Flea Infestation Help. Knowledgable answers only please.?

Question

about 5 months ago, kitty and I moved to a new apartment that had just had carpet replaced and a fresh coat of paint. I immediately began getting bitten by little critters, and wasn't really sure what to do. 2 months ago, I visited my mom for a few weeks, and I was recently talking to her, and she informed me that I brought fleas into her home, she found them on her cat.

So that's what all those bites were!

Now how do I get rid of this problem? Here's what mom and the vet have suggested so far:

Get prescription stuff from the Vet. The vet gave me frontline.
Vacuum real well (I do have a heavy piece that is pretty tough to move though)
Put bedding in the dryer, wash all clothes.

Don't use over the counter meds or flea collars, they are harmful to kitty. but put flea collar in vacuum bag

What about bombing? It sounds really harsh?

Also I can give kitty baths too. She is good about it, but you have to do it quickly!

What else should I do? Any other suggestions?

Answer 1

since you have tried all fo that, frontline is the best, just find a professional carpet cleaning company and let them do all your furniture also.

Answer 2

I solved this same issue 2 times a few years apart.

First time without "bomb". 2nd time was worse and I was going on vacation when I discovered it so used several "bombs", one for each major room or area, shut the house up, and left it for a few days. Followed ALL the directions exactly including the covering of and varnished surface to prevent damaging the finish.

Vaccuum EVERYWHERE, move all furnature, and disassemble all couches and chair with removable cushions. use flea powder that you would put on an animal under all cushions and under all furniture AFTER you vaccuum. Leave the powder there for a few weeks. Those are the areas where the fleas lay eggs.

This is off label use of the flea powder product, but it was the only way to stop the cycle that always works for me.

If you have kids, you probably can't do this since the powder is quite an irritant.

Use frontline on the pets if you still have them. brush the animals and kill all live fleas manually that you can find on then them.

Just frontline on the animal alone will not break the cycle.

The last time I had this was just AFTER the cat died and the mice rediscovered the old farmhouse as a home. The mice brought in the fleas, and I had both issues to tackle at the same time. Getting rid of the mice was easier than gatting rid of the fleas.

After the first time when I lost control and it wasn't just a few fleas on the cat, and the fleas got into the carpet and furnature, it took MONTHS before I figured out how to nix them once and for all. I found it best to not fool around trying one thing then another. Hit 'em hard, and hit 'em fast. Get frontline on the animal and board it a few days if possible while you bomb and disinfect the whole place attic to celler. If you have an apartment, you could always get reinfested from a neighbor, and may have infested your neighbors, so work together with them.

If the house or apartment uses forced hot air heat, the dust in the heating and return ducts gan act as a breeding ground. Have the ducts professionally cleaned. This is expensive, but also will work to reduce allergens. Landlord should be able to deduct this cost as a business expense.

Answer 3

Had this problem myself several years ago. Here's what you do...Find a pet grooming business that grooms cats, or maybe your vet, and drop kitty off for the day to be de-fleaed. While kitty is away, bomb your apartment. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!!! After the apartment has aired out, you can bring kitty home. Then, 2 weeks later, do it all over again. Why? Because the bomb kills the live fleas. There will be flea eggs that have not hatched, but will in those next 2 weeks. They will not be old enough to lay eggs themselves in that time frame, so the second bombing will take care of these. After this, keep kitty on a topical medication like Frontline and you shouldn't have a problem. This absolutely cured the problem here and I have 3 indoor dogs!!!

Answer 4

Use boric acid powder; this is sold at the 99 cent store as a roach powder, and also in nurseries and hardware stores as an insect powder. Usually you have to look at the list of active ingredients to see what it is. Medical grade boric acid would work but is more expensive.
Sprinkle it all over the carpet and then sweep it so that it disappears into the carpet. Sprinkle and brush into any bedding or furniture or anyplace else you please.
It is not toxic to humans or pets; it works by damaging the exoskeleton so the insect dries up. Animals with internal skeletons are not affected.
I've had great success with this. I don't like to use poisons.
Diatomaceous earth works the same, if you find that for sale. .

Answer 5

Ask your vet about "Program," which is a drug called lufenuron. It's a little different from Frontline and Capstar...it's what's called a "chiton inhibitor." It effects the chiton in the developing fleas (the stuff that makes their "shells" hard). The adult flea eats it, and then lays eggs, but, it keeps the flea eggs and pupa/larvae in the house from developing into adult fleas...so it can take a little bit of time. You may also need to use it in conjunction with one of the others to help kill the adult fleas if it's really bad.

Answer 6

Frontline works good but it will only kill the fleas that get on the cat. You and others will still get bit. Bombs work great. Make sure to take kitty out of the apt. while you do it. Also be sure to buy the bombs that say they kill the flea eggs too.

Answer 7

there is a pill called Capstar. It starts killing fleas within 15 minutes of giving to your cat or dog. you can get this pill from your vet. after you give the pill, give your cat a good flea bath in the tub or sink. after a day or so you can put frontline on her. If you have already put frontline on her, don't worry it won't come off in the bath. see if you can't go to home depot or something and get Black & Decker pest repellant plug in type things. I have one in every room of my house and since we have plugged them in we haven't had one flea. They aren't that expensive either. as for the collar in the vacuum bag, just take the bag outside to the trash immediately after vacuuming.

Answer 8

The best way to kill fleas is to treat the animals and get them all out and spray the house....hoover under every piece of furniture..every carpet..every bit of soft furnishing..wash every bit of your bedding and the animals....Hoovering everyday solves the problem aswell usually.....