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dealing with fleas


evan9381

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UGH. i've never had a pet with fleas. while cleaning out the cats litter boxes today, i saw a bunch of bugs crawling around. managed to get one, and comparing with pics online, im pretty sure they're fleas

 

my cats are indoor cats, but i have one that snuck out a few times, which im assuming is how they got in

 

now, im sure i can go to petsmart and get something for them, but do i need to worry about the rest of the house? i dont know if/how fleas interact with humans...the cats sleep on my bed most nights, so its a little creepy thinking they may be there with me

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Frontline vet strength does a great job. It last for a month and breaks the fleas life and reproduction cycle with 1 treatment most of the time. Capstar cost a bit more and you have to stay on it.

 

A little info taken from wikipedia...

 

Life cycle and habitat

 

Fleas are holometabolous insects, going through the four life cycle stages of egg, larva, pupa, and imago (adult). The flea life cycle begins when the female lays after feeding. Adult fleas must feed on blood before they can become capable of reproduction.[5] Eggs are laid in batches of up to 20 or so, usually on the host itself, which means that the eggs can easily roll onto the ground. Because of this, areas where the host rests and sleeps become one of the primary habitats of eggs and developing fleas. The eggs take around two days to two weeks to hatch.[3]

 

 

 

 

 

Micrograph of a flea larva.

Fleas pass through a complete life cycle consisting of egg, larva, pupa and adult. A typical flea population consists of 50% eggs, 35% larvae, 10% pupae and 5% adults. Completion of the life cycle from egg to adult varies from two weeks to eight months depending on the temperature, humidity, food, and species. Normally after a blood meal, the female flea lays about 45 to 50 eggs per day up to 600 in a lifetime usually on the host (dogs, cats, rats, rabbits, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, opossums, foxes, chickens, humans, etc.). Eggs loosely laid in the hair coat, drop out most anywhere especially where the host rests, sleeps or nests (rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture, cat or dog boxes, kennels, sand boxes, etc.).

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I had to treat my cat with some stuff called advantix....

 

then bomb my house twice and hand spray under beds and furniture then after all that you should vacum two or three times a day for a month or so and dump your sweeper in the outside trash after each time. it took me a solid 45 days to get rid of them all....

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Tractor highly recommends simply setting the cat on fire.

It will rid it of 100% of the fleas very quickly.

 

LOL!

 

We had this issue a few years ago, we moved into an apt that had pets with flea's before. Both the cats ended up getting them.

 

1. buy a flea comb

2. move pets out of house and bomb the shit out of it.

3. rent one of those huge carpet cleaner deals and use flea killer mixed with carpet treatment. I ran the machine 3 times

4. put animal on frontline or anytype of flea control from animals.

 

I would use a flea comb several times a day, over time you should see less and less.

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You probably brought them inside yourself. That happens with me when I cut my grass. I treat my yard twice a year with flea and tick growth regulator and I haven't had any inside in years. Depending on how much you have now I would suggest frontline for your animals (growth regulator) and weekly flea baths. Any normal flea shampoo will work just make sure you take your time bathing them.

 

If they are still around your house they probably are all over your carpet and drapes. You can buy 2 things at this point. Stuff to kill the fleas that are alive, or the growth regulator. I suggest getting both in liquid or power form that you mix with water. Vacuum the shit out of all your carpet be aggressive. This will make the fleas start moving. Then spray the flea killer all over the house and let it dry. Take down your drapes and do the same thing. After that dries put down the growth regulator. If they still don't go away after a week of doing that treat your house again. Also buy flea traps. Its a dome that has fly paper on the bottom and a tiny light at the top. They work I've used them but they only kill adults.

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Make sure you wash EVERYTHING once you have treated.. and probably wash it twice!

Blankets, towels, bedding, clothes..

 

Frontline will clear you up pretty quickly- My animals hate it though, and its a pretty harsh chemical, but it does the job fast and well.

 

Vacuum alot too.

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Never had them, never want them. I attribute this to keeping the dogs on flea treatments. The kind that render fleas sterile. This way if our dogs have them and I'm sure by fate they've had one on them, the flea bites and either dies from the treatment and or is left sterile so they can't breed should they make a home off the dog say in my carpet or what not.

 

I also have the yard treated twice per year. Hell, this year we have done it twice already and another treatment is coming in the next month or so.

 

Our dogs are inside dogs too.

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Over here near campus/westervillish, frontline does not work. My dog still got fleas, and multiple neighbor's critters did too. My solution was to switch to Revolution, whish is also a heartworm preventative. Those fuckers disappeared in 4 days
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Over here near campus/westervillish, frontline does not work. My dog still got fleas, and multiple neighbor's critters did too. My solution was to switch to Revolution, whish is also a heartworm preventative. Those fuckers disappeared in 4 days

 

That's the stuff we use.

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Make 100% positive you have FELINE flea preventative. You WILL KILL the cats if you use dog flea treatment. Anyone that has used dog treatment on their cats and the cat is still alive, they should consider themselves very very lucky.
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Make 100% positive you have FELINE flea preventative. You WILL KILL the cats if you use dog flea treatment. Anyone that has used dog treatment on their cats and the cat is still alive, they should consider themselves very very lucky.

 

And make sure the weight range is correct too. I don't know how bad it is to use the wrong one, but I would assume it's not good.

 

1: Treat the cat(s)

2: Wash everything

3. Vacuum

4: Bug bomb (make sure you get the ones that kill the eggs too)

5: Vacuum, everywhere

6: Keep vacuuming

7. Rent a carpet cleaner

8: Use the carpet cleaner

 

Good luck. Just be thorough and you'll be fine.

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