UGH! Fleas! Help!

[chickensducks&agoose]

DH just got back from afghanistan, and has spent the past 10 days cleaning. washing fan blades, wiping out the crisper, disinfecting the floors, toilets, sinks, windows, etc. today, laying in our bed, he was bitten on the hand by a FLEA. He just about lost it. what can I do to fix this? Do fleas live in the carpet? we have a lot of carpets, WTW in the upstairs. is it like lice? Do i need to bag everything up in the attic for a month? I guess we're going to get that Advantage stuff and stick it on the dog. I washed the cat, and though she's super angry, she didn't have any fleas, do i need to apply that poison to her too? help!?!?

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

They DO live in the carpet and in anything soft - couches and stuff.

All animals need to be treated. Use Advantage or Frontline; do not use the cheaper "Bio Spot" or similar products. Advantage and Frontline are pretty safe and have a much lower risk to humans than most other things. You will also need to treat your house - the last time we got them from a rescue dog we brought in, we used Frontline spray (comes in a spray bottle and is usually sold where Frontline top-spot is) around the corners of the rooms and we lifted the couches and sprayed thoroughly underneath them. We then vacuumed obsessively for a long time. That took care of them beautifully. Now that we have wood or tile everywhere we almost never have any issue, even with the rescues we bring in.

 

[Ms.FuzzyButts]

Aside from setting off some flea bombs, your best bet would be to get some Ortho Home Defense Max from Home Depot, Lowes or wherever else you have like that. I have used it and it works extremely well. It comes in a jug that is ready to spray. You can spray all cracks and crevices with it. Even mist your carpets with it because they can and DO live in the carpet. You may even need to re-apply in a week or so for good measure to rid anymore that may hatch out after your initial application. Hope this helps you!! They can be a nightmare.

 

[annageckos]

I never use chemicals to treat for fleas, and have not had any problems with them. Unless they are bad, or someone has an allergy this is what I would do. Garlic, both you and your pets can eat garlic. Daily for about a week, then once every other day or so. Garlic gets into the blood stream and repels biting insects. You can sprinkle DE (diatomaceous earth, I get food grade DE from the feed store) on the carpet, let sit for 1/2 - 1 hour or more and them vacuum it up. I have had very good luck with DE. I also make up a spray of lavender and cedar oils mixed with water. Six to ten drops of each with about a cup of water. Shake well before using. Both of these repel insects. I use this on myself, BF and pets, especially the dogs before going on walks in the woods. It works great and the lavender stops itching caused by bug bites too. Lemon grass and tea tree oil also work well. Tea tree oil will also kill the bugs, but make sure it is not ingested, especially by cats as it can damage the liver. Only in a extreme situation would I even think about using chemicals to treat for fleas. Good luck.

 

[key west chick]

Fleas will live in the carpet for a long time. They really only need blood to reproduce. I have found that neither Frontline Plus or Advantage works anymore. Im going through the same problem here at my house. You can also try something with boric acid in it to kill the fleas in your carpet.

 

[redhen]

Did you have fleas before hubby came back from over seas? Cause he could have brought them with him...
Its kinda cold up here to be having flea problems.... my animals never have fleas on them this time of year...
Thats what makes me think he may have brought them home with him??

And yes..USE frontline or advantage to kill them. Do ALL the animals too... or you'll NEVER get rid of them.

 

[acid_chipmunk]

You can sprinkle borax on the carpets to get rid of them as well. It is like glass shards to them and will cut them up and kill them. Sprinkle liberally, like so your carpet is white, let it sit for about 30 minutes and vacuum. You will probably have to do it again in a week, to get the eggs that will hatch. We do this on our carpets and it works very well. Beats using chemicals on them.

I do Advantage my cats though. It is the only think that kills the bugs that are on them. Put it behind their head (between the should blades) and by the next day they are all dead. You can' wash them two days before or two days after treatment or it won't be effective to the fullest extent, so you will have to wait to do that cat since you just bathed it.


Good Luck

 

[HeatherLynn]

We moved into a house that had carpet and the previous owners had dogs. Nice, well kept dogs. They had no fleas I was around them enough I would have noticed. BUT then I started vacuuming. ALOT. Just trying to get all the dusk I could out and all of a sudden there was a flea epedemic. In reading up on how to deal with this and what was causing it ( we had no indoor pets) I read that they can go dormant and as soon as there is stimulation that makes it seem like environment has changed in their favor, the stupid eggs hatch. Holy crap we had a ton of fleas.

Went to the pet store. I asked the ladies what to get. There was an orange oil carpet cleaning stuff. Orange oil spray that was safe around pets and kids. I also read that pepermint oil will work also so that went into a difuser to be sprayed. After all was try we put down carpet powder that kills fleas and then went out for the day. Came home, vacuumed it all up. Then went out for dinner to let the dusk settle. Then came home and vacuumed again. I treated the house with orange oil daily. I did the powder stuff once a week. I vacuumed at least 5 times a day. Then emptied the vacuum into a baggie. Sealed the baggie and out in the trash it went. ( there were fleas in the vacuum bag, ALIVE) It took roughly 3 weeks to be completely flea free. We saw improvement after the first couple days though. After that we saw fewer and fewer. You have to keep treating though to make sure you kill future batches. I think they hatch every 2 weeks or something. Its insane.

Wear a mask when messing with the powders. You don't want to inhale something meant to kill these little buggers. Good luck

 

[xke4]

Use Advantage. Treat all animals in the house. There is no need to pour chemicals all over your house.....simply repeat the advantage in a month and again in another month. This will address any hatching eggs. Hey Vet techs....back me up!
Please google Borax use before spreading it around. It can be very dangerous to animals.

 

[key west chick]

Both my indoor dogs are on their 3rd treatment of Advantage. Now that its gone, I wont be buying more. They still have as many fleas on them as they did months ago. Unfortunately, a lot of chemicals are no longer effective at treating fleas.