My Dogs Have Fleas

[Zoom-boing]

Oldest re-did her room, vacuumed, washed all bedding, VetKemed again.

One of the fleas I combed out of Finn and put in a ziploc plastic baggie yesterday is still alive today. Makes me think the Advantage is not working the way it should on him, although as far as I can tell it is working on the dogs. Def worked on Shadow but don't know if it is continuing or not, he will not let us comb him. Daughter is looking for fleas/dirt where he sleeps, found a couple of dead fleas this morning. When I first put it on Finn we saw the fleas dying off. It's been close to two weeks since his application, another two before it says I can reapply. So I ordered 2 boxes of Capstar off of Amazon, it will be here Tuesday. Will dose him every three or four days. I combed him today and got a couple of fleas, he is getting annoyed at me though and I don't feel like I'm doing a good enough job.

Re VetKemed the basement where he sleeps, the front half, and steps. Used up everything I had left. The manual pump spray smells different from the aerosol .. it stinks, don't like it. Did find four million-leggers dead along the baseboard. The stuff works. Once that's completely dry I will re-Borax the basement. Again, what possessed us to get Berber carpeting down there is beyond me. It's got too many loopy loops and makes it a great place for fleas to burrow into. If this round of everything doesn't do it I may just rip up the carpeting. It's beat, I don't like it, it's already half ruined from flooding a few years ago and also from Shadow.

DE'd the living daylights out of the living room and just left it there. Will do the same to the family room and remaining three bedrooms. Hadn't VetKemed the two bedrooms because the doors are constantly shut and the animals don't go in there, but Finn did a few times last week when I was cleaning. I thought it was ok because he'd had the Advantage. Will VetKem all rooms when it gets here next week. In the meantime, DE.

 

[PixieStix]

Flea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In arid areas, less than 5% of flea eggs complete the life-cycle.[24] Because Humidity is critical to flea survival, Eggs need relative humidity of at least 70–75% to hatch, and larvae need at least 50% humidity to survive. In humid areas, about 20% of the eggs survive to adulthood.

Lower temperatures slow down or completely interrupt the flea life-cycle. Fleas thrive at higher temperatures, but need 70° to 90°F (21° to 32°C) to survive.

Homemade flea traps work well to catch fleas in the dark. Place a desk lamp over a white bowl of dish soap water overnight. The fleas, attracted to the bright warm light, jump into the soapy water and immediately drown.

A combination of controlled humidity, temperature, and vacuumingshould eliminate fleas from an environment. Altering even one of these environmental factors may be enough to drastically lower and eliminate an infestation.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Jeeez.

Just put down the friggin borax and leave it alone.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Jeeez.

Just put down the friggin borax and leave it alone.

I did. I boraxed the hell out of the basement and pulled 20+ fleas off the cat after it was down for two weeks. This was after we used Advantage on him. Too many fleas, will continue using everything.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Flea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In arid areas, less than 5% of flea eggs complete the life-cycle.[24] Because Humidity is critical to flea survival, Eggs need relative humidity of at least 70–75% to hatch, and larvae need at least 50% humidity to survive. In humid areas, about 20% of the eggs survive to adulthood.

Lower temperatures slow down or completely interrupt the flea life-cycle. Fleas thrive at higher temperatures, but need 70° to 90°F (21° to 32°C) to survive.

Homemade flea traps work well to catch fleas in the dark. Place a desk lamp over a white bowl of dish soap water overnight. The fleas, attracted to the bright warm light, jump into the soapy water and immediately drown.

A combination of controlled humidity, temperature, and vacuumingshould eliminate fleas from an environment. Altering even one of these environmental factors may be enough to drastically lower and eliminate an infestation.

Yeah, using the de-humidifier too. A/C is on as well. Thx, Pixie!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

And, about humidity - that's why fleas are such a huge problem in Tucson. The humidity.

As I said before, because of the high rain fall, the Sonora Desert is a "semi-tropical desert". There are five seasons instead of four. The wet summer after the dry summer gives the fleas and ticks the tine they need to get a hold on.

I used to maintain a small water hole outside my kitchen window and watched just about every critter you can name. With binoculars, we could see enormous fat ticks on the ears of jackrabbits.

BTW, the humidity is also why you can't expect to be rid of ticks or fleas in just a short time. The eggs are in your carpet and in dark nooks and crannies, as they say.

And, that's why treating your animals doesn't make a lick of difference and only causes skin problems. Even though you don't know it or believe it, letting the few fleas stay on your animals is easier on their skin than all the stuff you've put on them.

People want insteant gratification. They want to see the (&*^$% bugs dead on the floor so they put the poison in the air they breathe, the furniture they sit and sleep on and on their poor animals.

Your animals will probably survive the continued assault and you will have contributed to a stronger and healthier strain of fleas.

 

[DarkLion]

I did. I boraxed the hell out of the basement and pulled 20+ fleas off the cat after it was down for two weeks. This was after we used Advantage on him. Too many fleas, will continue using everything.

You can get rid of fleas inside the home completely, but unless you get rid of them in your yard they'll just keep coming back.

Expose moist areas to sunlight to kill the larvae, and put down either cedar chips or Eucalyptus leaves.

4 Ways to Get Rid of Fleas - wikiHow

 

[Zoom-boing]

And, about humidity - that's why fleas are such a huge problem in Tucson. The humidity.

As I said before, because of the high rain fall, the Sonora Desert is a "semi-tropical desert". There are five seasons instead of four. The wet summer after the dry summer gives the fleas and ticks the tine they need to get a hold on.

I used to maintain a small water hole outside my kitchen window and watched just about every critter you can name. With binoculars, we could see enormous fat ticks on the ears of jackrabbits.

BTW, the humidity is also why you can't expect to be rid of ticks or fleas in just a short time. The eggs are in your carpet and in dark nooks and crannies, as they say.

And, that's why treating your animals doesn't make a lick of difference and only causes skin problems. Even though you don't know it or believe it, letting the few fleas stay on your animals is easier on their skin than all the stuff you've put on them.

People want insteant gratification. They want to see the (&*^$% bugs dead on the floor so they put the poison in the air they breathe, the furniture they sit and sleep on and on their poor animals.

Your animals will probably survive the continued assault and you will have contributed to a stronger and healthier strain of fleas.

Only treating the environment leaves the fleas free to continue to eat/mate/breed, which causes for a longer period of time that they are around and causes unnecessary stress/discomfort for the animals. The two dogs are flea free because of the Advantix; the older cat is getting there; working on the younger cat. But you think it'd be better if they were scratching and ripping their fur out like they were just a few weeks ago? And the one cat who reacted to the FL ... suppose it wasn't that but was actually the fleas that caused his reaction? Just let him suffer through, eh? I find it interesting that you're preaching about putting 'stuff' on the animals and yet you use 'stuff' on your animals. Oh, that's different. Somehow. It just is.

I'm not looking for instant anything. I didn't expect them to be gone overnight, I figured it would take a bit. What I was surprised at yesterday was the number of fleas on the one cat, even after being given Advantage. It works ... it's working on the other pets ... I thought it would work as well on Finn. Perhaps it is and it's because he sleeps in the basement that's why there were so many on him because, as I have said numerous times, it's a perfect environment for fleas... which is why I'm using the VetKem and borax.

Why are you arguing with me over this? You and I obviously have differing povs on how to get rid of fleas. While I appreciate your advice, you can stop chirping about how, in your opinion, I'm doing it wrong.

 

[syrenn]

it did not work on the cat becasue the room the cat took refuge in was not treated with the vetkem

it should get better now.

 

[Zoom-boing]

it did not work on the cat becasue the room the cat took refuge in was not treated with the vetkem

it should get better now.

No, Finn (the younger cat) sleeps in the basement and I VK two weeks ago and again yesterday. Also used borax (need to redo that since I vacuumed). He was given Advantage II a week and a half ago. It worked ... we saw the fleas dying off him ... but yesterday I combed him and found the 20+ fleas. I wasn't home a lot this past week, vacuuming fell off as did the de-humidifier.

Shadow (grumpy old cat) sleeps in my daughters room, which originally wasn't treated w/VK. It was cleaned and only DE. That has now been done -- everything washed, vacuumed, VK - and he's been given Advantage II a week ago. He refuses to let me comb him so we're looking for signs. We've seen dead fleas from where's he's been sitting or lying.

 

[syrenn]

how is progress?

 

[Zoom-boing]

Treated the house again today. Still have to do the kitchen area rug, dining room area rug (they will have to wait till tomorrow) and daughter's room where Shadow sleeps (she just did it last week so I will wait a bit for that). Other two kid's room the animals don't really go in, their doors are closed all the time but I am going to borax the rugs heavily tomorrow and leave it down ... just in case. Might spray too. Used up nearly everything I ordered though, so I'll wait and see what I have after the other things are done. The rest of the house is done, and done heavily. Hoping this is the last time.

Penny shows no signs of fleas.
Dio has been itchy some, found a few small ones on him yesterday.
Finn has been getting combed, found one flea on him yesterday.
Shadow does not let us comb him, watching for signs.

Capstarred Penny, Dio and Finn today before doing the house. Figured kill as many at one shot. The numbers are greatly diminished. Talked to vet again today and asked about giving them the Advantix/Advantage II at the three week mark, rather than the four week mark, since we're seeing fleas on two of them. She said that was fine for this month. Will reapply next Monday. Both dogs got a bath this past Tuesday, so might wait until next Tuesday to reapply to give the oils a good chance to build back up.

The weather was very nice and not too humid for about a week but yesterday the humidity starting building again and today it is like pea soup. Humidifier has been running non stop but last week it got down to running off and on at the 40% humidity level. Dry those suckers out.

Vet said it will take 3 months on the spot-on treatment before they are all gone; it just takes time. It's getting better bit by bit. Dang, fleas are a pain in the ass. What purpose do they even serve? None that I can think of.

 

[koshergrl]

You have to do the whole house at once. Doing this room and that room and this pet and that pet won't get it.

When we had the infestation from hell, I bombed the crap out of my house, and left it for some weeks...(we went somewhere, don't remember where) then came in and bombed it again..and left again. By then the outside infestation was relenting, and we finally got rid of them in the house.

That was a nightmare. I didn't have carpets. I was obsessively vacuuming and mopping and sucking grunge and hair out of every corner and crevasse in the house...and bombing and spraying and emptying out my vacuum cleaner and doing it again..and again..and again. Finally after just being completely unrelenting (and always doing the entire house) we got rid of them.

I never want to go through that again. Fleas carry tapeworms. Yuck.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Well, it's been a week since I treated the house, five days since I treated 3 of the 4 animals. So far, no sign of fleas. I bought a new vacuum (that is suckier) to get as much up out of the carpet as possible, anything that might still be living. After spraying, I boraxed under the bigger pieces of furniture ... sofas, beds, dressers ... as an additional step. DE in the litterboxes and on Finn's blanket he sleeps on (washed and dried that thing so many times too!). Ran the dehumidifier like crazy in the basement to pull out as much moisture as possible. The weather broke a few days ago, quite lovely ... no heat, no humidity, nice breeze. Windows open. See no signs of fleas on the animals, although Dio still scratches. Of course, he's an itchier dog anyway (always finding bits of mulch and butterfly bush in him lol) but I'm randomly combing him and coming up with no fleas. Hoping this did the trick and that they are gone. I still expect some to hatch from the pupa stage but time will tell. Will continue with vacuuming and looking for any signs and also with the monthly flea treatments. Will likely do the cats for two more months ... or should I just treat them year round? They don't go out at all and I've never treated them before, only the dogs, and never had a problem. Hmmm. Looked up prices for the K9 Advantix and Advantage II for cats on PetMeds ... way cheaper. I like to support local but there is a significant price difference between what Petco charges and what PetMeds charge. For what I pay for a four month supply for the dogs I can get a six month supply and the cats treatment is $30 cheaper from PM than Petco. Free shipping.

 

[syrenn]

since this is your first time ever having fleas...i would not treat your indoor cats year round.... but only when you start to see them again. It is a poison after all, and using it unnecessarily is to much in my opinion. I would keep up on a year round basis for your outdoor dogs.

 

[Zoom-boing]

since this is your first time ever having fleas...i would not treat your indoor cats year round.... but only when you start to see them again. It is a poison after all, and using it unnecessarily is to much in my opinion. I would keep up on a year round basis for your outdoor dogs.

That's what I was thinking. I will go two more months for them -- just in case a latent pupa pops -- and that will bring me to November, then I'll stop. Dogs, not sure if I'll do year round or maybe give them a two or three month break in the dead of winter then start back up again in the beginning of March. That's what we used to do and never had a problem. Not putting it on them at all is what caused them to get fleas in the first place. An ounce of prevention is def worth a pound of cure!!

Thx again for the VetKem info and the spraying heavily tip, s. If you're going to spray, spray. Just do it and get rid of them.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

It used to be a flea collar and now Frontline does the trick. But if you don't have a carpet, fleas aren't bad. We never had more than 2 dogs and had dogs 33 years, and I have always kept track of them.

Just pinch 'em and rub tummy.

 

[Zoom-boing]

It used to be a flea collar and now Frontline does the trick. But if you don't have a carpet, fleas aren't bad. We never had more than 2 dogs and had dogs 33 years, and I have always kept track of them.

Just pinch 'em and rub tummy.

I used to use it all the time as a preventative and the dogs never got fleas but once they actually got fleas, Frontline didn't do squat. We've switched over to the Advantage and Advantix and it took care of the problem on the animals.

It took six weeks to rid our pets and house of fleas using a spot flea treatment that works, spraying the house with a product that works, and vacuuming like hell everyday. Ended up buying a new vacuum in the midst of it all and I swear that helped loads. It sucked more!

It's easier to prevent than to treat/get rid of fleas. Dose your pets if you are in a flea prone area.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

It used to be a flea collar and now Frontline does the trick. But if you don't have a carpet, fleas aren't bad. We never had more than 2 dogs and had dogs 33 years, and I have always kept track of them.

Just pinch 'em and rub tummy.

I used to use it all the time as a preventative and the dogs never got fleas but once they actually got fleas, Frontline didn't do squat. We've switched over to the Advantage and Advantix and it took care of the problem on the animals.

It took six weeks to rid our pets and house of fleas using a spot flea treatment that works, spraying the house with a product that works, and vacuuming like hell everyday. Ended up buying a new vacuum in the midst of it all and I swear that helped loads. It sucked more!

It's easier to prevent than to treat/get rid of fleas. Dose your pets if you are in a flea prone area.

Of course, if you let them build up. But yes, prevention is indeed the key. Maybe, I was just lucky not to ever have a problem with them. I remember that only once in the 70s we needed a bomb once or twice.

I trust Frontline and haven't tried Advantix. We started off with my dog now Muffin giving her pills for the fleas from the vet, since I have a chemical sensitivity, but after trying Frontline a long time, I'm ok, and everybody's happy.

If members of you household have bites, they can also be from spiders. For me, I'd let it go at least some weeks and ignore the fleas before doing something.