Are Fleas Just Not Dying This Season?

CatDaze

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This started back in June.

Fleas showed up annoying my cats with them running all around and biting themselves.
It's never been to the point where fleas were jumping off the floor on my feet but I can definitely see the distress they are going through.

I've been through Frontline, Seresto collar and Advantage II along with extreme cleaning of the apartment for extended periods of time. I'm exhausted from everything I've had to do for so long.

I thought I had completely gotten rid of then around the end of October and went away on vacation for Thanksgiving and beginning of December.

While gone it snowed and my parents had to bring the cats to their house so they could be taken care of alongside their animals. I come home AND MY CATS HAVE FLEAS AGAIN.

I can't say if it's from their house but the fact that fleas are back is just driving me insane.
At this point I really don't know what to do because if they never were killed and just had time to spawn then I really don't know what to do.

The meds are not working.
The cleaning might not be working.
I've done flea bombs and nothing worked....I'm at wits end.

So as the title says, are fleas not dying?
 

catwoman707

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Evidently fleas are able to become almost immune to a flea treatment and have survived through Frontline several years back then advantage 11 which I swore by for many years, suddenly stopped working.
So on to the next one.
Revolution still works, so we use that now with my rescue group.
Yes it is costly, but well worth it to see results.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Do you currently have them on a flea treatment - something more than just a flea collar? If not, then they probably picked up fleas from your parents house - assuming they are not using flea treatment either on their animals.

If you are treating them, and your parents are treating their animals, I would suggest you ask the vet, local shelters, rescue centers, etc. about what flea treatment works best in your area. I have heard that overuse of one or more specific treatments in a given area have caused the treatments to be much less effective because the fleas are becoming immune to them.
 

kittyluv387

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Flea collars aren't effective. The fleas will just gather on their hind legs. You should try the prescription flea med, Revolution. That should take care of it. It costs a little more but it works. Much better than having fleas.
 

marmoset

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I had my home hand sprayed by a pest controller. He said that the flea bombs shoot into the air and the particles fall but they aren't getting everywhere that flea eggs and larva would be. Now I don't know if that is a standard pitch, if its pure hokum- no idea but we used him. Apparently those eggs can remain for 100 days waiting for the right condition to hatch and if our guy was telling the truth then it could be that the bomb didn't get into the areas where larvae were hiding.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I can only go by my experience with this issue, although I believe other members have had different experiences. When I lived in an apartment, my cat got fleas - apparently from other apartment dwellers around us, as my cat was indoor only. We used Advantage on him and never treated the apartment - and we never had fleas again.

If you use a monthly flea treatment on your cats, that should have gotten rid of the problem. The only reason that would not be the case is if in your region the flea treatment you are using has been overused and is now less effective because the fleas are becoming immune to that treatment. Or, if you are using a flea collar, which as previously said are pretty ineffective and potentially harmful to the cats.

It also helps if the cats are indoors only, because any time they go outside they can bring in more fleas, which still should be kept under control with the flea treatments.
 

Pjg8r

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I stagger the times of month I apply the topicals so each of my three get them a different week. I have to keep a schedule to remember who is due but I think it helps. Also if you have to take them to your parents house again you might want to give them capstar the day you bring them home to knock off any adults before they get introduced to your house.
 

Kflowers

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If mice, squirrels and the like are getting into the apartment house basement or attic they could be the source of the fleas. So could any tenant who walked through grass or on a sidewalk or street and came inside.

I had a lot of luck spraying the house with Adams flea spray. It's old fashion, though vets and Tractor Supply and Amazon if you want to look at the bottle sell it. The advantage to it being old fashion is that few people use it in your area and the fleas aren't immune to it.

You spray the whole house every day and vacuum everyday - throw away the vacuum bag if there is one every day. If not throw away the dust collection and rinse the canister. Do it every day for a month then twice a week for another month, then once a month. It worked for us. We didn't have carpets but it's actually easier to spray the carpets than bare floors.

It's alcholo based and has a very sharp scent, but it's a much more pleasant a smell than Advantage or Revolution or the no chew products. (Put in the last to give you a sense of the smell.)


 

BlueJay

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I don't prevent fleas, but I decided to use revolution once I found them. I did it one time and haven't seen fleas since, this was several months ago. I also did some cleaning, although the vet told me revolution is pretty good even if you don't clean much.
 
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CatDaze

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Evidently fleas are able to become almost immune to a flea treatment and have survived through Frontline several years back then advantage 11 which I swore by for many years, suddenly stopped working.
So on to the next one.
Revolution still works, so we use that now with my rescue group.
Yes it is costly, but well worth it to see results.
I'll have to try that. They've been on Advantage II for 4 months and I thought it was working. Will talk with my doc about that brand.
 
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CatDaze

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Hi. Do you currently have them on a flea treatment - something more than just a flea collar? If not, then they probably picked up fleas from your parents house - assuming they are not using flea treatment either on their animals.

If you are treating them, and your parents are treating their animals, I would suggest you ask the vet, local shelters, rescue centers, etc. about what flea treatment works best in your area. I have heard that overuse of one or more specific treatments in a given area have caused the treatments to be much less effective because the fleas are becoming immune to them.
Yeah, all of us have been using a topical flea preventative. I'm thinking a vet visit is in the future and seek out another brand.
 
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CatDaze

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Flea collars aren't effective. The fleas will just gather on their hind legs. You should try the prescription flea med, Revolution. That should take care of it. It costs a little more but it works. Much better than having fleas.
They only lasted on the collar for about two months in the summer because I didn't see a change and one of the cats kept getting it stuck in his mouth and I felt too nervous to leave him alone with it on. Multiple people have recommended Revolution so I'm definitely going to try that!
 
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CatDaze

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I think your cats got the second case of fleas at your parents' house. And remember, whatever you use, you need to reapply it once a month. It's not one-time magic.
Yeah, I'm thinking that too because they were acting normal before I left. And definitely, I make sure they stay on a topical treatment every month (minus the two in the summer I tried a collar)
 
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CatDaze

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I had my home hand sprayed by a pest controller. He said that the flea bombs shoot into the air and the particles fall but they aren't getting everywhere that flea eggs and larva would be. Now I don't know if that is a standard pitch, if its pure hokum- no idea but we used him. Apparently those eggs can remain for 100 days waiting for the right condition to hatch and if our guy was telling the truth then it could be that the bomb didn't get into the areas where larvae were hiding.
It could be. I'm thinking either definitely from parents (I've been over there more and I've noticed how they act...very similar to having fleas.) Or if not there is a spot that I somehow missed while cleaning.
 
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CatDaze

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Hi. I can only go by my experience with this issue, although I believe other members have had different experiences. When I lived in an apartment, my cat got fleas - apparently from other apartment dwellers around us, as my cat was indoor only. We used Advantage on him and never treated the apartment - and we never had fleas again.

If you use a monthly flea treatment on your cats, that should have gotten rid of the problem. The only reason that would not be the case is if in your region the flea treatment you are using has been overused and is now less effective because the fleas are becoming immune to that treatment. Or, if you are using a flea collar, which as previously said are pretty ineffective and potentially harmful to the cats.

It also helps if the cats are indoors only, because any time they go outside they can bring in more fleas, which still should be kept under control with the flea treatments.
I'm actually on Advantage, which I started because I knew shelters in the area were using that but maybe, like you said, they are immune because so many use them.
 
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CatDaze

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I stagger the times of month I apply the topicals so each of my three get them a different week. I have to keep a schedule to remember who is due but I think it helps. Also if you have to take them to your parents house again you might want to give them capstar the day you bring them home to knock off any adults before they get introduced to your house.
I've tried capstan but unfortunately one of my cats throws up every time he's taken it so I stay away from it. I still have extras in case the other cat needs it but that might not work. :(
 
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CatDaze

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If mice, squirrels and the like are getting into the apartment house basement or attic they could be the source of the fleas. So could any tenant who walked through grass or on a sidewalk or street and came inside.

I had a lot of luck spraying the house with Adams flea spray. It's old fashion, though vets and Tractor Supply and Amazon if you want to look at the bottle sell it. The advantage to it being old fashion is that few people use it in your area and the fleas aren't immune to it.

You spray the whole house every day and vacuum everyday - throw away the vacuum bag if there is one every day. If not throw away the dust collection and rinse the canister. Do it every day for a month then twice a week for another month, then once a month. It worked for us. We didn't have carpets but it's actually easier to spray the carpets than bare floors.

It's alcholo based and has a very sharp scent, but it's a much more pleasant a smell than Advantage or Revolution or the no chew products. (Put in the last to give you a sense of the smell.)


I will definitely try this! I've been looking for a different spray to use. This will be really helpful, thank you.
 
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