Fleas!!!! Help, What To Do First!!
 

ok, my baby has been itchy ever since I brought him home. I never thought fleas before because I never had any proof and I checked him often. I just changed his food and the itching got better. He must have just gotten them. I looked at my legs last night and I have red bumps over my ankles and legs. I know it's fleas because he has been itching like crazy but I never saw anything. I just started throwing away all of his belongings last night such as bed, cover, cloth toys and then I was so crazy, I just went to sleep. Now that I have my sanity back, what should I do 1st? I want to take him to Pet Smart and get him flea dipped. Not sure. I have suspected this before but never had proof, 2 weeks ago I washed him in Dawn (the blue one) and thought if maybe he did have fleas, they would die at that point. Now, I know he does. I forgot to mention, that he is on monthly flea medication so I have no clue why he got fleas. Help, how can I get rid of them in my house, how can I get them off of him and I need help fast!! My finace is furious because he's been saying that Harlem has had fleas forever...but I never had any proof, I just thought he had itchy skin and I never had proof, no flea bites until now!! Help!!!!

Sincerely,

Itchy leg girl

man I HATE those nasty creatures - we just had our first bout with them but I never actually saw any fleas on my girls or got bit - but I did find one dead when I tried the DAWN Soap -

We're using Frontline Plus with no after effects and NO FLEAS

DO NOT TAKE YOUR DOG TO PETSMART to get Dipped please !! I wouldn't trust them to do that with a little dog....but - You can do the Dawn bath again - go see your vet - get the Capstar pill and CHANGE his preventative medicine since it sounds like yours isn;t working - what are you using ? (NEVER EVER USE HARTZ - it's toxic)

There is a spray you can use in your house and furniture etc - but WASH EVERYTHING you can in in hot water - vaccume your house everywhere - especially if you have carpet - Fleas leave eggs that fall OFF your pet/hatch in carpet or places like that/grow to adult - then get back on your pet or you.

(I read everything I could about them when my girls had the itchies)

if you can bomb - even better but you need to be gone for a day for that and you'll need to do it again in a few weeks as eggs hatch.

you have to take care of the problem right away or you will see bites (like you are) - so it sounds like they're living in your floors :(

I think Leah and Bailey have had them as they was itching abit. I never seen any fleas tho but i have come up in a few bites eeek!! they both had a bath in flea shampoo last night and thats seems to have stop them scratching i am going to give them another bath 2morra and every other day for a week and see how i get on, but for now they seem to not be itching at all :D

READ THIS link for more info ...it's very good -
How to Get Rid of Fleas - wikiHow

I just found it - I didn't know 'salt' works as a flea deterrant ?

ps - if you all live in a house - TREAT YOUR YARDS....When I had my house I treated every three months and never had a flea problem - ever.

Thanks! I bet that's where he got the fleas, from the yard. There are stray dogs in the neigborhood and sometimes they come in the yard but I didn't think anything of it because he is on k9 Advantix. I hate K9 Advantix, clearly, it didn't work.

Just called the vet and they told me to give him a half of benadryl, wash him in Dawn and add more k9 Advantix to protect him for now. they suggest a bomb called enforcer or knockout for the house and granules for the yard, Spectracide or Ortho. Also, there is a new 30 day flea/tick killer medicine, called Confortis, its very new so they have no ratings on it and they chose not to carry it because it was very expensive.

I've already heard bad things about that new Confortis :(....

why not try Frontline Plus - it doesnt come off in baths and can work UP to 3months per dose...but for ticks you have to use it EVERY month -

clearly the Advantix isn't doing it's job - but yes - treat the yard - wait a full 24 hours till you let him walk on it

Vee,
What did you treat your yard with?
I think you are the local expert now! LOL

Lou

heck no !! this is my first run in with them and I should have known better when I moved. I have a neighbor with a chi who's been there FOUR years - doesn't use any preventative - walks her dog in the same place I walk my girls... and claims her dog has never had fleas

I used to treat my yard with a Bayer Product - I forget the name - but I did it every 2 months never fail .....and in the summer 1x a month cause of mosquitos

You attach it to your hose and spray - then let it dry completely ....I never had any problems at all doing this...I know lots of people don't like using insecticides but I'd rather treat the surroundings than see bugs.

ps ...I would do around my fence and if possible OVER the fence about 6' out on the neighbors sides when they weren't home just to be safe.

Thanks for all the information. We're dealing with a similiar problem. After I woke up from a nap and the pups jumped onto the floor I saw a single flea jumping on my bed. I grabbed it, squeezed it, and flushed it. I checked both pups over for fleas and found no fleas and no flea dirt. Fast forward to a couple of days later and I'm giving Tucker a bath and find a flea on his nose. I ran it down the sink. That's only two fleas I've seen in my house but I'm concerned. Also about 2 weeks ago I found two ticks on Lexie and pulled them out with tweezers and burned them. They were treated for the first time on May 1st with Frontline Plus and it is only May 29th. We should not be having problems! Help? What should I do and how much should I worry. Hubby is buying more frontline at the crack of dawn tomorrow and treating them all again.

Fleas!!!!!Help
 

What have you heard about Confortis? Tricksie has had two pills in 5 months and has had no problem nor any fleas.

They have some stuff that is all natural to kill fleas at Only Natural Pet Store - Dogs Cats Holistic Supplies Products Food Treats Vitamins Medicine Supplements

We got a flea collar and it has worked really good so far and no chemicals on my little furbutt!!

Even though fiance has screamed that Harlem has had fleas from day one, he now decided to say last night...after I had bombed the house, give Harlem a bath in Dawn and added more of the non working k9 Advantix. He decides to say, I don't think he had fleas because he doesn't have any bites at all. I feel like I'm going crazy! I have several red bumps on my legs and they do itch at times and he has nothing. I guess it does make sense, however, Harlem has been itching like crazy for the last few days so I really do believe that it's fleas. What do you think?

I just started Duke on Advantix b/c the vet recommended it...should I switch him to front line then?

I would bathe first in the Dawn. Put on the dog while it is dry then bathe and shampoo with your regular puppy shampoo. Everyone is doing what they can. Looks like this is going to be a bad year for everyone. We have never had fleas before. This is just me, but, I would use all natural products, even in the yard. We had to learn a lesson the hard way with chemicals and this was on one of my schnauzer girls. Our little yorkies are so small I would really be careful. I would not use Petsmart grooming and espically as small as these babies are, I would not dip. When I was reading up on the fleas, I read where alot of the fleas are coming from are cats running loose. I'm sure its not just cats but stray dogs too. Good luck.

I have been having a hard time with fleas i also have a wennie dog my yorkie gets the fleas from her i wash her 2 to4 times a week also my yorkie has bad allergies he will not take benadryl how can i get him to take the medication :confused:

I use Vectra on my dogs, Frontline just was not working. I had a terrible problem with fleas in June and July. I read in here to use the Dawn and then rinse with an apple cider vinegar rinse and it (or something) worked. I started out washing them 3 times a week with the appple cider rinse and am now down to once a week. I treated all my carpets with flea killer, washed all their stuff and we are (almost) flea free. It's a constant battle, but they are much more comfortable now and so are we.

I am so done with Frontline Plus. Not only did Lola have a bout with Lyme's Disease early this summer but now she has fleas! I've faithfully treated her with both Frontline Plus and Interceptor each month. *I* haven't been bitten yet thankfully. I gave her a Dawn bath yesterday and switched to Advantix. I'll be doing lots of laundry and bombing the house today. Nasty damn thing!

Max got ticks when he was on Frontline. I pulled off 5 little ones in one week (attached).

We use K9 Advantix now. Have been using it for about a year. No fleas and only one dried up grape looking tick that must have died right after she attached to his ear.

I like K9 Advantix. Works for us :thumbup::thumbup:

does it have to be specifically Dawn? can it be any dishwashing liquid? i wonder what's in dawn that's different.

Help me please!
 

I saw a flea on one of my 2 week old yorkiei thought the mom was flea free but i dont see where else they came from. I dont know what to do since i cant give the mom frontline or anything ! Help me please!

Frotline is the only safe way and it works great!!!!!!!!!!!1

bio spot is just as bad as hartz and dont use the flea stuff at least 48 hrs after the bath and flea collars are not that safe as well. I use frontline plus and have been very happy and I flea comb chester once or twice a day and put some vaseline on the comb they cant jump off, they may be greasey but the fleas wont jump off. I was just reading about some stuff called eco smart I think, walmart and those places sell it, good luck

vectra is made by hartz be careful

Wouldn't that just dry out your baby's skin? Dawn won't condition the skin and coat like a doggy shampoo does. You're already using a flea preventative, I think you're doing enough.

Here's what worked for me :)
 

My two had fleas when I got them...I think from the plane ride.:eek:
I found an all natural flea shampoo at Pet Food Express and washed them in that...then I sprayed an all natural flea spray on them. I heard you need to wait two days before you put the Frontline on them to let the oils in their skin get going. (I'm not an expert though)
I bombed my house and we left for the weekend. I also put a flea collar in my vacumn bag to kill any strays after the bombing.....NO more fleas after that :)

Just a reminder that once you vacuum the room, you need to dispose of the bags right away. The fleas can continue to hatch inside the bags and reinfest your house.