I’m thinking that the best I will be able to do (professional exterminator is involved, btw) is to keep them at bay till my daughter moves out, then hit the dog with Bravecto and the other cat with a dose of capstar and pray. The two who are leaving will get the Capstar on the way TO the new place (they are the easiest cats to dose ever).
Hi y’all, looks like I found some fleas on my dog this afternoon. I have no idea how long she has had them. She is not currently on any flea or tick monthly medicine (I can’t remember why not to be honest…).
Um, what is the best thing to do first? I’m pretty clueless here.
bathe with dawn. vacuum your house. those two steps just about everyone agrees on. there are several options of flea treatments for both your dog and your house. what i have found most effective for me and my animals, is capstar and program pills. they get program, which makes any fleas that bite the animal infertile, every 3-4 weeks depending on the season and capstar every 1-2 weeks depending on the season. if i actually see a flea on anyone, they all get 3 days of capstar in a row. when i vacuum i use flea powder on the carpets, and i mop the tile floors with pine sol.
[QUOTE=MoonlightsMom;8158973]
bathe with dawn. vacuum your house. those two steps just about everyone agrees on. there are several options of flea treatments for both your dog and your house. what i have found most effective for me and my animals, is capstar and program pills. they get program, which makes any fleas that bite the animal infertile, every 3-4 weeks depending on the season and capstar every 1-2 weeks depending on the season. if i actually see a flea on anyone, they all get 3 days of capstar in a row. when i vacuum i use flea powder on the carpets, and i mop the tile floors with pine sol.[/QUOTE]
Thanks. Our vet gave us Vectra, and after waiting 48 hours we are bathing the dog in Dawn. I have been vacuuming all floors, our one rug, the couch (which has removable slipcovers), my dog’s one blanket, and our carpeted bedroom each day since Wednesday. Laminate everywhere else. Our bedding has been washed once (on hot) and our dog’s blanket that goes in her crate I’ve been washing each night on hot. I’ve also vacuumed and deep cleaned my car (cloth seats).
The tech and our vet’s office recommended we continue to give her Vectra for the next 2 months (if not indefinitely). We also bought a flea comb.
I have seen one or two flying bugs in our 600 sq ft apartment but honestly can’t tell if they aren’t drain flies.
I’m not familiar with Program and I’ve seen Capstar at our local pet store but not sure what it is.
I really appreciate your help, MM!
Capstar is the brand name for the chemical Nitenpyram. It is feed through flea control, and once the dog has digested is, any fleas that bite your dog in the next 24 hours will be killed. The generic is very reasonably priced on Amazon.
Program is also feed through flea control. It is the brand name for the chemical Lufenuron. The way it works is by making any fleas that bite your dog infertile. It lasts about a month, but I find that from late spring through fall it is more effective if given every 3 weeks.
By using the 2 together, I have found that not only was it much easier to get my original flea problem under control, but I havent had a problem since…and I have 4 dogs and a cat.
Thank you. We might need some Capstar for the cat.
I’ve seen people suggest that you throw away your vacuum bag after each cleaning, however I have a Miele and seriously, my vacuum bags cost $5 a PIECE (and last a long time). So I’m really hesistant to spend $$$ on those…
Thoughts? Thanks again for all of your help.
If you dont want to throw away your vacuum bags, is there a way you could put the flea powder either on your carpet before vacuuming, or just inside the vacuum bag? The reasoning behind either throwing away the bag (in a sealed bag in an outdoor trash can) or putting something that will kill fleas in the bag is that not only will the fleas eventually work their way out of the bag, but in about 2 weeks the flea eggs you vacuumed up will hatch and those little guys will be working their way out of the bag.
Personally, in your situation I would throw the bag away after the initial vacuuming, put flea powder in the new bag to use periodcally throughout the next 2 weeks, and 2 weeks after the initial vacuuming change the bag again. My though is, it is much cheaper to change bags more often than it is to potentially have to call out a professional exterminator to treat the house because the fleas keep working their way back into the environment.
I think it has been mentioned, but if possible, try to vacuum all upholstry and wash all bedding.
[QUOTE=MoonlightsMom;8164203]
If you dont want to throw away your vacuum bags, is there a way you could put the flea powder either on your carpet before vacuuming, or just inside the vacuum bag? The reasoning behind either throwing away the bag (in a sealed bag in an outdoor trash can) or putting something that will kill fleas in the bag is that not only will the fleas eventually work their way out of the bag, but in about 2 weeks the flea eggs you vacuumed up will hatch and those little guys will be working their way out of the bag.
Personally, in your situation I would throw the bag away after the initial vacuuming, put flea powder in the new bag to use periodcally throughout the next 2 weeks, and 2 weeks after the initial vacuuming change the bag again. My though is, it is much cheaper to change bags more often than it is to potentially have to call out a professional exterminator to treat the house because the fleas keep working their way back into the environment.
I think it has been mentioned, but if possible, try to vacuum all upholstry and wash all bedding.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the suggestion MM, thus far I’ve been washing my dog’s blanket and vacuuming daily.
Is there a flea powder you recommend? I did throw out the initial bag.
Some people throw pieces of chopped up flea collar in the bag
Hi thanks for all of the help I’m getting here.
I read up on diatamaceous earth for treating our rugs and carpet so I’m going to use that stuff to I hope, successfully treat the house. We took the covers off all of our couch cushions and pillows, bagged up all bedding and are taking it to the laundromat for a wash. Our washing machine is too small to wash the comforter (king size) and mattress cover but I have been washing our sheets and my dog’s blanket nightly.
I’m going to see if I can even get the vacuum bag opened (it connects to the vacuum weirdly) and I will be putting some DE in there as well. I’m continuing to vacuum.
The dog was treated with Vectra a week ago but we have picked probably 5 - 7 fleas off her since then. She did also get a bath in Dawn. The cat is being treated with Advantage II.
I really hope we kick these guys in the butt! Ordering more vacuum bags from Amazon.
Thanks for the help!
I know tihs sounds too simple but…just let your dogs and cats sleep on some nicely soiled ridden-on saddle blankets. Did you ever see a flea on a horse? I never have and I do not have fleas on any of my cats or dogs, not even on my barn cats that patrol my buildings for mice. They always have the scent of “horse” on them. Fleas can not stand the scent of horses.
I really dont like putting chemicals on my animals if I dont have to. Most of my cats live well into what qualifies as “ancient” for a cat and all have been flea-less.
This may not apply to sand fleas but I see that you live in the Midwest and so do I. I have had animals ALL of my life, and I have passed the half century mark and fleas just are not and never have been a bother. Chemicals would be a no no on pets that like to sleep in bed with us and that we are daily loving on and cuddling.
I would suggest the above and vacuuming a lot to capture any of the little bloodsuckers that jump off your animals. Maybe my house smells too much like “horse” but, we have not had a problem with the fleas jumping off the animals and onto us. I have heard of fleas prefering women to men though, and people who eat meat a lot too.
Another thing I do is gather toilet paper and paper towel cardboard rolls, stuff them with Pyrethrin powdered cotton balls and put them out for nesting material for mice in the Fall. This helps keep down the deer tick population and probably helps keep down the flea population too.
[QUOTE=re-runs;8175269]
I know tihs sounds too simple but…just let your dogs and cats sleep on some nicely soiled ridden-on saddle blankets. Did you ever see a flea on a horse? I never have and I do not have fleas on any of my cats or dogs, not even on my barn cats that patrol my buildings for mice. They always have the scent of “horse” on them. Fleas can not stand the scent of horses.
I really dont like putting chemicals on my animals if I dont have to. Most of my cats live well into what qualifies as “ancient” for a cat and all have been flea-less.
This may not apply to sand fleas but I see that you live in the Midwest and so do I. I have had animals ALL of my life, and I have passed the half century mark and fleas just are not and never have been a bother. Chemicals would be a no no on pets that like to sleep in bed with us and that we are daily loving on and cuddling.
I would suggest the above and vacuuming a lot to capture any of the little bloodsuckers that jump off your animals. Maybe my house smells too much like “horse” but, we have not had a problem with the fleas jumping off the animals and onto us. I have heard of fleas prefering women to men though, and people who eat meat a lot too.
Another thing I do is gather toilet paper and paper towel cardboard rolls, stuff them with Pyrethrin powdered cotton balls and put them out for nesting material for mice in the Fall. This helps keep down the deer tick population and probably helps keep down the flea population too.[/QUOTE]
PLEASE DO NOT put anything with PYRETHRIN near a cat- you will kill it or hurt it. Pyrethrins are harmful for cats!!! Permethrines are also in the pyrethrin family- so they are harmful to cats as well.
capstar is great if you have an infestation onyour animal, but it only works for 24hrs. not all fleas bite within 24 hrs, so that means you are missing out on killing fleas. try a different product.
as for topical products, and this means all topical products (from your vet) take longer to kill fleas/ ticks due to requiring the the flea/tick having to roam the pet and “soak” in the product from the hair of the pet, to die. most topicals have a 8+ hr window to start killing fleas, and 12+ hr window to start killing ticks.
