I am going crazy with fleas on my dogs and cat. I used borax, the pets are protected with Frontline, brewer's yeast in their food, and I bombed my apartment. I don't know what else to do. My pets are going crazy itching. I am going to try the pans of water and a drop of soap. Please help.
By Gayle Trapani from West Palm Beach, FL
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If you have pets with long hair and matted fur, it's likely the fleas are living in the matting and it's hard to kill them. You may need to cut their fur short and take them to the groomers to get it done if you're not comfortable doing it yourself. The pets will have lots of time to grow their fur back before winter months arrive. A battery operated flea comb run through their shorter fur will also zap fleas, but fur needs to be short in order to get them all.
Forget Frontline. Frontline stopped working last year on all my dogs. Forget brewer's yeast, most dogs are allergic to it. Sprinkle salt all over the carpet and all over furniture, under it just everywhere. Let it sit. Vacuum everyday and tape over the end of the vacuum or cover it and also if you have a bag put a flea collar in it.
Get a flea comb and go over them with it once a day and put the fleas in warm soapy water. This is a great way to get rid of fleas.
Take the dogs and bathe them in Dawn and leave it on them for a few minutes. Don't get it in their eyes. Then after they are rinsed several times, spray their coats with white vinegar and then rinse if off.
I have heard that Skin So Soft is good for fleas; I am not sure. I have heard of putting 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar per cup of water for dogs, no more than this. If it makes them itch, stop it as they are allergic to it.
I would go to Dr. Foster and Smith dog and cat supplied and check out diatomaceous earth, it non toxic if ordered from this company. Don't use the kind you buy for the pool it is not the same and is toxic.
On top of all this, I would put apple cider vinegar in a shake bottle and dilute it with water half way. I would then spray them with this every so often with it. It is nontoxic. Check out earthclinic.Com and mercola.Com about their pets' section.
I would also get a small spray bottle and put lemon juice in it and then keep it filled and spay their neck and base of their tail on top of them with this. Fleas hate citrus. Cats do too. Be aware that most essential oils are toxic to pets.
Good luck. Frontline has changed their formula, it no longer kills fleas, it used to be great and now. Nothing. Zero.
Try Comfortis, the pill that lasts for a month, and then if you don't like that try Advantage. Never use over the counter spot treatments they are toxic.
Short of any chemicals, I would shampoo, vinegar, and rinse and do the flea comb every day for a couple of times a day at first, vacuum all the time, salt over the floor all over everywhere. And then see how that works.
Good luck. And check out the sites i mentioned and all the things that are archived on this site!
Earthclinic.Com
mercola.Com
Blessings, robyn
Neem oil ! Use i part neem oil to 10 part water and a couple drops of dish soap. Give pets a bath you can order neem pet shampoo and than spray the neem water sulution on them wash bedding and spray neem on fabrics ..i have laminate flooring i got rid of carpet because of flea issue every year.The pills use to work but not anymore.I have four dogs and two cats i feel your pain ...
I noticed about 3 years ago that the topical flea treatments didn't work anymore. I kept trying them occasionally, they DO NOT WORK! I bet they got glittery between the dog owners suing for damages and the liberals always wanting to outlaw chemicals! I want my D. D. T.!!
I also found that Frontline was no longer working. Heard somewhere that the Company was sold and the formula was changed (not sure if this is true). I changed to Comfortis (pills) and so far so good.
We get the prescription from our vet. We actually get Trifexis now, which is the same as Comfortis but it also includes heartworm medication. They usually give us a 6 month supply at a time.
This is really sad. You'd think with all the vets in this country, at least some of them would have heard of using the old original Blue Dawn dish washing liquid and the use of food grade diatomaceous earth. Especially the diatomaceous earth which has been around and used by farmers even for years. If you live anywhere near a farming or ranching community, you could walk into any feed store and find diatomaceous earth and maybe the Dawn too since those two products are the best cure for fleas on pets and other animals.
The food-grade diatomaceous earth is even the best protection against internal parasites and when I had horses, it was regularly sprinkled on their favorite food to make sure they got it all. It was also brushed into their hair when grooming.
Our 3 cats don't go outside at home, and the dog only goes out a few times a day, but when we camp, the dog goes with us. So far, he's not come home with any "free-riding" critturs in his fur. I still give him a bath in the Dawn first thing just to be on the safe side.
I do not trust any of those chemicals that go on the necks of my pets for their little bodies to be taking in all the time, and I'm not about to put a flea collar on one of them either for the same reason. Some remedies are just so simple that many people refuse to believe they work.
I hope this will help you. Fleas can end up causing your pet's death if not treated and gotten rid of.
um of course they have heard of it. Have you heard of the pharmaceutical sales industry? Lol works the same for animals.
I've been using dawn and DE as well. Works great!! My dog had revolution and advantage put on him and it did not help what so ever. Infact with those two topicals he ended up with a flea infestation . You can use DE around your yard as well. Even put it in their food to kill any type of worm they may have.
We have been using diotamacuis earth that says it kills all kinds of pests it's killed nothing I even caught a flea and put it in a cup of it over night this was still hoping
I had a flea problem with my cats a few yeas ago. They were inside cats so we were bringing the flea eggs in on our feet I guess. It was terrible and they were biting me too. My vet reccomended Advantage over Frontline, but I also was told to vacuum twice a day for two weeks. Those fleas are constantly laying eggs and they need to be vacuumed up before they hatch. Use flea powder on the floors then vacuum it up into the vacuum bag so it will kill the live fleas and eggs when they hatch in the bag. You can get rid of them but it takes about two weeks. After that continue to use the Frontline as directed. The grocery store kind will not do the job and will make many pets sick. A good bath always helps, but cats don't like it.
I was wondering if you actually see fleas. If not then I suggest you try advantage flea. I had a problem with my 8 dogs and 7 cats after using frontline and it seems to work on everything except a mite that some soils have in it and it makes them itch. Advantage stops the fleas even on the springer spaniels long hair. It is worth a try. Hope this helps. I also spray everything; house, yard, dog pens with 38 percent permetrium to kill fleas off dogs.
I had that problem last year when we had so much rain . I found putting a capful of white vinegar in the drinking water helps it takes a couple of days. Also you can put baking soda on them. Put some in a shaker bottle & rub into their fur, down to the skin. It stops the itching. Also about once a week rub your dogs fur with skin so soft body lotion.
I have had luck with dawn dish detergent. Just keep some in a bowl.and work it into parts of their coat were you see fleas. Also, good to bathe them in. Hope this helps. I tried everything else. This made them tolerable.
Use both salt and borax on the carpet, half of each in a shaker bottle, leave it on overnight then vacuum. Take the vacuum outside to empty as the fleas can live and escape from it. Good luck!
Gayle. Are you sure that it is flea infestation? We had a similar problem with our fox terrier, continually scratching and pulling out his fur. Tore holes in himself. Turned out to be canned dog food. We switched him to a fresh meat diet and had no further problems.
Thank you all for your suggestions:. To answer some of the questions:Yes, I actually do see the fleas on the dog. I have fogged my apartment, so I see dead fleas all around. I see them all around my pet's bedding. I am using the method of vacuuming everyday and discarding the contents of the vacuum immediately. I then sprinkle salt down and then vacuum it the next day.
I also am teaching my dog to go where there is no grass. It was hard at first, but he is used to it now. I live in an apt. complex. I am hoping this works!:) thanks again to all of you! My pets have short hair and I bathe them every week.
My dog does not eat canned dog food, only the hard bag Purina dog food (Little Bites)
Diatomaceous earth or Diatomaceous earth crawling insect killer. I put mine in a plastic jar with drilled holes in the lid. Sprinkle it all over, it will not hurt you. You can even put it on them and in their water and food to kill worms. Get it at a garden shop. It works for ants and snails and slugs, too. Do not use swimming pool grade.
We had this problem a few years ago when it was so dry. I did have to fog the house several different times over several weeks, we were actually bringing them in on our clothes because we don't let the dogs in but they slept on the porch. We also found out about CapStar tablets for the dogs, $4 each at our Vet's office but we finally got rid of them.
I have 2 dogs. When we adopted our puppy last year and he brought with him a family of fleas. We also live in an area that is very alive with raccoons, squirrels, possum, and other wildlife that drop down into our yard and leave their own vermin. Treating the yard is one of the most important issues for me.
In 50 years, I have never had to deal with fleas until Riley joined our family.
We have tried it all. Including bombing the house twice, a professional exterminator who "Guaranteed" results. Ha! Chemical dips for the dogs. I hate these they are so harmful.
I pulled up carpets and replaced with tile and hardwood. Fleas don't like tile and wood as much as carpet, although they will live in any crack and crevice.
Here is what I have learned so far: Most of the products that are being suggested really do 1 of 2 things. They either dehydrate the bugs or they smother them.
Fleas have 3 or 4 cycles of life so you aren't just having to deal with adult. Eggs, Larvae, Adult and of course the debris they leave causes a lot of the itching that you might experience as well as your pets. There is a 2 week cycle time, so repeated applications of any treatment is necessary (my experience).
Please check with your vet for your own situation. My vet has approved these treatments for me.
Make sure that your pets are not in the areas until you have finished treatment and/or the area treated is dry/clean.
Outside: I treat the yard, including 3 feet up on buildings and fence with granulated bug treatment. Triazanon is the most effective. After I put the grains on the yard, I double the dose by spraying the area with a liquid version.
This activates the grains and gives an instant treatment as well as the longer lasting grains. This needs to be treated again in about 2 weeks to catch new hatching.
Be very careful with standing water around potted plants and drainage. My puppy loves to drink from these areas. (dumb dog).
House: Borax rubbed in to soft goods, furniture or rugs. Sprayed everywhere else. and vacuumed up to remove product and fleas, eggs, cookie crumbs, etc.
Make sure you throw the bag away, or clean your filters and dump canisters, eggs will hatch inside your vacuum.
If you start this early in flea season, you will catch the fleas before they have a chance to multiply.
Vacuum drapes, bedding, etc. Fleas can jump up to 3 feet.
Animals: this is my favorite part. Although it is very time consuming, it is good bonding time. Both my dogs love getting groomed. And they get a massage on top of it all.
I make a paste of Dawn Liquid dish soap. (Dawn is what they use in the oil spills to wash animals that get trapped in oil spills.)
With your hands, take the paste and apply 3 areas very quickly.
( 1)- the Anal area,
(2) around the neck-make a ring around the neck.
(3) ears.
Fleas don't like the soap and will go inside the animal to protect themselves.
Once you have applied the paste, you can add more water and lather up your pet. Take your time, it should be on the animal for about 15 minutes to smother the fleas. This is a good time to massage in. Pets love the attention.
I go the extra and apply a really good heavy conditioner to their coat. It helps with itching and skin irritations.
Use a good flea comb while the coats are wet to remove any debris or eggs that could be left on their fur. Make sure to dip your comb often in a soapy solution to insure eggs and larvae are killed.
The problem with fleas is you can't do just one of these steps, you have to keep on top of it and do everything every 7 days to 2 weeks. It is time consuming, but it does work.
Flea control. There are some really good new 30 applications on the market, check with your vet. Frontline and Advantage don't work for us, but I switched to Comfortis, 1 pill that works for 30 days but is Prescription only.
Sorry for the length. I hope some of what I have shared is useful.
I started giving my dogs garlic capsules, 2 for the large dogs. 1 a day for the small dog. No infestation yet, and the skin problem on the large dog is clearing up. His mood has improved greatly, probably from not itching all the time. Hair is growing back. I wrap the capsules in a little butter and they gobble it up.
Don't do that! Garlic is toxic for dogs. Our dog ate a bunch of garlic and became anemic. She almost died.
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