fleas

[Brimfield]

we got a kitten at the local feed store and she is great but her fleas are all over the house. we gave her and the other cat and 3 dogs baths, used the drops and flea bombed the whole house. we still see fleas! its been 2 days since we bombed the house and basement. anyone know of a spray to mix up for the house? wanna spray the crawl spaces where cats go and we got wide plank pine floors perfect for a flea fall out shelter. Not sure but may have heard an air raid shelter alarm when I bombed em. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Fred]

When I need to flea spray a building I go to one of the local exterminators and they always hook me up with professional grade stuff. Not cheap, but it works.
Also, not all flea sprays, bombs or whatever work at the same rate. Some can take a while to kill the flea, but two days seems like a long time and not all work on the eggs, which could still be hatching.
Also again, your pets could be bringing in "the reserves" from somewhere else, like the yard, maybe your vehicle, wherever they have been, can still go and you haven't taken care of yet.

[chrisjbell]

No easy way to get rid of fleas. The eggs are one of the worst things to deal with - most bombs don't get 'em, even if they claim to be able to.

With as many animals as you have, you're going to have a lot of "swapping" going on. Your best bet, although it'll cost, would be to take all of the critters to a vet (maybe a groomer) for a good, professional level (read: they can get the "good stuff" for killing fleas) cleaning.

At the same time, have a professional exterminator come and do whatever they need to to clean out the house (probably a combination of "bombs" and spraying). Again, the pros get chemicals that we just can't - it isn't that you aren't capable of applying the chemicals, you just aren't allowed to [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img].

You might also consider having your yard treated. I don't know if that would be a waste of time or not, but if you have an area that your animals spend a lot of time in (runs, fenced play area) you'll want to get those spaces. And if you have any dog / cat beds, lawn / porch furniture, etc., those will also need to be treated.

Fleas are nearly as evil as gophers [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]... At least gophers don't get inside the house [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img].

[Bird]

It's been quite a few years ago, but we had one year when our yard had a lot of fleas and the dog was covered with them. On the advice of a vet, I mixed up a bucket full of liquid Sevin and dipped the dog right up to his ears, then used that same bucket of insecticide to spray the whole yard and one treatment did the trick. Now of course I don't know whether the liquid Sevin you buy now is the same as what we bought back then or not.

[WildBill99]

I am going to have to look for liquid seven. My yard has some fleas or something in the sand and it is horrible. It got worse a couple of weeks ago and I hate that the dogs are in that all the time.

[Pat]

Permethrin based insecticides are good on fleas, ticks, ants etc.

Google on: "permethrin" + "flea" for a lot of permethrin based insecticides safe for carpets, furniture, dogs, etc. NOT FOR CATS. Ok for cats to get into sprayed areas after they dry but don't spray or dip a cat in permethrin based insecticde.

You can spray your yard, dog's bedding, car upholstery etc, just not your cats. Permethrin is the active ingredient in the shampoo for riding kids of head lice. Although I don't recommend heavy contact with the liquid and it is never smart to breathe chemical sprays, after it dries it is pretty darned people safe as per CDC, Atlanta, and various state's health agencies.

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Dragnet
Professional Grade Permethrin

(a.i. Permethrin 36.8%): This low odor pyrethroid insecticide is a favorite with professionals and homeowners for general purpose pest control (ticks, fleas, roaches, ants, chiggers) as well as termite control. Permethrin is a very safe emulsifiable concentrate (when used according to the label) that is labeled for use indoors on carpets, outdoors on turf and ornamentals and is also one of the best termiticides on the market.
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[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Vetgirl0618]

The best and safest thing to use for fleas is Frontline Plus. It is the only non toxic product on the market for this purpose. It is available in 3 or 6 packs and kills fleas, ticks, and flea eggs. Frontline is approved for cats and dogs 8 weeks and older and 1 application is good for 1 month. If you get all animals in the house on frontline, and use it for 3 months the flea problem should disappear without need for treating your home. The company that makes it <merial> also guarantees the product if it is purchased from a vet or veterinary pharmacy. It can be costly, but it is over the counter medication and you could buy it at any vet hospital if you find it cheap somewhere. Vet centric is an online veterinary pharmacy that does home delivery and the company will stand behind frontline purchased from them as well. (they also tend to be cheaper than the vet) For a while you will still see fleas, as frontline cannot kill them unless they feed, but it does work wonders. I have 3 cats and 1 dog and NO fleas! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Good luck whatever you choose...

[AuntieKay]

I found that when you spray for fleas you should cover the area with newspapers. They don't have much of brain but will escape the spray to save themselves the newspaper keeps them in contact with the spray.

Some years are worse than others for fleas. The following year I had no problem with the darn things. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[Fred]

When I had my house sprayed for cluster flies I asked the exterminator about fleas. He said that if you put 20 mule team power borax soap (the name escapes me, but I know what I mean) on the carpet and leave it there for a couple of weeks, that all the fleas and hatching fleas would be dead. He couldn't answer me about pets walking on it and licking their feet.

[BlueRidge]

Oddly enough, it's called "20 Mule Team Borax", and it's still available.


If your pets get enough of it, they might get diarrhea. I don't think they could get enough just by licking their feet, though.

Borates.