Flea problems.....HELP!!!!

Oldcountryboy · #1 03/28/12, 01:30 PM

Oh daddy here got a little soft a while back and let his little darlings (3) have a kitten in the house. We now have a fleas all over the house.

Despite buying flea & tick collars, and a liquid you squirt on the back, I think all it they done was chased the fleas off the cat and onto our carpets and furniture. In which they have laid eggs everywhere and now we seem to can't get rid of them.

I've fogged once and getting ready to fog again in few days when the kids leave for the weekend to be with thier mom. While their gone I'm gonna fog the house again and wash all bedding sheets, clothes, and whatever I can fit into the washers at the laundry mat.

So my question is......Bed Pillows and mattresses. How do I de-flea them?

Any other advice out there?

By the way, the cat is now a permanent outdoor cat! He don't like it, but once I get these fleas controlled, I'll like it.

Otter · #2 03/28/12, 03:07 PM

You're going about it the wrong way.
Don't fog. It can make the kids sick (it does me) and won't get every stage of flea, the eggs and the pupae are immune. Which means 2 weeks to re-infestation. You don't want to do this every 2 weeks.

Just vaccuum a lot, drop a mothball in the bag. It won't kill eggs or pupae either, but will kill them when they hatch.

Bring the cat back in. Fleas don't want you when they can have a nice, juicy cat. But get some Frontline on him first. Now he is a walking, purring FLEA KILLER. Every flea that jumps on him will die.
The Hartz stuff is worthless, so are the flea powders, shampoos, dips, collars, etc. I will not waste my money on the off-brand stuff and I am poor.
Frontline is more expensive - but a lot less expensive then fogging the house, then washing the residue off of everything.
Eiuw, putting my face on a pillow after it's been fogged <retch>.

Vacuum, vacuum again, Frontline religiously.
The Frontline won't keep the fleas from jumping on the cat and it's not supposed to, it kills every flea that jumps on him = walking flea trap.
Happy kids, happy cat, no more fleas = happy dad

DownHome · #3 03/28/12, 03:14 PM

Had the same problem a long time ago. I second the frontline and the vacuuming. But I also sprinkled borax all over the carpet and floors before I went up every night for like a week, swept it up every morning. Haven't had a problem since.

gl
downhome

airotciv · #4 03/28/12, 03:47 PM

Many years ago my Vet told me, "We don't treat the animal, we treat their enviroment. Fleas are only on the amimal to feed and then they are living in your house." I use Zodiac, that comes in a spray can. It kills, biting fleas, flea eggs. I know there are other products out there, that do the samething, it depends on were you live and what the name is. Follow the directions on the back of the can. I have not had a problem in years, but my DIL went here last year. Got two flea invested kittens, I gave her a can of Zodiac, got a call two days later that said thank you mom. Zodiac protects for 7 months, not sure about other brands. You do have to leave the house with the kids and animals until it has dried. Hope that helps.

grandma12703 · #5 03/28/12, 03:51 PM

Frontline definatlely. I have used the pet med that is a little cheaper and it seems to work just as well.

Copperhead · #6 03/28/12, 03:55 PM

Think organic . . . think garlic. Finely chop a small clove of garlic (about a teaspoon, more or less) and add to a can of wet catfood. Cat won't notice the garlic in their lust for the food. Raw is presumed to be the most effective, but a teaspoon of garlic powder is an effective substitute. A retired friend sneaks his garlic pills into a piece of bread and gives them to his lapdog. . . just don't tell his wife

Don't be afraid to try some garlic yourself! I've found the more garlic and/or ramps I eat, the less stress I have, but it may have something to do with the fact that my stressors might be avoiding me

After a few days, you'll notice the fleas are gone without the stress of harsh chemicals. Even works on infested outside animals, too! See, I told you that garlic would reduce your stress

Otter · #7 03/28/12, 03:55 PM

airotciv, I liked the Zodiac too - till I moved down south. In Fl, it just did not work. In frustration, I flea-combed the dog, put fleas in jars and sprayed them with stuff to see what kills them. The Zodiac didn't kill the FL fleas - but neither did 50/50 bleach and water! They swam for a good 3 minutes!

Cliff · #8 03/28/12, 04:11 PM

Agree with the frontline. It will kill every flea to set foot on the cat. Which will be every flea in the house as they hatch and mature. It takes a couple of weeks for the eggs that are already in your carpet and furniture to hatch out. As soon as they jump on the cat their nervous systems are affected and they lose control. They can't jump off, can't even control what direction they are going. Then they die. Problem solved.

You can help the process by spreading borax on the carpet - leave it there for a day or so and let it get walked in. Then you can vaccum. Enough residue stays down in the carpet to dry out and kill the flea larvae as they hatch. You can put it on your furniture too if you have cloth furniture - and under cushions etc. Also sweep it into the carpet under the furniture.

Learned this stuff while living in fl. and being completely overrun by fleas.

Cliff · #9 03/28/12, 04:20 PM

Copperhead I want to try the garlic - I'd love not to have to depend on Frontline. It's the only chemical of this sort I use on my whole place, inside or out. Hate chemicals.
Do you give the animal one clove per day? Garlic is supposed to be a good wormer as well.

airotciv · #10 03/28/12, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Otter

airotciv, I liked the Zodiac too - till I moved down south. In Fl, it just did not work. In frustration, I flea-combed the dog, put fleas in jars and sprayed them with stuff to see what kills them. The Zodiac didn't kill the FL fleas - but neither did 50/50 bleach and water! They swam for a good 3 minutes!

Wow! I live in Oregon, sons live in Montana it seems to work. I don't now what to say.

ronbre · #11 03/28/12, 05:12 PM

seems like a monthly question here

you get 20 mule team borax..you sprinkle it on everything, carpets, bedding, upholstery, floors, drapes..and leave it as long as you can stand it..vacuum and repeat again..

the vacuuming vibrations will cause the eggs that are still alive to hatch so you must repeat..

best if you leave it the first time for a week to 10 days..and the second time a week if you can..

it worked for me, they never came back..then get good quality break away flea collars..

Big Dave · #12 03/28/12, 06:01 PM

FLEA TRAP: Get a small square pan (if you can) and place it against the wall behind a chair or couch or some piece of furniture out of the way. Fill the pan with a little water and a little dish washing soap. Do not fill to the top but leave a little room. Now here is the second and important part. Get a lamp or light that will hold over the pan of dish water. Turn this light on before you go to bed and in the morning you will have a BIG surprise to see all the fleas that were attracted to the light and drowned. You need to keep this up for two weeks as they lay eggs and will hatch out. WORKS EVERY TIME

Otter · #13 03/29/12, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airotciv

Wow! I live in Oregon, sons live in Montana it seems to work. I don't now what to say.

I don't know - but it may be a different kind of flea, down south where the ground doesn't freeze. They seemed bigger and darker to me, all I know is next to nothing killed the buggers.
All the flea treatments work better up north, where the winter kills off a good bit of the population. Zodiac worked fine for me in NY, but nothing but Frontline and vacuuming worked for me in FL.

Where I am now, the thing that makes me

is ticks.

I'd take fleas over ticks any day! I wish they made Frontline for people!

luvrulz · #14 03/29/12, 06:10 AM

We use Frontline once a month! Religiously....no fleas!

luvrulz · #15 03/29/12, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff

Copperhead I want to try the garlic - I'd love not to have to depend on Frontline. It's the only chemical of this sort I use on my whole place, inside or out. Hate chemicals.
Do you give the animal one clove per day? Garlic is supposed to be a good wormer as well.

Makes 'em gassey and I'd much rather use the Frontline.....my 2 cents....And trying to get them to eat the garlic??! No fun either!

Dr. Mom · #16 03/29/12, 07:53 AM

My 3 cats and Sam, my black lab, were infested with fleas a couple of years ago. It was so bad, I was using the hand vacuum on Sam. He didn't like it at first, but he didn't like the fleas either. The vet eventually gave Sam a Capstar pill and that took care of the problem.

You have to vacuum every day, especially in the corners and along the edges of the furniture. You can sprinkle DE (diatomaceous earth) on the carpet in the corners. You can also powder the critters with DE or put it in their food. It works great.

dollmaker · #17 03/29/12, 07:58 AM

I use flea pills since I don't want to touch a chemical such as frontline when i pet my dog.

Cliff · #18 03/29/12, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dollmaker

I use flea pills since I don't want to touch a chemical such as frontline when i pet my dog.

What are flea pills?

digApony · #19 03/29/12, 08:31 AM

I agree that you need to bring the cat back in. The fleas will jump on her and die. I would not use the combination of a flea collar and top spot. It may make you cat/s sick.

Nutritional Yeast is very good in preventing fleas. Sprinkling some on their food every day works well, but you have to stay with it. Most cats will eat it since it has a cheese flavor. But with cats, unlike my dog, I still need top spot.

I use garlic in my dog's water and also put some in her food, daily, year round. I score the garlic, put several cloves in her water and change when they get punky. Not every time I change water. However, my cats hate garlic, but maybe yours will like it.

I have used Diatomaceous Earth for fleas on carpet and bedding and it worked. But please check on this to see if you need to use food grade. And be sure to wear a dust mask when applying. There are instructions on the Internet for killing fleas and bed bugs using DE. You can also use DE - food grade only I belive on the cat's skin and I think it is something you could do now even with the top spot.

Good luck! I feel your misery!

digApony

Rick · #20 03/29/12, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Mom

My 3 cats and Sam, my black lab, were infested with fleas a couple of years ago. It was so bad, I was using the hand vacuum on Sam. He didn't like it at first, but he didn't like the fleas either. The vet eventually gave Sam a Capstar pill and that took care of the problem.

You have to vacuum every day, especially in the corners and along the edges of the furniture. You can sprinkle DE (diatomaceous earth) on the carpet in the corners. You can also powder the critters with DE or put it in their food. It works great.

Definitely use crack and crevice tool on the vacuum, borax or DE.