Still Have A Flea Problem!

[Guest Gideon]

I am still pulling fleas off Duke. They were gone for about two week and now they are back on. They range in soze from real small to normal size. THere is very little in the way of flea dirt on him so I don't think they are spending much time.

 

I have frontline plus on him which doesn't seem to be working so well but I have about $100 worth of it now.

 

Should I try to find capstar? Where can I get it? How often can I give it to him? Another round of frontline treatment a little early? Should I bomb the apartment with flea stuff and take off for a day?

 

How much toxic stuff can a greyhound handle or us for that matter? Does frontline in any way kill adult fleas? Is he full of flea larvea and in need of a bath?

 

Sorry for all these disjointed questions - I am just really tired of this flea saga.

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

The life cycle of a flea is about 3 weeks, if Duke has them, so does your apartment.

 

You'll need to bomb your apartment, flea comb, bathe and frontline Duke. Don't forget to put petroleum jelly on the flea comb, it will help capture the little buggers.

 

The best thing to do before bombing your apartment, vaccuum all rugs and furniture (with a flea collar in the bag) this will help rouse the fleas from their cocoons. Then bomb your apartment.

 

You'll then need to vaccuum your apartment every day (even if you have wood floors, because fleas will live in the cracks)

 

After you frontline Duke, you'll need to comb him again in 3 days to make sure you get the larvae and frshly hatched dead fleas off. Buy at least 1 dose of frontline from your vet. Buying frontline from a store is usually not guaranteed for efficacy.

 

After 3 weeks, you'll probably need to rebomb your apartment and bathe Duke again, but it should rid you of fleas.

 

For the next year atleast, keep a fresh flea collar in your vaccuum bag and try to vaccuum several times a week, as some fleas can go dormant for a year.

 

Good luck to you, I hope this helps.

 

Just wanted to add, watch Duke for tapeworms, as fleas transmit tapes.

Edited August 30, 2007 by MomofSweetPotatoes

[Guest DorianGreyhound]

Lately, Frontline doesn't work on my dogs at all... I went and bought some Advantix and viola! No fleas... I swore by Frontline for YEARS but now it just doesn't work here anymore.

[greyhoundlov]

I would change from Frontline Plus to Advantage (unless you also have tick problems).

 

If you can find it in the store, get some 20 Mule Team Borax laundry stuff. Sprinkle it everywhere - on the furniture, under it, around it - you get the picture. (Be careful you don't suffocate yourself - sprinkle low to the ground.) Work it into the furniture-carpet with a broom. Wait about 2 days and then vacuum it all up. When you are done vacuuming, remove the bag and put it in a plastic bag, seal it tightly, and throw it away.

 

This is safe for you and your pupper.

 

For instant gratification (squirt and kill immediately), Adams flea spray works wonderfully.

Edited August 30, 2007 by greyhoundlov

[Batmom]

Haven't had a problem with Frontline Plus from stores, same stuff as from vet.

 

I would take duke somewhere for the day and bomb as MOSP describes. Sounds like they are still living in the apartment and only dying when they try to get Duke.

[HJsM]

We went to Sentinel in May after having a doozy of a time with fleas in the spring.

 

Once I got them on Sentinel (and Frontline...yeah, don't like all those chemicals, but the fleas were a worse thing! We dose every 45 days, though, and do a bath once a month, so that is my compromise.), I was able to break the cycle and we are now totally flealess.

 

Edit: Also, I was doing a flea bath every Friday night for a while there AND I had a flea collar in my vacuum canister. Little bit of everything.

 

Edit2: Capstar WORKS (we did that too! Yikes!) but the catch with that is that the fleas FALL OFF, but you still have fleas until you break the egg hatching cycle. Which is what Sentinel does.

Edited August 30, 2007 by HJsM

[Guest greybookends]

I to used Frontline Plus for years and bought it from the vet. A couple years ago I began to have a problem with the fleas and when I spoke to the vet about it he said he had recently begun to switch all of his patients to K-9 Advantage as the Frontline Plus was no longer working. He said he didn't know why but it simply wasn't working on the dogs in our area. I have since heard of other areas doing the same thing. Good luck.

[Hubcitypam]

If you don't have ticks Advantage works WAAAAYYYY better than Frontline. Adams spray works very well on beds, furniture, etc. and smells great.

[Guest BlackandBrindle]

These were responses to my flea thread a few days ago

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=177720

 

 

I believe you can get capstar at most pet stores

[RileysLegacy]

Capstar is great because it will kill all live fleas on your dog in 1 hour. So if you give him the Capstar and then give him a bath w/ flea shampoo, he should be completely free of fleas.

 

BUT, you will have to treat the environment at the same time, or else it will be pointless to treat Duke. I would hire a professional to come in and exterminate. Take Duke somewhere for the day and when you come home you will be sure that your place is flea-free.

 

We switched from Frontline Plus this year also. It just didn't work last year. We are using Advantix now (I am more concerned about ticks here), and so far I haven't seen a flea or tick. You have gotten good suggestions on alternatives that might work better for you.

[Guest Tenderhearts]

Remember, Frontline Plus is not a repellant. It kills the fleas after they bite the dog. It does sound like he's picking up more fleas, most probably in the environment.

 

I agree in treating your apartment.

 

I've never had problems with the Frontline Plus personally

[macoduck]

Absolutely use the Capstar! I always keep some on hand for emergency pickups since they're always infested. Your vet can tell you how soon you can second-dose with it while you are treating the house.

[Guest Gideon]

Our neighborhood is apparently infested with fleas due to many vacant lots and a large number of irresponsible pet owners who don't take proper care of their pets.

 

I just gave Duke his heartguard today so I will have to wait to give sentinal till next month. I'll switch over to K9 advantage and bomb the place a few times over the next month or so.

 

Is there any kind of flea repellent I can use? Since they are all around outside, maybe it would be a good thing to look into.

[Guest CBDTherapyDogs]

Sentinal prevents fleas from being able to reproduce.

 

Frontline Plus kills flea eggs and larvae on the pet. Ticks and fleas, either on the pet or just crawling off, will die in 24 hours.

 

SO - if your pet has BOTH in thier system... if a flea jumps on your Grey, lays eggs, then jumps off onto your couch and lays eggs, the flea will die in 24hours and all eggs will die / be infertile.

 

Capstar kills all fleas with in a half hour and continues to work for a full 24 hours. I would suggest buying a box of Capstar (six doses), and giving one Capstar once a week for six weeks. That way each week as a new batch hatches, you'll kill that batch. Adding to it the Sentinal and Frontline Plus (it's okay to give the Frontline Plus every 3 weeks if needed), you should have no problem with fleas in no time.

[Guest LynnM]

You can go ahead and give the Sentinel now... the dosages of wormer in HG and Sentinel are both so small that there's no harm (they could eat the whole box of either and be just fine).

 

As for killing bugs, ticks are the pest du jour here and short of Napalm, I haven't quite figured out how to get rid of them. I have been doing a LOT of laundry in HOT water, extra long times in the dryer and bleach on stuff that can handle bleach, in addition to Adams shampooing the dogs. I found one dose of Frontline in my house and used it on Louis (who is such a weenie, it's a major production to pull ticks from between his toes) and it's made a dent, but I'm still finding live ones.

 

Lynn

[Guest longdogs]

but the catch with that is that the fleas FALL OFF

- at least it's because they are stone dead! My guess is your Frontline is working and your problem is re-infestation from fleas emerging from the surroundings. Unfortunately this is likely to include your house. There are a number of possible treatments, mostly covered above already. The trick is attacking both the fleas on your dog and those in your surroundings. Vacuum everything you can, wash everything you can and use a puppy-safe flea spray on any furnishings you can't thoroughly vacuum or wash. Keep going for a few weeks until the fleas stop appearing. Afterwards, I'd recommend Capstar as your first defense if you suspect your dog has picked up an occasional traveller, and Advantage if fleas are more of a constant problem in your area.

[Guest lat41065]

use Diatomaceous earth both inside and outside. Its a powder that you sprinkle in the yard it wont bother your dog and will kill any shelled insects. Also buy a cheap vacuum that uses a bag and vacuum every day then throw the bag away. After Katrina we were infested something fierce and now I havent seen a flea in 2 years and that is all I use in addition to Frontline. The key is in teh vacuuming as you cant kill fleas in all 4 life cycles only 3 of them so you need to keep moving them out of the house.

[lothianjavert]

You've gotten some good advice!

 

I agree that the big issue is going to be the fleas coming from elsewhere: your house, wherever you walk him, etc. The frontline kills the ones ON him, but more just hop on after they hatch out from between your floorboards, carpet, etc.

 

Years ago, we had a horrible infestation (days before frontline, etc.)-- part of the problem was the house, as the fleas would jump off, and reproduce there. So even with dousing the animals with flea powder and spray, they would just get reinfested from the fleas hatching from between the floorboards. We did a combination of repetitive bombing and vacuuming. Pain in the butt, but it did work. We also had to spray the yard.

 

Fleas and ticks suck. We use frontline plus here because the ticks are an issue as well. While it's not 100% with the ticks, it's better than nothing.

[SAVED2]

Vaccum 3 times a day for a few weeks , worked for us.