treat or prevent worm infections.
The Bravecto Chew for Dogs is the only flea and tick treatment we’ve seen that kills fleas and some ticks for up to 12 weeks, so administration is infrequent and convenient. Bravecto is also our only pick that kills the Asian longhorned tick.
Bravecto’s active ingredient is fluralaner, an isoxazoline, so it can help with home flea infestations. But it doesn’t contain any drugs to prevent heartworm or treat hookworm and roundworm; you’ll need to buy another product that handles these internal parasites.
Of the five ticks Bravecto attacks, only four of them are controlled for the full 12 weeks. If you’re in an area with a large population of the lone star tick, you should give your dog Bravecto every eight weeks instead, as indicated on the product label. This provides full coverage without any danger to your pup from either the medication or the ticks, and you still have to apply it only half as often as most of our other picks. It also comes in a topical, if your dog has special dietary requirements or doesn’t like chews.
Like Simparica Trio tablets, the Bravecto Chew is available in multiple dosages, for dogs ranging in weight from 4.4 to 123 pounds (there’s a color scheme associated with each weight range on the front of the box). According to the insert, dogs who weigh over 123 pounds “should be administered the appropriate combination of chews.” Bravecto should be given with food, and the tablet comes in a sealed blister pack.
Kills or repels:
- fleas
- black-legged tick (deer tick)
- brown dog tick
- American dog tick
- lone star tick
- Asian longhorned tick
Price per year: about $330 to $350 (for 12-week administration, depending on dosage)
Budget pick: Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs
Budget pick
This collar offers eight-month protection, so it lasts much longer than a topical or an oral treatment. But it won’t protect against internal parasites, and some dogs may not like having an extra thing around their neck.
The Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs kills and also repels fleas and ticks, so they don’t need to feed on an animal’s blood in order to ingest the treatment. This means you likely won’t find as many dying or dead ticks attached to your pooch as you would with oral treatments and with topicals that enter the bloodstream.
Some tick-borne infections, like ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, can be transmitted within a few hours after a tick has attached (with Lyme, however, it takes between more than 24 hours for a tick to transmit). And while isoxazolines can reduce the transmission of these faster-moving illnesses, they may not block them 100% of the time. Susan Little told us that many veterinarians recommend using an isoxazoline “as a baseline,” and then adding a repellent collar to keep pests at bay if you go to a tick-heavy area or if it’s the height of tick season.
The Seresto collar works for up to eight months, the longest of any of our picks. But since it addresses only external parasites, you’ll still need to use a separate product to protect against heartworm, hookworm, and roundworm. And in recent years, there have been some safety issues concerning the collar’s release mechanism.
The collar is available in two sizes, one for small dogs who weigh up to 18 pounds and one for “large dogs” who weigh over 18 pounds. It comes in a protective bag inside a round canister. The collar is coiled and connected to itself with plastic pieces; you need to remove these before putting the collar on your pooch (otherwise your dog may get scratched).
Kills or repels:
- fleas
- black-legged tick (deer tick)
- brown dog tick
- American dog tick
- lone star tick
- chewing lice
- sarcoptic mange
Price per year: $90
Budget pick: K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Spot Treatment for Dogs
Budget pick
This monthly over-the-counter topical repels fleas, ticks, flies, and mosquitos, so they die without having to bite your dog. But it doesn’t protect dogs from internal parasites like heartworm.
Like the Seresto collar, K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Spot Treatment for Dogs is a relatively inexpensive monthly topical treatment that, unlike the chewables, can be bought over the counter. It kills and also repels fleas, ticks, and lice. Like the Seresto collar, it helps stop ticks from attaching to your dog.
Advantix II also kills and repels annoying biting flies and mosquitos that can carry heartworm disease and West Nile virus. But while it helps keep disease-spreading mosquitoes from biting your dog, it stays on the surface of the skin and hair coat. It doesn’t enter a dog’s bloodstream, as Bravecto and Simparica Trio do, so it won’t prevent heartworm, nor will it treat intestinal parasites like hookworm and roundworm. Therefore, you’ll still need a separate medication for those.
Advantix II contains imidacloprid (which has been used to control fleas since the mid-1990s) and permethrin (which is also often used in human insect repellents). But permethrin is toxic to cats in high concentrations, so this product should be kept far away from your feline friends.
If you have both dogs and cats in the home, you can still use Advantix II, but the label instructs you to keep treated dogs separated from your cats for 24 hours after applying it. (If a cat ingests Advantix II, contact your vet right away.)
The label also warns that Advantix II is “extremely toxic to aquatic organisms,” and it suggests using caution when throwing away the packaging, making sure not to add the product to water.
Advantix II comes in a tube with a seal that you break with the cap. It’s available in four dosages; the smallest one is indicated for dogs who weigh between 4 and 10 pounds, and the largest one is for dogs who weigh over 55 pounds.
Kills or repels:
- fleas
- black-legged tick (deer tick)
- brown dog tick
- American dog tick
- lone star tick
- mosquitos
- biting flies
- lice
Price per year: about $155
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Some of the pests each dog treatment tackles
Our pick: Simparica Trio Chewable Tablets for Dogs
Top pick
This monthly, prescription-only chewable tablet for dogs treats and controls a wide spectrum of parasites, including fleas, hookworm, roundworm, and five kinds of ticks. It also helps prevent heartworm disease.
Simparica Trio Chewable Tablets for Dogs is a monthly chewable treatment that offers the broadest protection for the lowest price. It kills fleas and ticks, prevents heartworm, and treats hookworm and roundworm, all with one liver-flavored nugget. It can be used in puppies eight weeks and older who weigh at least 2.8 pounds.
Simparica Trio is one of the few products we’ve found that uses three active ingredients to tackle a wide spectrum of parasites. (The only other treatments we’ve seen with similarly broad coverage for dogs are Nexgard Plus, which is more expensive and covers one fewer tick, and the newly released Credelio Quattro.)
The first of these ingredients is an isoxazoline compound called sarolaner (all isoxazolines end in “laner”). It kills any fleas and ticks that are camping out on your pet. And it can also help get home flea infestations under control within four to eight weeks, if all of your pets are treated regularly, according to Chris Adolph, a veterinary parasitologist on staff at Zoetis, the company that makes Simparica Trio.
The second and third ingredients are moxidectin, which protects against heartworm, and pyrantel, “which extends the spectrum to include adult and immature stages of two species of hookworms, two species of roundworms,” Adolph said.
Simparica Trio kills five types of ticks, including the Gulf Coast tick. Concern over this tick is growing, as it expands its geography up the East Coast and into the Midwest, according to the Companion Animal Parasite Council (video).
But Simparica Trio is not currently labeled for the Asian longhorned tick, so if this tick is a concern for you, our also-great pick might be a better choice.
You can usually get a good value per dose in the six-count packaging, although buying it this way can be a significant cost all at once. Check the color-colored ovals on the front of the box to make sure you’re buying for the appropriate weight range, which spans six groups of dogs, from 2.8 up to 132 pounds. You can give these tablets to even bigger dogs, too, but as with most of these treatments, you’ll have to calculate the correct number to give them. You can give this tablet with or without food, and it comes in an individually wrapped blister pack.
Kills or repels:
- fleas
- black-legged tick (deer tick)
- brown dog tick
- American dog tick
- lone star tick
- Gulf Coast tick
- heartworm
- hookworm
- roundworm
Price per year: about $350 to $405 (depending on dosage)
Best for a longer-lasting flea and tick treatment: Bravecto Chew for Dogs
Best for…
One chew lasts for 12 weeks, so you can administer it less frequently than any other oral treatment we recommend. But it doesn’t treat or prevent worm infections.
The Bravecto Chew for Dogs is the only flea and tick treatment we’ve seen that kills fleas and some ticks for up to 12 weeks, so administration is infrequent and convenient. Bravecto is also our only pick that kills the Asian longhorned tick.
Bravecto’s active ingredient is fluralaner, an isoxazoline, so it can help with home flea infestations. But it doesn’t contain any drugs to prevent heartworm or treat hookworm and roundworm; you’ll need to buy another product that handles these internal parasites.
Of the five ticks Bravecto attacks, only four of them are controlled for the full 12 weeks. If you’re in an area with a large population of the lone star tick, you should give your dog Bravecto every eight weeks instead, as indicated on the product label. This provides full coverage without any danger to your pup from either the medication or the ticks, and you still have to apply it only half as often as most of our other picks. It also comes in a topical, if your dog has special dietary requirements or doesn’t like chews.
Like Simparica Trio tablets, the Bravecto Chew is available in multiple dosages, for dogs ranging in weight from 4.4 to 123 pounds (there’s a color scheme associated with each weight range on the front of the box). According to the insert, dogs who weigh over 123 pounds “should be administered the appropriate combination of chews.” Bravecto should be given with food, and the tablet comes in a sealed blister pack.
Kills or repels:
- fleas
- black-legged tick (deer tick)
- brown dog tick
- American dog tick
- lone star tick
- Asian longhorned tick
Price per year: about $330 to $350 (for 12-week administration, depending on dosage)
Budget pick: Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs
Budget pick
This collar offers eight-month protection, so it lasts much longer than a topical or an oral treatment. But it won’t protect against internal parasites, and some dogs may not like having an extra thing around their neck.
The Seresto Flea and Tick Collar for Dogs kills and also repels fleas and ticks, so they don’t need to feed on an animal’s blood in order to ingest the treatment. This means you likely won’t find as many dying or dead ticks attached to your pooch as you would with oral treatments and with topicals that enter the bloodstream.
Some tick-borne infections, like ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, can be transmitted within a few hours after a tick has attached (with Lyme, however, it takes between more than 24 hours for a tick to transmit). And while isoxazolines can reduce the transmission of these faster-moving illnesses, they may not block them 100% of the time. Susan Little told us that many veterinarians recommend using an isoxazoline “as a baseline,” and then adding a repellent collar to keep pests at bay if you go to a tick-heavy area or if it’s the height of tick season.
The Seresto collar works for up to eight months, the longest of any of our picks. But since it addresses only external parasites, you’ll still need to use a separate product to protect against heartworm, hookworm, and roundworm. And in recent years, there have been some safety issues concerning the collar’s release mechanism.
The collar is available in two sizes, one for small dogs who weigh up to 18 pounds and one for “large dogs” who weigh over 18 pounds. It comes in a protective bag inside a round canister. The collar is coiled and connected to itself with plastic pieces; you need to remove these before putting the collar on your pooch (otherwise your dog may get scratched).
Kills or repels:
- fleas
- black-legged tick (deer tick)
- brown dog tick
- American dog tick
- lone star tick
- chewing lice
- sarcoptic mange
Price per year: $90
Budget pick: K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Spot Treatment for Dogs
Budget pick
This monthly over-the-counter topical repels fleas, ticks, flies, and mosquitos, so they die without having to bite your dog. But it doesn’t protect dogs from internal parasites like heartworm.
Like the Seresto collar, K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Spot Treatment for Dogs is a relatively inexpensive monthly topical treatment that, unlike the chewables, can be bought over the counter. It kills and also repels fleas, ticks, and lice. Like the Seresto collar, it helps stop ticks from attaching to your dog.
Advantix II also kills and repels annoying biting flies and mosquitos that can carry heartworm disease and West Nile virus. But while it helps keep disease-spreading mosquitoes from biting your dog, it stays on the surface of the skin and hair coat. It doesn’t enter a dog’s bloodstream, as Bravecto and Simparica Trio do, so it won’t prevent heartworm, nor will it treat intestinal parasites like hookworm and roundworm. Therefore, you’ll still need a separate medication for those.
Advantix II contains imidacloprid (which has been used to control fleas since the mid-1990s) and permethrin (which is also often used in human insect repellents). But permethrin is toxic to cats in high concentrations, so this product should be kept far away from your feline friends.
If you have both dogs and cats in the home, you can still use Advantix II, but the label instructs you to keep treated dogs separated from your cats for 24 hours after applying it. (If a cat ingests Advantix II, contact your vet right away.)
The label also warns that Advantix II is “extremely toxic to aquatic organisms,” and it suggests using caution when throwing away the packaging, making sure not to add the product to water.
Advantix II comes in a tube with a seal that you break with the cap. It’s available in four dosages; the smallest one is indicated for dogs who weigh between 4 and 10 pounds, and the largest one is for dogs who weigh over 55 pounds.
Kills or repels:
- fleas
- black-legged tick (deer tick)
- brown dog tick
- American dog tick
- lone star tick
- mosquitos
- biting flies
- lice
Price per year: about $155
The 8 Best Flea and Tick Treatments for Cats and Dogs in 2025
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