STILL HAVE FLEAS! HELP!

I don’t remember the name of the stuff I got for XBF – some white powdery stuff that you sprinkle in your house like what Marsha mentioned with the borax. Anyway, it helped! And putting Revolution on the cats won’t kill the fleas living in the house, so there would be fleas living there unless you’d done something to rid the place of them.

We gave his kitty flea baths and then the Revolution as well as put the powder down MANY times – it was a nice mess, but we did get rid of the fleas! I hope the fumigation worked, Catwoman! Let us know!

Ahhhh, that’s the name – no wonder I couldn’t remember it! It WAS messy, but it worked. As for all the health warnings, I think they’re really just trying to cover themselves. XBF tied a bandana over his nose and mouth when he put it down, but that was it. None of us – or the kitty – had any issues from it.

It’s not good that you still had fleas after the fumigation – those things sure are pesky! Even if there weren’t many, I guess thyy’ll multiply without further treatment. Eeeek! Better order that DE fast!

Best of luck!

CW

Wallmart sells a flea powder that’s made for the rugs. It works but make sure you throw the vacuum bag out and spray the vacuum with a flea spray!(I use it once a month just for safe measures!)

Fleas suck! Sorry your going through this!

Dorie

CW, it’s true that carpet aggravates getting rid of fleas. Carpet is nearly the perfect hiding place for fleas and flea eggs.

Regarding getting rid of fleas… I’ve tried over-the-counter stuff, homemade remedies, and professional products (not all at once; don’t want toxin overload). But I have yet to find anything that beats diatomaceous earth, overall, in terms of balancing effectiveness, performance, safety, and cost.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is non-toxic. Like all fine dust, it’s a good idea not to inhale it. And it’s messy, while you have it down. But otherwise, I’ve found it’s a fantastic way to get rid of fleas. No flea develops resistance (as they can with various poisons). You can treat both your house & pet with it. It’s less expensive than just about anything else I’ve ever tried. And it remains effective, as long as it remains dry.

If I had Berber carpet, I’d sprinkle it heavily all over the carpet, like a carpet freshener. Then I’d go ahead and sweep the rug gently, to brush the DE into and in between the fibers a bit. Where you might have hardwood or tile, you sprinkle down the DE, then gently sweep to the baseboards (to ensure some of the DE makes it under the baseboards). Gentle sweeping only; again, you don’t want to kick up a lot of dust.

I’d do the same for any upholstered furniture; chairs, sofas, mattresses, etc., brushing in the DE. With a mattress, you take off all the bedding, treat with DE, then make up the bed with new linens and wash the used linens in hot water. Also a good idea to wash pillows.

Anyplace where the pet sleeps on a regular basis also needs treatment. So pet beds, etc. need to be treated, too.

The most difficult part for most people is leaving the DE down for 10 days (long enough to break the lifecycle, and to allow any eggs present to hatch out and have the larvae killed by DE). After that, it’s safe to vacuum (where the DE will then kill any fleas living in the vacuum bag). Afterward, discard the vacuum cleaner bag.

You’d want to treat your cats every month or so with DE. Any cat traveling back outdoors is likely to pick up fleas, but if carpet retains some residual DE, there’s DE under baseboards, and the cats are treated with DE monthly, new fleas are likely to be short-lived.

Just my thoughts and experiences; I moved to a non-toxic method after nearly losing one of my cats to over-the-counter products, and spending more than a month’s rent on her recovery. I’ve treated another of my cats with an OTC product, and it burned the skin on the back of her neck. I’ve treated my house and cats with prescription products, spending a lot of money, and still having a few fleas at the end of things. Last, but not least, DE is effective against all insects, not just fleas; any insect with a soft body or exposed joints is susceptible to it. Personally, I’m done with toxic treatments for my cats; it’s just not worth it, to me.

Good luck, whichever products you decide to use! The battle against fleas is a tough one, but it helps if you learn more about their lifecycle (and how to break it). Some info at: http://www.wbvc.bc.ca/external.htm

Wow…all this talk of diatomaceous earth has had us calling around this morning and we’re finding very few pet supply stores carry this here in our neck of the woods. We finally found a local co-op who sells it in a 1 1/2 lb. size for $6.99. Yikes! Is this a good price? When I asked for a 10 lb. size they said they don’t carry it. I’m a 4 kitty, 1 dog household. Will I need more than 1 1/2 lbs. We live in a small 2 bd. trailer. I haven’t done alot of buying from the internet but if the prices are better I guess I should look into it further. Depending on how much it will actually take. We haven’t seen any fleas this year yet, but we are rural and last year the kittens were young and not wandering far. Now they’re all over the neighborhood and I fear this may be the year for some trouble. Is it good to wait for some evidence of fleas or should I use this as a form of prevention?

Thank you CW…you’ve been an enormous help. I’m just so sorry that you & the kits have had to go through so much to find this solution. Please give them all pets and headbonks from their Oregon furrrriends!

When I work the DE into my cats’ coats, I work in enough to make their coats feel less sleek than usual. My black cats in particular lose the shine to their coat; they look dull black, instead of their usual shiny, glossy coats. I made sure to apply it to their armpits, belly, hindquarters, and tail, not just their back, neck, and chest. (The fleas must come in contact with the DE in order for it to affect them.)

It took about 3 days for my cats to stop scratching altogether, and 1 week before I combed them and got absolutely no fleas out with the flea comb. However, I didn’t have a particularly heavy infestation, nor do I have carpeting.