Nasty Disgusting FLEAS

[fluffysimba]

Originally Posted by maherwoman

Do you live in a house? If so, you might consider having Orkin (or some such company) come out and spray the outside grounds around your home. The day they come, you might also consider both bombing the house again, as well as reapplying Frontline or taking them to the vet for a good flea treatment.

I believe that this is about my last option. I've tried everything else...so exterminator and vet visit it is.

 

[fluffysimba]

Originally Posted by leesali

I've seen a ton of fleas within the last week or so. Fostering a 5-wk. old, two 7-wk. olds and had to clean-up 5 4-wk. olds last night for another foster home.

I used Dawn on a washcloth (Palmolive ok too), some warm water and a flea comb. After drying all of them off, I used just a drop of Advantage (for kittens) just by the shoulder blades/neck area. The idea is, the Dawn drowns/kills the fleas & the Advantage kills the eggs.

Haven't seen a flea since (knock wood).

I sure hope that you do NOT see any more fleas. They are nasty creatures! I've got a new Persian coming into the home soon and so it's imperative that I clean up the house and make my animals happy and flea-free...not to mention the fleas like me too.

 

[tuxedokitties]

Are you in a house or an apartment?

It's possible that if the area outside your house/apartment is infested, you could be continually bringing in new fleas - they'll jump on your ankles & hitch a ride in.

If you're in an apartment, talk to the property manager about spraying the grounds.

If you're in a house, definitely consider treating your yard as well - the safest option if there are any outdoor cats in your area is to try nematodes. Check with local exterminators to see if they can treat your lawn with the nematodes - they'll destroy the flea larvae in your yard and then die off naturally, without you having to use any poisons on your lawn.

 

[consumerkitty]

My mom's kitty was badly infested with fleas when she first got him. She tried all kinds of OTC products that didn't work at all. The carpets and furniture were horribly infested and there was flea dirt everywhere (ewww). The vet prescribed Advantage (made by Bayer, not Hartz) and a tablet called Capstar. Within a week the fleas were gone for good.

 

[rosehawke]

I'd say since you've got outside only cats that that's a good bit of the problem. They're probably your "flea factories" and even if you get the fleas eradicated from your inside cats and your house you'll still be bringing the things in on your clothing and whatnot. Definitely if you're going to have the exterminators in see about treating the grounds also, although of course the outside cats will have to be put somewhere secure while this is being done and for a while afterward for their safety.

 

[fluffysimba]

Originally Posted by tuxedokitties

If you're in a house, definitely consider treating your yard as well - the safest option if there are any outdoor cats in your area is to try nematodes. Check with local exterminators to see if they can treat your lawn with the nematodes - they'll destroy the flea larvae in your yard and then die off naturally, without you having to use any poisons on your lawn.

Yes we are in a house. It's very possible that we are carrying them in too. I am definately gonna check into nematodes. Darn. That's a cool idea!

 

[coeluracat]

Yep, I'm another one who has had the problem.

I use Frontline (spot on) for my cats each month. Thing to remember is that it can take up to 24 hrs for it to kill off the fleas, and as mentioned before they may be re-infested from their surroundings. The spot-on will continue to work, you just have to remember that a further 24hrs might have to elapse to kill the new fleas. It just seems that the Frontline is not working, when really it is, and yes it only kills adult fleas.

Household sprays - the best are bought from the vet, they tend to be stronger and last for a whole lot longer. I use a make from Vet-Kem called Acclaim (not sure if it is available in the US). This spray is used on carpets, soft furnishings etc. It lasts for twelve months and unless you frequently wash sofa/chair covers, throws (as I do) or change a carpet etc. doesn't need to be re-applied within the 12 month period. This spray, as with most, is a growth regulator which prevents eggs and flea larvae from maturing into adults and helps to break the cyle. The spray also contains an insecticide that kills adult fleas which may continue to hatch in the first few weeks after spraying and help kill fleas which may be tracked in from the outside. (These fleas may seem to re-infect your pet but remember that is when the frontline will take care of it)

What has to be remembered is that none of the products are instantaneous, but together will over a period of a few weeks take care of the problem.

We all want an overnight solution to the flea problem, unfortunately that isn't possible as the strength of the ingredients required would put our kitties health as well as our own in jeopardy.

Occasionally my lot will come in with a flea on them, if I can't catch it I ignore it as I know (from experience) that with the precautions I have taken it won't survive longer than 24 hrs and re-infestation of my home is not an issue. It should be noted that I live on a farm (with sheep) and that since I started this regime I haven't had a problem, and trust me ticks as well as fleas used to be a big problem. All my cats are inside/outside cats and have the freedom to roam the fields, woods and barns in the surrounding area as they wish (impossible to treat an area the size of a farm). They are never bathed unless they happen to have fallen in a ditch and that is because they look just like walking spikey heaps of mud.

 

[shrimplover]

You know we had a nightmare.. Fleas in our area can be linked to the weather.
The outdoor concentrations fluctuate alot..so you may be having a flare.

This happened to us, and I have to agree mostly with Jillian. I am very anti-chemical since one of our cats had a flea dip and died of organ failure.

I have only had fleas ONCE in the house. that year..the epidemic year.

I used the flea comb and drown them in a saucer of Dawn. Every day, I combed and every day I vacuumed. You have to throw out the bag each time.

Fortunately most of the fleas were only in the living room, so it wasn't too bad.
People who live in more temperate states, North Carolina etc and south, have year round issues, but where we are, the fleas die in the winter.

I am very antichemical anti exterminator/bug bombs because I have peripheral neuropathy and work on a health board as well. Many people come there, who have been exposed to toxins/insectacides etc. So use very extreme caution and planning if you have to resort to that method to rid your problem.

I am so cautious.. sorry. The flea comb really works. Oreo had them (our youngest) when we adopted her, and I only had to comb for a week..it was easy and none spread.

Our cats don't sit on grass much. My husband made little platforms of wood aboutt 10in tall, for them where there like to go and rest, and that keeps them off the ground if they are outside. Most of the time they stick to our porch, and up North they favor the dock and old dock sections we have. This keeps them off the ground as well.

We have been very very lucky with these 3 cats.. none have flea issues. Knock on wood!

Love,
ShrimpLover

 

[yosemite]

Fleas can jump pretty well and we humans can also bring them inside even if our kitties are indoor only. We are lucky here in the Toronto area as well since when the weather gets cold, the fleas are not a problem, although I have heard they can live in carpets up to a year - don't know if that's entirely true though.

You got some really good advice from the vet tech. Remove the kitties (take to the vet for de-flea and overnight stay), call the exterminators and plan to go away for the day and even overnight yourself if you can. If you have a bad infestation that is going to be your best solution.

 

[momofmany]

I live in the country and use Frontline Plus on my dogs and Advantage on my cats. In spite of using these products, the dogs would go out and bring fleas back on them and the cats would pick them up.

My house used to get overrun about mid summer every year - to the point that you would walk across the carpet and my ankles and legs covered with them. Vet prescribed house treatments didn't work. I called an exterminator and they honestly told me that it was a waste of money - what they do would kill them once but unless you get rid of the source (e.g. coming in from the outside), that they would be back in a month. They told me to vacuum, vacuum and vacuum.

That helped, but what finally broke the cycle in our house was boric powder. It is very hard to find, but the ONLY thing that really worked in my house. Someone sent you a link earlier - I strongly recommend that you try it. Once I was able to break the cycle over the course of a few months, I've never had the problem again. I'm to the point that I can often go an entire summer without using Advantage on the cats (I'm opposed to overmedicating my 4-leggeds).

Good luck - it is frustrating but you can win!

 

[elizwithcat]

I hope I don't get those suckers. I can't use any products on Scaredy, he had a really bad reaction to an anti flea product.

 

[dicknleah]

Originally Posted by fluffysimba

Eucalyptus? Hmmm

I definately have some of that. HOW did you place the eucalyptus around the house? I have some oil spray of it.

Supposidly it is the oil that repells alot of nasties. We buy it in the bunches at places like Michaels and JoAnne's. We then arrange them in nice little displays, on the floor, in baskets and decorative vases.

My testimonial to this is when we lived in a little tiny apartment, years ago, with just one cat. We got a huge infestation of fleas, and yes she was indoor/outdoor. It was disgusting. We bought a bunch of eucalyptus and placed it throughout the apartment. We did not treat her as I didn't know about the frontlines and Advantages, and didn't like the chemical crud that was on the store shelves. A couple of weeks later the problem was gone so we have been decorating our current habitation ever since.

 

[yosemite]

Eucalyptus is supposedly good for helping to eliminate odours in your home. Not a bad thing I would say! I have some in our basement bathroom and it always smells nice in there when we go in even though the rest of the basement can be a bit dampish smelling if you know what I mean.

 

[dr. doolittle]

The cocoon stage of the flea life cycle is virtually indestructable and can lay dormant in the environment for up to (and I believe over) a year. The fleas will emerge from their cocoons when stimulated by vibrations in the floor, increased carbon dioxide levels and increased temp. This is why if you leave for a long vacation and leave fleas in the house (or move into a house that has been vacant for some time) you will be "attacked" brutally by the fleas.

 

[KitEKats4Eva!]

What a bummer about the Frontline - Sunday (Persian) was totally infested one time and Frontline worked beautifully on her. She's never had a problem since. Sashka has never had fleas but I wouldn't hesitate to use Frontline if she did. Obviously something in their environment is the real trigger here - the poor things fleas are just awful!

We use Sentinel All-Wormer and flea treatment for Ruby and it's great. But she's just a pup we will switch to something else when she's older probably.

 

[scamperfarms]

Originally Posted by RoseHawke

I dunno Katie, that stuff says the active ingredient is Permethrin, 0.25%. Personally I don't think I'd use it anywhere but outside.

could be. I have a friend who did use it inside and vacced supper good. like i said check it throughly before doing it. I havent had to much of a problem with the little boogers. we had them and nuked em. buahah..