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I have 3 cats and a dog, and they all got fleas this summer... so I treated them with Frontline (Frontline Plus for the dog) a few weeks ago, but they're still itching like crazy! I can see live fleas crawling on the cats, so clearly this treatment didn't do any good. I've never had to treat more than once per infestation (which doesn't happen often in our climate), so I'm wondering what happened? And when should I do another round? Worried the second treatment won't work, and this costs mucho dinero when I treat all four critters.
I'm also wondering if I should bomb the house, because I'm afraid they're all over now... although we have hardwood floors throughout, which makes me wonder where they're living. Plus there's a problem with flea-bombing, as I have a large collection of snakes that can't be moved - at least not without some major hassle. Would they be safe if I treated every other room, and just shut the door to their room (my bedroom) for 24 hours? And if I did that, would fleas make their way back to the other areas? Any tips would be appreciated, because we're ALL getting pretty itchy here.
Where did you get the Frontline? Maybe it was expired or counterfeit or something, it has always worked reliably for me. If you got it somewhere reputable like your vet you could probably get a replacement set applied to them since the first treatment was a dud. If you got it somewhere like an online pharmacy you might try reporting your problems to the manufacturer. They might send you replacement product or coupons although unless they overnight it that might be too little too late.
I wouldn't bomb a house with hardwood floors unless I was sure that the infestation had moved into the house itself, and I wouldn't risk doing it with the snakes present.
Just make sure you dont give your animals any more treatments too soon, I think you are supposed to wait at least a month, even with tough treatments. I would suggest a flea comb too. We had a spell last year with fleas that made me almost loose my mind. Even with indoor cats and 2 dogs that only go out to go potty, fleas can still make their way into your home. We have hardwood floors too and I vacumed twice a day, including the furniture and just stayed on top of things for a few weeks including daily combing. Once under control, it was a huge relief. We now begin our flea med treatments in March--it is costly, but much better than the alternative.... Good luck ;-)
You should def. bomb the house. Treating just one aspect of the problem won't help. If a few weeks have passed, what your seeing are the eggs that have now hatched. One must treat the animals, the beddings and areas of the house they visit....make sure you vac. along those edges of your rugs and floor crevices. Now that the eggs have hatched....they will be laying more eggs (unless the preventative you used sterilizes the fleas, I don't use Frontline, so I don't know) and you will have to repeat the process in another few weeks...before the exisiting eggs hatch. It is a vicious circle...but can be broken.
OP - Look into using "Orange Guard" around the house. Because it's organic, you can use buckets of the stuff. You won't need to because it's really effective - we're using it to combat a fire ant problem - but you can. Plus, it smells nice (although the cats won't appreciate it). While I'm pretty clueless about reptiles, I'd hazard a guess it's safe.
You do need to be careful not to overload the kitten's systems with systemic products like Frontline, but I'd treat them topically with a cat-safe pyrethrin product (that too is organic) in a water-based formula - it can also be sprayed on bedding and soft furnishing (although check to see if it will stain). I used it very effectively on carpets. I don't know if there's anything made specifically for cats, I use a cat-safe horse product (Equisect) - and very cost effective it is too!
Where did you get the Frontline? Maybe it was expired or counterfeit or something, it has always worked reliably for me. If you got it somewhere reputable like your vet you could probably get a replacement set applied to them since the first treatment was a dud. If you got it somewhere like an online pharmacy you might try reporting your problems to the manufacturer. They might send you replacement product or coupons although unless they overnight it that might be too little too late.
I bought the stuff at Pet Club, which is a discount pet store chain... I've been going there forever, and never had a problem with any of their products. Petco charges over $60 for a three-pack, and Pet Club only charges $35 - but I doubt they'd sell anything counterfeit or expired, even at those awesome prices.
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I wouldn't bomb a house with hardwood floors unless I was sure that the infestation had moved into the house itself, and I wouldn't risk doing it with the snakes present.
Yeah, the snakes are definitely my biggest concern. The dog can hang with me for the day, and cats can stay overnight at the vet or a friend's house... but how and where will I move 20+ snakes??
OP - Look into using "Orange Guard" around the house. Because it's organic, you can use buckets of the stuff. You won't need to because it's really effective - we're using it to combat a fire ant problem - but you can. Plus, it smells nice (although the cats won't appreciate it). While I'm pretty clueless about reptiles, I'd hazard a guess it's safe.
I had one cat that Frontline simply did not work on, he'd always end up with those worms EVERY time I used Frontline. I suggest you try another brand, yours could be those it does not work on.
I will tell you what I do. I buy Advantage (plain Andvantage NO OTHER) and I always get the big dog size. You can treat 5 (yes, FIVE) cats with 1 big dog Advantage. 8mL, per 10 pounds of body weight. I discussed this with my vet and he said to do it and this is what I have done for many years. Rescuers do it, she shelter I helped out at did it and I know of not one cat that has harmed as of right now. The cat/dog Advantage have exactly the same ingredients and are just packaged in different size containers.
However, whatever you use, you must find where they are in your house and get rid of them. Wash everything! Vaccum everything and keep at it over and over along with the flea treatments. I have a neighbor that went theough this exact same thing and that is what his vet told him to do and he thought he did everything he was told... Then he remembered under his bed! He had never vaccumed and cleaned under the bed.. Walla, he pulled the bed out and found that nest of fleas.. Finally he was rid of the problem..
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Petco charges over $60 for a three-pack, and Pet Club only charges $35 - but I doubt they'd sell anything counterfeit or expired, even at those awesome prices.
I always prefer to use natural products, so that's something I will definitely look into...
Sorry...missed the part about all the snakes...I was thinking one or 2 that could be safely moved.
