what's the best(and cheapest) way to rid a home and cats of fleas?

Answer 1

wash the cat in lemon dish soap that will get them off the cat , not sure about the house, maybe a flea bomb

Answer 2

Best does not equal cheapest, but in the long run if you're thorough it will ultimately be cheaper, because it's more effective.

Fleas spend very little time on the animal. They feed, jump off, and lay eggs. The eggs hatch in about 3 weeks, jump back on and start the whole process again. The eggs can also lay dormant for up to a year.

What you need to do is give the cat a bath, rinse very well, and blow dry.

An alternative is to ask the vet for Capstar, which will begin killing fleas within half an hour. There are some very good flea prevention products on the market. My favorite is Frontline Plus. This kills fleas and prevents more from hatching. You apply it once a month.

In addition, you really need to treat your home with a flea “bomb”. My favorite brand is Zodiac with Precor. Kills the fleas and contains a growth inhibitor to prevent more from hatching. Lasts for 7 months. Then apply a premise spray under any large furniture, such as your couch.

If this is an outdoor cat (hopefully not), you may want to treat around your house as well.

Here are a few sites where you can buy these products:

www.jefferspet.comJeffers Vet Supplies (Dr. Jeffers & vet techs answer questions, too)
www.petedge.com/PetEdge
www.drsfostersmith.comDrs. Foster & Smith

Alternative: As much as cats hate water, give them a bath with LEMON DISHLIQUID. Lemons are deadly poison to fleas. It kills them instantly and it is safe for animals, even babies. They will get use to having baths after a few times. I have had to do it before with kittens that I found a few years ago and it works! You have to be very careful when doing it. Any cat/kitten shampoo with a few drops of any type of citrus essential oils (orange, lemongrass etc.) added to it, perhaps 1 drop per ounce. You can find essential oils in any health/healing/natural type store. This is safe and pesticide free.It kills the fleas upon contact. You don't need to be exact when adding the oil, but don't because essential oils are potent.

If you are talking about a kitten under 5 weeks old, bathe them, then powder them throroughly with cornstarch (safe, but destroys the exoskeletal system of fleas). Then you need to hand pick or comb the fleas off. Heat some water in the microwave and when you get the fleas on the comb dip it in the very hot water. The fleas will die instantly. For very young kittens, it's a lot of work but there's no reason why you can't watch TV and do it at the same time.

Make sure Mama cat is flealess (bathe her & get Frontline Plus), and the surrounding environment also.

P.S. Not sure if fleas cause ringworm (that's a fungus), but they certainly can causing tapeworm - ugh!

Answer 3

I'd have to say Frontline Plus over Advantage. Advantage is a little less expensive, but it only kills adult fleas....Frontline Plus kills adults and eggs, and prevents reinfestation for up to 30 days. Going cheap isn't always going easy. If you want cheap, you're going to have to bathe your cats....and probably more than once. Then you're in for a lot of combing and rechecking to make sure all the fleas are gone. And if you don't rid them COMPLETELY from your home (another hard, time-consuming affair) then the fleas will just get right back on your animals after they've been bathed. It's a pain.

I read someone's response to fleas in the carpet....she said she used Dawn dish soap in a steam cleaner, and it worked great. But she said to make sure you rinse it real well. I myself would opt for a specific flea-killing carpet powder.

Answer 4

Hi there...fleas have a lifecycle and there are some inexpensive solutions, however none are as effective as using either Frontline or Advantage are ideally the best solution. You can purchase these directly through 1800 Pet Meds http://www.1800petmeds.com/cat.asp?LV=10.

For some temporary over the counter solutions consider sponge bathing a cat by using a damp washcloth with Pert Plus (not plain Pert) daily for a week...The human shampoo Pert Plus kills fleas but has little or no residual effect. In general, if a product contains pyrethrins and the label states that it is safe for cats and kittens. http://greyhound.marinar.com/html/faq.shtml (See section Special Medical Issues - 3rd paragraph).

http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/breeds/greyhounds.html#smp (fourth paragraph)
Products containing Pyrethrins are generally safe to use... Additionally, the human shampoo Pert Plus kills fleas on the dogs, although it has little or no residual effect. Lather, wait a few minutes, and then rinse.

Be sure to thoroughly rinse all shampoo residues so that the kittens do not ingest as it may still be upsetting for their sensitive systems.

For around the home use Borax (boric acid) on the flooring found at any grocer or drug store...kills fleas both by causing dehydration and by acting as a stomach poison in a matter of minutes. In laboratory tests boric acid damaged sperm and caused miscarriages. Just sprinkle and vacuum up and repeat two weeks later. http://www.pesticide.org/fleas.html (See section Less Toxic Chemical Controls)

Please do not feed cats garlic..it contains sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and causing anemia. See the following web article for all human foods that are unsafe for cats: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1399&articleid=1029

Answer 5

1. Go with the Borax, $3 a box. Sprinkle it all over your carpet, let sit for 24 hours. Safe for kids and animals. When you step on it, its ok, just pushes it further in the carpet for you.
2. Vacuum every room. ALWAYS empty your vacuum right away directly in your outside trash can.
3. Get rid of any door mats...they are nothing but trouble, are usually infested and you carry in the eggs everytime you come in the house!
4. Garlic. It REALLY works. Put it in your pets food, and you can also take the odorless garlic for yourself. My son was being eaten alive and this is the only thing that really helped.
5. Original Skin So Soft Bath Oil by AVON. Just a dab all over and all the bugs will leave you alone. I even put it on my cats the way you would Frontline, and you can actually watch the fleas JUMP off of them!!
These things truly worked for me after I spent tons of money on commercial flea products! Good luck!!!

Answer 6

There's not really a cheap way to rid the cats of fleas, but there's things you can do with the home. Fleas drown instantly in soapy water. So given that, just rent a Rug Docter (or what ever kind of carpet cleaner brand u can rent_ and just go thru the house. A trick my mother in law ( Who lives on a farm ) used to do was fill those tin pie plates with soapy water, lay themo n the floor and put a lamp near it to make it a warm place (cuz fleas are attracted to the heat of things) She did this in several area's of her home. As far as couches, rugs blankets, just wash everything in the washer, things that can';t be washed, some how soak them ( outside w/hose) with soapy water. You can kinda go anywhere with soapy water method lol. Good Luck.

Answer 7

Soap & water kills fleas. My vet reccomended no-tears shampoo to bathe the cat in. As soon as she was bathed, I wrapped her in a towel , grabbed her harness & leash & went to the car. My husband set bug bombs & we stayed gone 2 or 3 hrs. When we returned home, I opened windows to air the house, then swept & vacuumed the house. I started keeping the cat indoors . It was easier to deal with a litter box that with a house full of fleas & the vet said it was the best & safest thing for her. BTW did you know fleas cause ringworm & other nasty things like that?

Answer 8

one way I have had luck with is putting a plate (preferably white) on the floor with a water and a drop of dish soap, place a lamp over the plate . the warmth draws the fleas and the soap breaks the water tension and they drown in the water. Also Sergent's makes a natural flea product like frontline it is only about $8 for 3 tubes. it works pretty well, unfortunately I can no longer use it because it contains cinnamon oil which I am extremely allergic to.

Answer 9

Apply Advantage to the cat. Use a borax powder in the carpet, or a spray that says it kills hatching eggs. The borax is non-toxic, but the pet will have to be removed from the room or house if a spray is used until it is totally dry.

Answer 10

dawn dish soap works well on cat also go to vet they sell Cans of spray they kill them all in 3 hours also try Advantage for your cat a 3 month treatment. My tenents tryed everything out there and this is all that worked. It was real bad