freakin fleas!

[HappyPuppy]

Ruby suddenly has an exposion of fleas on her koochie! --(she has NEVER had more than one flea nor have I seen them in the house)-- I picked off of her body: x 5 two days ago, x4 yesterday and x2 today. I've been spraying her with vinegar water - maybe Joyce's lemon juice recipe is better??? I have spent some time using the search feature...but can someone give me a concise battle plan here? Are the flea eggs in her bed? Under her bed? In the carpet? Freakin evilbastards!!

My husband says to sprinkle baking soda into the carpet... might try that last... I just dosed her with Frontline so I think we are ready for the next step. Wash all beds? What about the non-foam stuffing? Treat the carpet? They are swarming on her and I want them outta here! HELP!!!!!!!

I did skip several months of flea meds during the winter (I FELT better about giving her a break) - but reality is I live in southern Calif and our winters are technically not very cold..... First spring dose of Frontline was approx a month ago - so they have had a nice head start, I guess.

[iluvk9]

I can only tell you how I PREVENT fleas and ticks. I give NUPRO supplement. Four dogs, lots of woods, fleas and ticks. No topical chemicals for mine.

[cheekymunkee]

I moved in November & the fleas at my new place are HORRIBLE!!! We had quite a few freezes & a total of about 20" of snow this winter & that didnt kill the bastards. I usually only put Frontline on the dogs twice a year & never on the cats but I have already dosed them all twice this year. Even the cats. I cant get rid of them & cant afford to spray the yard. The Frontline is still working, the fleas that get on them die but I am just not used to seeing fleas on them at ALL. I wish I knew the answer but none of my old standbys seem to be working as well as they used to.

[madremissy]

I don't know how some people feel about this stuff but our Vet told us to put it on the yard. I have a huge yard surrounded by acres of Georgia pines. The fleas and ticks are horrible. I just started mine back on advantix last month and put "Over and Out" on the yard. I haven't had one flea on either of them. Lucky I guess.

It is supposed to be for fire ants but when my vet suggested it for fleas also we tried it.

http://www.gardening123.com/ProductInfo/over_n_out/default.asp

[mnp13]

Are the flea eggs in her bed? Under her bed? In the carpet?

YES.

and everywhere else.

[amalie79]

I don't usually have to treat my crew until June or so, but I've already done it once and we're due for a second time.

I hate putting chemicals on them (but I've had to) and the flea population is becoming immune to these chemicals-- Frontline stopped working for many people in my area last year.

For environmental control, I hear good things about food grade diatomaceous earth on the animals themselves and on carpet, bedding, etc. I've also heard good things about Fleabusters http://www.fleabuster.com/

It's kind of like boric acid and you only treat once a year.

[HappyChick]

Fleas in the yard can be killed using pyrethrum which is a natural pesticide as opposed to permethrin which is synthetic, toxic, and a "possible human carcinogen" according to the EPA. I've done significant research on these pesticides as this is the fight I'm in with my City right now.

http://www.livingwithbugs.com/permethrin_pyrethrum.html

I agree 100% with Michelle, the flea eggs are possibly everywhere. All bedding should be washed and all carpet and furniture vaccuumed. Throw out the vaccuum bag when finished. Anywhere Ruby has been in the house is a possible hatching ground. On the flip side if you've only seen a few on her, they may not have laid eggs anywhere else but on her....what you do depends on how thorough you want to be.

I also agree with Amalie. Insects build up a resistance to synthetic pesticides over time and they become immune.

Good luck!

Missy - here is what I found on your "Over and Out". http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Che ... Id=PC35768

[HappyPuppy]

Thanks for your replies, everyone. I am at least encouraged because I haven't seen any fleas in a few days! Washed all the bedding on HOT tho the cushions/filler material was too big to wash - so I sprayed them with vinegar water (in desperation) and left them out side for a couple of days. Been spraying Ruby, too, with the v-water but still need to get some ACV to add to her meals...just in case that really helps. The 1/2 garlic clove I fed her yesterday is making for some garlic-smelling farts today - ugh! I'm going to look into the neem oil that people keep talking about, too.

[SLS61185]

Patch really only brings in maybe 2-3 every so often. He gets flea treatment every month (read as when I remember to go get it) and same with his heartworm pills.

We took him for a walk in one of the Battlefields around here and he came home with TEN freakin' ticks in his feet. Good thing he had just had his treatment a few weeks ago.. And he's due for his heartworm/lyme test in June, along with some shots... So hopefully he's all good.

Good luck!

[Malli]

careful feeding Garlic! There is some thought that a dog's body may react in a similar manner as it does wtih onions...

Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there!

Flea eggs can lie dormant in the environment for close to a year and the shell of the egg is extremely difficult to penetrate. They like to lay their eggs best in dark, warm, and moist places (deep in the carpet, under baseboards, furniture, etc).

[HappyPuppy]

Yeah - I know about 'garlic' and don't use it much at all really....

Eggs.......dormant........for a year???!!!! OMG!

careful feeding Garlic! There is some thought that a dog's body may react in a similar manner as it does wtih onions...

Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there!

Flea eggs can lie dormant in the environment for close to a year and the shell of the egg is extremely difficult to penetrate. They like to lay their eggs best in dark, warm, and moist places (deep in the carpet, under baseboards, furniture, etc).

[amalie79]

Yeah - I know about 'garlic' and don't use it much at all really....

Eggs.......dormant........for a year???!!!! OMG!

Hm. Maybe I shouldn't tell you that they can live off their own waste for many months, as well...

Seriously, though, having a topical treatment on the animals is a huge start-- everything that hatches gets killed pretty quickly, even though it sucks to have to put chemicals directly on them. Dilligent vacuuming gets what doesn't hatch, and I would guess that something like the Fleabusters could help tamp down anything that hatches later.

TEN freakin' ticks in his feet

They're horrible here right now, too. My husband works out in the country and keeps bringing them in and our lab and I seem to be bringing home hitchhikers from the dog park (no worries-- I don't take Robin to that park-- only River. And it's 40 acres, so it's easy to hide out. We also know most of the dogs that go there). I keep finding ticks on me !

[Malli]

There is no "too much" with onions though, you know that, right? Some dogs could eat onions forever, some could eat them for a long time and then all of a sudden experience issues, and some dogs just need to eat one slice once, and thats it, Anemia and all its complications
I know people often swear by it, but I wonder if they know the real risks, so just thought I'd mention in case you didn't.

Yes, fleas are little bastards.

Yeah - I know about 'garlic' and don't use it much at all really....

Eggs.......dormant........for a year???!!!! OMG!

careful feeding Garlic! There is some thought that a dog's body may react in a similar manner as it does wtih onions...

Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there!

Flea eggs can lie dormant in the environment for close to a year and the shell of the egg is extremely difficult to penetrate. They like to lay their eggs best in dark, warm, and moist places (deep in the carpet, under baseboards, furniture, etc).

[tiva]

I don't know how some people feel about this stuff but our Vet told us to put it on the yard. I have a huge yard surrounded by acres of Georgia pines. The fleas and ticks are horrible. I just started mine back on advantix last month and put "Over and Out" on the yard. I haven't had one flea on either of them. Lucky I guess.

It is supposed to be for fire ants but when my vet suggested it for fleas also we tried it.

http://www.gardening123.com/ProductInfo/over_n_out/default.asp

As an ecologist, I would strongly discourage use of this product in yards. The active ingredient is fipronil, which is also the active ingredient in Frontline. Spot-applications of fipronil on the back of dogs are (I believe) a responsible use. There are risks involved, for both the dog and the larger environment, but when you're only using small amounts on individual dogs, insect resistance is not going to evolve as quickly as when you're spraying it over the landscape. Spraying pesticides over lawns and gardens not only exposes LOTS of sensitive animals (ie, cats) to fipronil, it also means that fleas can quickly evolve resistance to the active ingredient. And that means it becomes useless in your area, and spot treatments on individual dogs no longer work.

For yards, a much better option is to use nematodes--a natural parasite that eats the fleas. Fleabusters can come and spray nematodes in your yard, or you can buy them from the company for less and do it yourself. See: http://www.fleabuster.com/Products/Biob ... todes.html