fleas are driving me mad!?

Question

i am a single mum with 2 cats and a dog i get plagued with fleas ever year and im finding it costly using frontline and carpet sprays not only that the last course of frontline i had didn't work and im at my wits end! my sons gettin bitten every night and so am i, i boil wash all the bedding and hoover every day and empty hoover bags, only to find there still on the animals, my vet said it doesn't matter how well i treat the house they can pick them up from outside, any ideas?

im also 7 weeks pregnant and worried about treating my house with flea killer.

Answer 1

I had the same problem a few years ago. It took a few weeks but I finally got rid of them. There is a special powder that you can put on your carpet to kill fleas AND their eggs. You also need to treat your lawn. Go to any store that sells farm supplies, something like Southern States, if you have that in your area, and they will have a powder or spray that you can use to treat your lawn. Your using the vacuum every day, that's good. I would suggest flea collars instead of the front line, much more affordable. You're already using the vacuum every day, that's a good move. Just keep at it, you'll get them eventually.

Answer 2

Yes it does matter how you treat the house - what spray are you using? If it's from a store it's unlikely to work. Yes they pick them up outside, but you can make your pets and your house inhospitable for the fleas to survive in.

Also, it's VERY important to make sure ALL the Frontline gets on the animal's skin, NOT on it's fur. I would suggest using Frontline Plus, which kills flea eggs - the idea is once you've got the house sorted once, regular use of Frontline Plus will negate you having to ever spray your house again. Or you might want to switch to Revolution or Advantage for a change.

I'm afraid Frontline etc are the best products available, which is why they're costly. Getting rid of fleas IS costly if you've got a real problem with them.

Chalice

Answer 3

Don't buy frontline from the vets, they charge a fortune for it!

Try this site - it's the cheapest I've found www.hyperdrug.com

I think if you've got pets you will never entirely get rid of the fleas, but you can make them manageable. My son is allergic to flea bites & we have 3 cats! This is how I control them!

If frontline isn't working on your pets, try a different one like Advocate or something (fleas do become immune to treatments after a while, so it is best to cycle treatments anyway) Use a flea comb on your pets, it always helps to comb out some of the eggs!

Once they are under control on your pets then get a spray for your house and treat your house too.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I had the same problem. I have 2 small dogs that live indoors with us but were getting fleas from going potty outside & bringing them into the house. It was especially bad this year with all the rain we've had. The vet recommended Beneficial Nematodes. The beneficial nematode is a small microsopic worm that lives below the soil. They are a very efficient organic insect control method and kill most insects before they become adults. This includes lots of common lawn and garden pests such as grubs, FLEAS, mole crickets, japanese beetles and weevils. I got mine from a local plant nursery. I had to call quite a few places before I found a nursery that carried them though. Most places had NO idea what I was talking about. Just mix them with water and apply to your yard. Make sure you water your yard before applying & after so the soil's mosit enough for them to burrow down into. You want to keep the yard watered for several days after. We no longer have fleas OR ants! God only knows what other critters have gone... but they have worked wonders for us. I don't even have my dogs on frontline anymore. If you have any questions about them, just email me. I had NO idea what to expect when the vet told me to get these... I'd never heard of them before. Good Luck! Fleas suck!!

Answer 5

A question you may have heard asked before is. Do Monkeys have fleas? and the answer is no they have Lice. You see fleas are only found on creatures that nest. Monkeys don't nest! Now to answer your question, keep the pets outside in their own quarters that will solve the problem. As it stands your home is their nesting place and they will bring their friends with them like it or not. I think one pet per household is enough for anybody. That way you will be in control of the situation. A third of the problem so to speak.

Cheers and Good Luck.

Answer 6

If you already talked to the vet about the fleas, you need to spray everything down inside even pets, then go get something for the yard too or your not going to get rid of them you have to get rid of the fleas !!! good luck

Answer 7

Your vet is right; as long as your pets go outdoors, unprotected, you're going to have fleas indoors. I'd suggest using something on your animals, and flea bombing your house (the kind where you have to leave for a few hours). If you can GET your house free of fleas, and keep them off your pets, you won't have to worry about the carpet or bedding.

Answer 8

Try advantage. Recommended by a vet - it apparently kills fleas within a day, rather than front line which can take a couple of days, and is applied every four weeks, which keeps up strength.

Answer 9

There are products available at your local garden center, farm store and even WalMart that can be applied to the yard where your animals go that will kill the fleas in your yard. This will eliminate reinfestation. Also Dawn dishsoap when used on dogs will kill the fleas on them

Answer 10

I have 3 dogs and a cat, (she lives outside)
I give the dogs 1 odourless garlic capsule daily throughout the summer,they haven't had fleas for years.