Question by john: Help with fleas and flea questions!!!!!!!?
I noticed one of my cats itching frequently about 5 or 6 days ago, but didn’t notice any fleas around the house or my other cat or 2 dogs itching, so I brushed it off as an allergy or skin irritation. A couple days later we noticed some fleas on our OUTDOOR dog. We’ve never had a flea problem before so this is kind of shocking. Once we saw the fleas on the dog I immediately gave the cats flea baths hoping to wash some off just for confirmation that they were even there… nothing. Just to be safe I vacuumed the house again. Then this morning I saw one flea on the other cat.. so this afternoon I went to the vet to get the pill that kills fleas within a day. I waited about an hour and gave them each baths with tea tree oil. I maybe got 5 fleas off each cat total, not very many. I’ve been checking frequently for more fleas and haven’t seen any. I changed all the bedding, spread salt and borax throughout what little carpeting we have (rugs only) and vacuumed what I could reach without heavy lifting and changed the vacuum bag and washed their kitty boxes out. I’ve put on white tube socks and walked the house to see if they jump on the socks and found nothing. I am very disturbed by any sort of bug, so I am wondering what else I can do or if I should even be worrying as much as I am. And I am also wondering if “flea dirt” is feces or eggs? If the “flea dirt” is off their skin should I still be worried about flea eggs or was 1 week enough for the fleas to lay eggs?
Any natural remedies for eggs and for spraying the back yard would be great, if not natural what ever has worked for you. Bombing my house is not an option, nor do I think it’s necessary. Please only personal experiences or what advice from professionals you have received.
One last thing- is it true that only 10% of the fleas in the house are on the pet? Because if I found 10 fleas total, that means there are 50 fleas elsewhere… and to me that just doesn’t sound right.
Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by s
Don’t know if the claim that only 10% of the fleas are on your pet, but I do know your math is off… You found 10 fleas total, so that would imply 100 fleas if the 10% claim is true… I do know from my own experience that flea eggs can live a long time on rugs and even in the cracks on hardwood floors, so keep vacuuming ….It sounds like you’ve caught the problem before a major infestation, but you are wise to try to conquer it before you do have fleas all over your home… Flea “dirt” is actually flea poop. Eggs are laid on your pets, but fall off in their bedding, along the floor boards, etc. In my experience with fleas, most topical commercial poisons that kill the fleas are so toxic that they made my cats sick… While I know products from your vet like “Frontline/ Advantage” that you apply to the animal’s coat so it can get into its bloodstream/ system are not “organic”, they are the only solution I have ever found that actually breaks the cycle… If you live somewhere that gets hard freezes, that helps, especially if you treat the pets up until the freeze..

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Question by Donald: How do I keep just a few fleas jumping on my dog when we go outside,not 14 everytime?
My dog is small, and we have frontline plus on her. She is severly allergic to fleas, scratches till hair comes off from just one unless I put special spray for skin, special shampoo on and give her steroids for itching and inflammation. She also gets a black fungus from skin allergy that I put medicine on. I have tried garlic juice on her,no help, pennyroyal oil, but just combing her with a flea comb every time we go out is the only way I have found to get them off. I want help with keeping them from getting on, at least 14 to 20 everytime we go out. We can’t spray the yard as we have free range chickens that supply us with eggs. Thanks in advance Frustrated in Arkansas

Best answer:

Answer by KOOL KAT2
Have you tried advantage? Sometimes we recommend that people try both to see what works better. Also dont bathe the dog after applying the stuff.

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Question by Misty: dogs have super fleas?
Have 2 large dogs, with fleas that will not die,I have used flea shampoos, treated the yard, the house, and frontline didn’t seem to work eaither.I wait a week after a bath, then apply, and I am applying on the skin.I just tried adams flea and tick, let it sit for he time it says, rinsed and half the fleas died, but their are still alot alive.Can they become resistant to the active ingridients in the shampoo’s, sprys, etc.?Are they supposed to die on contact with the shampoo or die slowly? last week i bathed the dogs, the next day, they were infested again,like I never gave them a flea bath. our german shepard has a flea allergy and has severe itching with 1 flea let alone infested with them.does advantage have the same active ingridiant as frontline? advantix?

Best answer:

Answer by Sugar PIe
If you used Frontline, did you use the right dose for your dog’s weight? Did you wash it off giving them a bath right after you put it on? Did you put it on correctly?

I’d say it’s time to consult a vet.

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Question by a s h b e e: summer allergies, fleas ?
i found a single flea on my dog ! even though she is on advantage multi 20.
so today i am going to buy a flea comb.
although, today i just put the topical meds on again for this month.
it’s been about 5 hours since i applied, when can i comb her with the comb ?

also, i’ve realized that in the fall & winter, shylah is fine.
but since the spring & summer, she has gotten an ear infection, skin rashes, & hives, not to mention hairloss, & canine acne.
she has been on antibiotic for the acne.
which has gone & hope to God it does not come back.

i was told that an allergy test is way too expensive for how inaccurate it can be. could it just be summer allergies ?
from any number of things outside ?
this is her first summer ! so it’s all new to me.

just wondering if i shuold really be worrying about this, or should i just wait & see if they get worse, or if they go away in the winter, or what ?
she has only had the hives once, & the ear irritation twice.
it seems that when i clean her ears daily & use an ear solution, they stay nice. but the one day i slack, it blows up ?
could it be that it’s just a necessity for my dog, she just needs her ears cleaned a lot more than others ?

i’ve talked to my vet & he just said it could be a number of things ….
he didn’t help much at all.
he just said to watch out for what she reacts too.
but it seems everything is regular to us, it just happens.
the only thing that could POSSIBLY change is where we are outside.
or being outside in general.

any ideas/help/advice ?

we feed her ACANA Pacifica.
we use stainless steel bowls, we clean them once a day.
she has the same toys, she has been eating zukes treats. we just recently introduced those to her, but she was having these issues prior.
she is an 11 month(today !) old Pug !

Best answer:

Answer by Bri
The summertime is a normal time for fleas to attack. I’d be careful how long your dog is outside, considering how much fleas can be in your own front/ backyard. The food is not a problem. I would suggest a flea collar. If they multiply to where it gets uncomfortable, contact your local animal shelter or your local veterinarian. They also have stuff at Pet-smart. (But that doesn’t work to well and it costs $ 50.00!) I hope this helps!

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Question by Shawty ????: FLEAS!!??? ARHHHHH………..?
So we have literally tried everything we can think of.
We hardly get fleas, but because it has been raining so much lately, they everywhere underneath our house (our house is on a slide, so you can walk underneath it at most parts.
We have 2 dogs, one of them has a skin allergy that is uncureable, no vet has suceeded so far.
They are both small dogs, but one will always lie in the dirt under the house and one wont.\
we have tried perscriptions for fleas, things you can buy anywhere, home remedies, (we even tried borax) for the area.
We have tried many things to get them off our dogs, too. One of the dogs has way more than the other, as she lies under the house, where they live.
We even tried vaccuuming them off the dogs. We just spent 1/2 picking them off the dog who gets the most with our bare hands.
A flea exterminator came once before, but it didnt last long.
We are getting one in tomorrow again.
what can we do in the mean time. they are driving us nuts.
they are quite big, and brown\
incase it matters we also have 2 fish
THANK YOU!
Its summer here inAustralia..
and we tried frontline/advantage
it worked on the dog that doesnt get them much
I think the other one is like immune or sumething to treatments czu she is immune to some types of ticks..

Best answer:

Answer by Deridovely
Wash the two dogs thoroughly in a flea-killing shampoo (Check the ingredients) then when they’re dry put Frontline on them. Do NOT let them roll in the flea-infested dirt.

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