The fleas don't exactly live on your cats and dogs, although it sure seems like it! They live in the environment. They'll go through the "drive thru" on your pets and stay there for a bit, but they spend most of their time in their surroundings. You'll find them everywhere - under area rugs, in your furniture, deep in carpet fibers. Not only can fleas cause all of the things already mentioned, but they can also transmit tapeworms to your pets. So they are being assaulted from the inside and the outside and the resulting anemia is ugly to watch. That doesn't even count the flea-bite dermatitis and the misery of bites on the humans in the family.
If you really want to keep your pets then you'll probably have to be prepared to spend some money. First, get them out of the house and off to your vet's. Let them bathe and/or dip them and then keep them overnight for observation. It's risky treating for both fleas and tapes at the same time. If it's necessary, then it should only be done under medical supervision. While the animals are gone overnight, tackle the house. In my experience flea collars are pretty worthless. If the fleas stayed under the collar you might get some of them, but they multiply at astounding rates and they do most of that multiplying in the environment. Flea eggs and larvae are particularly tough to tackle. We used to tell our clients to put a flea collar in your vacuum cleaner bag or barrel, if your cleaner is bagless. Yep, that's right. Even though I just said flea collars are pretty worthless they do work there. See, if you vacuum up some of the fleas, eggs, and larvae, the insecticide in the flea collar in a closed in space is enough to take care of that batch. Don't believe me? Run your vacuum over your rugs, turn it off, and just listen. It will sound like popcorn inside that bag with them all jumping around in there. After just a couple of hours the jumping slows, then stops. If you run your vacuum then let it set with the fleas in it, many of them will find their way out anyway. They are flat-bodied (sideways) and the smallest openings are easy for them to escape. Now, I certainly agree with thechickendiva. Hartz products do more harm than good. About all they do is make you THINK you're doing something positive when in reality they aren't the safest things on the market.
When you treat the house, get it all. If you use bombs, lift and prop up the front legs of the furniture to make sure the chemical gets under there. Stand the cushions of the couch and chairs upright, if they can do that. Fleas like dark places unless they've climbed aboard for a good meal. I hate the use of chemicals in the home, but there are just sometimes nothing else will do. Personally I preferred Spectricide spray, the premixed. I thought it did a really good job. When we lived in Chicago and then in Eastern South Dakota fleas were the bane of my existence. I was fortunate enough to have worked for a top-notch vet in Chicago, then two others in Mississippi so I knew what I was up against. I even had them in my car, for crying out loud! And treating them is not a one time thing, unfortunately. They are also in your yard, hitching a ride on the dogs when they come in. And so the cycle continues. It's two pronged approach - get the ones on the animals and those in the house and yard. They didn't reach those epic numbers overnight, and they won't be gone overnight either. After you get a handle on the majority of the problem, then it's time to break out the diatomacious earth. A weekly sprinkling on the pets bedding (shaking it out or not, up to you) and the carpets, leaving it for a couple of hours then vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, will help tremendously with after-treatment control!
Good luck! This is a tough one. I remember seeing fleas jumping on my 2 year old grandson when he came to visit, we had them so bad. My dogs were entered in dog shows for conformation, obedience and hunting. I couldn't have their coats mangled with fleas, spread fleas to other competitors, or have them sit down during an obedience match to scratch. I had to pull them for one entire summer before we got it totally under control. I don't envy you or your pets.
If you really want to keep your pets then you'll probably have to be prepared to spend some money. First, get them out of the house and off to your vet's. Let them bathe and/or dip them and then keep them overnight for observation. It's risky treating for both fleas and tapes at the same time. If it's necessary, then it should only be done under medical supervision. While the animals are gone overnight, tackle the house. In my experience flea collars are pretty worthless. If the fleas stayed under the collar you might get some of them, but they multiply at astounding rates and they do most of that multiplying in the environment. Flea eggs and larvae are particularly tough to tackle. We used to tell our clients to put a flea collar in your vacuum cleaner bag or barrel, if your cleaner is bagless. Yep, that's right. Even though I just said flea collars are pretty worthless they do work there. See, if you vacuum up some of the fleas, eggs, and larvae, the insecticide in the flea collar in a closed in space is enough to take care of that batch. Don't believe me? Run your vacuum over your rugs, turn it off, and just listen. It will sound like popcorn inside that bag with them all jumping around in there. After just a couple of hours the jumping slows, then stops. If you run your vacuum then let it set with the fleas in it, many of them will find their way out anyway. They are flat-bodied (sideways) and the smallest openings are easy for them to escape. Now, I certainly agree with thechickendiva. Hartz products do more harm than good. About all they do is make you THINK you're doing something positive when in reality they aren't the safest things on the market.
When you treat the house, get it all. If you use bombs, lift and prop up the front legs of the furniture to make sure the chemical gets under there. Stand the cushions of the couch and chairs upright, if they can do that. Fleas like dark places unless they've climbed aboard for a good meal. I hate the use of chemicals in the home, but there are just sometimes nothing else will do. Personally I preferred Spectricide spray, the premixed. I thought it did a really good job. When we lived in Chicago and then in Eastern South Dakota fleas were the bane of my existence. I was fortunate enough to have worked for a top-notch vet in Chicago, then two others in Mississippi so I knew what I was up against. I even had them in my car, for crying out loud! And treating them is not a one time thing, unfortunately. They are also in your yard, hitching a ride on the dogs when they come in. And so the cycle continues. It's two pronged approach - get the ones on the animals and those in the house and yard. They didn't reach those epic numbers overnight, and they won't be gone overnight either. After you get a handle on the majority of the problem, then it's time to break out the diatomacious earth. A weekly sprinkling on the pets bedding (shaking it out or not, up to you) and the carpets, leaving it for a couple of hours then vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, will help tremendously with after-treatment control!
Good luck! This is a tough one. I remember seeing fleas jumping on my 2 year old grandson when he came to visit, we had them so bad. My dogs were entered in dog shows for conformation, obedience and hunting. I couldn't have their coats mangled with fleas, spread fleas to other competitors, or have them sit down during an obedience match to scratch. I had to pull them for one entire summer before we got it totally under control. I don't envy you or your pets.
2weeks later...is that a flea on your leg? 2 weeks later...I picked off 10 **** fleas today! D.E. all over the carpets, along the cracks, atop the trim, on the bathroom mats, on that beautiful cat someone else didn't want, on my socks. Is that a flea? Throw some D.E. on it! Next day spend hours vacuuming every bit of the D.E. up plus the dead fleas plus the eggs that may be loose. 6 days later D.E. all over again for any new hatchlings or smart fleas that hid the first time. Maybe not have to D.E. the socks again;-) Vacuum next day, AGAIN. Repeat for 3 to 4 weeks EVERY week until no fleas. It took us 1 full month of this and no chemicals, beautiful cat went outside and was happier (mind you I don't live in the city. Do be respectful of others that don't like cat prints on their cars or additions to the feral cat community) and treating outside animals often with D.E. also. You might have to vacuum in-depth after D.E. but at there aren't residuals that have to be scrubbed from walls and every other surface. While eating flea tainted D.E. is disgusting, if you do eat D.E. knowingly or otherwise it isn't going to hurt you. Food grade D.E. is already in a lot of manufactured foods anyhow. Hope your problems gets resolved soon.
