Flea infestation!! HELP!

[Talithahorse]

I once moved into a house which was so bad that when you walked in you would literally get 50 or more jumping on your socks.... I began religiously vacuuming every day, sometimes twice a day at the beginning and then making sure that I emptied the vacuum. It took awhile but eventually the place was cleared of fleas. I also kept the grass around the house very short as this seemed to help as well. Pay particular attention to corners in edges next to the walls. I also had good luck with the light flea traps and trays of water with just a little bit of oil put into the water. Be persistent and vacuum everything and you should see improvement. It took about a month to get down to an occasional flea but it worked. Unfortunately, many of the chemicals seem to be losing effect as the fleas are developing resistance to them. Keep vacuuming... it is a siege and you can win!

 

[res]

Ridding your house and yard of a flea infestation generally takes 3 MONTHS of diligence.

Treat the yard monthly if it is a size that is manageable.

Treat the house, vacuum daily and toss out contents of vacuum OR put flea powder in vacuum bag/canister to kill fleas. Talk to an exterminator, many offer guarantees for flea control. If the fleas come back within a certain time, the exterminators reapply treatment for free.

Treat all animals in the house at least every month, talk to your vet about "rotating" spot-on products so that you can treat them every 2 WEEKS. Talk to the vet about purchasing the largest size available, ask to be shown how to measure out smaller doses using a needle & syringe. It is WAY more economical than buying exact sizes. It is up to the vet's discretion to "teach" you... I know we have had clients that I did not feel could safely handle the procedure at home, and we required them to purchase proper sizes. You don't have to buy your meds from the vet, but it is best to have the vet show you how to measure them out!

You may need to use oral meds in addition to spot-ons. Oral meds HAVE to be given at the manufacturer dosage, you can't split pills. Capstar is now OTC in generic form, and can be given daily and is fairly affordable.

Seresto collars are the BOMB! Worth every penny!

DO NOT BATHE animals that have been treated with spot-ons. (You can bathe with SOAP-FREE shampoos, but most flea shampoos are NOT soap-free!!). Bathing can strip the spot-on off the skin and/or strip the skin oils that the spot-on relies on the work(exception is Revolution - it is alcohol based and cannot be washed off). Flea shampoos are not "flea control" as they only kill what is on the animal at the time of the bath, they have no residual. They are a great way to "get started" on killing fleas, but if you are using a spot-on, flea baths are just detrimental.