FLEAS!!! Help me get rid of them

ttddinhttddinh
edited October 2012 in Products & DIY
In addition to the botched up stitching job and removal, Kilbe has brought home FLEAS!!!! UGH>>I HATE Fleas. Bea and Kaiju are on flea preventative. Kilbe and the pups not because I didn't want to expose her to chemicals while to was breast feeding. UGH. Anyhow, I have guests this weekend and I CANNOT be having fleas. So far, I have re-sprinkled DE around the house, vaccumed, ordered capstar, all natural flea shampoo to be sent overnight, washing all the sheets/dog stuff...any other suggestions?

Comments

  • lindsaytlindsayt
    Advantage and Frontline are ok for pups over 6 weeks I believe
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    Get a dose of cap star. That will kill all of them.
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    Does it kill eggs though?
  • tjbart17tjbart17
    I second cap star. Mika brought home fleas from going to Shakkos field. I flipped. I feel your pain.

    I also found a pest control that sprayed a non toxic all natural insect/flea killer in my home. It wasn't cheap though.
  • ttddinhttddinh
    Cap star has been ordered and coming tomorrow. I got this vet naturals flea shampoo but it says for dogs 12 weeks and older. So Kaiju, Bea and Kilbe can get that but for the pups, I do have earthbath the tea tree oil one, do you think it will kill fleas too? Capstar is ok for dogs greater than 2 lbs (that is what is says on the package). I will go pick up some frontline from Costco for the pups tomorrow. There is a website that says to sprinkle salt in the carpet, has anyone tried that? @tjbart17--I am worried about spraying stuff because our kid is highly sensitive to chemicals/sprays. Anyhow, I also read that cedar chips deters fleas. I am going to home depot and buying some tomorrow to sprinkle all over the backyard.

    Sorry guys, I know I may sound that I am freaking out (well, I am) because I ABHOR fleas and it just drives me nuts. When I was small, my neighbor use to feed all these stray cats and so they would always hang around and I always got bit. It's gross.
  • ceziegcezieg
    edited October 2012
    You'll have to two-stage it. CapStar + any prescription anti-flea, I recommend Comfortis. Meaty oral tablet that I've never had a problem administering, no chance of it not fully spreading to every bit of the dog's skin, no chance of cats/dogs licking it off (both neutralizing it and also getting themselves sick), no chance of it washing off or getting oily stains on furniture & clothes.

    CapStar will start working within the hour, killing anything on them and anything that bites them for 24 hours, then it wears off. The Comfortis/other anti-flea is for the rest of the month so that none of the adults or nymphs will have blood to feed on to continue the cycle. They don't reproduce on humans so as long as the pets are protected they will starve out and die, to be 100% certain they're ALL dead you'll need to keep them on anti-flea for 3 months. Although the maximum timespan for a flea to live is up to 180 days (from an adult with blood to when it lays the eggs to when the nymph grows into a starving adult).

    If your vet doesn't have a Comfortis doseage suitable for pups then you'll be fine with an Rx topical anti-flea (they make them in puppy size), since it's not much skin to cover compared to an adult. I'd skip FrontLine since here in FL there are a lot of people reporting it not working.
  • tjbart17tjbart17
    edited October 2012
    The spray try used was from trees and plant matter. 100% safe. My place smelled a bit woodsy after lol

    It may have had some sort of cedar in it.
  • ceziegcezieg
    Oh I forgot, Dawn dish detergent. Give them a bath with that (not in the eyes!) it kills fleas. The vets I worked for all said privately that it works the same as over the counter flea baths, and recommended it to clients when they declined the vet shampoos. Apparently it plugs up the gaps in insect joints where they breathe.
  • ttddinhttddinh
    Im trying to follow these steps.

    http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Fleas-Naturally
  • ttddinhttddinh
    edited October 2012
    @cezieg--should I dilute the Dawn dish detergent?

    @tjbart17--I will look into pest control in my area. i believe there is a pest control person in my neighborhood.

    Kilbe is going to hate me.
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    We don't need to bring home any fleas on Jiro, so let us know if we can help you with it...
  • ttddinhttddinh
    @brada1878-- yea, I wouldn't want fleas either. I will let u know what I have done.
  • ceziegcezieg
    edited October 2012
    @ttddinh http://www.wikihow.com/Kill-Fleas-With-Dawn-Dishsoap there you go!

    I'm all for homeopathic remedies... but fleas are devil spawn and the sooner they're dead the better. Also holy crap that's a lot of work lol. imo when they're already present it's better to just give a Comfortis/puppy topical ($20 or less just call your current vet, you won't need an exam), you're already using a non-natural with CapStar, and then as maintenance do natural prevention. Not to mention for the puppies, fleas carry tapeworms so if mom or puppies lick/chew their itches and ingest them you'll be looking at more chemicals to get rid of the worms. Tapeworms can do nasty things to puppies :\ More power to you if you're going through that whole list!

    Here's one that hopped off a puppy and bit me at work, the red body coloration is my blood lol: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/305659_10150839391838129_717832643_n.jpg
  • ZinjaZinja
    edited October 2012
    Use a 3:1 cup borax:salt ratio on your furniture and carpet. This powder solution will dry up fleas and kill them. Borax is also effective against roaches, who would eat it then die. Make sure you vacuum your place on a regular basis too. Fleas are also in cocoon stage where they are indestructible so they may pop up again in a week. Topicals didn't work for me, but comfortis did the trick. Comfortis also allowed us to bathe the pets. It's also approved for cats too!

    We were going to buy capstar because I read many positive reviews but the borax and comfortis was effective enough.

    BTW:I read fleas were attracted to light clothing. I'm not sure how valid this fact is but I ended up wearing black ankle socks to bed while I had fleas. I was getting bit almost three times a night around my ankles before I began actively treating the house with the borax.
  • ttddinhttddinh
    Instead of going to lab today, I am going to de-flea my house. Awesome.

    @zinja--I have never heard of borax, do I get that at the grocery store or Lowes?
  • aykayk
    Walmart and Target carries 20 Mule Team Borax which is what I used for my sister's house. It's in the laundry area. Liberally sprinkle it on the carpet, let it sit for hours (I did overnight), and vacuum it up. Some other people use a broom to drive it further down into the carpet, but I don't like the extra dust. It affects the fleas physically like DE, and like DE, it's not good to breath in too much.
  • PoetikDragonPoetikDragon
    edited October 2012
    Yeah Borax! My dad used to be one of the 20 mules! :D (Within the company, the 20 people who have worked there the longest are referred to as the mules. I think he made it to 7 before he retired?)

    Back on topic: A friend of mine disappeared for like 6 months two years ago. Stopped showing up at all the social events, hadn't heard from him in a long time. He finally came out to our big July party and we found out where he'd been. Apparently he had a flea infestation that was really bad and he didn't want to spread it to anyone else. He'd spent over $3k trying to get rid of them when we spoke at the party and they were still plaguing them. Not sure how he finally resolved it though.
  • ttddinhttddinh
    Omg, well, this is not that bad. I just noticed Kilbe started scratching and biting herself and I freaked out, bc she was not protected...not like Bea and kaiju. Plus I HATE fleas so I don't want his to get worse, since my whole house is carpet.
  • ZinjaZinja
    Borax is cheap too. I think it's less than $4 for a big box.

    @poeticdragon That's awesome that your dad is an OG of Borax!
  • toshitoshi
    I like using Dr. Ben's paws & claws. Has no effects on dogs nervous system.-
    Non toxic 100% natural
  • aykayk
    Does it affect a dog's respiratory system? I know in hamsters the oils from cedar shavings causes respiratory ills.
  • toshitoshi

    More Info on Dr. Ben's products
    dgcedaroil.com
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