Flea-ridden mongrels, time for more drastic measures?
March 20, 2015 1:02 PM Subscribe
Still finding fleas on the animals a week after dosing them with Advantage. Is it time for the big guns?
Last Saturday, we found some fleas on the dog. Immediately dosed her with K9 Advantix, then dosed the cats. Washed and vacuumed everything with Borax. Sprinkled diatomaceous earth on the couch and in the corners of the house. Sprayed the yard with permethrin.
Today, still finding a few fleas on the animals -- mostly very slow, almost dead ones. One on the dog, three on one cat, one on another cat.
Is it time to call in the big guns? Or is this just the last gasp of the population? I bought some IGR but haven't sprayed it inside yet. Dosed dog again today with Advantix, will do cats again tomorrow (per instructions that they can have it once a week).
Hardwood floors, only two upholstered pieces in the house, no rugs. Crawling baby, so bug bombs are out for now unless it's the last resort.
Last Saturday, we found some fleas on the dog. Immediately dosed her with K9 Advantix, then dosed the cats. Washed and vacuumed everything with Borax. Sprinkled diatomaceous earth on the couch and in the corners of the house. Sprayed the yard with permethrin.
Today, still finding a few fleas on the animals -- mostly very slow, almost dead ones. One on the dog, three on one cat, one on another cat.
Is it time to call in the big guns? Or is this just the last gasp of the population? I bought some IGR but haven't sprayed it inside yet. Dosed dog again today with Advantix, will do cats again tomorrow (per instructions that they can have it once a week).
Hardwood floors, only two upholstered pieces in the house, no rugs. Crawling baby, so bug bombs are out for now unless it's the last resort.
Seconding that it is last gasp. They'll all be gone very soon.
posted by bearwife at 1:08 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bearwife at 1:08 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thirding last gasp.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:09 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:09 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
Was going to say what stevedawg said. Wash dog, brush cats.
You say "big guns" next but you've already kinda gone to town on these fleas.
posted by zennie at 1:16 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
You say "big guns" next but you've already kinda gone to town on these fleas.
posted by zennie at 1:16 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'd say last gasp, but maybe for the next round switch up your flea meds. We had to rotate between three different meds for our cat because the fleas are becoming resistant in this area. Ask your vet about it.
posted by Toddles at 1:50 PM on March 20, 2015
posted by Toddles at 1:50 PM on March 20, 2015
Response by poster: I forgot to add that I've seen one jumper each in the bedrooms (2 bedrooms).
posted by mrfuga0 at 2:07 PM on March 20, 2015
posted by mrfuga0 at 2:07 PM on March 20, 2015
If you've seen jumpers I'd re-treat the carpets with a kid and pet safe product recommended by your vet. Jumpers can be quite persistent.
posted by bearwife at 2:52 PM on March 20, 2015
posted by bearwife at 2:52 PM on March 20, 2015
One thing to keep in mind is that most flea meds are for prevention not treatment. There is a great med called Capstar that kills the fleas that are currently on the pets. You then also give the prevention regularly. If Advantix or Advantage doesn't seem to be helping, talk to your vet about newer presciption meds.
posted by radioamy at 3:04 PM on March 20, 2015
posted by radioamy at 3:04 PM on March 20, 2015
Flea life cycle is at least a couple of weeks. If you started treating last Saturday (a little less than a week ago), it is not unexpected that you would find new healthy adult fleas that were protected from your previous treatment by their cocoon, because they were in the pupa stage at the time. Treat again. Using different types of treatment could help, because some fleas are resistant.
If your house is cool and dry, fleas will take longer to emerge from egg and pupa stages where they have more protection from your eradication efforts. One suggestion is to rip the band-aid off by heating and humidifying the home to encourage flea maturation, then spray inside the house with IGR. I did the opposite last year--kept my home extra cool and dry--and I suspect it actually prolonged the flea season.
Try frequent dog baths. Frequent vacuuming. If you have a crawl space or attic, don't forget to spray there, too, and check for vermin that might carry fleas.
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 3:13 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
If your house is cool and dry, fleas will take longer to emerge from egg and pupa stages where they have more protection from your eradication efforts. One suggestion is to rip the band-aid off by heating and humidifying the home to encourage flea maturation, then spray inside the house with IGR. I did the opposite last year--kept my home extra cool and dry--and I suspect it actually prolonged the flea season.
Try frequent dog baths. Frequent vacuuming. If you have a crawl space or attic, don't forget to spray there, too, and check for vermin that might carry fleas.
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 3:13 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
...in addition to all the stuff you're already doing, we made a practice to wear low-maintenance clothing and bedding and tumble on high in the dryer every evening (since the queen of fleas sleeps in the bedroom, not on the bed). That seemed to be the straw that broke the itchy little buggers backs.
posted by Jesse the K at 4:42 PM on March 20, 2015
posted by Jesse the K at 4:42 PM on March 20, 2015
This may not be what you want to hear, but I was amazed at how well Trifexis (Rx) worked. When we gave it to our dog, the fleas looked like they were jumping off the Titanic. It was kinda cool to watch. Monthly(ish) doses have kept the fleas off, too.
posted by Jane Austen at 6:16 PM on March 20, 2015
posted by Jane Austen at 6:16 PM on March 20, 2015
I meant to say Comfortis, not Trifexis. My bad.
posted by Jane Austen at 7:11 PM on March 20, 2015
posted by Jane Austen at 7:11 PM on March 20, 2015
Advantage failed to kill the fleas on my pets. It turns out that some fleas have developed advantage resistance.
Within 24 hours of giving them revolution, the fleas were dead.
posted by zug at 8:34 PM on March 20, 2015
Within 24 hours of giving them revolution, the fleas were dead.
posted by zug at 8:34 PM on March 20, 2015
Also, CapStar is a very good temporary treatment and you can do it along with advantage etc.
posted by zug at 8:35 PM on March 20, 2015
posted by zug at 8:35 PM on March 20, 2015
Another vote for last gasp, since the fleas are sluggish and mostly dead. Keep treating for at least a couple more months - it can take that long for all of the eggs to hatch, and all of the fleas to get through their life cycle.
The fleas in our area (Orlando, FL) have been resistant to Frontline for quite a few years now; we were successful with Advantage a couple of years ago, but when we brought a new shelter cat home, she brought fleas with her that Advantage didn't touch.
We ended up getting Activyl from our vet, and it worked fast and furious to kill off all of the fleas. No side effects on either of the cats, and I always worry about our 17-year-old.
posted by themissy at 6:23 AM on March 22, 2015
The fleas in our area (Orlando, FL) have been resistant to Frontline for quite a few years now; we were successful with Advantage a couple of years ago, but when we brought a new shelter cat home, she brought fleas with her that Advantage didn't touch.
We ended up getting Activyl from our vet, and it worked fast and furious to kill off all of the fleas. No side effects on either of the cats, and I always worry about our 17-year-old.
posted by themissy at 6:23 AM on March 22, 2015
« Older What do I owe this real estate agent? | Travel Filter: Salzburg , Prague over Easter. Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by stevedawg at 1:06 PM on March 20, 2015 [2 favorites]