Fleas!!!

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Virginger

Oregon State c/o 2017
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I visited my BFs aunt for Thanksgiving with our kitten (she has outdoor-indoor animals). We came back and noticed a week later we had developed a flea infestation!!

I am very allergic to fleas! I cant get a good nights sleep while we have this problem.

So far I have:
Applied FrontLIne (DOESNT DO A THING!)
Sprayed my house and furniture with "Zodiac" ... active ingredients (S)-methoprene and permethrin
Gave a flea bath with a natural flea and tick shampoo (didnt want to compound too many serious pesticides on a kitten at once, I also did this a week after the FL, which means I should have compromised its efficacy with bathing)
Put on a flea collar, I guess for novelty sake...

I am looking into using either:
Hartz Home Fogger, which would be nice because I cannot effectively spray under my wrought iron bed (I have no room to move my mattress and the frame weights like a billion lbs)
Siphotrol spray from home depot, but it doesnt have the same ability to get things under the bed without major uprooting of things.
Maybe apply advantix for the next round of flea and tick prev.

I have been fighting this in my apartment for weeks!!! I will take all the advice posted :eek: ... and this has become a very expensive problem :( ... I dont have much $$$

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oh, and I upgraded from the crappy $1 plastic flea comb to a metal flea comb which works MUCH better. I swear hand picking out the suckers with the comb is more effective than the topical ointments... but it doesnt get the eggs or larva...
 
Don't know if this breaks terms of agreement... but

Get some Advantage. Works awesome.

Don't use hartz products.. they kill animals.

Don't use flea collar and topical at the same time.

If you can find some Capstar that works amazing in conjunction with topical.

Siphotrol works well.

Vacuum. Every day.

Good luck. :xf:

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Also.. if you put Advantix on your cat it might die. They can't process permethrins!



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Advantix is a dog only medication last I checked, just be sure you aren't using that for the kitten, it is bad news.... Advantage is for cats just be sure it is not advantix.

Sorry, I don't have any other info, just saw the advantix and kitten and want to be sure you don't use advantix.
 
Don't know if this breaks terms of agreement... but

Get some Advantage. Works awesome.

Don't use hartz products.. they kill animals.

Don't use flea collar and topical at the same time.

If you can find some Capstar that works amazing in conjunction with topical.

Siphotrol works well.

Vacuum. Every day.

Good luck. :xf:

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:thumbup:
Bath in dawn dish soap and warm water. Works better than half the "natural flea shampoos" on the market.

Along with vacuuming - throw out the vacuum bag every day or the fleas will crawl back out. Wash all sheets/bedding/pillows in hot water
 
:smack:derp. I meant advantage, not advantix. We never recommended those products at my day practice... We used to only recommend frontline and revolution for cats and we only used frontline and vectra for dogs. I really dont have any knowledge of other OTC F&T products. We didnt have a big flea problem when I lived in VA.
Thanks for correcting me!

... and the flea collar is junk. It will go. I find the buggers living under it anyways...

I am so desperate to get rid of these bugs :(
I can do the vacuum everyday, I will just have to spray the lining down because its a permanent bag. ...and i will pick up some Siphotrol.

UGH, this is so lame. :poke:
 
Some comments:
1) get capstar. It immediately kills adults on the dog.
2) any of the modern topicals (advantage, frontline, revolution) will kill adults on flea.
3) if there are no adults on the dog, there is no shedding to the environment. Fleas have to get on dog to lay the eggs.
4) IF you use a de-fogger (use something like flea busters rx for fleas) Do NOT vacuum. People use the product and then vacuum a lot and remove it. Let it sit in the environment of your floor and carpet and it is more effective.

Unfortunately the topicals are most effective but you will need 21 days to break the cycle of all the eggs in the carpet, couch, etc.

I personally would use capstar first to get rid of all the fleas today, a topical to stop them from reinfecting, and a defogger.

Note: if you use the topical, you don't have to do anything in the "environment" because there will be essentially no more larvae after 21 days..but I think since YOU are allergic you want to remove them as quick as possible.

And a note on flea collars: the modern flea collars do NOT kill adults. They kill juveniles, so you would expect to see adults on the dog.
 
A veterinarian I know suggested cutting up a flea collar and sticking it inside the vacuum bag when I once asked for advice. I thought I would throw that out there. :)
 
A veterinarian I know suggested cutting up a flea collar and sticking it inside the vacuum bag when I once asked for advice. I thought I would throw that out there. :)

Well at least that something to do with that miserable flea collar, lol. I can do that

Some comments:
1) get capstar. It immediately kills adults on the dog.
2) any of the modern topicals (advantage, frontline, revolution) will kill adults on flea.
3) if there are no adults on the dog, there is no shedding to the environment. Fleas have to get on dog to lay the eggs.
4) IF you use a de-fogger (use something like flea busters rx for fleas) Do NOT vacuum. People use the product and then vacuum a lot and remove it. Let it sit in the environment of your floor and carpet and it is more effective.

Unfortunately the topicals are most effective but you will need 21 days to break the cycle of all the eggs in the carpet, couch, etc.

I personally would use capstar first to get rid of all the fleas today, a topical to stop them from reinfecting, and a defogger.

Note: if you use the topical, you don't have to do anything in the "environment" because there will be essentially no more larvae after 21 days..but I think since YOU are allergic you want to remove them as quick as possible.

And a note on flea collars: the modern flea collars do NOT kill adults. They kill juveniles, so you would expect to see adults on the dog.

I have found a LOT of adult fleas following the FL use :confused:
I do see some juveniles, so yeah, I bet that is a part of what has been left in the environment.
I did vacuum an hour after the zodiac spray down, I can re-apply and let it sit.



Ill keep working at it, Thanks! My kitty and I appreciate it!!
 
Use FLEA BUSTERS powder to treat the environment. The stuff is amazing!

You literally sprinkle it on everything ... carpet, bed, hardwood, etc. and let it sit for a period of time then vacuum it up. And supposedly it's not toxic to pets.

Good luck! :luck:
 
I second the advantage or revolution. We've been finding frontline has been totally useless in my area for fleas. Definitely vacuum every day especially on furniture and in cracks of couches and what not and the cut up flea collar in the vacuum bag is a good idea too. Make sure you use whatever topical product for 3 consecutive months from now. The flea eggs can be dormant in your carpet or where ever for up to that amount of time and then they'll just reinfest if your kitty isn't protected.
 
Definitely don't put anything else on the cat without checking with a vet and don't use the shampoo again in the near future. You can overdose the cat that way.

Fleas suck... it just takes time with zealous vacuuming and keeping up on the flea products.
 
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OMG I hate fleas! I moved into this house and my roommate's cat was infested from his ex-wife's dog. (long story there, makes me angry at her)

Here is what I had to do to finally get rid of the suckers.

I used Hot Shot Bedbug and Flea Fogger(purple box). This stuff is awesome! It kills eggs, larvae, and adult! I used 3 cans each time for our small house. 1 in the hallway, both bedroom doors open and bathroom open. 1 in the living room. 1 in between the dining room and kitchen.

You HAVE to follow the directions on the can. Do not vacuum for a couple days. You cannot enter the house for 2-3 hours after setting them off.All animals must be out of the house. I took the cat to the vet during this time and got him a flea bath. I didn't bring the cat in for about 6 hours. I had to damp mop the hardwood floors and wipe things off.

I had to do this twice and I was completely free of fleas!
 
My dad's solution....
Bathe them in used motor oil :rolleyes:
 
I am very allergic to fleas! I cant get a good nights sleep while we have this problem.

OMIGOD me too! It's a miserable friggin experience. Once I had a nasty roommate who invited his girlfriend and her dog over...The dog had fleas, which then got on my (indoor only) cat and, well, you know the rest. We had shag carpeting, what a nightmare. I didn't sleep for weeks, it seemed, and my stupid roommate didn't care/notice. I finally kicked him out for a few days while I flea bombed the crap out of the apartment.

Since then, I've bumped into a few people who's animals had fleas (unbeknownst to the owners). I'm like, STAYYYY AWAYYYYYYY from my house because I *will* notice.


I feel you pain. Good luck!
 
Don't know if this breaks terms of agreement... but

Get some Advantage. Works awesome.

Don't use hartz products.. they kill animals.

Don't use flea collar and topical at the same time.

If you can find some Capstar that works amazing in conjunction with topical.

Siphotrol works well.

Vacuum. Every day.

Good luck. :xf:

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This is good info! You can also apply the Advantage every 3 weeks. Capstar is wonderful too!

I saw Dawn mentioned--definitely use that....way better than most products on the market.


Remember to use for at least 3 consecutive months to be fully effective. Outside might be cold but inside is nice, temperate environment.;)
 
I haven't had fleas, but I've had bedbugs from a used couch. WORST experience ever. I feel your pain.
 
Just curious as to whether or not you rent or own. Sometimes if you rent the landlord will pay for an exterminator so the problem isn't something that spreads or becomes unmanageable.
 
I rent, but we havnt put kitty on the lease yet, we havnt had her that long. ...I could relocate her to my bf's parents house for the weekend and spray the heck out of my apartment.

I am never taking my pet to another location without applying a (good) F&T preventive and I will still inspect other animals there just so I know...

OMG, someone feels my pain (Kernel)! I think I started to developed a sensitivity to ectoparastites whenI got scabies once from shaking someone's hand!! (no joke) Worst experience EVER. (makes my skin crawl thinking about it!!)

Oh, and I discovered today that if you wash them down the sink, they crawl out eventually :eek:
 
Comfortis is now on-label for cats! It seems to help clients when the OTC topicals aren't. There might be an age minimum with it, so be careful. Personally, revolution also seems to work more effectively than the other topicals, but this is just based on my work experience and not any science.
 
Most of the stuff I've seen on here is the stuff I would've recommended:
vacuum (with the flea collar in the bag)
wash bedding in hot water frequently
topicals + capstar (capstar can be used in most animals as often as EOD, it's expensive, but it can be done)
if you use dawn, be aware that it is stripping off the topical that you use
comfortis can be an awesome way to get around the washing off your flea product with dawn since it's now labeled for cats

it takes a minimum of 3 months to get a flea infestation under control. i think the best advice is to not give up and always verify with your vet that the products you put on and around your pets is safe for them
 
Capstar, seresto, and lots of vacuuming!
 
Spam bot bumping a five year old thread, omfg. This is why we can't have nice things.

Just recently dealt with a flea problem myself, was a real bitch for like a week, turns out I'm HIGHLY allergic. Every bite would swell up about a full centimeter across and turn bright red, and some of them developed granulomas that took weeks to go away. Vacuuming daily, applying Frontline to the cats, washing the sheets every other day pretty much took care of it. And this isn't advice, because I'm not a vet :p

Curious: how do you guys avoid brining fleas home with your line of work?
 
Spam bot bumping a five year old thread, omfg. This is why we can't have nice things.

Just recently dealt with a flea problem myself, was a real bitch for like a week, turns out I'm HIGHLY allergic. Every bite would swell up about a full centimeter across and turn bright red, and some of them developed granulomas that took weeks to go away. Vacuuming daily, applying Frontline to the cats, washing the sheets every other day pretty much took care of it. And this isn't advice, because I'm not a vet :p

Curious: how do you guys avoid brining fleas home with your line of work?

I have garage washer dryer so scrubs go directly into wash and I have fresh clothes in the dryer, plus a shower. I generally do that anyway not just for fleas, but hopefully prevent anything else I've dragged with me that could transfer to my animals. Plus, shoes also come off and just stay by door.
 
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Bath in dawn dish soap and warm water. Works better than half the "natural flea shampoos" on the market.

Along with vacuuming - throw out the vacuum bag every day or the fleas will crawl back out. Wash all sheets/bedding/pillows in hot water
Agreed. Both of my kittens had massive flea infestations when we rescued them (at different times), a couple baths with Dawn, and the fleas were gone and never transferred to the other cat. Plus, it's generally safe for health-compromised cats.

Anddddd I just noticed that this thread is old and no longer needs a response. Whoops!
 
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