Fleas

[luckystar112]

I am so grossed out right now. I can''t take it!

My dog has been going to the vet every two weeks for the last couple of months to be treated for mange. I brought my kitten to the vet a few weeks ago for some shots and also for worm treatment. All of my pets itch all the time!

I figured it was normal with the cat, but my dog has been itching uncontrolably for weeks. I mean, I feel so bad for him. He can''t sleep...he doesn''t want to play...nothing. He just sits in our bedroom and itches. I talked to the vet today to ask if maybe the treatment he was getting was making him worse...well, the vet THEN decided to tell me that my dog has fleas!!!

I mean, this guy has been combing over my dog with a fine tooth comb for months and he couldn''t even once mention to me that my dog has fleas?!

And so now all of my pets have fleas. Now that I know what to look for I have inspected them and I am SO GROSSED OUT!

I bathed my kitten with flea shampoo and saw probably 60 fleas run for their lives. I bought some spray for our floor and have been awakened to the INFESTATION living in my carpet.

I just don''t know what to do because here is the kicker...
Even if I treat my whole house and my lawn outside, one of my cats is an outdoor cat. I can''t just keep him inside because he is very persistant and sneaky. So he can obviously pick up fleas from someone elses yard! I can''t bathe my dog until his mange goes away, which means no flea shampoo for him...and topical ointments don''t work on him. So basically my freshly flea free kitten will probably be reinfested by tomorrow.

Worse of all, now that I know what they look like I KNOW I''ve seen them jump on me before. I always thought it was a fruit fly or something, not that that''s any better. And now I feel like things are crawling all over me! I don''t want to lay in my possibly infested bed.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I almost threw up after the carpet incident...that will be taken care of tomorrow! Apparently they''ve been multiplying in there for a while, and my carpet is so thick a vaccum can''t suck them up!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Try getting flea collar for your outdoor pet. Treat all the pets and get your home bombed. We were infested thanks to a stray my DH felt sorry for. They were even in my car!

I had bites as well. They were upstairs AND downstairs (which the pest guy said was very bad and meant we had a HUGE infestation). I hired a professional pest control company to spray my house. Took my cat to the vet. Came back a few hours later and the problem was solved for good. (They didn''t treat my lawn and I had to sweep the carpets everyday to pick up any stray eggs for a few weeks). We saw our neighbors letting in the flea cat so my DH went and warned them. I *think* they said they put some kind of ointment on its neck before they let it in and they never got them. Ask your vet.

 

[VRBeauty]

Flea bomb the house if you can. (You'll have to get all the pets out for three hours or so.) Or, you may want to get the inside and outside of the house treated by a professional.

Treat everyone that can be treated with Advantage (liquid topical treatment). It does the job for four weeks - comb them towards the end of that time to see if it's wearing off and if it's time to re-treat.

The only problem is that the advantage is expensive, maybe $10 per pet per month. I haven't had much luck with the cheaper brands, but someone else might be able to recommend one.

Good luck!

BTW both of my cats are indoor/outdoor cats.

 

[TravelingGal]

Ugh, fleas are so gross.

We had a pretty bad infestation and we don''t have any pets! They came through cracks from next door, who has a cat. So disgusting and we were SO annoyed it was because of someone else''s pet.

I flea bombed several times. It just didn''t work for every long because it simply doesn''t kill the eggs. The only thing that finally worked was borax and salt. I thought it was a wives tale or something, but it really did the job! I went nutso with the borax...probably overboard. Left it on the carpets overnight and then vacuumed it up. Apparently the vacuum can''t get all of it and whatever is left continues to fight fleas. The caveat...it can potentially be toxic to your pets, especially cats.

Flea bomb and vacuum as much as possible...it may help even if you think your carpet is too thick. There are tons of articles on the web on how to get rid of them, so I am sure you can find more helpful info.

 

[Mara]

try dichatomaceous earth for the house. you can get it at a hardware store or pet store and they have this puffy sprayer thing. you have to basically put it everywhere. it's like a powdery substance. portia brought in 6 fleas with her last year and i went nuts on the house with this stuff because i didn't want to use flea bombs, and if she had any more or if they tried to breed i guess this got them early, who knows but we didn't have a problem thank goodness. i was so grossed out seeing 6 fleas, i would literally probably have had a massive freak attack if we were infested. i was TOTALLY paranoid after finding just those few esp after i read online that they can breed hugely within 24 hours or something crazy!! as it is...after that we stopped taking her out to where the park was because that is where she was picking them up.

anyway the DE basically pierces their exoskeletons when they crawl or walk over it and acts like shards of glass to the fleas (or really any bugs, we didn't see any bugs like spiders or anything in the house for months) and dehydrates them within 24 hours. it's supposedly not harmful to people or pets though i did read (after the fact) that if you breathe in too much of it it could be bad for your lungs. i think you are supposed to wear a mouth protector or something when you spray it. but i believe once it settles it's basically fine.

it seems like it would work well for an infestation because you need something really fine and powdery to get EVERYWHERE. but anyway i would read up on the internet about it, that is where i found all my info when i was researching. i only recently found a site that said it COULD be harmful to humans but before that i had read a bunch of sites that said the opposite, so who knows but i would check into researching it at least. it could maybe be used in conjunction with your other methods if you don't feel comfortable just trying this. but the websites that i found online seemed like it could be definitely successful. interestingly enough greg puffed some of it out into the garage when we were testing the puffer, and it ended up being near a spider in the garage and he said that the spider was dead in like 5 minutes. totally weird...but i guess it works.

for the pets, frontline or advantage on them will kill any fleas ON them and it will also deter fleas from biting them (they will die). however, what was happening with portia is they would hitch a ride on her leg fur into the house. so the pets could still carry them around...so be sure to comb them carefully every time they go outside kinda thing.

good luck!

 

[firebirdgold]

One word: Frontline. It''s a prescription liquid you put on the backs of your pets and it spreads over their skins. (totally safe for them as long as follow the instructions) Then any fleas that bite your pet will die. It also seems to kill larvae and eggs.. and my favorite the frontline plus version kills ticks too.
My entire extended family uses this on their pets and none of us have had any flea problems. Before we all had the whole flea collar and flea bombing routine every summer which was a royal pain.

The reason frontline is so much better than the topical stuff you can get at pet stores is that it isn''t a neurotoxin. The other stuff looks like frontline but isn''t and can be dangerous.

 

[door knob solitaire]

If your little canine child

is in so much misery, consider filling a kiddie pool with warm water and oatmeal. Aveeno is great. Put the tike in there and stand back in awe. They will usually recline and rest their head on the side. It is a spa of relief. If he needs prodding...just cup the liquid over him. The warmth will make him relax. Oh take a wet bar of soap and run it on your arms or exposed skin and let it dry. You shouldn't be bothered.

I so urge you to get advantage. I agree, nothing works better. DO it NOW. This is the greatest thing you can do for him now that it is out of control. It will help stop the madness in the fleas cycle. You have a war and you must hit it hard. Available in cat

and dog

.

Mara posted an idea about DE powder for this very thing. It is a white fine milled powder that is really fossils of sea creatures. The jagged edges seem to penetrate the hull of insects. Once pierced it will die quickly. It is cheap from the pool supply stores/sold as DE filter powder.

DKS

Oops sorry Mara...your post hit as I was writing mine.

 

[TravelingGal]

DE was the other thing I found in my research. Borax and salt works much the same way. However, do check if DE is OK for cats...I think both Borax and DE is fine for dogs, but cats may be another story.

ETA, I totally agree that fleas can make a gal freak out. I felt itchy all over and couldn't even concentrate reading pricescope!

It is just such a icky feeling knowing your house is infested with bugs that suck your blood. Ay!

 

[TravelingGal]

One more thing I''ve thought of...

Do you have a doormat? Is it thick in anyway (like carpet)? If so, get rid of it! It was also a culprit in our flea infestation. The neighbor''s cat would hang out on it and fleas totally bred in it (it was kind of a thick, strawish mat). When I came home, fleas could hitch a ride on my long pants. I was so grossed out when I figured it out and took it to the dumpster. A few fleas hopped off and I could see them hit my hand before they hit the floor.

Ugh, this thread is making me itchy...

 

[Gypsy]

Take all pets to groomer for dips in the EARLY Am-- ask them to hold pets for day or board them for a couple of days. Bomb house. WHOLE THING. Air out and clean. Get Advantage for ALL the animals-- not just the outdoor ones. Keep outdoor cat indoors for a few days so that the Advantage has time to kick in. You'll be fine.

I have dealt this this before it's DISGUSTING (erm... not to gross you out more but do you have any flea dust? If so, be prepared to wipe down surfaces and do serious laundry after the bomb).

 

[TravelingGal]

Bombing doesn''t kill the eggs though...she''ll just get a reinfestation after the new crop hatches. Especially since she has thick carpet..they can stay dormant for awhile. Did you have luck with just the bombing Gypsy? We bombed 3 times, but they just kept coming back...it was awful!

 

[Mara]

I actually got just as grossed out by the idea of bombing my home as I did about the fleas themselves. That''s why we sought out more of an alternative method.

 

[Gypsy]

I was in college (undergrad so about 12 years ago) the only time I had to deal with this (if it happens to you once-- you learn to take precautions)... but we used double the bombs suggested for our three bedroom townhouse (with carpet)... kept everything sealed overnight, went back the next day (we boarded the animals) borrowed a REALLY good vacuum went over the WHOLE house multiple times with it, and cleaned everywhere. We made sure that the bomb was the cycle stopping type. Dipped the animals... then made sure to keep them protected afterward (we didn't have Advantage at that time-- but it works better than what we used). We didn't have a problem after that at all.

In NJ we bombed our house (same type of spray) before we moved in, kept the all the animals on Revolution for the first three months, then just the dog (only one that went outside)-- except at the beginning of flea season I hit all the cats for one month with Revolution again... have never had an issue since. But we are vigilant. Never want to deal with Flea Dust again. ICK.


Sorry your going through this luckystar!

 

[firebirdgold]

I was confused with my previous post on frontline. I think it is a neurotoxin designed to target fleas and ticks. Advantage is a pesticide.

But basically a topical flea medication should do a lot to get rid of the problem.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/18/2007 1:05:55 PM
Author: IndieJones
I was confused with my previous post on frontline. I think it is a neurotoxin designed to target fleas and ticks. Advantage is a pesticide.

But basically a topical flea medication should do a lot to get rid of the problem.

I thought they were just similar products with different names. Hmm. I think Front Line would be better in this case, then. Good post Indie!

 

[Maisie]

I posted about this very subject about a month ago. We were seriously infested and we don''t have any pets. We think they might have hitched a ride in with my daughter whose friends have two outdoor cats.

After two fumigation attempts from our local housing authority (we are in rented accomodation) we had to pay a pest control company (Rentokil) to do it properly.

They came twice - two weeks apart - and now we are flea free! My poor legs were in a terrible state as were my arms. I was bitten by far the most and I believe it is because I am so sweet!

If you are going to hire somebody make sure they know what they are doing. If we had just paid out in the first place we would have saved a lot of itching and soreness!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

TG- one bombing worked for us and like I mentioned before we were heavily infested.

 

[crystalheart1]

FRONTLINE is great to treat your pets with. Just place it on between the shoulders where the babies (pets)

Can''t lick it . It works great and for a very long time.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/18/2007 2:28:45 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
TG- one bombing worked for us and like I mentioned before we were heavily infested.

Wow, that seems lucky to me...or maybe we were very unlucky! LOL.

Another remedy I read was just to get hardwood floors. Harder for them to survive!

 

[luckystar112]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

I still feel creepy crawly! I actually tried flea powder, but all that happened was all of the fleas traveled to my kittens face. UGH it was so gross. Poor thing. That''s when I decided to give her the bath, and unforunately I just HAD to get her face a little soapy so that they would die. And she did NOT like that one bit! Then of course I dried her off and all these fleas stuck in the towel. Eww. Later, when she was almost dry is when I saw one that was still alive jump off of her and land on my arm...then it jumped on the carpet. So I took the closest thing to me, (A marker) and tried to squish it before it got away...that''s when 4 or 5 came crawling out of the carpet!!!! Just in that one little spot! (this carpet is in the computer room where my pets rarely ever hang out. I don''t even want to think of my bedroom carpet!)

Frontline has never worked for me. I think I am doing it right (shoulder blades, close to the skin)...but my pets STILL itch. My older cat is about 15 lbs, and I''ve been putting frontline on him for a couple months. Well, yesterday when I rubbed some flea powder on him all the fleas went into his face as well. So it''s not working! I also bought some frontline for my dog and applied it yesterday and he is still itching like crazy. Don''t know if this matters, but my cats have extremely thick fur...like to the point where it is hard for me to spread it and see their skin. It''s just so densely packed in there.

I would love to give my older 15 lb cat a flea bath but that is just one challenge I KNOW I won''t be able to win. (at least not without some major scarring. lol.) And my poor dog can''t get bathed until he is done his mange treatment...which we have one treatment every two weeks...it will be forever before I can attack his fleas head on!

The powder for the carpet they were selling at the vet was like $50. UGH. And my boyfriend would be paying and he doesn''t see how big of an issue this is. But he did say that he will buy the stuff for your lawn at home depot. The spray I bought at the vet is already gone. I used it on all the bedding, where my pets hang out...along all the baseboards in high traffic areas...and then a major spray-a-thon in the computer room when I found them in the carpet!

Is advantage different from frontline? I''m not too certain about bombing either only because my kitten is young and I don''t want her to get away. And I don''t want for her to spread fleas in someone elses house! I like Mara''s idea....is this something you can get at a grocery store?

Last night I went to get a drink and a flea flew out of the cabinet where I keep my glasses. I have a serious problem here!

 

[Mara]

lol lucky your posts are totally grossing me out, i cannot imagine how creeped out you must feel you poor thing!

DE can be gotten at a home depot or similar kind of store. i am not sure about grocery. i would do it ASAP today, get a bag of it and the puffer and start puffing away. you might be able to make an immediate dent from what i have read about this stuff (research it online is my suggestion). and maybe try advantage on your pets, that is what we use and it worked for portia.

 

[TravelingGal]

Wow luckystar, you sound like you've got a major infestation! I can't believe you never noticed it before. I'm sorry you have to go through this. I almost don't want to read this thread because it grosses me out!

The DE Mara mentioned you can get at the hardware store. Like Home Depot maybe. The Borax soap you can get at any market/mass merchant like Kmart or Target. But again, BOTH methods may be toxic to cats. Please read up on this before you sprinkle your carpets with either of them. Even after you vacuum it up, there may still be enough in the carpet to harm your cats.

Honestly, I think I have to agree with Maisie...if you have fleas jumping out from where you store wineglasses, it's time to bring in the pros. Every day you sit and try to figure out what to do, those suckers are breeding...FAST.

ETA, Mara beat me to my post...

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/18/2007 3:49:10 PM
Author: Mara
lol lucky your posts are totally grossing me out, i cannot imagine how creeped out you must feel you poor thing!

Yeah, me too. LOL.

Can you take the cat and kitten in for flea dips at the groomer? They are much better than just flea shampoo baths. Good luck!

 

[chrono]

I''m not easily grossed out but man, that is really creepy. From the sound of it, it''s time to bring out the big guns. I would call the pros, get all the pets dipped, then have the pros return to "catch" the eggs and remaining fleas.

 

[FireGoddess]

When I first got Chloe she had fleas - which I didn''t find out for a week or so. I had to get her the Advantage treatment and flea bomb the apartment.

 

[Mara]

"Every day you sit and try to figure out what to do, those suckers are breeding...FAST."

This is totally my thought. I am surprised you posted last nite and have not done anything really yet to try to combat the problem as of today other than some powder, you need WAY more than that. I was so disgusted at finding 6 fleas that I was like IMMEDIATELY researching and looking into what we needed to do and then we jumped on it. I didn't want to give them any extra time, esp when I read how fast they breed and HATCH. So you really need to get going with something, every minute counts IMO. Good luck!!

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/18/2007 3:57:30 PM
Author: Chrono
I''m not easily grossed out but man, that is really creepy. From the sound of it, it''s time to bring out the big guns. I would call the pros, get all the pets dipped, then have the pros return to ''catch'' the eggs and remaining fleas.

Ditto and Double Ditto. Ick. That''s worse than our infestation was and ours was disgusting. ((HUGS))

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 5/18/2007 3:52:32 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Wow luckystar, you sound like you''ve got a major infestation!

I KNOW!! We keep our house pretty clean...the fleas have to be hiding good. But I never knew what a flea looked like so when I''d see one I would figure it was just a little fly that got into the house...no big deal...how long do flies live? like a day? Meanwhile fleas can lay up to 60 eggs PER DAY. Still makes me mad that my vet didn''t tell me. When my kitten had worms, he reccommended the frontline but didn''t tell me that she had fleas...he just said that she ATE a flea. I should have put two and two together. Anyway, the frontline didn''t work...obviously.

Sorry I''m grossing everyone out!

I''m going to read up on that stuff now.
The groomer idea is good too. I want to get my house taken care of first though that way they aren''t just attacked again as soon as they come in the house.

 

[luckystar112]

How much does it cost to hire pros usually? Ballpark range?

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/18/2007 4:06:39 PM
Author: luckystar112

The groomer idea is good too. I want to get my house taken care of first though that way they aren't just attacked again as soon as they come in the house.

They need to be done similtaneously if at all possible. The day the pest control comes you take the pets to the groomer for dips (regardless of the mange the dog will need it too)... and then you hit them that same day with Advantage or Frontline or Revolution or whatever it is... and I would have the groomer apply it since it sounds like you may have some difficulty with it.

Get the phonebook and call for qoutes... best way to find out what its going to cost you. But its not going to be cheap hon. Sorry.