We Have Fleas!

[RobinM]

Dogs are frontlined, Ollie has been capstarred, cats are indoor cats only, yet they all have fleas. What do I do? Where do I begin. Big house, big yard = lots of fleas? Pulling them off all of them.

[Guest Swifthounds]

You can kill fleas in the yard by using one of those yard sprayers that hook onto your hose (the kind for spraying fertilizers and such) with a solution of water and dish detergent. Soap up (yeah, it'll foam), leave for a few minutes and rinse away. Yes, your neighbors will think you're strange.

 

Food grade diatomaceous earth can be sprinkled in the yard, in your home, and on bedding, and even on the dogs without incident - just make sure it's food grade, not the variety sold for pools. It's a dessicant and dries out insects - all of them - and shouldn't be inhaled. You can also put it in your vacuum cleaner bin or bag to kill what's picked up when you vacuum and then dump the contents into a plastic bag, tie it off, and put it in an outside garbage can.

 

You won't want to bathe too soon after applying Frontline, but a bath with regular dog shampoo will also kill fleas if you leave the soap on the dog for a few minutes.

 

IME, regular Advantage is much better (and faster) at killing fleas then any of the Frontline products - and it's safe enough to be reapplied to a healthy greyhound as often as every 7 days.

[Guest KennelMom]

I'd capstar them all,and preferably get comfortis in place of frontline. If you are bathing dogs, avoid the topical flea meds...they disperse using the the natural oils in the dog's skin, which is stripped away in the bathing process. Basically, baths make them less effective.

[Guest Catherine]

It is interesting you posted this. It seems that Frontline simply does not work anymore. I have heard this from several friends and have had the same experience, My dogs were on Sentinel and Frontline and we still had fleas! Luckily the Sentinel kept us from ever having a real infestation in my house as it sterilized the adult fleas on the dogs but there were still plenty of fleas on the dogs. I switched to Advantage and have had no more problems.

[cleptogrey]

mmmm.....do you think the cats might just have picked up some fleas from the dogs????

[OwnedBySummer]

I've only ever used Advantage or Revolution on my dogs. Both work great! I live in "flea heaven" and have never had a flea on them. I stopped using Advantage a few years ago when Revolution arrived on the scene, because I don't have to give separate heartworm preventative (I'm lazy) and the Revolution works just as well. And definitely, if you have dogs with fleas and an indoor cat, the cat more than likely has picked up the fleas.

[RobinM]

Ok our plan as per our vet is to capstar everyone including cats, then ADVANTAGE, not Frontline everyone and vacuum realllllllllllly well as well as change all the bedding.

 

That's what we will do and see how it goes. I can not believe this. Yuck. I was up till 2AM with the flea comb running after the cats last night who are much worse than the dogs because they have never been treated.

 

I swear these fleas hold their breath when you front line them!!!

 

 

[Guest Swifthounds]

Yeah, Frontline is useless on fleas. Always has been.

 

If you Advantage, try to do it outside if possible (I know that's hard to do with most cats). It starts killing very fast and the dying fleas will jump off. They'll be dead, but there's still the "ick" factor.

[MerlinsMum]

Oh, that SUCKS. Ugh. Poor you. I imagine it's a million times worse when you have so many animals, too. They breed as if they were trying to prevent extinction.. I think the up and down weather has also contributed to their 'success' this year - same thing with ticks and bed bugs. It's getting pretty cold here in Maine and I still found two ticks on the dogs in as many days

 

Good luck! I think I'm going to vacuum everywhere when I get home today....

[DevilDog]

Funny you should post this. Roscoe and Sage got fleas as well. I took the day off from work yesterday to go tot he laundromat to wash dog and human bedding, crazy vacuuming, they both got the bath of a lifetime.... PITA

[Guest Adrianne]

I've never had good luck with Frontline, but I've had AWESOME results with Advantix. Not Advantage.......Advantix. (not for use on cats.)

 

We got a flea infestation several years ago that was so bad you could see the things on your socks when you walked across the living room. Disgusting I know. Ollie had snuck next door where the outside dogs are untreated and brought the things home. We tried so many things, with very little success. I finally turned to Advantix and within 24 hours all fleas were gone. All of them. I've used it ever since and have yet to see a flea on any of my animals.

 

Advantix not only kills fleas, it also repels them.

 

 

ETA: I don't treat my yard, but I haven't had to since I started using this.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Adrianne

[Guest Keystone]

Same problem here, I figure we got them from the haul van, which my dogs use also. I frontline regularly. So we bathed them in flea shampoo, marinated them for 5 minutes. Low and behold, the fleas were back on the dogs in a week. Had my house treated. My vet suggested Comfortis in addition to the frontline. We used that and so far so good. I vaccuum often and flea comb my dogs daily...so far so good. I am a fan of comfortis, I know some of the kennels are using it, too.

[Guest TeddysMom]

It's expensive but Comfortis is the best stuff I have ever used. I gets rid of the fleas and keeps them off the dogs for a full month. Frontline and Advantage just did not work for us this year. The Capstar intially is the best bet.

[Sambuca]

I LOVE Revolution. I brought 2 cats home with fleas, used the cat version on them and never saw a flea in my place again.

[Guest Jollybug]

We have had a heck of a time with fleas this year! In about a week you need to treat bedding again. I get all of the live fleas, but then the eggs hatch out. I hve started spraying the dogs bedding with Adam's when they get up in the am. Pain in the butt to get rid of. Frontline is not working here either. I have always used it, but not working this year. One of my Grey's is itching due to the flea medicine. Can't win for losing!!!

[Guest Nitemare]

I live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. My problem this year has been with ticks and I didn't know it until recently. Sort of a long story, but to sum it up, I have removed 3 ticks from my non-grey in ten days. How many did he get over the summer that I didn't find? Now, he is having issues. Was told by the evet (yes, his issues are that bad) that Frontline only kills the ticks AFTER they bite. So, this does me good, how? I feel I was lulled into a false sense of security and my 17 year old border collie, who has been extremely healthy, may be paying the price. All dogs are being checked thoroughly daily now. Have an appointment with his regular vet tonight. I love this guy & maybe at some point he did tell me about kiliing ticks after they bite. However, they have been on Frontline then Frontline Plus forever & I may have forgotten. But, everyone I have spoken to about this was under the same impression that I was. No fleas or ticks with Frontline Plus.

[Guest candt]

during transport my new silken puppy picked up fleas.

 

 

 

we frontlined him but we are still finding some on him. and i am getting bit too!

 

 

 

which products can be used safely on sighthounds? can anyone post any links to stuff that i can get at petco/petsmart? i want to make sure i am getting the correct stuff.

[Batmom]

How long has he been in your home? You can use Capstar 2-3 days in a row to help eliminate fleas on the dog; wash all bedding (yours and dog's); use a spray like Knockout on floors and furniture; and if need be something like Spectricide for the yard.

[Guest candt]

only since friday night.

 

 

 

can i use that adams carpet inversion spray? can i use it on furniture too?

[Guest candt]

Adams Plus Inverted Carpet Spray

16 oz.

Active Ingredients:

(S)-Methoprene (CAS #65733-16-6) 0.085%,

 

Permethrin (CAS #52645-53-1) 0.350%,

 

Phenothrin (CAS #26002-80-2) 0.300%,

 

N-Octyl Bicycloheptene Dicarboximide (CAS #113-48-4) 2.000%,

 

Piperonyl Butoxide (CAS #51-03-6) 1.400%,

 

Other Ingredients 95.865%. Contains petroleum distillates.

 

 

 

[Batmom]

Adams'll probably work. I'd think you could use it on furniture but check the label. Might be cautious / test a spot if you have any brightly dyed leather.

[Guest candt]

wasnt sure if you saw whats in it, so ehre are the ingredients:

 

 

 

Adams Plus Inverted Carpet Spray

16 oz.

Active Ingredients:

(S)-Methoprene (CAS #65733-16-6) 0.085%,

 

Permethrin (CAS #52645-53-1) 0.350%,

 

Phenothrin (CAS #26002-80-2) 0.300%,

 

N-Octyl Bicycloheptene Dicarboximide (CAS #113-48-4) 2.000%,

 

Piperonyl Butoxide (CAS #51-03-6) 1.400%,

 

Other Ingredients 95.865%. Contains petroleum distillates.

[Batmom]

Those are fine and should be effective .

[Guest candt]

Ok I also picked up capstar

 

Since this dog is from a warmer local I am worried that these fleas are resistant to stuff.

 

The frontline plus didn't seem to work

[Batmom]

It'll take Frontline a couple days to kill the fleas on a dog -- it has to distribute over the dog's skin, and that takes time (if you have the Frontline spray as opposed to the spot-on, the spray is better for infestations for this reason -- you put it all over the dog). Hence, giving Capstar too is a good idea, and washing bedding and things as you believe necessary.

 

Frontline also has the charming attribute of making the fleas more apparent as it starts to work -- it affects their nervous system, and they get excitable rather than staying down under the hair.

 

Hoping another day and the Capstar will get things under control for you.