These past posts will help with some of the questions (and there are
more posts to help folks):
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG6676
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG5781
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG13850
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG12126
which reads in part:
>Frontline and Revolution can be used to prevent ticks.
>Frontline is the better of the two for ticks.
>(Note: Advantage does NOT work on ticks)
 
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG3892
including in part"
>Advantage has little to no effect on ticks (or mites).  Kiltix is the
>second product that Bayer recently released to go on with Advantage to
>kill ticks.  Both Frontline and Revolution will kill ticks.  Frontline
>is the better of these two for ticks.  You are also correct Kiltix is
>NOT safe for cats or ferrets.
 
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG3087
which includes:
>"Fipronil spray (Frontline) has been found to be safe and effective
>for ferrets."  That is from the book Muller and Kirk's Small Animal
>Dermatology 6th edition 2001.  The reference for that quote was
>Lewington J : Frontline for ferret fleas.  University of Sydney,
>Postgraduate Foundation Veterinary Science Control Therapy Series
>189:856, 1996.  The second source is Vet Clinics of North America,
>Exotic Animal Practice: Therapeutics Jan. 2000.  This article was by
>Dr Bruce Williams...
 
and
 
>As for which one is better- both products work well on fleas!  Frontline
>will also kill ticks and when put into the ear will also kill ear mites.
>Advantage just kills fleas.  Which one last longer?  Frontline will last
>for 30+ days; however, Advantage does not.  In 2 recent studies of
>Advantage on ferrets by 2 different groups (University of London's vet
>school and University of Georgia's vet school) it was both safe and
>effective.  In the first study (London) they applied 0.1ml/kg of the cat
>Advantage to the ferrets.  It worked well for 1 week.  In the second
>study (Georgia) they applied the full 0.4ml tube of Advantage for small
>cats to the ferrets.  It lasted for 3 weeks.  Duration of activity
>therefore appears to be dose related.  Something to think about if you
>are dividing the tube into smaller amounts...
 
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=YG3054
which says in part:
>As for using Frontline for ear mites, it is an extralabel use of the
>product here in the US.  The April 2001 issue of Veterinary Forum has
>a good article on ear mites by Dr Dennis Crow.  He is board certified
>dermatologist here in Dallas.  He list Frontline as a treatment for ear
>mites also.  Revolution (selamectin) and Acarexx ear drops (ivermectin)
>can also be used for ear mites.  I have used Frontline, Acarexx, and
>Revolution for ear mites, and all 3 products work well as long as you
>treat all the pets in the household.  The same for using ivermectin
>injections.
 
With a little searching you will also find that Defend is unsafe for
ferrets and cats -- avoid it, that a person should not use a number
of standard flea products which are safe for dogs, and that pyrthrine
poisoning has occurred in ferrets.  If you check past FMLs using the
FML Archives (addy in the header of every day's FML) you will find
that an FML member had a very heartbreaking multiple loss that way.
[Posted in FML issue 4394]