Fleas - Is it possible to get rid of them without exterminator/bombing

[CritterHill]

Ok, somehow I must have missed giving the cats their Frontline treatment this month... The three cats were infested, fleas are in my house, and my 2 year old is covered with bites.

I have the cats under control. Under my vet's advice: Frontline Saturday, capstar every other day for a week, then Advantage the following Friday.

But what about my house? The cats sleep in the 2 year old's bed which is why she is the hardest hit.

I am washing her sheets/pillow/stuffed animals every other day. I am spraying her mattress and floor every other day.

I also saw fleas in the living room. Spraying every other day there and vacuuming (put flea collar in the vacuum bag).

I also nuked big sister's room for good measure.

So far today, I saw one flea and the 2 year old only woke up with one bite (she had gotten 40 or 50 bites over the last few days) so that is an improvement.

But I just talked to the vet tech who said there is no possible way I can get rid of the fleas myself this way. She said I would have to call a professional exterminator.

I really don't want to do that because I don't want all the toys coated with chemicals - the 2 year old still sticks them in her mouth despite my best efforts.

Has anyone successfully gotten fleas out of their home after an infestation without calling in the pros? And without using the bombs?

Also, what sprays have you found that work the best? I used zodiac the first day, and sergeant's gold today. I also have a bottle of hartz here, but I hear that doesn't do squat.

Any advice? Is it hopeless?

 

[Mikeeeeeeeeee]

Just went through it.

Bomb once.
Frontline on all critters.
Bomb again in one week.

Gone.

BTW.........spectracide bombs are not worth the money.
Raid is the best.

 

[vickig]

The problem with fleas is they are consistently laying eggs.

Try to find something that will kill the eggs too.

Good Luck!

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

I love raid bombs. There are also flea sprays for the carpet. We had a bad year once and it called all of them. I have to find what it was called. I think there are also powders you can put on the carpet and you let it sit for a while then vacuum.

Forgot to add: We use advantage on our animals and dont use frontline anymore. Somehow frontline never works but the advantage keeps working.

 

[ChooksChick]

Do what the Vet says-

The fleas' eggs hatch in something like 10 days, if I remember, and the Advantage will kill any adult that feeds off an animal treated with it- they have to feed to lay eggs, so the cycle will stop if you follow those instructions. The Frontline and Advantage will work.

 

[newchickenfamily]

We had that happen here about 2 years ago. We got rid of them in the house w/o using a bomb. The fleas ONLY bit my DD. It was horrible. The preschool even called me thinking she had chicken pox. I had to hang my head in embarrassment to tell them it was fleas...

1. Treated cats and did not allow them in DD's room until we were sure that the fleas were gone.

2. Tore apart DD's room (where cats slept) and cleaned from top to bottom.

3. We have hardwood with area rugs, so we treated the area rugs with a spray and vacuumed every day for about a week.

GOOD LUCK! What a miserable pest those fleas are!

 

[CritterHill]

Quote:
Holy Cow! That happened to me Monday! They nearly turned us away at the door because they thought she had chicken pox!

I will keep up the good fight! I have hope!

 

[morelcabin]

My dog used to get fleas often...usually every fall actually. What I did was treat the dog with whatever you feel works, then sprinkle Mule Team borax on every carpet, the dogs bedding, the kids mattress, and any fabric furniture. It is safe and non toxic. Let the borax sit for a day while the kids are at school. End of day vaccuum everything thoroughly, put clean sheets on the beds and your fleas will be gone in a very safe way:>)
I've never had to repeat this process, but I do leave borax on the dogs bed.

 

[spydertoys]

I groomed dogs for 15 years and dealt with a lot of fleas..but they never made it home with me luckily. This article will tell you everything you need to know about the life cycle of the fles..and you need to know this to get rid of them. The problem is that most insecticides will not kill them when they are in the larva stage.

There are also some good related atricles at the bottom.

http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/parasites/f/FAQ_fleacycle.htm

 

[newchickenfamily]

Quote:
Holy Cow! That happened to me Monday! They nearly turned us away at the door because they thought she had chicken pox!

I will keep up the good fight! I have hope!

I'm glad to know someone else joined me in the preschool flea embarrassment!! I wanted to crawl under something and hide!

The bites were mostly on her torso hidden under her clothes but she had quite a few on her neck, which is what they saw. It was awful.

In my previous post, I said we vacuumed every day for a week, my memory is foggy, it might have been longer. Keep it up and you'll get them outta there!!