Fleas....are they dead yet!?

Question

I posted a question last week and got tons of good answers but wanted to update my question. Last weekend I bathed my three cats and fogged the house. I also applied some store bought flea spot on (I now know they won't work and plan to get some from my vet). I have combed my cats everyday and it takes longer and longer to find a flea---still plenty of the flea dirts tho. Last night I was eaten alive it seems. Guess the fleas can't feed off the cats so I am the last option. I bought the Capstar pills and gave to each of my cats and fogged the house yet again. Since the fogger I used said nothing about flea eggs or pupae I purchased a powder and sprinkled that throughtout. I am washing all the bedding as I write this. In your experience is this enough to rid the last fleas? I know its takes awhile but I am tired of putting on Off spray just to get into bed. I wash my bedding/blankets weekly and vacumn twice weekly. Also when can I safely apply the vet spot on due to the other?

My cats are indoor cat--one does travel with me in the car because she loves going places. Please don't worry about me harming the cats with various treatments. I am one of the most careful pet owners out there. The only reason I have the flea problem is the foster kittens I took in had them. I know they are part of life but my cats don't deserve to itch and scratch any more than I do. I spare no expense with my kitties, its just I moved out from parents house last year and am learning by trial and error in terms of pest control. I had five cats and a dog on a farm and never had fea problems like this so its all relatively new to me.

Answer 1

Wow, where to start with this one.

As long as the flea treatment you are getting from the store is Frontline or Advantage, you shouldn't have any trouble. We order ours from Petco and it's the same thing that the vet has, and it's a little cheaper.

But that's besides the point. You are doing everything right by washing your bedding, furniture, etc. (you are washing your furniture too, right? Unzipping the cushion covers and throwing them in the washing machine?) If you can't remove your upholstery from your furniture, sprinkle it generously with regular table salt and leave overnight, vacuum it up in the morning and make sure that you empty out your dust cup/vacuum bag and get the garbage out of the house.

Make sure that you are washing everything in hot water. I don't know of any flea or larvae or egg that has ever survived a heavy duty hot wash cycle.

As for the powder you are using, in order for it to be completely effective, you will have to use it every day for about 4-5 days. So powder and vacuum every day.

I would also keep washing your bedding every other day at least until this is all over. You might want to remove any comforters from your bed (put them in a garbage bag and take them to a laundry mat to wash them if your home machine won't fit them) and replace them with blankets that are thin enough to fit in your washing machine.

I would also suggest making a few flea traps. A few bowls of water mixed with dish detergent placed strategically under lamps at night (they are attracted to light, so maybe try and sleep with your bedside lamps on with 'traps' under them in order to entice them away from you while you're sleeping) Just make sure that the water is about an inch deep, to ensure drowning. And sleep with a towel or something over your eyes if you can't sleep with the lights on. Then check the traps in the morning to see if you still have a live flea infestation to deal with.

Also, you may want to consider renting a carpet cleaner and really giving your carpets a good once over when you know your infestation is behind you.

As for when to apply the frontline or whatever you plan to get from your vet, I would check with the vet just to be sure that there won't be any interactions or side effects. Make sure you re apply every month though, so you don't have to go through this again.

Also, if you can, plant some Pennyroyal (a small mint species) around your house, which will act as a natural flea repellent and help keep the fleas from ever coming in the house in the first place.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

well your right about the store bought flea products. go to your vet when possible and get the better products. it's a good thing you did the Capstar, but it's not a repellent and only lasts for 24 hours. it does take a while if you have a lot of flea infestation. And the foggers do not kill the flea eggs. It sounds like you have a lot of fleas, so even if you fog the house, later on the eggs will hatch and basically seems like your starting ALL over again. but dont worry, if you get the Frontline Plus flea and tick product from your Vet Clinic eventually the fleas will die. when did you give the Vet Spot? if it was last weekend, it is ok to give some more. but just like you said, it wont help a whole lot. just be patient and the fleas will eventually die off.

o yes, i almost forgot. if you take your cats to the vet, they may suggest you do a lime dipping. it will kill all the fleas. its like a cat having to take a bath in rotten egg smell, BUT it works. and @ the clinic i work at, we do this all the time. its safe and effective.

Answer 3

DON'T bathe your cats in flea-killing stuff and also put the flea killer on. You are going far too toxic on your cats! One or the other.

So you washed the cats, fogged the house, washed the bedding and vacumn. But do you then let your cats go outside to pick up more fleas?!!! Keep them in until the flea season is over.

Answer 4

Please stick ONLY with veterinary flea products, and that includes for the house. No more foggers.

You should be able to apply Frontline a few days after whatever you've used on the cat, same goes for house spray.

Chalice

Answer 5

You must accept fleas as a part of existence.Fleas deserve to be here too.The big mistake you made is getting hostile.And you keep on going to your bathroom. The more you wash yourself the more intense these fleas will be.Why dont you just keep on using your fingernails to scratch,isnt that what mother nature intended them to do.

Answer 6

first dip ur dog and DONT BRING BACK TO UR HOUSE LET HIMSTY WITH SOMEONE WITHOUT FLEAS AND THEN QUICKLY BOMB UR HOUSE AND STAY SOMEWHERE OVERNIHGHT.