Flea Bombing?

Jazhole1

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I've been dealing with fleas lately, I keep thinking I conquered them but they keep coming back. Im thinking about flea bombing but I wanted to know what you guys thought about this method.

I live in a apartment complex, so i was wondering if I close all of my vents would some of the smoke reach my other neighbors? I think our landlord is against this but I wanted to know as much as possible before I bother him and ask. I'm planning on leaving my apartment with my cats for at least 24 hours, maybe at least 12 hours.

Any tips? Suggestions? I'm all ears, well eyes. :)

Update: Just learned about foggers, what do you guys think?
 

FreedomKitty17

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Well I had an issue like this a few years ago, but I live in a house. I was able to get rid of the fleas by making sure all my cats were up to date on flea medications, and also I used a peppermint oil spray that's made for getting rid of fleas. It's totally safe for cats and dogs, and it worked for me. Flea bombs can be dangerous if you aren't careful, so I would contact someone who knows a lot about them for more info before you accidentally release it on your neighbors haha!
 

dahli6

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I wouldn't use a fogger. It will affect your neighbors and it's messy.
This year we actually had to go to a do it yourself pest control store for flea control. It isn't cheap but it is effective.
It also takes more than one treatment to control an infestation.
Last year I bought a product from Tractor Supply called SentryHome. It took a full month of completing the flea life breeding cycle to see it's effectiveness so you have to treat the cats with a flea treatment or comb them daily and do a full as possible clean on the apartment every day. The recommendation is to vacuum and empty the vacuum immediately, clean with paper towels so they can be thrown away.
It did keep my cats and the house flea free for almost a year, even after I brought in flea covered kittens from outside. A few fleas for a few weeks and then gone but most critical is cleaning thoroughly every day to get rid of as many flea eggs and as much "flea dirt" as possible.
The combing helps a lot. I have flea combs designed for dogs.
 

maggiedemi

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dahli6- You use a flea comb designed for dogs? Do you have a link so I can see which one? I hate the cat flea comb that I have, it has no handle on it, so it's hard to use, and it's really small.
 

dahli6

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IMG_20170911_080709[1].jpg

sorry picture quality is not very good. I used the big comb as a detangler/trainer for the long hair cats.
The smaller wooden one was purchased at Petsmart in the dog section for $12 and the black handled one was purchased in my local grocery store for $4. Both work great.
IMG_20170911_081127[1].jpg

This guy is my flea comb addict. Pardon the early morning eye boogers and the mess of my floor and stuff.
The kid I weaned off of milk before he was 4 weeks old now he is over 5 years old. He was pretty miserable with fleas this summer and I got the combs. After combing him every chance I got for week he was nearly clean. Been combing him every day and even though we are fighting a bad flea season he is nearly flea free.
I comb the other ones as often as I can but when he sees the comb he runs over and pushes them out of the way. I groom around his eyes and mouth with it too but I haven't eaten yet so my hands are shaky.
Off topic, the food I recently switched to doesn't seem to have any form of milk or lactic acid at all and he has been detoxing. Huge improvement.
 

maggiedemi

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Thanks. I really need one like that with a handle. What's wrong with your baby's eyes, does he have feline herpes? It looks like my cat Demi before I started giving him Lysine.
 

dahli6

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No it isn't feline herpes. My house gets dusty and sometimes he has trouble grooming. I gently comb the area and it stays clean until he sleeps. I just couldn't do it this morning when I hadn't eaten yet.
 

doomsdave

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I had a severe flea problem a while back. A mama cat had kittens, and she gave them fleas and it was very very hard to deal with that, since they were too small to use normal flea killers like on older cats, and you couldn't use normal flea killers on mama since she was nursing. One of the white kittens had so many fleas she looked like she was crawling with black pepper. Nasty.

I used the familiar dandruff shampoo bath method, but the problem with that is that it only works one time, on contact. Kittens were easy to bathe over their mewed protests; the bath water looked like dirt water from all the dead fleas. Mama kitty, fangs and claws bared, was a lot harder. (Ouch.)

So, I ended up with fleas in the rugs, etc. I had wall to wall carpet, and wall to wall fleas.

I was able to get rid of them quite handily using: (a) foggers; and (b) diatomaceous earth.

I had no difficulties using the foggers, though I have a single-family house, and it was relatively easy to corral the kitties in one room, while I fogged another. There are foggers that kill the eggs, too, which I used. As far as I could tell, I found no ill effects in the cats. I suppose the foggers might stain some furniture, but heaven only knows I don't have elegant antiques to worry about. (But maybe a word of caution for those who do?)

The other thing I did, perhaps a bit of overkill, was to get some diatomaceous earth (used, among other things as a pool filtering material, de-worming agent in cattle, abrasive in toothpaste, etc.) and sprinkle it in the rugs covering as much area as possible, as evenly as possible, walk across it to work it into the fibers, wait a day, then vacuum thoroughly with a fresh (empty) vacuum cleaner bag.

The sweeping picked up fleas, alive and dead, and diatomaceous earth, all into the vacuum cleaner bag. Thereafter, whenever I vacuumed, fleas ended up in the bag and died there if they weren't already dead. The reason is that the diatomaceous earth is composed of teensy little sharp-edged fossil "diatoms" which absorb the fats from insects and kill them. They stick around a while, aren't poisonous, and have no odor, a really neat remedy. (See fossil and live diatoms pictured below.)

Now I use Advantage flea killer and keep my present kitties flea-free.



 
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mysticmama

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I agree !! The diatomaceous earth does help !! Also in the cat food, helps with tape worms if you have fleas
 

kashmir64

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I have flea bombed. Once was in my house (I found 2 fleas), the other I lived in a Duplex. It was a major infestation and it was the neighbors that brought them. But fortunately, they moved out and the property owner and I coordinated our efforts and bombed both places before the new tennent moved in. I took the cats down to be treated while the bomb was doing it's thing and never saw another flea after that.
 

sooser

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In all honesty, I'd say get a flea treatment from your vet. It's definitely not cheap but they have the good stuff that will kill the fleas, and the eggs, deader than a door nail and completely interrupts the birth cycle. My indoor cats somehow got fleas and it felt like every two to three months, as soon as I thought we were done, I'd find flea dirt again. The vet said this was because store brands have a weaker formula which doesn't get the eggs and destroy the birth cycle.
Again, it's costly, but it's definitely more convenient than finding a couch to bum with your cats for a couple days. Reintroducing your cats too soon after a bombing can lead to severe health problems, never mind reintroducing yourself.

I (unthinkingly and stupidly) basically bombed my apartment with, a flea spray before clearing my cats or myself out when I was at my wits end. Within minutes I noticed my cats getting more and more drowsy, sluggish and clumsy, and even having the fan on and windows/door open didn't help. It was affecting me pretty badly as well by the time I was able to wrangle them into a carrier and get them down to the vet. I was short of breath, lightheaded and could barely think straight. $160 and a day of observation later and the boys were a bit traumatized, but fortunately okay. I'll never, NEVER use a store bought topical, collar, spray, a fogger, or a bomb, again. I was such an idiot! I'm just glad that my cats didn't pay the price for my stupidity, and it was only my wallet.
 
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maggiedemi

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The Frontline Plus sold at Walmart and online at Chewy is the same as the vet sells. The patent ran out and it can be sold in stores now.
 

Shane Kent

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From what I read about DE, do not use "pool grade" DE around pets. You want to use "food grade". I get it from a pet store.

The exact stuff I get is :
Company: Companion Pet Products
Product: True Raw Choice Diatomaceous Earth Applicator

The applicator is a squeezable bottle with a spout. You can squeeze it and create dust clouds to lightly dust the area. Just a light coating is all that is required. DE is useless in damp or humid environments which is probably why some people say it doesn't work. I would guess if it is damp or humid you would want to close the windows and run a dehumidifier for a few days before using it. And if you put it on your pet you have to wash the pet afterwards as it will dry their skin out. I don't put it on my cats so I am not sure how long afterwards.

I have seen people online say it is good for internal parasites but it is not sold for that purpose in pet stores which makes me question if it is.

P.S.
I almost forgot to add, if you want to dust an area with DE get a dust mask. It is non toxic but the dust can irritate your nose and throat.
 
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doomsdave

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From what I read about DE, do not use "pool grade" DE around pets. You want to use "food grade". I get it from a pet store.

The exact stuff I get is :
Company: Companion Pet Products
Product: True Raw Choice Diatomaceous Earth Applicator

The applicator is a squeezable bottle with a spout. You can squeeze it and create dust clouds to lightly dust the area. Just a light coating is all that is required. DE is useless in damp or humid environments which is probably why some people say it doesn't work. I would guess if it is damp or humid you would want to close the windows and run a dehumidifier for a few days before using it. And if you put it on your pet you have to wash the pet afterwards as it will dry their skin out. I don't put it on my cats so I am not sure how long afterwards.

I have seen people online say it is good for internal parasites but it is not sold for that purpose in pet stores which makes me question if it is.
Interesting!

I used pool grade (I still have a lot of it left) and it did the job very nicely.

It's not usually too humid here, and I've since mostly gotten rid of the rug.
 

Shane Kent

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Interesting!

I used pool grade (I still have a lot of it left) and it did the job very nicely.

It's not usually too humid here, and I've since mostly gotten rid of the rug.
I read a few articles on the Internet about it and they stated the pool grade is processed differently than the food grade and to use food grade for getting rid of fleas. I think the food grade goes through extra testing as well. Most of the pet stores where I live carry the stuff I pointed out above so I use it. It is convenient that it is in a squeezable bottle meant for dusting areas.

I have seen some people say DE works and other people say it is useless. I think it depends on the dampness or humidity of where it is used.
 
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kashmir64

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From what I read about DE, do not use "pool grade" DE around pets. You want to use "food grade". I get it from a pet store.

The exact stuff I get is :
Company: Companion Pet Products
Product: True Raw Choice Diatomaceous Earth Applicator

The applicator is a squeezable bottle with a spout. You can squeeze it and create dust clouds to lightly dust the area. Just a light coating is all that is required. DE is useless in damp or humid environments which is probably why some people say it doesn't work. I would guess if it is damp or humid you would want to close the windows and run a dehumidifier for a few days before using it. And if you put it on your pet you have to wash the pet afterwards as it will dry their skin out. I don't put it on my cats so I am not sure how long afterwards.

I have seen people online say it is good for internal parasites but it is not sold for that purpose in pet stores which makes me question if it is.

P.S.
I almost forgot to add, if you want to dust an area with DE get a dust mask. It is non toxic but the dust can irritate your nose and throat.
I got mine at the local feed store. 10 lbs for under $8. food grade
I actually got it for the ants outside (the ground moves) and it hasn't worked on them at all. I think they are reproducing faster than it can kill them.
 

tarasgirl06

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I've been dealing with fleas lately, I keep thinking I conquered them but they keep coming back. Im thinking about flea bombing but I wanted to know what you guys thought about this method.

I live in a apartment complex, so i was wondering if I close all of my vents would some of the smoke reach my other neighbors? I think our landlord is against this but I wanted to know as much as possible before I bother him and ask. I'm planning on leaving my apartment with my cats for at least 24 hours, maybe at least 12 hours.

Any tips? Suggestions? I'm all ears, well eyes. :)

Update: Just learned about foggers, what do you guys think?
There is a product called FleaBusters which is mainly if not completely borax. You sprinkle the powder on carpeted surfaces and work it into the carpet with a stiff broom. I have found this very effective in the past on fleas, and it does not harm cats or humans. It dessicates the fleas. Also, I have always trusted and used Advantage topical flea treatment on the cats themselves, as directed. The third step is flea combing. I've always found these to be the best for cats, people, and the environment.
 

Shane Kent

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There is a product called FleaBusters which is mainly if not completely borax. You sprinkle the powder on carpeted surfaces and work it into the carpet with a stiff broom. I have found this very effective in the past on fleas, and it does not harm cats or humans. It dessicates the fleas. Also, I have always trusted and used Advantage topical flea treatment on the cats themselves, as directed. The third step is flea combing. I've always found these to be the best for cats, people, and the environment.
Borax has to be cleaned up afterwards where DE can sit for days. I am not sure how long but borax is not as non toxic as food grade DE. Then again you have to vacuum often so it probably doesn't matter.
 

Shane Kent

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The main thing is don't use stuff for dogs on cats. People have killed cats doing it. I have never done it but I have read horror stories about it. Try to get advice from people local to you. Fleas very in different parts of the world. What works for me may not work for someone half way around the world.
 

basscat

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I prefer to spray rather than "bomb". PT Ultracide.
You can move the furniture and spray under it. You can raise the cushions and spray under. You can't bomb under stuff and fleas are under stuff.
You can dust your carpet and furniture with DE, but, leaving it for a day then vacuuming it up sort of defeats the purpose. For DE to be effective, it has to be there for quite a while since it's not immediate. It's actually very slow.
Now, THAT BEING SAID? If you dust your carpet/furniture with DE? I really don't see you EVER vacuuming it all up.

Ridding your home of an infestation takes time regardless of what you use.
In a vacant house, you can go in, sprinkle DE all over the place, Spray or Bomb, walk out, lock the doors, and come back in two weeks and do it again. Then wait two weeks and do it again.
Two weeks later, it's going to be flea free.
If you call an exterminator for your house? It's going to work pretty much the same way. They will spray, come back in a couple weeks and spray again, then maybe once more.
If you DIY? You can do the same. But, for most of us? This isn't possible. Instead of going about our business in between sprayings...we are going to vacuum, clean, curse, spray, dust, curse, and pull our hair out.
Which is fine. But, inevitably, it's still going to take four to six weeks...and maybe a couple more.
 
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