Get these fleas AWAY?

Question

I have 2 dogs they both got fleas a little while ago. I wasnt too worried at first now I am.
I have bathed them several times, given them two of the at home flea dips, flea collars, the advantage gel stuff, flea spray including dog spray and spray for the couch/carpet - they arn't going away!!

One of my poor doggies is scratching and biting the fur off of his butt trying to scratch.

What an i do to save my dogs and my sanity from this horrid things.

I live in an apartment if that matters since i cant control the outside.

Answer 1

Check out the site I linked to below, we're currently dealing with a small flea infestation in my house as well & its been really helpful.

My advice...find a place for you & your dogs to go for a few hours & set off a flea bomb. THEN vaccuum EVERYTHING: Carpets, upholstery, curtains, bedding, etc. Wash your bedding & clothes, & keep up on the preventive (I'm finding advantage helps with getting rid of flea infestations better than frontline because it also kills the eggs & not just fleas.)

And please don't OVER DO IT when it comes to flea baths & flea prentives, you may be washing the advantage off if you are bathing your pets too soon to the application.

Don't forget to consider the outside conditions as to which your pups may be bringing in more fleas. Walking them in fields, or taking them to the dog park is a guarantee to pick up more fleas.)

(Oh, and by the way, GARLIC is TOXIC to your pet, so please don't give anything to your dog without checking the product with your vet first. Although you aren't going to find a vet that recommends giving garlic to your dog, its common knowledge that its toxic!)

Answer 2

frontline will kill ticks that get on your dog, but it will NOT keep them off your dog. In other words, it is NOT a repellant. The same goes for fleas: they will still get on your dog, they just can't live on your dog. Once they bite your dog, the frontline starts to go to work and they die. You can purchase a flea and tick dip and 'dip' your dog according to the instructions on the bottle. You can buy them at any pet store as well as Walmart. Dilute the dip according to the instructions. If you have a very large dog and you can't stick him in a tub in order to get him soaked with the dip solution, then use a sponge or wash cloth, soak them in the solution and start soaking your dog down that way. Once the dog is completely saturated with the dip, do NOT dry the dog off. Let him dry by air. This will leave the solution on the dog and actually works as a repellant. 'Adam's" has a failry pleasant smelling dip. Walmart carries this, too as well as PetSmart and it is under $10. You can also ask your vet for a pill called 'Capstar'. You give this orally and any fleas and ticks will fall off your dog within an hour. Again, this is not a repellant but it kills them pretty much instantly. Ask your vet about a product that is actually a repellant as well. I believe Frontline Plus and Advantix K-9 do repell and kill. In addition, purchase a yard spray to treat your yard. There is a product called 'Seven' (Walmart/Home Depot) that will kill just about any bug there is. It runs about $13. Good luck

Answer 3

You haven't gone about this in quite the right way. For starters, flea collars and shampoos are useless. Bathing a dog will also inactivate things like Advantage.

Get the collar off the dog bcause they often cause reactions, and since they don't work, there's no point. Lose them flea shampoo. Stick to veterinary spot-ons, like the Advantage, but preferably Frontline Plus, and do make sure it gets on the skin of your dog, not his fur.

You do need to treat your house but again, don't use anything from a pet store, you can't really expect it to work unfortunately. Get a spray from a vets - I recommend Indorex, Acclaim, Staykil or Skoosh - particularly Skoosh because it's pesticide free and kills the eggs and larvae, which is important.

You don't need to use zillions of different treatments you see, you just need the right ones to be used in the right way.

Chalice

Answer 4

I work for a pest control company. Fleas are rampid right now in our area (kansas).
It sounds as if you have an INFESTATION.
You've done quite a bit to get the fleas off your dogs but the best solution is to use Frontline from your vet. Front line gets into their sebaceous glands as opposed to putting poison in their blood. Dipping dogs is putting poison all over their bodies. Flea collars are worthless and can cause a lot of skin irritation. The problem with fleas is two-fold; NOTHING can penetrate their eggs AND they have a 30 day life cycle. So by treating the animal with Frontline once a month the newly hatched fleas will bite the dog and die. Second, fleas lay their eggs EVERYWHERE. So the newly hatched fleas that are not on your dog will be on your dog, on you, and anywhere else they can get a blood meal. At this point I don't think a home remedy is the answer as the fleas can reproduce quicker than you can vacuum them up, poison them, etc... An exterminator will come in and spray and maybe even bomb to get in the cracks and crevices that you cannot possibly reach. The chemicals an exterminator uses are RESIDUAL. Nothing you can buy OTC is, that is why an extermiators chemicals are more effective. You will continue to see fleas over a period of 30 days but they will die off quickly once hatched. Also the key is to vacuum a lot and throw your vacuum cleaner bag away away from the house or vacuum up some talcum powder with the fleas and to wash EVERYTHING that is washable in hot soapy water.
The cost? We charge between $100 and $175 plus we guarantee our work for 6 months.

Answer 5

It have been my experience that control is the most important part of flea control. You need to treat the it all. You may want to take the dogs to the groomer and have them bathed and dipped while you go to Self Chem and get the stuff that they have to treat fleas. I have used it several time and it works. You need to spray the apartment and leave for about 4 hours. When you get home put a clean bag in the vacuum and vacuum the apartment and through out the bag. You need to watch where you walk your dogs. If you have been walking them in the same place pick a new spot. Keep up with the once a month flea treatment and Good luck.

Answer 6

Try giving the pets a penny royal tea bath.... just don't let them drink it... it won't kill them or anything but it will make him sick if they drink a lot of it.

To prevent fleas from hitching a ride on your pets into the apartment add a quarter of a garlic clove to their pet food (it is NOT toxic to them in such small amounts and works as a dewormer, too) or comb some diatomaceous earth into your pets' fur. You can get it at any garden center, you can sprinkle it about the house where fleas are a problem, and it's not very costly either. It will kill the fleas by cutting into their body armor, but the fine powder won't harm other creatures or the environment.

Good luck and please try to avoid using chemical insecticides on your pets.

I lost a 16 week old puppy to insecticide poisoning becuase I wanted to protect him from getting fleas. A so-called "harmless" flea collar made every muscle in his body convulse and contract after only a couple hours of wearing the collar.

There was nothing the vets could do.... after three days of intensive care treatment, I let my little pup go while I held him in my arms.... the worst day of my life.

I have heard of people having the same problem with the topical flea "drops" as well.

Use your instincts and go with natural remedies for things like this.

Answer 7

I've tried pet store flea treatments but found non that work. The only thing that does in my experience is Frontline from the vet, it's more expensive but is worth the money and since first using this a few years ago I have had no problems with fleas. Give it go what have you got to lose. It may save your sanity and your dogs.