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09/01/08, 03:02 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Indiana
Posts: 429
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How do I get rid of fleas?
My house is infested with fleas! I have never had fleas before I moved into this house in July. I bought flea collars for the dogs and flea spray made especially for cats, and some spray for the carpet, but what else can I do? I need all the help I can get! Thanks.
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09/01/08, 03:08 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 392
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If you don't want to use frontline or that other chem they have (can't think of the name right now) you might try setting off a bug bomb (get everyone including pets, out of the house first), give dogs baths (with flea shampoo) and then start feeding them small amounts of garlic. That ought to solve the problem 
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All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.
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09/01/08, 03:52 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 24,108
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When my house was infested (many years ago) I got some bombs, spray, shampoo from the vet. Bombed the house and the inside of my car because the dog was in there a lot too. Worked great, and I have been using frontline type flea control ever since. Only have to go through it once to learn...what a royal pain! The vacume is your friend right now too...get every nook and cranny.
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09/01/08, 03:54 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Bel Aire, KS
Posts: 3,547
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Flea collars are a scam. Get the between the shoulder flea drops and put 'em on the critters and start vaccuming every day for a month. That should get rid of 'em.
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Ted H
You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett
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09/01/08, 04:35 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 1,309
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Fleas have a 10-14 day life cycle. You have to break the cycle to get rid of the fleas. All the things suggested above are great ideas. Make sure you do them all at once. Treat the animals, bomb the house, garage, treat the car and anywhere else the animals frequent. Treat the lawn if necessary too.
Vacuum everyday for two weeks. Don't forget to vacuum the couch cushions and behind and under everything and then dispose of the vacuum bag right away or do what I do and spray it with bug spray to kill them in the bag. Throw away all animal bedding or wash it in hot water and bleach and dry on the hottest setting.
If they sleep in your bed, you'll need to deal with the bedding there too.
Once you break the cycle you can relax, but since you've had such a problem this year, it might be best to keep all the animals on a flea prevention treatment until you have a killing frost. Once you have a hard frost and you've eliminated them in your house, you'll be safe until next year when it could start all over again.
Oh, and if you have guests who bring their animals to visit, your animals can get fleas from them too. FLEAS SUCK!
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09/01/08, 06:27 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sc
Posts: 3,364
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If I bring home a bunch from the shows (and boy can you pick them up there!) I use Advantage before the dogs come home. If there are just a few I use Vo5 Lavender shampoo. It kills and repels fleas.
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09/01/08, 07:49 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: IN
Posts: 4,898
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Rabbit has fleas
I have posted my protocol many times- the link above shows what I use.
I also give my dogs garlic powder on thier food daily (just a smidgen will do) and they stay flea free without use of chemicals or spot ons. Now when they are not getting thier garlic daily, after a couple weeks they will get them...takes 2-3 weeks for it to get into the system and start working. So until then, I suggest using a spot on ( that is as long as they last anyways).
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Willowynd Collies
"A breeder is at once an artist and a scientist. It takes an artist to envision and to recognize excellence, and a scientist to build what the artist's eye desires."
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09/03/08, 04:00 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Missouri
Posts: 4,845
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Frontline Plus or Advantage flea drops on the critters, then vacuum everything in the house, discard the bag. You should be fine after that. No need to set off toxic bug bombs in your house!
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09/03/08, 08:41 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sc
Posts: 3,364
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You know I have been told that moth balls in the vacuum bag/tub kills the fleas . Never had to use it but it might work.
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09/03/08, 05:57 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: western NY
Posts: 1,517
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I used to have a major indoor flea invasion every summer - until I got chickens. Just a few chickens (I have silkies) free ranging around the house not only reduced fleas, but I haven't seen a single one in the five years I've had the silkies. It has to be them scarfing down the parasites, as nothing else in the environment has changed. I've heard marigolds cut down flea population; don't know if that's just myth or not.
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09/03/08, 07:36 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: IN
Posts: 4,898
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Moonspinner...I had chickens and still got fleas. Not on the dogs (since they were on garlic) but on rabbits and cats. I have used a flea collar in the vaccuum (about the only thing they are good for). Bombs do not work...they do not get into the cracks and into the carpet...they do a great job for any fleas that are actually in the air or on top of the rugs or furniture though. Home spray with precor or Nylar, vaccuum and spot on and flea comb!
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Willowynd Collies
"A breeder is at once an artist and a scientist. It takes an artist to envision and to recognize excellence, and a scientist to build what the artist's eye desires."
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09/04/08, 08:02 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Indiana
Posts: 429
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Thank you everyone. I used the carpet powder and have been vacuuming every day. For some strange reason, the dogs don't seem to have them very bad but the cats do, so my son and I just flea bathed five cats. Four are front declawed so that wasn't bad, but a feral adopted us last winter and we made her a house cat. She still has four on the floor so we saved her for last. Only three deep scratches! I consider that a victory! Now I just put the spot on stuff on them. Wish me luck.
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09/04/08, 08:37 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 24,108
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Good Luck! Sounds like a good plan to get things under control
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Teach only Love...for that is what You are
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09/04/08, 09:57 PM
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Lasergrl
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Geauga County, Ohio
Posts: 1,656
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There was actually a study done that proves you dont need anything in the vaccum. Its the act of being vaccumed that kills 90% of fleas. Thats good because you dont need to put a toxic flea collar in there, yuck.
Something to think about, garlic only repels by being expelled through sweat. Dogs only have sweat glands in the paw pads.
Never ever use spot on products that are permethrins (hatz sargeants ect). I have seen so many cats and smaller dogs go into seizures from these and never wake up. Frontline is my favorite to use, and revolution but thats rx only. I havent used advantage to unsure about that.
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09/04/08, 10:26 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Eastern N.C.
Posts: 8,834
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowynd
Moonspinner...I had chickens and still got fleas. Not on the dogs (since they were on garlic) but on rabbits and cats. I have used a flea collar in the vaccuum (about the only thing they are good for). Bombs do not work...they do not get into the cracks and into the carpet...they do a great job for any fleas that are actually in the air or on top of the rugs or furniture though. Home spray with precor or Nylar, vaccuum and spot on and flea comb!
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I agree, trying to rid your animals and home and yard without an Insect Growth Regulator in my opinion is almost impossible. You can spray and kill the fleas and next week FLEAS AGAIN why? Eggs have hatched more fleas. The IGR's will keep what fleas that miss the sprays from laying eggs and the eggs that are already in the carpet or grass or kennel from producing new egg laying fleas. http://www.pestproducts.com/igr.htm Eddie
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09/04/08, 11:26 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: IN
Posts: 4,898
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Your half right...the apcrine glands are only on the paw pads - these function primarily as sweat glands. The merocrine glands are all over the body and though they do not function for releasing sweat they do release pheromones...along with the garlic. Many cats do not do well with the hartz, sargeants spot-ons, but some are fine with it. About half my persians could not tolerate some of them- but all were fine with pyrethrin- it was the synthetic pyrethrins they had reaction to (permethrin, etc) but those are harder and harder to find these days, but all my mutt cats have been fine with it. I have applied and watched for reaction so I could wash immediately if need be. One the ones that were reactive, we flea combed a couple times a day and used a low pyrethrin spray (adams, etc) once a week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lasergrl
There was actually a study done that proves you dont need anything in the vaccum. Its the act of being vaccumed that kills 90% of fleas. Thats good because you dont need to put a toxic flea collar in there, yuck.
Something to think about, garlic only repels by being expelled through sweat. Dogs only have sweat glands in the paw pads.
Never ever use spot on products that are permethrins (hatz sargeants ect). I have seen so many cats and smaller dogs go into seizures from these and never wake up. Frontline is my favorite to use, and revolution but thats rx only. I havent used advantage to unsure about that.
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Willowynd Collies
"A breeder is at once an artist and a scientist. It takes an artist to envision and to recognize excellence, and a scientist to build what the artist's eye desires."
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