Need help getting rid of fleas

From the vet

I am in Australia so not sure if you have something similar where you are?
It cost me under 20.00 per thing...last about 6 months so that is not too bad. Eucalyptus oil we buy at the supermarket here... hope you can get it where you are

I live in the US, and I have heard about it before, just never seen it in any stores. Then again, I've never gone into a store looking for it either. So I'll check around and see what I can find.

Thanks for the help

ha ha ha from what I posted it looks like the eucalyptus oil is 20.00...

the oil is very cheap, a couple of dollars, the advantage was under 20.00 and lasts six months so just wanted to clarify that.

cheers

reply to post by Thurisaz


Ah, thank you for clarifying. I thought that sounded a little expensive.


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On a side note...
I for got to ask how long I should keep the salt down before cleaning it up..

Speaking of eucalypt oil. I know from having kids that teatree oil works with lice. That might work as well.
You never know. Sounds like anything is worth trying at this point....

reply to post by VIKINGANT


Tea tree works for lice yes, fleas no. Tried it and it made our cat sick.
Everything stated above will work and as Shar said, salt is great. Just overnight, then vaccume up.

reply to post by AccessDenied


Thank you for clarifying about the salt. If we have the salt, I'll do it tomorrow night.

Which makes me think also, how much should I use?

reply to post by wisefoolishness


A thin layer on all carpeted areas, and anywhere your cat sleeps (Unless your bed). Also sprinkle some in and around the litter box. Flea eggs can often be dropped off the cat in that area too.
Trust me..I have lots of cats, and have been through this nightmare.

reply to post by AccessDenied


Ok, thanks. I guess I should do the couch, too?

Anywho, thanks for all of the input guys. I'm gonna put these fleas to the test, see how tough they really are

Once you treat your pets.. you need to treat the floor. Vacuuming is the best way to get the fleas and eggs. but fleas hatch in cycles so it can start all over again. Make sure while you are treating your pets that you vacuum a lot more than normal, including things that are under 4 ft like drapes and clothing. Hardwood and vinyl are great for that reason alone. They need a place to lay eggs. And then there is the yard. You may want to treat it too with some kind of outdoor flea killer. Fleas can sometimes become an infestation. Once we had them outside in such numbers it was crazy!! and then the next year, hardly any. Good luck. I hate them.

"Frontline COMBO" is the only cure/prevention I've found that works.

It kills the fleas, ticks and lots of other bugs, it also deals with the eggs and anything that is in and around the home. Brilliant for my 3 Cats.

Fleas were really bad this year. I have 4 house cats and a dog. We spend the money on the drops you get at the vet. They work on the eggs and the fleas. Frontline is my favorite. I would not waste any money on the stuff you buy at the store, like Hartz. I know it is expensive, but the vet stuff is really the best. You can get this on line a little cheaper too. We also buy a flea spray at the vet. IT costs about $15 (I know!). They were so miserable with the fleas that it was worth it to spend the money.

Originally posted by wisefoolishness
No, not for me..

I have a dog, and two cats, and they all have fleas. We can't seem to get rid of them.

We've tried a few different things, one we got from a vet, which worked for a little while, but then they came back. I can't think of the name right now.

We've used flea shampoo, which killed the fleas on them, but did not prevent them from coming back.

So I just wanted to know what others have used that has worked.

my parakeet gets flees alot

reply to post by wisefoolishness


here is a sure cure. you need to get rid of the food source? no, you do not need to get rid of the animals. all you do is shampoo the animals till all the flees are dead. i mean all the fleas on the animals. then, you take the animals to a house that has no flees or send the animals outside. it is important to stay away from the animals when you feed them outside. flees will cling to you and jump on the animals. your blood is to thick for them so the flee will bite you and jump off you. keep the animals outside for about 3 months. now the flees will jump on you and bite you and you will itch. it may sound funny , but use the flee shampoo in your bathtub, a bubble bath on you. this will keep them from bitting you. since the food source is gone the fleas will slowly die. in 3 months they will be gone. try to keep the cat and dog indoors because fleas come from other animals other than your cat or dog. if your dog or cat plays with gophers, well some gophers have fleas for example. remember, to keep the fleas off you you need the shampoo too cause they jump on you for food and when you go out to feed the animals they jump back on the animals. so your animals , need 2 times a week a shampoo. you only need just a lite smell of this shampoo on you. oh, it will not kill the animal to put the shampoo on thick. i told a friend to do this and he got mad at me because the fleas started bitting him. well,he did not put the shampoo on himself, a light shampoo bath. he had bite marks all over because he scratched them. i told him the fleas at this point had no food and his problem was almost over. he no longer has fleas and he and his whole house was a infestation.
follow the rules and no fleas.

Ah, my specialty... If you follow these directions closely, your flea problem will clear up in about 2 weeks. You'll need to occasionally repeat this process about 2 times a year to keep the fleas away.

The trick is to treat the dog's habitat, first, not so much the dog, believe it or not.

First things first, treat the living area of the dog.

If your dog is inside only or mostly inside dog:
I use Bengal flea and tick spray for indoors. I've never had a problem with it and it always works. Do NOT spray any animal with it though.


Spray any floor surfaces you have first in an inconspicuous area to make sure that surface will not stain. I'd pick a corner and test it. I've never actually had it stain in any homes I've treated and/or lived. Once you are sure there is no staining problem (rare), spray every room the dog goes. If the dog is in the whole house, spray the whole house.

Where the dog sleeps the most, their bedding:
Turn their bedding over, if possible and spray the underside of the bedding and the surface (floor) where it normally is. Turn it back over and spray the area where the dog actually lays. This is the area you want to treat the most thorough along with around windows, doors, and baseboards. That is where fleas hide. Any fleas on your dog, are only on your dog about 20% of the time, long enough to feed. The rest of the time, they hang out in your carpet and baseboards making more fleas.

It only takes it about 10-20 minutes to dry, then it is safe for your dog to be anywhere you sprayed, but right after you spray a certain area, keep the dog out of that area until it dries.

If your dog is outside only, and in only a certain fenced area, treat that area with a good Pyrethrin based flea treatment. Concentrate on the bedding outside as well.

If your dog roams freely outside, you are stuck still giving them baths and hoping for the best. There isn't much you can do if your dog doesn't stay in a certain area only.

After treating the living area and bedding of a dog, bath time:

You don't even need to use any kind of flea bath. Once you have treated the living area and the dog's bedding, wash the dog in regular dog shampoo or give it a good 5 minute Dawn bath followed by a good Keri Lotion conditioner treatment.

The reason I mention the Dawn bath is that it has the same PH as dog shampoo and works to kill fleas better than most stinky flea shampoos. The cleaning agents in Dawn work to crack the flea's shell, which helps kill the fleas.

To make a Dawn bath, add 5 parts water to 1 part Dawn in a bottle and mix well. It's better to put the water in first and then the Dawn. Otherwise, you'll be dealing with tons of bubbles.

For the Keri Lotion treatment, add 5 parts water to 1 part Keri Lotion and mix well.

When you give the dog the bath, make sure you work the shampoo in down to the skin and get the blood (flea crap) out. Yes, when fleas go to the bathroom, it's digested blood. That is why you see the red color washing off during a bath when a dog has fleas.

Let the shampoo set 5 minutes before rinsing.

Rinse until you do not see any more blood running out of the water. If you still see quite a bit of blood after the first rinse, lather up again and rinse. You do not have to let it set 5 minutes the second time.

After washing, use the Keri conditioner and work it in good, then rinse it after about a minute.

Make sure he stays in the treated areas.

Give it about a week and a half and do the whole thing again.

That's it.

The reason you repeat the whole thing in two weeks is this:
The first treatment will kill adult fleas and flea larvae. If you use the Bengal, it will kill most of the eggs too, but the eggs are harder to kill. So, there will be some viable eggs left behind, although a lot less than if left untreated. The second time is for those eggs that do hatch to wipe out any survivors.

With fleas, you are outnumbered and surrounded, but you can outsmart them.

No carpet, hardwood floors all through the house. Just a few rugs here and there.

Fleas can and do hide in baseboards and crevices of hardwood floors too. Spray the perimeter of the rooms, even if you have hardwood floors.

Remember this:
Fleas come from outside originally. They can get inside by coming in on the dog or you, but they can also get in on their own too. A flea can jump 150 times its height. So, getting inside to get to inside animals (FOOD!) is no problem for the little blood sucking varmints.

The treatment I mentioned in my other post works for me Every.Single.Time. It is a lot of work, but it works and you don't have to keep searching for zillions of expensive ways to get rid of them. In other words, you do it twice, then you are through for the summer as long as your pets stay within a certain area you can treat. If they roam, best of luck to you.

The main trick to the whole thing is to understand the life cycle and habits of the fleas; where they hide, how they get back on your pets, how to do the most effective job killing the fleas without being taken for loads of money for stuff that doesn't work.

Of course, my treatment plan works best for me, because my pets are inside animals only. I don't take them outside. I did have an outdoor playpen for my cats and dogs at the old place where we used to live, but I treated that area too and made sure they didn't roam. Any pets I have only have fleas when they first come home, maybe. After that, I treat and don't see any more. I learned it from a dog groomer when I worked for her for 6 years. I heard her explain how to do it so many times that it was easy for me to remember and do at home. I've had no more flea problems since except when new pets arrive and only for a short while until I treat the house.

Originally posted by wisefoolishness
No, not for me..

I have a dog, and two cats, and they all have fleas. We can't seem to get rid of them.

We've tried a few different things, one we got from a vet, which worked for a little while, but then they came back. I can't think of the name right now.

We've used flea shampoo, which killed the fleas on them, but did not prevent them from coming back.

So I just wanted to know what others have used that has worked.

i heard cuban nationals and immigrants from mexico were carrying a new strain of the human papilloma virus carried by fleas and ticks that were accidentally injested by eating goats, eggs, turkeys and giblet gizm from their relatives.