Whats the best way to kill fleas on cats and in your home?

Question

i have had quite a proublem getting fleas off my 3 cats and out of my home. heres what i have tried so far.

on the pets - bathe cats once a week. tried several flea shampoos & dawn. sargents gold seemed to work the best, but one cat is still itching and fleas are still present. constint useage of flea comb. before last bath there were tons of fleas. now not so many. tried hertz liquid flea medications/stuff like frontline,made them itch more.

on the carpets - borax/salt left it on for 6 hours and did this two times in a week and still the fleas would be present. stuff made me feel sick so vacumed it off sooner than suggested. steam vac made it much worse. vacumming constantly. light and soapy water dish to catch fleas, not many in the water. finaly used zodiac flea carpet spray. not sure yet. the cats are kept in a cleaned room so not to spread more.

is there anything else to try to get rid of them thats not toxic? have though of everything and im on a tight budget.

thanks for the suggestion, i will try tide on the carpeting..im buying a better vacuum cleaner and i just got some adventage for the cats.. does that stuff kill the fleas on the carpet as well and on the cat?..any other tips for sprays that are nontoxic me and my pets to use on floors?.. has any one that used borax not have any effect on the fleas?..

Answer 1

For my cats, I get advantage once a month for fleas. There are a few different types. It costs around $10 a month but they will all die in a few days!! If you have multiple pets just get a bigger size and ask the vet the right measurement of each animal, then apply with a dropper.

You will need to do one last washing cycle of their bedding etc but as long as you apply it each month they will stay away. Also, they aren't supposed to get too wet while you use it but this is more of an issue if you have dogs! If you do, you just bath them 2 days before you apply it and hope they don't get dirty over the month!

Answer 2

the frontline or advantage should work on your cats. If there are lots of fleas on your cats, ask at the vets about using capstar ( sold at the vet's office, only a few $ each)... It's a pill given that kills only the fleas that are on the animal at the time.. they are inexpensive and work quite well. they are safe enough to be given daily! but only need to use them when animals are uncomfortable. Capstars kill the fleas. then maybe a flea bath followed by the frontline/advantage products. the capstar tends to make the fleas "run".. and may be uncomfortable to pet for a short while, but the fleas will be killed that are on it. I've used the tide with good results.. if you have hardwood flooring or other flooring besides carpeting, try mopping using hot water with tide in it. Have you tried sprinkling the dry Tide (regular scent) on your carpets, then after a while, vacuuming it? I know how this can be a big problem! Animal lovers DO tend to have this problem too often... but if you work at it, this should help control you problem... DO be careful with other chemicals like the one that made you sick!
Tide
Capstar
advantage/frontline
(in this order)
should be a safe way to rid your home of the fleas and rescue your cats!
God Bless you and your kitties!

P.S. You may need to use the tide and capstar a 2nd time after the flea eggs present have time to hatch.. ( i think) it's about 10 days ... BUT only use the advantage/frontline once a month!

Answer 3

Using cheap, over the counter stuff not only will not work, but it will make your cats sick, and can have an allergic reaction.

I remember last time I had a really bad problem with ONE cat, I took her to get dipped, so while she was at the vet, we used something like flea bombs, left the house for a few hours, came back, vacuumed, washed linens, sprayed flea spray on furniture, and I also bought this plug-ins to the wall that are flea repellents.

I found really good stuff at Petsmart, Petco didn't have much of a choice, and that Zodiac stuff, as I was told by the vet, was NO GOOD, very cheap stuff, too Strong chemicals.

Best of luck, just stay persistent.

Answer 4

I'm very happy with Revolution. It also prevents ear mites and several other parasites. The cost is a little over $1 per week per cat. If you think $156 per year is a high price for a flea-free home, how much is your time and effort worth? Even if only value your time at $7.50 an hour, aren't you currently spending over 20 hours a year scrubbing and sprinkling and bathing? Not to mention the cost of all those other products you mentioned.

When the fleas in your home no longer have suitable "host animals", they will gradually die off. You can hasten the process frequent vacuuming. Don't keep bathing your cats, it makes their skin sensitive and compromises the effectively of the Revolution. Once they are free of fleas, they will stop getting fresh "flea dirt". Comb off existing "flea dirt" and then let them keep themselves clean, as nature intended.

Answer 5

If you cant get rid of them on the cats, you are wasting time treating the house.

You said you tried something like frontline. The cheaper stuff does not work. I had a terrible flea problem last year and the only thing that worked was Frontline PLUS.

You can get it for almost half the price if you buy from overseas. I get it from a seller in Australia on Ebay.

Answer 6

You can use Stronghold (Pfizer), in USA I think it's called Revolution. It kills fleas on the cat (1-2 days) and indoor (2-3 weeks) and also kills worms (including HW). You must use it once a month in ALL your cats. In Italy it costs 17€ (about 21$), you need 1/month. It's not toxic.

Answer 7

my cats had fleas one time, it almost made me crazy, cuz i had to wash everything in the house. the cats had to be dipped by the vet. it was absolutely awful. i never want to go thru that again. now i buy frontline and use it on my dogs and my cats. i also had to have the carpet treated in my apartment by a professional. it was expensive, but well worth it as everything started working together.

Answer 8

whats kill fleas cats home: https://bitly.im/c17/whats-the-best-way-to-kill-fleas-on-cats-and-in-your-home

Answer 9

my friend swares by tide powder detergent sprinkle it on everything leave it sit for a few hrs then vaccum

Answer 10

Why would anyone want an animal that sits it's dirty behind down on the surfaces where you prepare food? ;)

Try treating the cat, and Ficam W for the house