Can fleas drown and how loing would it take?

Question

Someone has asked if their dog has fleas could they just take it swimming and the fleas would drown, or at least fall off.

Answer 1

fleas will drown in hot soapy water,dip the fine comb in soapy water, (washing up liquid)then fleas stick to the comb and you put the comb in the soapy solution and make sure anything on it stays in the solution, we give our dogs garlic powder on their food a couple of times a week, that helps to.

Answer 2

Fleas can drown. We used to bath our dog in the bath tub, dunking her head briefly under the water after soaping her all over. First the neck must be wettened with water to stop the fleas moving up from the tail and tummy end where they feel most comfortable. When that bottom area gets wet first, then the fleas scoot upwards towards the head. After bathing, there were always plenty dead fleas in the water.

But, with swimming, the dog would have to be submerged totally under the water. If the dog is a Labrador, for instance, the under fur is sort of waterproof, which would give the fleas some protection from the water, so the dog´s fur has to be rubbed to get it wet all over. So a bath tub is better than only swimming.

Answer 3

Can Fleas Drown

Answer 4

To get rid of fleas you should wash the dog with a flea shampoo or dawn dish soap will kill them. You need to wash the dog for a good 20 minutes at least, and get EVERY part of the body. When you try to wash an animal with fleas, the fleas will usually run towards the dogs head or tail, but usually the head/neck area so make sure you wash that area very well. Cover the dog head to toe in shampoo/dawn and leave it on for several minutes. Once you rinse and feel like the dog is clean, do a once over to see if there are any more. After the bath it's usually best to blow dry the dog because it will blow off any dead fleas or ones that are still alive but are dying. It will also help you see the skin and see if there are a lot of living fleas. After you bathe the dog, you need to wash ALL bedding that the dog comes in contact with, and also you should vacuum rugs/couches that your dog comes in contact with. Fleas can leave eggs on bedding/carpets/couches or may even fall onto these things from your dog, so you need to wash them and get any fleas/eggs off. While you do this it is best to keep your dog locked in the bathroom or a crate so that they do not come in contact with fleas/flea eggs after the bath. Once everything is cleaned your dog can roam the house, you also apply flea preventative on your once he is dry. Good luck! Fleas can be pesky but most people forget to wash the items that the dog is in contact with.

Answer 5

Unlikely, it takes fleas ages to drown. They can just cling on while the dog is swimming and be just fine afterwards. They will not wash off in just water - the same as human nits.

Also even if it was possible to wash fleas off or drown them by swimming, new ones would just jump right on afterwards! You need to use proper flea and tick prevention medicine.

I used to put ticks in surgical spirit after removing them because I didn't want to squish them. I thought they woul die right away. WRONG! They just swim around!

Chalice

Answer 6

NO fleas dont drown. They can survive durring the swim. Sounds like your friend is lazy and will not get the proper preventive to keep his dog flea free. Tell them to get some Frontline plus from the pet store and do it the right way.

Answer 7

All insects including nits (head lice) and fleas breathe through their skin. So they have a waxy waterproof coating so they don't drown when they get wet, otherwise rain would kill them.
Just swimming won't trouble fleas. You don't need insecticide to kill them, you just need to add detergent to the water. It breaks down the waxy coating.
Mix a drop of baby bath with a jug of warm water and soak the dog in that, leave for 4 or 5 mins then rinse. (Use shampoo instead of baby bath for head lice.)

Answer 8

the only way you can kill all the fleas is with a flea treatment which your vet can supply or the local pet shop and if your dog has fleas the eggs and fleas will be in the house so that needs to be done as well

Answer 9

Fleas are a major pest. There are various species of fleas - cat fleas, dog fleas, rat fleas and rabbit fleas.
You can get rid of them by the safest and cheapest methods like boric acid.

Answer 10

yes you can drown fleas,they are hard to kill.
if you cant drown them the only other way to kill them is to break their spine,hard to do.
maybe they would need to be underwater a while for them to drown,I read they can be frozen,thawed out and still come out alive.