Fleas!

BriannaCaitlin · November 2014

I have two cats, but neither of them are outside cats... So WHY do we have fleas?! I cannot get rid of them but they are eating me up! I've never had something piss me off so much. Any proven ways to get rid of them?!!

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BriannaCaitlin · November 2014

And maybe I shouldn't bitch about this on here but damn... I'm at the end of my rope and about to lose it.

ncampese · November 2014

I'm not sure about cats because I have only ever had dogs. But I tried flea treatment from the pet store and that didn't work. I went to the vet and they gave me Advantage. It worked within a couple days. I did a quick google and saw they also have Advantage for cats. I'm sorry, it sucks! Good luck.

mandikins27 · November 2014

Put the cats on Advantage flea control

Lanatir · November 2014

I had this problem with our 2 cats my first pregnancy.

If you are ok with chemicals, spraying a growth regulator and leaving the house for a while can interrupt the cycle and eventually get rid of them.

Some internet pages claim dichotomous earth (I think that's spelled correctly) and others claim it's bad for people to inhale, so I didn't go that route.

I did use a lot of salt in our carpets and continuous vacuuming. Vacuuming can cause the fleas to hatch out of their cocoon and then the constant vacuuming helps suck them up out of the carpet.

Flea drops on your cats is probably a good idea, or whatever EOs work for cat skin and repelling fleas.

Any indoor/outdoor pets can bring them in (so if you have a dog who goes outside) and in some areas they do hitch a ride in on people, so you might have to get your yard treated in a way safe for the environment you live in.

Keeping grass shorter in the yard can discourage huge colonies of fleas.

Last time, I also scrubbed with dawn soap and warm water the whole basement slab (yes, the concrete one) to ensure I got any eggs that could be laying around or in any crack/seal in the slab and up against the walls since they apparently like to live in the corners where wall and floor meets (hard to vacuum/sweep, and in instances of baseboards, they can hide behind those, or the carpet meets the wall there and is usually undisturbed).

Also, if you can afford to, move all of the furniture out of a room when you vacuum to ensure none of the fleas or stages of flea have hidden under couches/chairs/tables. I also washed all pillows and blankets weekly for a while (including throw pillows on the couch and dawn and damp cloth on the couch).

That might be it? I might be missing something... Sorry for the novel, but hopefully something helps.

kellyfo14 · November 2014

Ugh, just found them on our kitties too. You have lots of options out there. We have dealt with this before, a long time ago and managed to eliminate them. I would definitely get the behind the neck meds. If kitty with tolerate a bath that is a good start. Also, do you have a flea comb? This will allow you to grab all the adult fleas off their bodies.
After you have gotten as many as you can off, put the back of the neck meds on them. Another remedy that seemed to help us was a little apple cider vinegar diluted with water sprayed on their fur or even put a tad in their water. This was the thing that finally eradicated them for us.
Also, for furniture and carpeting check out this stuff diatomaceous earth. It is a natural powdery substance that is harmless to people, animals, and children. It is actually made up of tiny fossils from plankton. It gets onto the fleas legs and body, they consume it and it basically kills them by ripping them apart from within. Not so pretty but when you really hate fleas it feels like justice. This stuff is pretty cheap too.

ETA: As far as the concerns about breathing diatomaceous earth, what is sold to consumers is silica based, the safe version. You can read about it online.

thompnia · November 2014

I have been fighting this problem for two months with my dogs and cats

it is very subdued now, but not gone. My husband needs to paint my kitchen cabinets so we can put the doors back on (we won't flea bomb with our cupboards open.)

honeybeee3 · November 2014

PPs have some good suggestions.
I don't know if this has been mentioned but Borax kills fleas. Just sprinkle it all over the carpet, let it sit, and then vacuum it up. It's best to shampoo the carpets after.

southernyankeegirl · November 2014

We have a doggy door and our dog used to inevitably drag them in with her every spring/summer. Now we have her on Trifexis heartworm meds which also kills and prevents fleas - it's like magic!

Frequent vacuuming will help stop the life cycle of the fleas, but they need a host to survive so don't kill yourself scrubbing every nook - you gotta kill them on the cats, and then they'll die off within a few days anywhere else (including couch cushions). Frequent vacuuming will get all stages of fleas.

kellyfo14 · November 2014

Oh! One other thing! If you do bathe them, wet the neck thoroughly first and as much of the face as possible otherwise they will all race up to the driest area which would be the head. This was a lesson I learned the hard way. It was horrifying how many there were on her little face.

BriannaCaitlin · November 2014

Thanks ladies. So. Freaking. Much. They are driving me nuts! I have been vacuuming daily because it makes me feel just a little bit better, as well as getting the couches and beds and everything else. We've been washing everything like crazy. It's making me insane thinking about bringing the girls home with fleas in the house!

kellyfo14 · November 2014

It is a bit of a battle but you got this! If you are a visual results type of person the flea comb is absolutely awesome. I just ordered one with a double comb from amazon today. Brush them every day, they will probably love it since their skin is likely dry and itchy. The comb i ordered got really good reviews for long haired and short haired cats alike. Hope they go softly for you!

GromMom · November 2014

If you are vacuuming daily make sure to empty the canister outside each time so the fleas don't crawl back out. Sorry that you have fleas, thick its worse when you're pregnant because you can't take much of anything and you can't use chemicals. My inlaws brought bed bugs to or house when I was pregnant last time and I got such a bad reaction I had to have antibiotics. Luckily I think there was only one and I killed it but I was pretty much miserable for a long while until I caught the sucker and then was left with ugly marks from the bites. Flea bites are the same way for me, way worse during pregnancy. Sadly we just lost our doggie to cancer in October so no more pets right now :-(

ShuShubee · November 2014

PPs have great suggestions. I would just ask - are you absolutely sure it is fleas? The reason I ask is because I once thought I had fleas and it turned out to be bed bugs (a million times worse than fleas). I had just moved into a new apartment and just adopted my cat. I did most of what the PPs said, including treating my cat, and it did nothing (obviously because that wasn't the issue). I never actually saw a flea though - I just assumed. I had, unfortunately, moved to one of the worse cities in the US for bed bugs. It is also takes very little to get them. I am now the anal retentive person in hotel rooms.

I would not wish that experience on my worst enemy, but if you haven't actually seen any fleas, that may not be the problem.

Sorry for the major ick factor.

Britt1406 · November 2014

Call in pest control! They might have to come out twice due to the stages. Also the advantage flea meds for the cats is a must as well.

9513 · November 2014

I also have an indoor cat who has managed to get fleas a few times. The vet said that as it starts to get colder they do anything they can to get inside so you probably brought them in yourself

I like the advantage and we occasionally treat her "just in case." If we actually see one, we use the stuff you sprinkle on your carpet and then vacuum up, but we've never had a HUGE issue.

SSCmomma · November 2014

You can get a flea treatment such as Capstar that is ingestible instead of topical to avoid having the greasy stuff on them. Don't waste money on OTC crap just get it grom the vet. You will need to deflea your home which can take some effort. Wash anything that is washable including bedding, throw rugs etc. Get a good flea home spray (again usually from a vet or reputable pet store) and spray under furniture, beds, baseboards, backs of closets and so forth. Both dosing your pet and cleaning your home may take more than one visit sadly but if you are thorough and don't scrimp on what works you should be fine. Last but not least stay away from Hartz flea products!! They are toxic.

Fleas!

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