Flea Control

Updated on March 22, 2008
E.M. asks from Olathe, KS
11 answers

We just moved into our house a few months ago and within the last month our home has become infested with fleas. I've had Terminix out three times in the last three weeks and our cats are on meds. If anyone can tell me how to make this nightmare go away please HELP!!!!!!!!

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

Thank-you EVERYONE!! It sounds like I'm going to be on a mission. I'll let you all know how it went. Let the battle begin.

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.

answers from Kansas City on

I have a friend who had great success with a company called Flea Busters a few years ago.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.V.

answers from Kansas City on

They are horrible this year!I thought I was never going to get rid of them.I treated the animals but they kept getting them back when they would go outside.They were in our bedroom real bad because the dogs sleep in there at night.Anyway I treated them with advantage,had the yard treated,and got a fogger from the pet store for the carpet the brand was ZODIAC,it wprked right away.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.R.

answers from Kansas City on

I just wanted to say I feel your pain! My cats are indoor cats and have NEVER had fleas inthe 4 years I've had them. Suddenly this year I have tons of them in my house. We've bathed the cats twice, dusted the house everything and we cannot get rid of them. I think we're going to have to bomb the house, which stinks. Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.W.

answers from Kansas City on

E. we put seven dust down in our house when we had fleas we even dusted the animals with it.It seemed to help.Hope this helps you some and good luck

J.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.V.

answers from Kansas City on

E.,
We have been battling the same thing this year. We have lived here around 9 years and have never had a year like this. I don't have any answers-would love to hear responses also. But at least I thought it would help for you to know that it is not like this every year, or at least not from our experience.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.C.

answers from Kansas City on

One thing that no one else mentioned was vacuuming frequently. We had a flea problem last year. Our cats don't go outside, so I'm thinking we got them because we visited friends who had a flea problem and we brought them back in our suitcase. Anyway, we managed to get rid of them just by treating the cats (Advantix) and vacuuming the floors and furniture about every other day for a few weeks. Be sure to stock up on vacuum bags if you need them because you'll want to throw the bag away (outside of course) every time you vacuum. This gets rid of the eggs, which from what I understand, other treatments won't do. Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I know this is old and you got lots of responses. But Borax kills fleas and other things. You can sprinkle it on the carpet and wash everything with it in the laundry. If it happens again, you might try this along with all the yard and pet stuff. (:

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.R.

answers from Kansas City on

To get rid of fleas you have to treat three separate areas - the cats, the house and most importantly YOUR YARD. If your cats are indoor/outdoor, they'll bring them in every time they come in the house. Even if they stay inside all the time, you can still bring fleas in yourselves on your pantlegs, socks, shoes, etc. It works best if you coordinate all three at the same time, so bomb the house, make sure the cats are up to date on the flea meds and spray your yard all on the same day. There are products you can buy that use a garden hose (if you want to do it yourself), or you can hire a pest control company to do it for you. Find somewhere you can hang out for a few hours, box up the cats in their carriers and you're all set to bomb and spray.

The only downside to all that work is that if you have fleas in your yard, it's a pretty sure bet your neighbors do also - so if you can get them to spray (or even offer to do it for them) that would be even better. Then you won't be reinfested when the poison wears off and they come back into your yard again. The good news is that they don't survive a frost, so unless your house is infested they'll disappear later this fall.

One other thing to know, fleas can transmit tapeworms to cats. The flea bites the cat, the cat chews the area because it irritates the skin and then ends up swallowing the flea. The tapeworms in the flea's gut end up finding a new host in your cat's gut, so just be aware that you may end up treating the cats for tapeworms later this year. This is where it gets disgusting - if you find little white things that resemble grains of rice stuck to the fur under your cat's tail, call the vet and get some dewormer. A couple of little pills take care of it and they're usually not expensive. Oh yeah - cat tapeworms aren't transmittable to humans or kids, so don't worry about that!

Good luck!

--A.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.H.

answers from Kansas City on

Fleas are the worst. They get into your furniture and everything you must spray everything. I had a friend who had the same problem she has scares on her body from these flea. I know that this is not encourageing but look on line maybe your find a solution there. Best of luck.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Been there, done that! I don't remember the brand, Raid maybe, but they make a carpet powder. You just sprinkle it on your floor, wait, and vacuum it up. It works wonders! They also have bombs that we set off too. Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.S.

answers from Springfield on

Have you switched your animal's flea meds? Fleas CAN become resistant to cetain flea meds...We switch almost every year...Frontline one year, Advantix another year, this year we're doing Adams.

Also, we found that Adams works great if sprayed onto a cloth and wiped on a dog or cat's fur. It usually takes care of any living fleas right away, and they won't have time to multiply. Getting rid of flea eggs is harder, and I'd say to try Frontline if you haven't already....and if you have, then switch out what your using. We have Four vets on our road, so we get a lot of advice. Switching our meds yearly was the best advice we got!

Hope that helps. If not, then your bug guy isn't doing a good enough job spraying your house. He needs to spray under furniture where it's dark, and also spray underneath porches or stairs outside, where you could be tracking them back in from.

S.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions