How do i get rid of fleas?

Question

Okay well my dog definately has fleas. My dog is an outside dog [hound dog] and all he will do is get them back. When I wear white socks, I can see the fleas on them. I can see them jump, and it seems like I see them wherever I go in my house. How in the world do I really get rid of them for good. I am planning to give my dog away, but then they will still be in my house. My daughter has about 30 flea bites all over her legs. I only have a few on my ancles. When I see them, I try to kill them with a tissue. I mean I squeze them as hard as I can, and they jump, and LIVE. They just dont die. I want to get rid of them fast. May I remind you, my family and I are really clean people. We just want to know what to use because there are so many products that are supposed to work, and a lot of people reccomend all kinds of different things. What really works? Please only answer if you have already used it, and you know it works, not if you just think it works. Thank you:]

Answer 1

Nothing will work unless you break the cycle. That means treating your dog for fleas with a product that has an insect growth inhibiter such as Nylar, spraying your house monthly for two consecutive months (again, with an inhibitor/insecticide combination regardless if the dog comes inside or not), and spraying your yard for at least two months with an insecticide. You may have to keep doing the yard for the entire flea season if there are wild animals coming into your yard or other dogs and definitly continue with the on-dog stuff to prevent reinfestation. Good luck - as you noticed, fleas are tough little blankety blanks.

Answer 2

This is not an instant solution but will help A lot imho

I would recommend that you get some FRONTLINE PLUS it might cost you ~$10 a month

every month you put it on the nape of your dogs neck, a certain amount based on the body weight of your dog. This will help ALOT with fleas and ticks.

Combine that with a Flea and tick collar at walmart for ~$6 that last for at least a few months.

and if you are careful and read all of the precautions you can consider laying down Sevin dust around the outside of his living areas, but be careful this stuff is toxic stuff
*just make sure u read the infos on it*

Also you should get a shampoo that kills fleas etc and give him a good bath.

The fleas are most likely there because you havent been doing a preventative plan like i recommended. If you do the above stuff it will most likely help you keep your problem under control, I personally dont feel that giving your dog away necessary as long as you are willing to do this, otherwise perhaps you should give it away to someone who can afford / is willing to spend a little extra money on care. Imagine how the dog feels with these uncontrolled fleas.

as far as the fleas in the house a little research on your part here will give you some more ideas

Answer 3

If you have a dog or cat, there is no way to get rid of fleas once and for all. You have to constantly treat the animal, usually with a monthly flea killer like Advantage, that is applied to the back of the neck.

Fleas go through a complete life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, adult. Of course, only the adults bite. The other life stages take place off the animal. The larvae feed on the skin flakes and hair shed by the dog/cat. To get rid of them, clean the dog's sleeping places really thoroughly, being sure to remove and wash all bedding. If he lives in a kennel, then spray the kennel with a commercial flea killer. Go to your local pet store, and get one they recommend, and make SURE you follow the instructions carefully to avoid harm to yourself or the dog.

Then, vaccuum your house very thoroughly, paying special attention to areas where dog hair and dust have accumulated, as these are likely breeding sites for the fleas. They also like rugs, too. Dispose of the contents of the vaccuum cleaner bag right away, as it will be crawling with fleas and larvae. When you're done this, spray the house with a flea spray that is safe for indoors use. You may have to repeat the treatment about a month later, as new larvae or eggs begin hatching.

Just a further warning: if you do get rid of the dog, and the fleas are still around, they will attack you because they have nothing else to feed on. A flea cannot get a meal from something other than its species-specific host, as its proboscis (drinking straw) will clog up. So, it will just keep biting, in an effort to satisfy its hunger. That's what makes fleas so darn annoying to humans!

Good luck!

Answer 4

All of the bug bombs on the market work but you really have to pay attention to the instructions to avoid toxicity issues.....and you have to repeat it in two weeks or so because eggs will hatch. Wash all you bedding and throw rugs, etc. at the same time. If you have a bad infestation it could take more than twice. Also, in the meantime get the monthly flea drops from the pet store and put them on your right now! You will also need to get a spray for your yard as well...and repeat the spray as with the house. Good luck. It's a tough job. For future referrence, just keep the flea drops on the dog or cat always and the problem will never crop up.

Answer 5

get your dog on a quality flea product such as Revolution sinc it is outside! You have to treat the area - malathion works but you will need to remove the dog for a period of time. You will have to treat the entire yard every week for some time

Your dog will most likely have tape worms now since it has been infested with fleas.

You could also get some Capstar from the vet to kill the ones on him.

The dog should not be outside. This is just going to keep happening.

Answer 6

The best solution to killing fleas on your dog and the safest is to us lemon Joy. Yes, Joy dish detergent. I wash my dog with Joy at least once a month. He has never had fleas. Joy is safe for your dog, but harsh enough to kill nasty, dirty fleas instantly.
I put Joy directly on my dog and scrub all over his body. Do not forget around the neck and rinse. You can also fill a tub with water and lots of Joy and soak your dog. Watch the neck area as you may see the fleas trying to escape to higher regions. Just simply add more joy around the neck and scrub. Rinse dog!
Make sure you treat your lawn. You may want to do this first. Because after washing your dog your are suppose to wait about 3 days before applying Flea medication, like Frontline Plus, and keep in mind that even though Frontline is water proof it is not soap proof. Spray your lawn with Joy as well. I personally have not tried this method, but I know someone who does and it works great. You can also use Dawn.

Answer 7

Hi,

I have a page on my website all about Flea Control. All of the products work excellent on that page. Since you have a bad flea problem, I would start with the Capstar. It kills all the fleas on your dog in about 30 minutes or so. Then I would go to one of the other products listed as a monthly maintenance.

http://www.standardpoodlesusa.com/Flea-Control.html

Answer 8

I have an outdoor jack russel terrier who was recently infested with fleas. Out of all the things we tried (medicines, creams, shampoos, flea collars, etc.) the thing that worked the best was actually Dawn Dish Liquid. My family is good friends with a veterinarian and she said that Dawn was safe and would in fact eliminate the fleas. To this day, Skip hasn't even scratched himself and he has NO fleas whatsoever. Best of luck!

Answer 9

flea powders, sprays, and ointments. Make sure that you sprinkle the carpet flea powder all over your house and then vacuum it up. They can live in there, as you probably already know. My house got attacked by fleas once, it took half a year to get rid of the damn things. I really don't see why God created them! Anyways, good luck I hope you get rid of the fleas! :)

Answer 10

we had that problem with our 2 cats and a hairy dog. we finally got frontline for the animals, and the we took borax, sprinkled it all over the place, in the carpets, pet areas, under the beds....and then let it sit, and vaccum it all up. something in the borax kills the flea eggs and fleas at the same time.

*knock on wood* till this day, we have no fleas.