Fleas!

[Guest SillyDog]

I just on Tuesday treated my two greys with Frontline. Since it's warm I used a whole dosage on each, rather than the 1/2 dosage I usually use. But last night (Fri.) I found 2 fleas on one and 1 flea on the other.

 

I looked through some previous posts about fleas and got a lot of good information. I'm going to the pet store today to get Adam's spray and a flea comb -- never needed one before! Here's the thing: is 3 fleas an infestation? And why are they there so soon after treating with Frontline? I'm also thinking about getting some nematodes for that back yard. They love to lie in the dirt and I'm sure that's where the fleas are coming from. The alternative that the fleas are coming from inside is hopefully not true. This is my first year in this apt. and the carpets were completely replaced. There are no hardwood floors, either, just fake linoleum. I will, however, be disposing of all vaccuum cleaner bags immediately after vaccuuming, just to be on the safe side.

 

Anyway, what else should I do? Is 3 fleas an infestation? I want to act appropriately so this doesn't get worse, but I don't want to over-react, either.

 

 

Thanks!

 

Cindy

[Burpdog]

I wouldn't use flea spray on top of Frontline. Use a flea comb and drown them in soapy water

 

I rarely use flea products. The old comb & soapy water And no, 3 does not constitute an infestation.

[Guest cendrine]

I just read on the Mar Vista vet site that Frontline kills fleas in 42 hours.

[scullysmum]

I found two fleas on Sadi about a month ago after a stray dog I found spent ten minutes just inside our front door while I phoned the dog warden....I treated her with frontline and sprayed the house with some other stuff I got from the vets....haven't seen any more fleas yet

[Guest lat41065]

make sure you wash all bedding to catch any hiders. Id also put down mule team borax or DE in the carpet rungs to be sure.

[Batmom]

I like Frontline for the doggies, Adams spray (if needed) for carpet, bedding, car.

 

Last summer and summer before, B & Z would sometimes pick up 2-3 fleas on a walk. Frontline killed them but not instantly. Never got an infestation in the house.

[Guest greyhounder]

One of my fosters came home from the vet with fleas.. (go figure) and I gave her a bath with doggie shampoo with a couple drops of lavender oil and bergomot oil in each dollop of shampoo..

 

When you get a dog wet the fleas will seek higher ground.. meaning the head.. so wet the dogs' necks and lather up a ring all the way around before you wet their whole body. Lather every inch of their body with the shampoo and essential oil mixture, pausing every few moments to re-work the neck lather ring.. let the lather sit for 10-15 minutes then rinse very thoroughly..

 

I saw this treatment online when searching for a quick, safe way to kill fleas.. It worked very well... none of my other animals got her fleas and she's flea free now, too.

 

This will work well for isolated incidences... I'm in the desert so fleas are rare here.. I know she wouldn't pick up more the next day..

[Guest SillyDog]

Well, I've found a total of 5 on Carly over the past few days and 2 on Prancer. I haven't found any in the last 24 hours, though. I've been combing them and cleaning everything. I also got diotomaceous earth and spread that around in the backyard to hopefully kill the little buggers out there. I think what's been happening is that the back yard is infested, and each time one of them lays in the dirt they bring in fleas. So annoying! Both are black, so the only places I can really see the fleas are their white chests and their undercarriages. Hopefully I'm ahead of the invasion, now.

 

Thanks, everyone!

[Guest needlenoselover]

We have a bad flea problem here! Last year, before I had dogs, every one of my neighbors animals had fleas! It was an epidemic of sorts. Now, I treat the lawn and bushes with a spray and use Frontline, (only 1/2 the dose) i also use garlic in heathers food which I read helps with fleas.

 

Good luck!!

[Guest Oh_Greyt]

I'm rushing out the door so I didn't have time to read everyone's posts so sorry if this is repeat...

 

Make sure you wait 2-3 days before bathing/getting your pup wet after applying Frontline so it has time to spread. Also, it won't prevent new fleas from jumping on them, but it will kill them... They can pick up fleas just by going outside so it doesn't mean that they're in your house. Plus, Frontline Plus kills all stages so if you've been using it regularly it should have killed any eggs etc that would have been in your house. And if for some reason you do have them in your house (I'm not sure how the 1/2 dose works) then it should take care of them...

 

Hope that helps a little. The Frontline spray is good too but you shouldn't need it on top of the topical.

[Guest caro]

I agree with everyone else that 2 or 3 fleas isn't an infestation. My pup is on Frontline and my last was on Sentinal. If I ever found a flea on them I'd kill it and just go about my business. Never had a problem and never worried about it. Here's why...

 

When I first got Huggy Bear, flea control like Sentinal was recently approved for use on Greyhounds. HB and my roommates dog both had terrible fleas. After dealing with tape worms and those crappy natural flea collars that everyone told me to use, that didn't work at all, I went out and immediately got it. After 2 months of only my dog being on flea control... all fleas went away on both dogs.

 

In retrospect... I should have charged her for half of it!

Edited May 21, 2007 by caro

[Guest SillyDog]

Well, I keep finding more on them. I know they're coming from the yard. Poor Prancer had 6 on his "manly" area this am. I called the vet's office and they said that Austin is just inundated with fleas right now, and they're getting constant calls. I'm going to pick up some Capstar today and treat both of them. Since I put down the diatomaceous earth on Sunday, we still have a few days before we'll see any benefit from that.

 

Also, who invented the flea comb? I don't think it works! As soon as you get a flea on the comb, it jumps back on the dog. I've started using my fingers and then dumping the flea into the soapy water container. I feel like a subordinate chimp grooming my superior dogs!