<p>Hey parents. I’m assuming many of you have had this problem in the past, so I thought I’d consult you for some advice based on your experiences.</p>
<p>I have one cat and he has a nasty flea infestation. Tomorrow we’re going to try and play exterminator, and hopefully get his fleas under control. Our plan is to flea bomb the basement, which is where he typically sleeps/spends a lot of time, and make sure we isolate him from it for a few days so that the worst infestation can die down/the pesticides won’t make him sick. Then we’re going to vacuum the upstairs like maniacs, paying special attention to the spots where he hangs out a lot. We’re also going to treat him with Frontline Plus in order to kill his infestation.</p>
<p>Do you have any critiques of this plan, or other suggestions? Are there any products you recommend specifically that are pretty affordable? </p>
<p>When my cats had fleas…trying to remember. I think we used frontline…those thing you squeeze onto their necks. I tried a flea collar before that (one of the cats was too small for the frontline so I had to wait) and it didn’t work so well. Before I applied a frontline, I also went over them with the flea comb a few times.</p>
<p>The front line was really what worked. Everything else you’re doing sounds good, and I think making sure everything is clean and put away so the fleas can’t hide and vacuuming a lot is good, but I think the frontline treatment was clearly what got rid of them. You have to apply it once a month for several months (don’t remember, but the vet/package will say) because there will be flea eggs around that will keep hatching, and that will keep getting rid of them.</p>
<p>It may take you a couple of times with the flea bombs/vacuuming to get rid of them. There are eggs there. We used to have horrible flea problems in Dallas. Do the frontline all year long. You may want to take kitty to the vet to be dipped.</p>
<p>We had a horrible flea problem last fall. I used a variety of different products and the vet said even the Frontline was not working in our area as apparently the fleas had become resistant. So I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews online and decided to try Advantage. That finally did the trick. The only problem is that the formula for cats does not kill ticks. Oh, well, that was ok. They were not the problem right then!</p>
<p>I bombed the house 3 different times, used spray on the carpet, washed bedding constantly. Only after I used the Advantage did I see a real improvement. Yes, you may have to bomb more than once because of the life cycle of the fleas. If you don’t get all the eggs, they will hatch and you start all over again.</p>
<p>The other thing you can get that kills the fleas on the animal immediately (well within 30 minutes) is a pill called Capstar that you get from your vet. The only problem with that is it only works for about 24 hours. But at least it can give you a head start!</p>
<p>20 mule team Borax sprinkled on the carpets. Leave it down for 24 hours, then vacuum. If you are going away, leave in down and vacuum when you get back.</p>
<p>Another thing you can do is when you vacuum the floors but a cut up flea collar in there and be sure to pull the bag or dump the canister as soon as you are soon as you are done vacuuming.</p>
<p>Frontline Plus will NOT kill the fleas on the cat. It will keep them from returning to the cat, but you need to use something else on the cat – a spray of some sort; sorry I don’t have a name.</p>
<p>You also need to do every place in the house at the same time. Don’t just do the basement and expect it to stay “pure” until you later do the LR or the BR or wherever. You need to do the entire house – and the entire cat – at the same time.</p>
<p>Wow, what a headache! Are fleas normally a problem for indoor cats, too? I’m getting ready to locate my ragdoll kitty, and I intend for him/her to stay strictly indoors (I think…):)</p>
<p>You should also consider giving the cat a flea bath to help rid it of fleas before applying the Frontline. It’s kind of ‘interesting’ to give a cat a bath. Make sure you hang on tightly and keep the claws away from you. It helps to have a helper. You really need to take an ‘assault’ approach or else you’re caught in a cycle.</p>
<h1>10 you bring them inside if have them outside (stray animals in the area will leave fleas in your yard). Not only do you need to treat your kitty to prevent fleas you also need to treat your yard. Diatomaceous Earth (can be gotten at local feed/seed stores) just make sure it is human/feed grade.</h1>
<p>Mr. Kitty (yes that’s his name) is strictly indoors, but we recently catsat so you know the drill. My dad and I will be undergoing a joint effort tomorrow once he gets home, so I do have assistance. When he first got infested, we tried a flea bath and unfortunately the results weren’t very good, but I think I will take up the advice and give him another bath before I apply the Frontline. At the very least, I think it will ease some of his discomfort. He’s actually an angel when it comes to bathing (very laid back, sweet-tempered cat), so with my dad’s help we should be alright.</p>
<p>We fought fleas for years. Bombing the house, dipping the beasts, etc., etc…
Advantage has been a gift from God. We don’t even use it on the cats - just the dog. All the little critters are just gone.</p>
<p>With a serious infestation you’ll need to bomb the house/apartment with something that promises to kill the pre-adult fleas. To err on the side of caution I’d bomb again in a week to 10 days anyway. Then get the miracle, Advantage.</p>
<p>Amen, there, sister! People talk about which modern inventions have changed life as we know it–the invention of Advantage/Frontline does NOT get the credit it deserves.</p>
<p>I had to deal with a serious infestation many years ago. I was getting ready to move the family into a new house and I was living alone out of a sleeping bag. There was literally no furniture, no drapes. The carpets were ripped out and the floor refinished. The infested animals were long gone. I still could not get rid of the fleas. I tried aerosol flea bombs numerous times and used over a gallon of household insecticide and sprayed every crack in the house including the basement and crawl space. I washed the sleeping bag and all of my clothing and kept it in plastic bags while I bombed the house with over a dozen cans of aerosol. I went through the entire process 3 times and was still getting bites from the remaining fleas. Finally I found the right stuff - Raid Fumigator. I set off 14 cans of fumigator. Three hours late the entire house was still full of dense smoke. No more fleas. In fact we never saw even so much as a spider for several years. </p>
<p>I had a another infestation last year. It got bad while we were on vacation. It seems my daughter was cat sitting and decided to bring her dog over for a visit. This time I only needed to treat a few rooms of the house since the doors were shut on many rooms. The Raid did it again with one treatment. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the Raid fumigator product has been banned…at least in NY. It is actually an explosion hazard. (The can advised to shut off all pilot lights.) Next time I guess I have to call an exterminator and pay several hundred dollars from repeat visits. Why does all the good stuff get removed from the market? Well, at least I still have a hoard with 5 cans of Raid, several sprays bottles of Zicam and about 50 Vioxx pills.</p>
<p>vacuuming before chemical treatment and daily for 1 to 2 weeks after is the key to flea control even if you only have hardwood floors. In some cases vacuuming alone can solve the problem but chemical control without vacuuming will almost never solve the problem. </p>
<p>The bombing products help.</p>
<p>Ultracide is a easy to use product that controls fleas in several stages of their life cycle. </p>
<p>Advantage for your pet.</p>
<p>20 mule team Borax sprinkled on the carpets (or some of the professional micro-encapsulated professional products) get raked deep into carpets to help prevent infestations. </p>
<p>In areas that at not used regularly by people or pets (dead storage areas) you can hang a no pest strip.</p>
<p>We moved into a house and did not know about fleas, after week the bottom of my legs looked like a hundred mosquito bites, and I thought it was mosquitos (home was in NC and it was July), came to realize it was dogs. </p>
<p>I am the biggest fan of Borax, I did put it on the carpet and within days we never had a fleas problem again. Why it works is because the fleas will jump off and into the carpet, once there they die and can’t hatch any new eggs. It does not harm the pet at all. I did it every other day for about a week. Never saw another flea. That was 16 yrs ago!</p>
<p>Also if the cat sleeps on the bed, make sure to strip it totally down to the mattress, sprinkle the borax on the box spring , let it rest for a few hours (while you are washing the linens. Vacuum the mattress and you will be fine, because they will now have jumped off the bed onto the carpet and the borax will kill them there.</p>
<p>Fleas are like lice, you need to make sure you get everywhere the cat might touch.</p>
<p>Please talk to your vet about the products you want to use in your home/on your animal. </p>
<p>I lost two cats after treating them with a Hartz Mountain flea product. I found the little one dead on the floor in the basement after treating her. I buried her that afternoon, came in from burying her, and found the big cat in obvious distress, barely able to walk. I took him to the emergency vet; he died in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>I called the US EPA Office of Pesticide Programs, which eventually required stronger labeling on the product. I think, but cannot prove, that this product was a reformulation of a product Hartz had marketed before which had to be pulled off store shelves because of animal deaths.</p>
<p>Please check with your vet. That one time was the ONLY time I had not gotten flea control products from my vet, and I will always regret not having done so.</p>