Help! ............Flea's

[Blackberry]

We have an indoor cat who is about 3. Last month we moved. In our old house, the flea's had taken over. They leave dh and I alone and also our older son. But my 10 year old son was being eaten alive. We tried different things, but then last month we moved into an apartment. Looked like we had left the flea's behind us.

Then a couple of weeks ago I brought home a free kitten that someone was giving away. He had been an indoor/outdoor kitten, he is now about 3 1/2 months old. Well after a few days the flea's came back worse than ever!!!

I went to PetCo & asked for recommendations. I ended up with flea drops for each cat and a big can of powder that you sprinkle on everything & then vaccume up. Neither worked. I have a flea comb so I can check the cats fur easy.

So I went back to Petco yesterday and got my money back for the flea drops and the powder. I bought a big can of spray. So last night before bed I sprayed the entire living room & connected dining room. That seems to have helped. A couple of hours ago I checked our older cat & combed out only a couple of live fleas, but some eggs too. So then I check the kitten & at the base of his tail he is COVERED with live flea's still!

Oh yeah, we also have some flea-killing mousse that you massage into the cat's fur but don't rinse out. We can get the kitten just fine, he's too small & weak to get away. But our older cat is a big boy with extreamly thick and long fur. And that cat is strong. We've never been able to get his fur completly saturated, but I've got big scratches all over my chest & arm from trying.

So.......any suggestions? Anything that has worked well for you? I guess we'll mousse the kitten again tonight & spray the rooms again.................

HELP !

[menanamama]

flea bomb works for us....take the cat to the vet...they have a treatment that kills the instant...least mine does and bomb just befor you leave to see the vet because you can not come in for so many hours after you set it off.

[CaptCritter]

I use Advantage drops on my cats, you have to get it from a vet ( I know there are several different brands out now, but I have always had good luck with Advantage), I use it regularly on my 5 cats and have NEVER seen a flea on any of them. I think what you are going to have to do is treat the cats and treat the house all at the same time. Ask your vet what type of flea bomb or spray they think would work best for the house and remember to hit the corners, vents, sofa cushions and anywhere those little buggers my hide!! Good luck, they are a pain in the neck to get rid of once you get them!!

[tsb]

Try this for the fleas in the house a hot sudsy tub of water under a night light in a completely dark room, they will jump at the light and drown

[dangerousfem]

Get the advantage.. before a flea can lay eggs it has to have a blood meal.. it will bite the cat.. and then die before it can lay eggs... after a week or so.. you will be flea free...

[poohbear1975]

I also use advantage on my cat and have no problems. You don't need to go to the vet to get it but you do need to know the cats weight. I order mine online and it is much cheaper than going to the vet and way less hassle.

[Nimue]

I use raid flea spray in the purple can it is the only thing that has ever gotten rid of them for us. As far as our cat we give him a bath in dish soap. The vet tol us that the dish soap has something in it that kills the fleas and it has worked so far. Hope it helps

[Blackberry]

Originally posted by tsb
Try this for the fleas in the house a hot sudsy tub of water under a night light in a completely dark room, they will jump at the light and drown

That's a neat idea. We are constantly rinsing out and refilling the cat's bowls of water to get ride of the dead flea's in them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

Now, about flea bombs, don't you have to cover up a bunch of stuff like in the kitchen, etc. Seems like this may be more harmful than good.

[Mini]

You have to cover everything tightly with that thats why weve never even considered it. Because that stuff can get on dishes and everything if your stuff isn't covered very well.

[cSoReNSoN]

As for the flea bombs you are supposed to cover countertops and any dishes that maybe be exposed. Any bedding or couches will be fine being exposed as they can be washed if they somehow seem to be unclean afterwards. The flea bombs work wonders and will kill any fleas in the house.

[Chrysalis]

Don;t waste your money on the Hartz Control flea bombs. That just made the fleas here mad as HELL. The best thing I ever used was Raid Flea Killer PLUS in the purple can. However, I can't find it ANYWHERE this year. Not even online. Do they make it anymore? This stuff kills EVERY crawling thing in it's path and even has a pleasant smell. We bombed ONCE last summer and never saw another flea again the rest of the year.

A lot of people say 20 Mule Team Borax sprinkled into the carpet kills fleas and eggs, but that hasn't worked for us. The sad thing is they only bite the dog and my 7 year old. My other kids, me and the cats are unaffected. WTH?

[momfromTN]

Borax will do a lot of good, just make sure you get it really good into your carpet and along the baseboards and let sit for 3 days, then vacumn. RAID purple does good too. Fleas are like the plagues of Egypt, I swear! Oh, and be sure to put your vac bag into a plastic bag and tie shut TIGHT before you throw it out.

[imdetoo]

Chrysalis, I did find a website for the Raid Flea Killer Plus. it's http://www.killsbugsdead.com/raid_fleas.asp Maybe you can email them and ask where to find it near you. We too are overrun with fleas this year. I've dipped my cats twice and they seem to have gotten rid of them but my dog has them everywhere. We're moving soon so hopefully I can get my dog dipped at the groomers and get rid of the darn things. I tried using the drops from the vet's office and they haven't helped at all.

[mesue]

You can order advantage online, I ordered my dogs a 12 month supply for around 67.00 thats counting shipping and taxes, just do a search and you should find plenty of websites that sell them. They also sell the cats advantage too I checked. I don't like to order online so I got all the info and called their number and got mine in about 4 days. Advantage will cure the problem I have three indoor dogs and do not have any flea problems.

[puffy]

The many flea bite scars on my legs can atest that... I fell your pain!!

Advantage and Frontline are a hit and miss for me. It works great on the cats but neither do anything for the dogs. The bombs work great for me however I did learn a trick from a salesperson at petco. He suggested, since the biggest hideout for fleas and their eggs is in the carpet, that I steam clean my carpets with flea dip. I mix it with whatever amount of water is recommended for pet dipping and put this into the machine. I try and do it once a year and the dip has kept the fleas from making a home in MY home.GL.

[jobrick]

The advantage works good but its expensive. I would still go to the vet to get the cat a flea bath. while you are out bomb the house. For me this worked. Quit wasting your time with the over counter stuff. I think you have to kill what in the house now before it get worse, they keep laying eggs and you have to break that cycle.

I went through this once about 18 years ago. I will never want to go thru that again. Every cat I have gotten since then does not go into the house until its been to the vet and checked for fleas.

[mesue]

Originally posted by puffy
The many flea bite scars on my legs can atest that... I fell your pain!!

Advantage and Frontline are a hit and miss for me. It works great on the cats but neither do anything for the dogs. The bombs work great for me however I did learn a trick from a salesperson at petco. He suggested, since the biggest hideout for fleas and their eggs is in the carpet, that I steam clean my carpets with flea dip. I mix it with whatever amount of water is recommended for pet dipping and put this into the machine. I try and do it once a year and the dip has kept the fleas from making a home in MY home.GL.

Great tip on shampooing with flea dip. If your dog is outside very much at all he is going to pick up fleas continuously, you might also want to treat your yard for fleas we treated ours with a bag of stuff that costed about 10.00, you can get it anywheres just look in the pesticide section, and it helped a lot.

[Taterbo]

The soapy water and a light works great. I use an old glass pie pan, add in a small amount of water and dish soap. I then place a small light over it. Make sure all the other lights are out in the house. You will be amazed at how many you will get in one night.
Have you tried adding brewers yeast to your cats food? I have heard that also works well.

[tn2h2]

I've tried all the above remedies and spent tons of money on over the counter stuff. Finally, I called a professional service they cleaned up the problem then I keep Advantage on my dogs and I have no more fleas. The Advantage kills the fleas when they bite. Ebay $28.00 for a small dog 6 mo supply was my last purchase.

[HumblePie98]

Another good idea is to sprinkle baby power under all your couch cushions .......It suffocates the fleas, (And it will get what bombs may not reach because of the cushions being on top) Plus, it smells good :)

[feliciac]

This isn't for the cats directly, but it helped our cats. There are these things you can get at the grocery store, they look like little towers. They are white and have a yellow strip inside and are about 8-10 inches tall. They almost look like a room deodorizer. You stand them up in different parts of the house and they get rid of fleas. I forget what they are called, but I got mine at Kroger, they were about $4.99. We haven't had near the trouble with fleas since I got these for the house. They've helped keep them off us, off the cats and out of the carpet.

If I can remember what they are called, I post it later.

[brumzoo]

Advantage & Frontline work well for me. I have 7 indoor dogs (smallest dog is 45 lbs) & 3 indoor cats. The dogs get Frontline Plus b/c it doesn't wash off & the cats get Advantage. I do not have a problem with fleas at all! Bathing your animal is only a temporary solution. You must use flea control, also. Over the counter flea control is a waste of money as they do not work. Same thing for flea collars. Ask your vet for Capstar. It is a pill that kills all fleas on the animal in 30 minutes! :p Then, put on your flea control. Adams also makes flea control for your house & yard. Do not forget to treat your yard for fleas, also!
Good luck!

Also, if you buy any products online that you are only supposed to be bought at a vet's office, there is NO guarantee from the company that makes the product if they do not work. If you buy from a vet's office, the products are guaranteed & you will get either your $$ back or more of the product! :)

[redrig]

My strictly indoor cat got fleas from what was leftover in our house when we moved in. I got Advantage from the vet (and it was cheaper than online, surprise) and after putting it on her shewas a little po'd and went to go lay down away from terrible mommy (me). I went to check on her and the fleas were dropping off her an dying. Then I went to Petco and got Adams carpet powder which controls all 4 stages, from eggs to adults. We now seem to be flea-free, but I still put the advantage on her every couple of months just to be sure because fleas can incubate in the carpet and appear months later. I didn't sprinkle the powder on the carpet itself, I put it in the vacuum cleaner bag .

[SaraSmiles]

Also, for a quick fix. U can get a spray bottle from the dollar store and put in a whole bottle of alcohol.
I sprayed my carpet, furniture, everything in the house with that bottle of alcohol, it does kill the fleas. Also, i sprayed my dog and cat w/ it daily when they would come back from outside.
Works like a charm.
I also would bomb the house and take them to the vet for a dip and put the frontline plus on them. :)

[a12100]

we have an outdoor dog and thank god he has never got fleas.. when we moved we had a problem with ticks so now he is on advantage.. expensive stuff, but works great.

We just moved to a new house and the stupid people who lived here before were hiding a little dog inside (not allowed indoor pets) they were evicted for that and other reasons... so anyways about 2 weeks after we lived here we noticed the fleas.. not on us so much by my 2 yr old was getting bitten all over, and he has pale hair so you could easily spot them. We used the bombs.. I think they are made by raid. You have to set them off and leave for like an hour and then air your house out for 1/2 hour and then clean everything, cause of the checmicals... it's a pain in the a$$ but we did it twice and haven't had any problems since then.. I would say that its your best shot... dont bother with the powders, sprays, and all that.

Also what the other post said about water and a night light will work, they also make traps that are like this... kind of like roach traps but the glow green and the fleas jump in and cant get out...

[Blackberry]

Well, I think I may have licked this problem. When I took the powder and the drops back to Petco I picked up a bottle of spray. I used it 2 nights in a row---just sprayed the carpet, furniture, window sill where one of the cats loves to sleep, etc. My son is reporting no new bites today!!!

I've still got 1/2 of the can left. Plus the mousse for the cats.

You know...when we first had a problem with fleas in our old house, I call all of the vets in the area and not one would do a flea dip.
They said they didn't do that anymore. They said just to bring my cat in and they would put the drops on him. Or I could buy the drops & put them on my cat myself.

[Taterbo]

HI 13ducks, Don't forget to respray in a few days for any hatching eggs that might be left behind. They usally hatch in about 7 days.
Also if you are into any herbal flea control methods check out this info: http://www.helpinganimals.com/t-facts5.html
Good luck.:)

[Blackberry]

Originally posted by Taterbo
HI 13ducks, Don't forget to respray in a few days for any hatching eggs that might be left behind. They usally hatch in about 7 days.
Also if you are into any herbal flea control methods check out this info: http://www.helpinganimals.com/t-facts5.html
Good luck.:)

Thanks for the tip. I didn't spray last night or the night before because I thought I'd gotten them all. But this morning I had one jump on me. I still have half of the can of spray, so I guess I'd better spray again tonight and tomorrow.......

[MsPiggy44]

This is what I do....At the start of summer I place a teaspoon of dry active yeast into my dogs food. Fleas can't stand the taste of it. I have yet to have a problem with fleas in 3 years. My dog is an inside/outside dog.

[mesue]

Originally posted by MsPiggy44
This is what I do....At the start of summer I place a teaspoon of dry active yeast into my dogs food. Fleas can't stand the taste of it. I have yet to have a problem with fleas in 3 years. My dog is an inside/outside dog.

How often do you put the yeast in the dogs food? I might try this for my dogs who stay outside. TIA