First time having problems with FLEAS. Went to FLA...
 

We just got back from Tampa, and Prince had a major flea problem. We had stopped a couple of times to let him go potty, but it was only on pavement...not grass. My husband saw one flea, and with closer inspection, we saw MILLIONS!! OMG, they were all over his face, and even in his ears!!:eek: We flew (drove very fast) to Publix to get some Dawn and a flea comb. I bathed him and couldn't believe how many fleas came off of him. I also bought some Sergents Gold Flea Shampoo to use also. (We were at Publix, and this was an emergency so I couldn't get the good stuff like Minksheen or some holistic flee shampoo.) Prince did not have any flea protection on because he has reactions to most (all) of them so that's probably why he was attacked. We did not plan for him to go outside at my mom's' home, so I actually forget to bring anything.
We got home a couple of hours ago and I bathed him again...more flees all over his little face. I had one vile of Frontline left from before, and used that on him after his bath. He did not have a reaction this time. I sat in the garage for about an hour combing out fleas.
He's resting now, and I plan to recheck him in a couple of minutes.
What a NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!:eek::(:eek:
Dawn was really effective. The next time we go to Fla, believe me, flea stuff will be the first thing I pack.

We have 3 bugs that vie for State Insect: mosquitoes, cockroaches and fleas. They will ALL drive you mad. You may wish to check into something like Comfortis next time.

Yes, we tried Comfortis a long time ago, but Prince had a bad reaction to it. Maybe it'll be ok now. That experience was unbelievable!!:eek: I just checked him for the fourth time since we've been home, and I think (hope) all is well.

How long have you used Comfortis? I assume you like it better than the others you tried?

About a year now, but they were over a year old before we began the regime ..

I may try that again...hopefully it will be ok this time. Prince tried it about 2 1/2 years ago. He's now 6.

I would be scratching myself to pieces! I hate fleas! I feel so sorry for the little ones when they get buried with them. I feel horrible for both of you! How is your little one doing now? :(

Twinkie2Cute, Prince is doing fine, right now. Thank you so much for asking. He's resting after having his meds for his CT. What a way to end a mini-vacation. I just checked him, again, and I don't see any fleas on him. I almost started crying when I realized what he had...I didn't want to make a bad situation worse.

I found this great article a person wrote about home remedies for fleas:

Fleas. Just the mere mention of these annoying bugs has the ability to give pet owners nightmares. These hard bodied, wingless insects feed on blood but can survive for weeks without eating at all when living in carpet, soil, or grass.

How do we rid ourselves and our pets of these disease-carrying insects? I have asked myself this question for years. The first thing I turned to were the expensive commercial remedies (I own three dogs and four cats), but lately I have discovered that these are not always safe.

Warnings on boxes of Frontline say to apply where it cannot be licked off and not to allow treated animals to groom each other until the application is dry. The animal should not be played with until application area is dry, nor should recently treated animals be allowed to sleep with owners or children.

I have two grandsons running around who love to play with my pets. Not wanting to put them at risk from the flea medications or flea bites, I determined to find a natural way to combat these annoying insects.

My search for natural remedies to rid my pets and my house of fleas began in earnest. The solution turned out to be simple and inexpensive.

Fleas will flock to animals that are not healthy. My animals are fed a natural diet (no commercial animal food) of raw meat, bones and vegetables. A little bit of garlic added to their food will naturally repel fleas. It took my cats a while to get used to this, but my dogs were all for it from the beginning. There are no complaints and no food goes to waste.

If your pet is infested with fleas, wash them with the original blue Dawn dishwashing liquid instead of commercial flea shampoo. Don't know why, but it kills fleas.

The first natural remedy to rid your pet of fleas is apple cider vinegar (ACV). Fleas hate it. Spray your animals with this and rub it into their fur. If your animals are scared of being sprayed, dip a cloth or sponge into the vinegar and then rub it over their skin and fur.

It is also beneficial to put some ACV into your animals'
drinking water. Start out small so your animals get used to the taste and slowly increase the amount until you are putting about two tablespoons in every gallon of water.

If you are a flea magnet yourself (as I am), take one tablespoon of ACV every day and the fleas will soon not even think about biting you.

If you prefer, you may use lemon juice instead of ACV to spray on your pets. Take two lemons and cut them into pieces, skin and all. Bring two quarts of water to a boil, then turn the heat off. Soak the pieces of lemon, skin and all, in the water overnight. Next morning put it in spray bottles or a container, depending on how you wish to apply it to your pets.
My animals prefer the washcloth method.

Whether you use lemon juice or ACV topically on their skin, prolonged use will dry their skin out a bit. Remedy this by rubbing a small amount of olive oil into their skin.

If your animal has open sores or has scratched the flea bites until his skin is raw, you may need to wait until his skin heals up to apply the ACV or lemon juice. If not, the solution will make his skin burn and he will not be very happy.

Now that the animals are taken care of, what about your house?
It is no fun to live in a house infested with fleas. If your animals are indoors with you or if you have children or grandchildren, you really don't want to bomb or spray some chemical solution on everything to get rid of the fleas. So what can you do?

The first thing you need to do is vacuum. Vacuuming will pick up most of the fleas in your carpets or on hard floors. But what will keep them from infesting your carpet or hard floor once again? What will keep their eggs from hatching? Combine one cup borax, one cup baking soda and one cup table salt.
Sprinkle this all over your carpets, brush it down into the fibers and leave it overnight. The next morning you should run the vacuum cleaner. The borax and the baking soda kill the fleas, and the salt dehydrates the eggs. Repeat this procedure within 30 days, then as needed. Best of all, it is non-toxic.

Cotton balls soaked in peppermint or eucalyptus oil will repel them from your house. Place them under furniture, in drawers, wherever you think fleas would be attracted to. Fleas hate the smell of it, so they won't even come close. Your house will smell like peppermint or eucalyptus, but you won't have any fleas. Be sure to replace the cotton balls when they dry out and no longer emit any fragrance.

The most important thing in the battle against fleas is perseverance. Faithfully keep your carpets and hard floors swept, keep your animal's bedding clean and spray your animals with ACV or lemon juice to keep fleas off of them. With perseverance and patience, the battle against these pests can be won.

Im sorry for the poor little one, I hate seeing fleas on chester, they are horrible, I use some vaseline on the flea comb, they cannot jump off but the hair does get greasey

I have also put a dish of water under a night light. The light attracts the fleas they jump toward it and end up in the water and drown. I too have used the borax mix. Works really good.

I just wanted to thank everyone again for your support. The flea problem is solved, thanks to all of your helpful ideas. I haven't seen any on Prince yesterday, nor this morning. I'm still using the flea comb as I check. One thing that I did was to buy a flea coller, (NOT for Prince!) and put it in my vacuum bag to kill the fleas and eggs as they are sucked in.
Now I am dealing with his CT problem.:(

Welcome to my world! I found the first flea of the season on Max two days ago. Down detergent should pay us, YT, for the advertisement and for being faithful consumers.

Don't forget LOVEBUGS!! Do they have those in Lake O'Lakes?? OMG THEY ARE TERRIBLE!!!

We have used Dawn when Roxy had an outbreak and we got rid of them. You cant even step outside in Florida without fleas!! It is horrible!!! I hate it!!! Brendah makes a tea tree shampoo that is supposed to help with fleas and I am going to try it. Minksheen is supposed to help to but has never helped us....I am glad your baby is all flea free now!!!

The Minksheen repels the insect while it scent is fresh, once you stop smelling it, that's it, is a free ride for Florida fleas! lol
I have a bottle of rosemary oil on my windowsill, coming summer time, before we go for our walk, I dip my finger in the bottle and apply some on their stomach and legs, I should have started earlier this year :(

:eek: I am so sorry Prince and you went through that drama!