FLEAS!?!?!
Posted by fufuberry on Nov 28, 2009 · Member since Jul 2008 · 1786 posts
My cats have a HORRIBLE flea problem.. They are indoor only so i guess they keep getting them from the one cat that keeps escaping. We have gone through 3 months of frontline plus and my poor babies are still covered in scabs and fleas and I am covered in bites on my feet as well :'(
I am allergic to the stuff you sprinkle on the carpets, and I'm going to talk to the vet about Advantage as soon as they can have another dose. is there ANYTHING else I can do???
you need to bathe the cats with a flea shampoo, and flea bomb the house....thats the only way you will get rid of the problem,once you have fleas in the house, its hard to get rid of them, they multiply so quickly
Terminex! That's the only thing that worked for us... had a problem a few years back, when we got behind on Frontline treatments due to financial stress, and we tried EVERYTHING else-- to no avail...
Do you live in a house, apartment, or duplex? sometimes they can be getting in from your neighbors' place, if it's a shared dwelling; if so,the landlord may need to have Terminex treat the whole building, & tenants split costs...
Also, have you talked to your vet about Capstar? kills all fleas currently on the cats within 15 minutes, & all that bite them within (I believe) 24 hours... might be a good idea to pair this with treating the house-- won't work by itself for serious infestations, but is a good adjunct, to make sure you get ALL the little bloodsuckin' bastards... good luck-- that is SUCH a no-fun situation-- hope you find a quick & thorough solution!
I also recommend a flee bomb or similar. ON the day you do this, also wash all bedding, curtains, clothes, basically anything that can go in the wash should. Hot water is best. We took everything to a local laundry mat, so we could do multiple loads at once.
I never had to flea-bomb my house. We had fleas and the vet gave me this big spray can of stuff that you spray on the carpet, in furniture, on drapes, etc... It did the trick for me, but I'm sorry I don't remember what it was called. Also, to keep the fleas from ever getting set on my pets I put apple cider vinegar in their water. I've seen fleas on my pets, but they never stick around, so I guess it's working.
The only thing that worked for us was fleabusters.com
it is a powder you sprinkle, but read about it-its environmentally friendly
it took longer than it said it would, but at least it worked.
better than a chemical bomb that gets all over every surface of your house.
i used it and i have kids that are on the floors all the time. that says something.
between that and having them bitten by fleas, i chose the former.
I think *CROSS FINGERS* we may have remedied the issue. They had worms as well (because the fleas were so bad) and we vacuumed the house like mad, and the vet recommended Revolution. You put it on like frontline, but it also protects against worms and stuff too. They haven't been scratching and a lot of digestive problems seem to have cleared up in just a week!
I think *CROSS FINGERS* we may have remedied the issue. They had worms as well (because the fleas were so bad) and we vacuumed the house like mad, and the vet recommended Revolution. You put it on like frontline, but it also protects against worms and stuff too. They haven't been scratching and a lot of digestive problems seem to have cleared up in just a week!
Yeah, revolution's good in terms of cost too... if you want to protect your dog from those things with separate meds, it gets pretty expensive. If they do have flea problems in the future though, you can actually just wash them with regular dish soap. The glycerin in soap breaks through the flea's shell, so it's actually not necessary to get special flea shampoo. It's what they used at the vet hospital I used to work at. However, with some topical flea ointments (Advantage, at least), you might have to reapply the medicine after bathing : /
I have read sprinkling borax on the carpet before you vacuum helps to kill the fleas by drying them out I think?
Borax is an all around insect deterrent :D helps with ants too!