Pet Question (York, State College: house, buy, college)

[ff18wife]

Hoping you all can point me in the right direction. I need to know the best way to get rid of fleas. We have been fighting them non-stop since June and it's making me absolutely bonkers. I'm tired of the kids and myself getting bit. I swear they were in the house when we bought it last March and hatched once the warm weather hit.

I've been giving the dog and the cat baths in DAWN dish detergent and it kills them but it does not get rid of them.

Here's the routine...bathe cat with DAWN and pet flea shampoo, then bathe dog in DAWN and pet flea shampoo. Spray house with RAID FLEA SPRAY (purple can)..the only the that I found that seems to control them. Tried bombing...didn't do diddly nothing. (If I bathe the dog first, the cat runs for the hills and hides.)

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. We NEVER had a flea problem in the past 20 years that we've had dogs until we moved here.

Thanks!!!

[poconoproud]

We had to bomb our home three times to finally rid the home of fleas. We have cathedral ceilings, and one bomb was ineffective. For those rooms, we needed two bombs. Instead of using flea or dish soap on the pets, buy advantage, the kind that you squeeze onto the pets neck. Keep a cup of dish liquid for fleas that land on you. Putting them in water does nothiing, as they can swim - but not in dish liquid. Vacuum daily, furniture included & get rid of the vaccuum bag right away.

My vet said that these last two years weather has spawned infestations of fleas, so don't feel bad.

good luck!

[ff18wife]

I have to pick up more flea stuff tomorrow so I'll look for the Advantage. I used the Hartz spot stuff but it didn't really help. Looks like I might have to try the bombs again. It might work now since they're getting pretty slow with the cold weather.

I have a bagless vacumm...I just take it outside and empty the whole thing into a bag, tie it up and put it in the trash can. Maybe I should put some flea stuff in the container when I vacuum...hmmm..

Thanks for the info.

[poconoproud]

you bet.

if your pet ever gets skunked - I have the perfect remedy for that.

gotta love pets and all the joy they bring.

[I LOVE PA!]

Originally Posted by poconoproud

you bet.

if your pet ever gets skunked - I have the perfect remedy for that.

gotta love pets and all the joy they bring.

Could you be kind of enough and post that here...I'm thinknig it has never happened, (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!!!!) but I don't want to wait for it to happen to read up on it and then go shopping...I'm thinknig of making a 'what if' sort of package and keeping it on hand.

I have not had a problem with fleas, but my dog only goes for walks on the leash, short walks and they are not where any other dogs walk, so my chances are minimized.

Isn't advantage by prescription only? The problem with that is it ends up being a $200. vet visit.....

[ff18wife]

I heard BioSpot is good too. I think they're available at pet stores and maybe Walmart.

I heard a bath in vegetable juice (like V*) or tomato juice kills skunk smell???

[nicolepsy]

hi, i never had problems with fleas until this year also (and the fact that i moved to florida from ohio). biospot didnt work for me and the hartz stuff doesnt get good reviews either. frontline or something expensive like that works alot better. i would think that dawn would be too irritating on your pets skin but maybe not. vacuum like crazy! at least every day if not more!
also may try treating your lawn with pesticide. there are also fall lawn feeds that have pesticide mixed into them. good luck.

[ff18wife]

DAWN is actually recommended. If you look around the Internet, it is used when they rescue wild life from oil spills. We treat the grass with Triazicide. Kills just about anything that moves in the grass. That's why we think the house had them.

[poconoproud]

Skunk remedy:

one quart 3 percent hydrogen peroxide

one fourth cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

one teaspoon liquid soap

begin by wetting the animal down, then apply the mixture and work through pet's hair. leave on three-four minutes and rinse with tap water.

CAUTION! Dispose of unused portion, for it is unsafe to bottle and store this chemical combination.

This remedy came from Kansas State College of Veterinary Medicine and I have needed it twice. IT WORKS!

[deerlover]

I have been in humane animal work for 35 yrs and am also a groomer. Please listen to me! Biospot and Hartz are not safe! Google those names and see what comes up! My Mom has a permanently disabled Yorkie due to Biospot. It is killing and causing neurological damage!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have an infestation, you need to treat the animals and the house at the same time. Bring the pets to a groomer that can flea bathe them and hold them while you treat the house. You can bomb the house- most effective bombs are Adams. Make certain that you know the square footage you need to cover or you will waste your time and money. OR you can have an exterminator come in. They will usually guarantee their work.

Apply Frontline to your pets after the flea bath. I would strongly suggest that NO chemical flea bath be given to a cat. They are ultra sensitive to any chemical. Any shampoo applied and allowed to sit on the cat or dog for about 15 to 20 minutes will suffocate fleas. Head and Shoulders is non-toxic and kills fleas on contact and can be used on small kittens and puppies. Fleas are pretty tenacious and will go into eyes, nose and ears of any pet that is being bathed so it is important to follow up with Frontline.

To help maintain a flea free house, get yourself some 20 Mule Team Borax at the supermarket. It is a powdered laundry booster. Sprinkle that all over your house, even on your furniture. It is non-toxic and can be used once a week. Vacuum it up. It has tiny pieces of silica in it that remain and will slit any fleas that hatch and kill them by dehydration. This is a maintenance treatment, not a cure for an infestation.

If it is still warm enough out, treat your entire yard with a flea effective pesticide.

Most important- if your pet has had fleas chances are almost 100% that it also now has tapeworm. Take a stool sample to your vet and check it out. It is not always seen right away so let the vet know that there were fleas.

Next- LOL- Skunk! The recipe above was the most effective for skunk. Dawn, peroxide and baking soda. I also follow up with Natures Miracle applied full strength and left on to dry. Now for the flip side- If your dog was sprayed in the face, it may have gotten into the nose, ears and mouth. Obviously, you can't treat those areas and the mucous membranes are going to have to shed those cells naturally. You may smell skunk from that area for a long time. Get rid of any nylon collar. If your dog gets wet, you might smell it again for months to come. I can tell if a dog has been skunked when I bathe it even it was 6 months ago!

Again- please be aware that Hartz and Biospot products are not only hurting pets but also killing them!