fleas

[chickbird]

what do you use for fleas on your dogs????????????any suggestions other than the expensive frontline and other????????????

 

[artsyrobin]

I get comfortis from the vet- its a pill - you can buy one dose for $14, works great. Also have been told to wash them in dawn citrus, apparently the fleas don't like it

 

[txredneckmedic]

use pyrethrin. Its all natural and kills them fast

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
Ditto on the Comfortis!! Works amazing!!

Missi

 

[gritsar]

We also use the comfortis.

 

[Imp]

The fleas have just been horrible this year. We are paying for our nice warm winter.
The last time I was at the vet's; he told me about a product called Capstar(nitenpyram) It was only $4 per dose, and he said it would kill ALL external parasites within 1 hour. It is a pill you feed to them (in my case cats) He said it was safe to use with other treatments, and OK to crush and put in their food. The downside is that it doesn't kill the eggs.
The package says for dogs and cats 2-25lbs.
I used frontline on the 4 cats I can handle, and all 7 got Capstar in their food. They are flea free for now, but my carpetless house still has them. Thankfully they don't bite me, but I not fond of the crawling on me.

Imp

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
My vet recommended against capstar, because it's a one time deal; it doesn't kill fleas continuously like the comfortis does. For the house, try sprinkling 20 mule team borax in the crevices, under the baseboards, etc.
ETA: Unfortunately comfortis is only for dogs.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
My vet recommended against capstar, because it's a one time deal; it doesn't kill fleas continuously like the comfortis does. For the house, try sprinkling 20 mule team borax in the crevices, under the baseboards, etc.
ETA: Unfortunately comfortis is only for dogs.

Yeah you are right, Capstar is a one time deal, need to retreat in about 2 weeks. He recommended it because Frontline/Advantage etc doesn't seem to work well on cats, or at least mine. I can use it and still have live fleas on them. And I have ferals, strays, indoor/outdoor and house cats mixed together. So we thought a double shot with both type products would jumpstart the process. I actually bought 18 doses so I could retreat for the month and take care of the house. I'll give the borax a shot. Thanks for the tip.
He said that about 2 weeks before, the fleas had exploded here. Every animal was coming in with fleas. I think he was a little upset about it. Honestly I don't think I'll ever be completely flea free, but try to keep them beaten back.

Imp

 

[lemurchaser]

The problem with treating fleas is their lifecycle. You have to understand what you're treating.

Adult fleas make up 5% of the population, so only a tiny percent are adults, the rest are pupa, larva and eggs. Nothing really kills the pupa, so at best you can kill the other life stages, but you still won't get rid of the population. Frequent and very very thorough vacuuming can encourage the pupa to hatch and then you can kill them, and it will also suck up a lot of the various stages. It can take up to a YEAR for pupa to hatch, so you have to keep treating pets for a year after fleas are found on them or in the house.

Borax can be used in the carpet, it dries out the inside of the fibers and makes it a poor environment for fleas, so sprinkle in borax, and then vacuum.

The spot treatments on the pets are the best bet, it can really keep fleas down, and don't use the cheaper versions. I've seen some really bad reactions to products like Biospot. Products like Revolution (which also protect against heartworm), frontline, advantix, are the best. ALWAYS follow package guidelines, some of these products sold for dogs are TOXIC to cats.

To get rid of fleas you need to clean everything, vacuum frequently (daily for a few weeks), use borax in the house and yard, and treat every pet.

 

[piecemaker]

We use the 20 mule team borax inside the house and the 3 dogs get ivermectum (sp) monthly. We have 1 inside outside cat that is not treated. So far little or no fleas for the last few years. Have found 2 ticks on 2 different cats this week though
Piecemaker