Here we go again.....fleas!!! (Mart, Earth: house, living in, store)

[blizzrd]

It's that time of year again. Fleas all over the house and dogs. Any recommendations on a pest control place or any advice?

[LovingSAT]

I am so glad you posted this... We need help as well.

[TrapperL]

Killing fleas is not an issue, killing the eggs is another battle though. Use most any bug killer you like although I get mine at Jupe Feed and it's called Bifen I/T which is a termiticide. I also use an egg sterilizer called Martins I G Regulator. The Regulator will sterilize any surviving fleas/eggs too so once you get all of the fleas killed, its over. I use it on my yard twice every year and don't have bugs at all. You can also use Regulator on the inside of the house with any approved interior insecticide. The Bifen can be used inside as well but make sure to keep animals off of any spray you use until it's dry.

[majormadmax]

Diatomaceous earth! Google it and you'll find it is a natural and effective flea killer!

Cheers! M2

[ItsTheTruth]

Treat your dogs with Capstar to kill fleas on them currently. Keep your dogs up to date with monthly topical flea preventative medicine, and most importantly, keep your dogs inside. Don't cheap out on the flea medicine either. I have tried them all and you really need something that works and doesn't leave a mess on the dogs, like Advantage II or Frontline. Don't forget the monthly heartworm preventative like Heartgard.

[LovingSAT]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Diatomaceous earth! Google it and you'll find it is a natural and effective flea killer!

Cheers! M2

How do you use it? I have used it and then was reprimanded on its safety.... It did work fast!

[lauramdsm]

I had a horrid flea infestation last year. My sweet dog is on Trifexis. It turns out there was a family of kittens living in my shed and that's where the infestation started. Then it spread to the yard and house through my Sadie. I had terminix come out and spray the house, shed, and yard twice (recommended). In between I even used the "bombs" inside the shed, about three of them. I made sure to get Sadie a flea bath and every day I would use a flea comb on her with a bowl of soapy water next to me to put them in... it took a few weeks until they were completely gone, but it was such a relief when they were!

I suggest you don't try tackling it on your own, but you also must do some things when the exterminator isn't there to completely get rid of it. My suggestion is find the source of the problem and take care of that - I ended up trapping up all the stray cats and getting them out of my shed. I also closed up all holes where they were possibly able to get in there through. I haven't had any more stray cats hanging around and haven't had a flea problem since (knock on wood).

You can also get "beneficial nematoads" at a garden store .. I'm thinking of doing this just to prevent the problem from possibly coming back, since it isn't an instant fix, it's just a proactive way of controlling the situation before it happens again.

It's not a fun situation, good luck.

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by LovingSAT

How do you use it? I have used it and then was reprimanded on its safety.... It did work fast!

Diatomaceous Earth: The a miracle cure for flea control? | Flea Control Videos | Flea Control: How to Get Rid of Fleas Naturally

[buffy888]

-Make sure you are using monthly flea preventative for the pups. If one brand doesn't work, try another. Before we moved back to S.A., we used Frontline and were quite happy with it. Didn't work well here for some reason, so switched to Advantage and had success with that. (Currently using Certifect, though, as we were starting to have a tick problem due to, I believe, neighbor's pets plus a stray cat that sometimes comes scurrying out from under the deck.)

-Beneficial nematodes for the yard

-Flea trap(s) for inside the house if needed - involves mainly a night light or other light source plus a pan of soapy water - Google it for specifics

-Friends have used diatomaceous earth as others have mentioned above

[blizzrd]

So far so good.....I sprayed the crap outta my room and the room where the dogs sleep, bathed them and put the DE in their bedding and along baseboards. I don't see too many any more. Tomorrow the yard gets sprayed and in a week or two we'll try another brand on the dogs. We've used Frontline plus in the past with good results. This time I ordered the wrong one, Frontline top spot and it didn't work for squat. I don't know if it's a different formula or if I just need to try another one all together. Either way, I have to wait until the month is over from the first application which will be coming up in the next week or two.