How Do You Treat For Fleas?
 

Allthough this is not my first rodeo with owning dogs, it is, however, my first experience with these pesky creatures. I know, hard to believe, right? My chihuahua was strictly an indoor dog and I never had to worry about fleas, ticks, etc.

I was rubbing JuneBugs belly last night and found a flea crawling pretty quickly on his chest, not belly area. I did not see anymore and that was the only one. I woke up this morning and I washed his pet bed he sleeps in. I vaccumed 2-3 days ago as I usually do on a regular schedule but, this was before I saw the flea.

He is at the end of his Vectra treatment (been 4 weeks) and he goes to the groomer today. He gets a puppy cut really short so I am hoping that he should be coming home flea-free this afternoon. I live in a townhome community so there are other dogs using the community grounds around here.

I was just curious as to what is protocol if you see one flea and you see no flea dirt nor is he scratching erratically. He is also my only pet in the house. I also have read people washing their own bedding and was curious as to why if the dog does not have access or is not allowed on the bed?

Your comments/thoughts are appreciated.

This might sound weird and I dont know how helpful this could be, but I was actually in a microbiology class yesterday and the professor mentioned that Eucalyptus leafs are good for killing fleas. He said his parents would put some in the couch to kill off the fleas. I guess it's like a home remedy. Maybe you could put some under the cushion of his bed? Thought I'd just throw this out there. Good luck(:

Omg I'm soo sorry! Should have done some kind of research before posting. Sorry :/

Last year, I saw the first flea I have ever seen in my life. We were not using any preventatives despite our vet's warning that it was a really bad year for fleas.

We avoided an infestation by:

1) Vacuuming our entire house and the car every day (we drive the boys to the park daily)

2) Washing everything that can be washed as often as possible

3) Bathing the doggies. Apply a ring of shampoo around the neck first. Then wet down the dog and apply dog shampoo generously. Work it in and let it sit for a minute. Rinse thoroughly.

4) We used Frontline once, splitting the application between the boys. I hate these topicals, but it is essential to stop the lifecycle of the fleas that produce eggs very quickly.

5) Every evening when we came home from the park, I combed the boys carefully looking for fleas. I kept organic coconut oil at hand to slow down and kill any fleas found.

It was a lot of work, but definitely worth not having fleas.

fleas
 

I have a 10 week old yorkie puppy. Is it allright to use coconut oil for fleas on the puppy? I am crate training him and take him outside every 2 hours to potty and he has a few fleas now.

Coconut oil alone won't solve a flea problem. It is handy if you find a flea to slow down the little critter to kill it. Fleas are fast.

Organic coconut oil is safe for a puppy to lick.

I would call your vet's office to ask what to use because I don't know which products would be best for a young pup.

fleas
 

Thanks I will try the organic coconut oil and ask the vet. It has been a very humid wet summer.

Very wet and humid here too, north of you on the East Coast. We have been lucky so far this year. 3 ticks, but no fleas.

I did get to vacuum the downstairs but not upstairs yet. I am actually on my way to get him at the groomers cause they called. I will vacuum the upstairs when I get home

My dog does not have access to the whole house. He also does not have access nor can he jump up on the bed cause he is to small and he knows thats not allowed. So why wash everything? How about rooms that are closed off and doors are shut 24/7 with no access?

My boys use revolution for puppy's both under 4 lbs, been using it since 8 weeks old. When I find fleas I wash them with dawn, then condition as normal. Dawn kills adult fleas, revolution kills the eggs

You can never be sure that you have rid all of the fleas that roam around your home. Here is a sure way to catch those pesky things and kill them instantly.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/off...flea-trap.html

Sounds like a plan. I will try it tomorrow evening, for I have a desk lamp downstairs somewhere in storage. I do have a question though, where do you put the paper? Under the plate of water? The other explanations of this type of trap do not mention any use of paper.

You put the paper under the glass dish (pie pan) It is more of a way to make the chosen spot as bright as it can be in order to attract the fleas. Plus you only need one sheet of paper but you can do either way, with or without the paper.

Yeah I'm sure that would work just as well. Even a white paper towel, or a paper plate :)

check with your vet, I think you can use capstar, its a once a day pill or every couple of days

Well, I did this last night and saw only one flea this morning. Thats a good thing but also shows less fleas, the better. I set it up where he sleeps all day under the living room coffee table.

I am going to set it up in the bedroom later today. He sleeps in his pet bed at night but I washed that real good 2 days ago. I cannot do it at night cause he is in there with us. I figure if I shut all all the bilnds and get it really dark in there (which it can get dark) it might work during the day.

fleas
 

Thanks I will try the paper and water on the floor.

At that cleaning must have taken care of them for the most part. :)

I'm sure it would work if you got the room as dark as you can. Even if you did it before bed time after sun down that would work for a while until bed time. Because believe me if you have even gotten your ankles bit by fleas, it is no fun. We are lucky that we don't get too many if any at all.

Well...I finally found a flea on Princeton today. It started last week with Princeton itching a lot and Ricky itching a little. I looked for fleas but could not find any so we went to the vet and they put Princeton on prednisone, treating it as an allergy, which did help.

Today, Ricky was itching like crazy, but again...after looking, no fleas were found, so I gave him a bath with anti-itch shampoo and I gave him some benadryl, assuming it must be environmental allergies.

After giving him a bath, he was still itching...and Princeton was itching again, so I decided to look on Princeton again and sure enough, I finally found the little culprit!!

And of course...it's the weekend and all of the vet clinics are closed, so I ran to Petco and bought some Frontline. Both of them now have had a flea bath and their frontline...and next is the cat. That should be fun!!

Both of the boys were on Revolution and this is the second month I've had them back on Sentinal. We haven't had flea problems all summer until now, and I had thought it was because we relocated...but I guess the Revolution was working better than I thought...So looks like we'll be going back on that next month!!

I swear I've never had flea problems with bigger dogs like I've had with these little guys. Maybe they are just more sensitive to fleas. Maybe they jump on them easier since they are lower to the ground..IDK what it is, but despite being on flea medication, it seems like I battle with them every summer.

We never have any sign of fleas until mid fall when the weather is very dry. Normally only one or two but its enough for two of my pups to go completely bonkers. They both have very bad reaction to flea bites.

Well, I put the light and soap water upstairs near his pet bed for about 5 hrs. and not one flea! :bananna:
Looks like just vacuuming, having him at the groomers and cleaning his bed did the trick without any pesticides in the home (other than his monthly topical). And even being at the groomer, she said the one flea she found was dead. His topical of Vectra 3D was due and it was still working at 4 weeks!

That a relief I'm sure ....

Well if you should ever need some back up you know what to do. We used the flea light when we had another dog that we had many years ago with thick fur. That we had the toughest time getting rid of the fleas with. It finally took, meds, tons of cleaning and the flea light to get the job done.

Fleas, fleas, fleas
 

Hi there,

As already mentioned eucalyptus is a flea repellent, however it is toxic to dogs. I use eucalyptus round my house in areas my yorkie cannot get to e.g. in the furntiure or under the carpet. This will kill the fleas but more importantly their eggs.

If you grow plants, it would be worth looking into growing lavender and mint.

Both these herbs are non-toxic to animals and will repel dog fleas.

If you already grow lavender try drying a small amount of the flowers and place them in your dog bed.

The mint must also be dried and then can be used just about anywhere in the house. Try using it in your dogs bed, on your sofa, under your carpets and in your furniture.

Having mint or lavender around the house is great, they have soothing properties and they will also leave a lovely fragrance, add this on to their herbal flea control properties and you have a winning formula!

Hope this helps!

I never had a problem with fleas up until last year..I was using a concoction of essential oils mixed with water...I wouldn't spray directly on them...sprayed a rag and wiped them down,,,I would soak their harnesses in it, let it dry then put it on them. this seemed to work .....my neighbor had a yorkie that was outside a lot...he had a real problem with fleas...he took him over here one day to play...( i wasnt' real thrilled about this either!) well low and behold,,..one of those little buggers must have jumped off and onto one of my dogs! (I have 3) I could NOT get rid of them!! I am one that likes to treat holistically if possible...I had to finally give in and use a topical treatment....wasn't happy about this either,,,my vet uses parastar. I used it on them twice and never had a problem with them since. I have them on sentinel for heartworm and that is supposed to help with fleas...haven't had a problem..

:thumbup:

I have Darla on Frontline and somehow she got fleas not this last grooming but her first one 3 months ago. I gave her a flea bath this weekend with flea shampoo from the store and it did not do anything. She went from having a few on her to like at least 5+. The frontline is not working what so ever! She constantly itches especially at night when she gets in bed with us. I asked the groomer 2 weeks ago I think she has fleas please give her a flea bath. Well the groomer didn't as she said she didn't see any. Yet she has them. Darla rarely goes outside as the hawks are just waiting for her so shes always in the house. And it took nearly 3-4 months at home with me before she got them. I swear she picked them up when she was kenneled at the vets and groomed there too when we were out of town in June for work. I cant get them to go away.