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hgl_gaylemarie

What to do about Fleas?

hgl_gaylemarie
14 years ago

For three weeks I have been battling fleas. The Vet gave me a pill to give each of the dogs. Supposedly the flea begin to die immediaely. I sprayed the carpet and washed dog bedding. I'm over run with fleas.

What next? Someone told me a mixture of Vinegar and Water in a Spray Bottle would do the trick. Anyone tried this?

Comments (9)

  • trinigemini
    14 years ago

    You need to flea bomb your house. I'm not sure what pill the vet gave you ...I'm assuming Comfortis...I'm not familiar with this product as it is new and I won't try new things until they have been out for a number of years. We had fleas once...a possum had died under the house and the little buggers were getting inside. We bombed the house and they disappeared. We also used sevin outside.

  • mazer415
    14 years ago

    If your dogs are being treated, that is about it for treating the dogs. You have done the right thing by putting them on flea control medication, this will control worm infestation as well. Once the flea bites the dog it will die, it can not reproduce. Next step treat the environment. Dont do anything else with the dog, using flea shampoos, and over medicating your dog can cause your dog health issues so...If your back yard is infested you can either treat with DE (not the kind you use in the pool - that has added chemicals), keep the dogs away for awhile and dont inhale the stuff while applying (read the instrutions) If your dogs are getting the fleas somewhere else, you will need to change tactics to avoid that place for awhile. Next is you. Make sure you are not getting bit, because once a flea bites you it can reproduce...If the De does not work or you live in a place where there is alot of rainfall - DE's power to kill fleas will be diminished when it gets wet, is to contact a pest control agent to get your yard sprayed. Good luck

  • Dtkaty
    14 years ago

    Good advice about the DE.Vinegar & water didn't work for us at all. None of the home remedies we tried didn't.
    Fleas need a full out attack on all fronts.
    Flea bomb your house, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum - floors, couches, chairs, small area rugs,
    anything & everything you can think of where they may have burrowed. Do this daily & change the bags daily.
    Wash all linens that are "exposed" on all beds. Yes, it's a huge pain, but after doing all these things,
    we finally got the fleas under control & eventually gone for good.

    My 2 Labs have been on Comfortis for about 6 months & have no side affects that we or our vets can tell.

  • ccoombs1
    14 years ago

    My 3 dogs are on comfortis now too. It is a miracle drug for us! I dosed them all one in June and just had to give them a second dose last week. One of them spends her days outside and comes in at night....the other two stay in most of the time. One thing I do differently though is dose them accuratly. It just seems to me that if a pill is for a dog that weighs between 60 and 120 pounds, and my dog only weights 70 pounds, she is getting a huge overdose! That may account for some of the problems people have with this drug. So I ordered a gram scale on Ebay and divide the pill up so that each of my dogs has a dose that is exactly right for their body weight.

  • Gina_W
    14 years ago

    Vinegar spray will not help you. Borax (sodium borate) sprinkled heavily on your carpets, then vacuumed up a couple hours later will help. Borax is a very "green" substance, but it is toxic if it is ingested or inhaled, so don't do either! Salt will also work. Both will smother fleas. You may need to do it once or twice a day until all hatched fleas are killed.

  • dottieq
    14 years ago

    I'm new to this forum but have had experience with this problem just once about twenty years ago but I remember it well. I had a dog and two cats and had a terrible infestation of fleas. No matter what I did I couldn't get rid of them. My vet recommended the flea bombs (I'm surprised your vet hasn't) You must get all animals, fish, birds or whatever, humans too of course out of the house and set off several bombs (three or four depending on the size of the house) They are aerated canisters....you must keep the house closed up and stay out several hours. The fleas get in the carpeting or any place your animals lay down on. I guarantee this will correct your problem

  • gracie-2006
    14 years ago

    We had this problem a couple of months ago and finally got rid of them. This is what worked for us- Gave our cat the pill to kill fleas on her, treated back yard with our pest exterminator, washed bedding, vacuumed entire house and then sprayed carpet with Vet-Kem-Siphotrol Plus with Precor. Good luck! This really worked for us!

  • carmen_grower_2007
    14 years ago

    Diatomaceous Earth is the answer. Only the food grade variety though.

  • hannah_laz_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    My cat has just had three kittens and I am appalled to see the babies are covered in tiny fleas...I did not think the mother was infested...they are in a corner of my walk in wardrobe so perhaps that part of my carpet was infested. We have one badly infested dog that lives outside, but I washed her today and within a short time, the fleas were back. Can cats with kittens be given something to ingest>?