Fleas!!!!!! Help me!!!!!

[wolf_Q]

We don't have a flea problem in Utah. I will officially never live in Texas. All I can say is good luck, I don't know much about dealing with fleas.

[Kfamr]

Try Zodiac products.

I use their flea shampoo on occasion as well as Frontline PLUS (regular Frontline does not work for us.) I only bathe them with Zodiac on occasion. Between those baths they get baths with Tropiclean Neem.

Honestly, the only way we are able to keep fleas at bay are bathes weekly - every 2 weeks, vacuuming daily, spraying the yard often, and making sure to put monthly Frontline PLUS on them.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Try getting hold of a few of these and dot them around the place - particularly little one's bedroom


http://www.lamp-post.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CH20139

found a couple on good old ebay too

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...rap&category0=

[anna_66]

Oh how terrible this problem must be for you, especially since you have a baby

Last year (the first time in 14 years) we ended up getting fleas and like you we tried everything. I finally got the Frontline Plus and that worked but it still took at least a couple weeks.

Good luck. I hope you find something that works asap!

[mruffruff]

A couple of years ago my daughter had the same problem. She found the fleas in her daughters bed. They both had bites.

She had her house professionally treated a couple of time, but it didn't help. Finally, she put Revolution on her cat and dogs. It took some time, but the fleas finally disappeared.

Borax is inexpensive. So is Diatomaceous Earth. Both work pretty well.

[ParNone]

I live in Texas and have no fleas. I don't fog the house. I don't bathe the dogs in flea shampoo, in fact Oz and Gull only get bathed about once every 6 mos and Murph every 3 mos. No flea collars or flea spray/powder on them. I'm a bit paranoid about chemicals in the backyard with the dogs, so in the 7 yrs I've been here at this house, I think I've only poisoned the yard 3 times, just to keep the ants at bay.

3/4th of the house is either ceramic tile or hardwood floor, which I think helps, but I really think the biggest factor is that they take Sentinel for Heartworm, which also has a flea preventive and the fleas never get a chance to get going. The vet keeps askin' me if I want Frontline or Capstar, but so far *knock wood*, I've not needed anything extra.

Par...

[Catlady711]

I have worked as a vet assistant for over 6 years, so I have narrowed my flea tirade down to my standard 'flea speech'.


Start of 'flea speech'

By the time a person notices fleas jumping on them in their houses or biting the family you already have a very, very bad flea problem. To prevent that keep a careful eye on your pet looking for fleas. Fleas can either be identified by actually seeing the adult flea, or by seeing little black specks the size of a pin head close to the skin (those are flea droppings, yuck). A cheap flea comb from any pet store will help with this especially if your pet has dark or long hair. On cats fleas are more typically found around the head/neck area. On dogs they are usually found along the spine near the tail, or on the belly.

A single female flea lays about 2,000 eggs in her lifetime! Out of the flea population ONLY 5% is visable as adult fleas. So for every five fleas you see, there are 95% more microscopic immature flea larva/eggs that you can't see. Immature fleas can live inside carpets, pet bedding, etc for up to 2 YEARS before hatching. Fleas can even manage to reproduce in homes with only hardwood flooring in cracks and crevices.

Frontline PLUS is a liquid you put on the back of your cats neck on the skin. It soaks in and attatches to the oils in your cat and circulates over the whole body. Within 24 hours it goes to work. It is important not to bathe your pet for 2 days before and 2 days after using Frontline PLUS, as bathing washes the oil out of their skin and make it hard for the product to circulate properly. However after that 2 day period if you want to bathe your pet, go ahead, it's in your pets skin and is waterproof.

Frontline PLUS works at fleas 2 ways...

1. Fleas are killed upon contact with a pet with Frontline PLUS. Fleas do NOT have to bite the pet for it to kill the flea. It kills the flea before it's had a blood meal (which is required for reproduction).

2. It also contains a 'growth regulator' that as your pet sheds hair/dandruf, it carries the PLUS part of the ingredients down into your carpets, pet bedding etc. This messes up the life cycle of the larva so they never hatch into adult fleas. This part of the process takes patience, however it is the most important part.

Regular and long term use (1-2 years without missing a month), will eliminate the need for messy/expensive flea bombs, sprays, powders, dips, collars etc. It is important not to stop using Fronline PLUS once the flea problem seems to be slowing down or gone, those flea larva may still be lurking in your house for up to a year yet!

Frontline PLUS is somewhat expensive, until you realize how much money has been spent on all the other things that don't work, not to mention the dangerous chemicals, it is def. more cost saving to use Frontline PLUS. The main ingredient of Frontline PLUS (fipronil) has been used in fruit orchards in the US since the 1980's and ONLY affects the system of an insect, not mammals, so it's a safe product.

Many OTC flea products contain more risky ingredients like pyretherins/phenothrins which are not only unsafe, (EPA about Hartz flea and tick drops) but also don't work well. Most OTC flea products only kill the existing adult fleas on your pet at that moment. So you can bathe away in a chemical laden bath and the moment you set your pet back on the floor...whamo, you've got fleas again. Also since the pyretherins have been used for so many years many fleas have become immune to the effects of them resulting in poor perfomance of the product.

End of standard 'flea speech'. LOL

As my standard disclaimer goes.....
I do not work for Merial (maker of Frontline) I do not recieve any compensation for recommending this product, and I only personally recommend products I trust to be safe and are effective.

[shais_mom]

Another alternative that I have tried Leslie, is take lemons and cut them up
put them in a glass jar and pour boiling water over them - let that sit over nite and then pour the juice into a spray bottle and spray over the dogs coat. Not sure if this works on cats. I also take a bit of lemon mix a solution of DAWN dish detergent and give the kritters a bath. I use maybe a tsp of lemon for the cats - just a small amt - and a Larger amount on Keegan.
and also if you are using a flea comb
dip it into a hot soapy dish (dawn detergent again) it kills them

[AdoreMyDogs]

I have worked as a vet assistant for over 6 years, so I have narrowed my flea tirade down to my standard 'flea speech'.


Start of 'flea speech'

By the time a person notices fleas jumping on them in their houses or biting the family you already have a very, very bad flea problem. To prevent that keep a careful eye on your pet looking for fleas. Fleas can either be identified by actually seeing the adult flea, or by seeing little black specks the size of a pin head close to the skin (those are flea droppings, yuck). A cheap flea comb from any pet store will help with this especially if your pet has dark or long hair. On cats fleas are more typically found around the head/neck area. On dogs they are usually found along the spine near the tail, or on the belly.

A single female flea lays about 2,000 eggs in her lifetime! Out of the flea population ONLY 5% is visable as adult fleas. So for every five fleas you see, there are 95% more microscopic immature flea larva/eggs that you can't see. Immature fleas can live inside carpets, pet bedding, etc for up to 2 YEARS before hatching. Fleas can even manage to reproduce in homes with only hardwood flooring in cracks and crevices.

Frontline PLUS is a liquid you put on the back of your cats neck on the skin. It soaks in and attatches to the oils in your cat and circulates over the whole body. Within 24 hours it goes to work. It is important not to bathe your pet for 2 days before and 2 days after using Frontline PLUS, as bathing washes the oil out of their skin and make it hard for the product to circulate properly. However after that 2 day period if you want to bathe your pet, go ahead, it's in your pets skin and is waterproof.

Frontline PLUS works at fleas 2 ways...

1. Fleas are killed upon contact with a pet with Frontline PLUS. Fleas do NOT have to bite the pet for it to kill the flea. It kills the flea before it's had a blood meal (which is required for reproduction).

2. It also contains a 'growth regulator' that as your pet sheds hair/dandruf, it carries the PLUS part of the ingredients down into your carpets, pet bedding etc. This messes up the life cycle of the larva so they never hatch into adult fleas. This part of the process takes patience, however it is the most important part.

Regular and long term use (1-2 years without missing a month), will eliminate the need for messy/expensive flea bombs, sprays, powders, dips, collars etc. It is important not to stop using Fronline PLUS once the flea problem seems to be slowing down or gone, those flea larva may still be lurking in your house for up to a year yet!

Frontline PLUS is somewhat expensive, until you realize how much money has been spent on all the other things that don't work, not to mention the dangerous chemicals, it is def. more cost saving to use Frontline PLUS. The main ingredient of Frontline PLUS (fipronil) has been used in fruit orchards in the US since the 1980's and ONLY affects the system of an insect, not mammals, so it's a safe product.

Many OTC flea products contain more risky ingredients like pyretherins/phenothrins which are not only unsafe, (EPA about Hartz flea and tick drops) but also don't work well. Most OTC flea products only kill the existing adult fleas on your pet at that moment. So you can bathe away in a chemical laden bath and the moment you set your pet back on the floor...whamo, you've got fleas again. Also since the pyretherins have been used for so many years many fleas have become immune to the effects of them resulting in poor perfomance of the product.

End of standard 'flea speech'. LOL

As my standard disclaimer goes.....
I do not work for Merial (maker of Frontline) I do not recieve any compensation for recommending this product, and I only personally recommend products I trust to be safe and are effective.

Ok, yeah it was Frontline that I used, not Frontline Plus. I will have to start saving my money. I'm just going to stop buying all the crap that we've been buying because it's just a total waste of money and I hate to be around all the chemicals.

This is great advice, everyone. I really appreciate it. I'm going to first treat the dogs, especially Boone, who is just so miserable. He USED to be such a gorgeous GSD, and now I'm embarresed to walk him because I feel like a terrible owner since he has so much hair loss and bald spots and hot spots

I thank you all for such good advice. I never thought I'd ever have this kind of problem You are all wonderful!!!!!

[crow_noir]

By this post something in my head clicked. Wouldn't it then be better to forgo vacuuming a little longer than usual? Like maybe a week or so. Or three weeks if you can tolerate that.

I have worked as a vet assistant for over 6 years, so I have narrowed my flea tirade down to my standard 'flea speech'.

Start of 'flea speech'

By the time a person notices fleas jumping on them in their houses or biting the family you already have a very, very bad flea problem. To prevent that keep a careful eye on your pet looking for fleas. Fleas can either be identified by actually seeing the adult flea, or by seeing little black specks the size of a pin head close to the skin (those are flea droppings, yuck). A cheap flea comb from any pet store will help with this especially if your pet has dark or long hair. On cats fleas are more typically found around the head/neck area. On dogs they are usually found along the spine near the tail, or on the belly.

A single female flea lays about 2,000 eggs in her lifetime! Out of the flea population ONLY 5% is visable as adult fleas. So for every five fleas you see, there are 95% more microscopic immature flea larva/eggs that you can't see. Immature fleas can live inside carpets, pet bedding, etc for up to 2 YEARS before hatching. Fleas can even manage to reproduce in homes with only hardwood flooring in cracks and crevices.

Frontline PLUS is a liquid you put on the back of your cats neck on the skin. It soaks in and attatches to the oils in your cat and circulates over the whole body. Within 24 hours it goes to work. It is important not to bathe your pet for 2 days before and 2 days after using Frontline PLUS, as bathing washes the oil out of their skin and make it hard for the product to circulate properly. However after that 2 day period if you want to bathe your pet, go ahead, it's in your pets skin and is waterproof.

Frontline PLUS works at fleas 2 ways...

1. Fleas are killed upon contact with a pet with Frontline PLUS. Fleas do NOT have to bite the pet for it to kill the flea. It kills the flea before it's had a blood meal (which is required for reproduction).

2. It also contains a 'growth regulator' that as your pet sheds hair/dandruf, it carries the PLUS part of the ingredients down into your carpets, pet bedding etc. This messes up the life cycle of the larva so they never hatch into adult fleas. This part of the process takes patience, however it is the most important part.

Regular and long term use (1-2 years without missing a month), will eliminate the need for messy/expensive flea bombs, sprays, powders, dips, collars etc. It is important not to stop using Fronline PLUS once the flea problem seems to be slowing down or gone, those flea larva may still be lurking in your house for up to a year yet!

Frontline PLUS is somewhat expensive, until you realize how much money has been spent on all the other things that don't work, not to mention the dangerous chemicals, it is def. more cost saving to use Frontline PLUS. The main ingredient of Frontline PLUS (fipronil) has been used in fruit orchards in the US since the 1980's and ONLY affects the system of an insect, not mammals, so it's a safe product.

Many OTC flea products contain more risky ingredients like pyretherins/phenothrins which are not only unsafe, (EPA about Hartz flea and tick drops) but also don't work well. Most OTC flea products only kill the existing adult fleas on your pet at that moment. So you can bathe away in a chemical laden bath and the moment you set your pet back on the floor...whamo, you've got fleas again. Also since the pyretherins have been used for so many years many fleas have become immune to the effects of them resulting in poor perfomance of the product.

End of standard 'flea speech'. LOL

As my standard disclaimer goes.....
I do not work for Merial (maker of Frontline) I do not recieve any compensation for recommending this product, and I only personally recommend products I trust to be safe and are effective.