flea treatment options??????

[dixiechick]

I keep my cats and dogs on Advantage and Frontline...but I think the fleas are now immune. What other options do I have????

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Are you bombing/fogging the house as well?

From experience. Just treating the dog/cats and not treating the house/carpet/furniture and even yard in some cases will make no difference.

Last year we had to totally bomb/fog the ENTIRE house twice in a month. We had a bomb in each bedroom. One in the kitchen/pantry. One in the bathroom. Two in the living room. Two in the basement and two in the attic(where NO ONE and Nothing goes) But we tossed them up there as well.
I pulled all the furniture away from the walls. Flipped the mattresses and box springs over. Opened the closets and drawers. Everything.

Took care of it and we had a BAD flea problem. This year hasnt been nearly as bad. But we bombed last weekend anyway. I want to do it again before the weather turns.

 

[dixiechick]

all are indoor animals and we have no carpeting (all hardwood floors and tile)!

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

We had that same problem with frontline. They got immuned. There is a new brand in my country living book called triforce.

http://www.triforceforpets.com/

 

[mistylady]

We use Advantix on the dogs. During the winter we don't use any.

 

[sundance]

someone told me to spray with orange oil, but since I can't find any Iam cooking the peelings of several oranges in my crock pot, then I will spray for the fleas. Iwash my dogs in Dawn then spray them good with Adams flea spray, All the dropsI was using stopped working, guess they got immune to them.

marrie

 

[greyhorsewoman]

I see you are in Florida. You might consider a professional to deflea your house on some sort of a regular basis.

We lived in NC for 11 years and never stopped fighting the fleas. It never gets cold enough to really deter them. They get resistant to foggers, sprays, etc.

The introduction of Advantage saved my life back then, but I'm not surprised that they have become for immune to even that now.

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

I work at a vet's office, and we just recently had an in-service about why flea treatments seem to stop working. They pets don't really get immune to topical flea treatments, the problem lies with proper application and bathing. If you use a shampoo that contains soap on your pet, that will wash off the flea product. Also, the old thinking was that you should wait 48 hours after bathing before application. Well, that just gives the fleas time to bite and reproduce. To do it correctly, bathe the pet in a soap-free shampoo, then apply flea treatment DIRECTLY ON THE SKIN, NOT JUST THE HAIR as soon as the pet is dry.
There is a new once-a-month flea pill out called Comfortis, but it's pretty expensive. However, if you can afford it (about $80 for a six month supply) it is very effective. But you can pay the same amount for Sentinel and you get the heartworm prevention along with the flea treatment.
And yes, if your pet has a flea allergy, treating the environment is essential!!

 

[ChickaD]

Although I haven't yet tried it myself, DE (diatomaceous earth, food grade only) is supposed to be an effective and inexpensive way to treat fleas. Dust the animals and maybe sprinkle some on their sleeping area. There's no way insects can adjust to or become immune to DE, as it works in a physical way, not chemically.

When I get a moment, I'm going to dust our pets, as the other products are getting so expensive, and I have my doubts about how well they're working.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I too was having a wretched time with fleas this year. I was using the uber expensive Frontline to no avail. I finally hauled both dogs to the vet and they gave them a pill called the Capstar pill. We then switched to Advantage immediately (vet put it on while we were still there). I haven't seen a flea on the dogs since. That's been over a month now. I'm still fighting them in the house, but so far the dogs are clean. I think the Capstar pill was about $4. It was worth every penny.

Good luck!