Fleas!!!! Taking Over!!! Help

What worked well for us was sending my cat to get a flea dip at the vet's and boarding her for a day or two till we cleaned the house (entirely!).

She took medication once a month and we never saw fleas again.

~L.

1 mom found this helpful

We had the same problem in the living room and put out a shallow pan of water with a couple of drops of dish liquid and put a lamp beside it. The fleas go to the heat of the lamp and jump and land in the water, the dish liquid coats them so they can't jump out. Had to keep the little one away from it but it did help. Keep the lamp on 24 hours for a couple of days and see if there is a difference. Try shampooing the carpet 2 days in a row with a bit of flea spray in the shampoo water then finsih with clear water.

1 mom found this helpful

hi. Try diatamaceous earth. It's all natural, safe for babies, children, pets etc. Farmers put it in their feed/grain b/c its keeps bugs from infesting the feed. It's diatoms that are harvested from the sea. It's a powder and it only works on insects b/c of their exoskeleton; which is also why its safe for beings with internal skeletons. It dries them out-full proof no way for it not to work. Just make sure you get the food grade kind from a reputable place. ( it's regulated by the FDA the other kind is not and may not always be safe.) Good Luck

1 mom found this helpful

We had this problem last year. The first thing to do is to buy the once a month liquid medication that you put between the shoulder blades of your cat. You can purchase it from your vet. It absorbs into your cats skin and protects the cat for a month. Any flea that bites your cat will die. Then, you need to vacuum every day religiously. This is the most important thing. The more you vacuum, the more fleas you get rid of. My vet said that fleas can come into your home through screens, etc. so it is not just your cat that brings the fleas in. It took us about a month to become flea free but now we know that we need to vacuum frequently, not just once a week. And whatever you do, don't forget to treat your cat every month with the flea treatment from the vet. Good luck.

You have a lot of really good suggestions. Take it from me, as someone who has had cats a plenty from being on a farm, the borax and monthly flea medicine is good. Please, don't get rid of the cat, a lot of fleas are in the dirt around your home. They come in on human bodies as well as pets.

One thing to watch, is putting a flea collar on your cat. Our gorgeous Persian, Muffin, was sitting on my lap and smelled funny. I looked, and the brand new flea collar on her neck was causing her fur to fall out. I guess it was too strong and she was allergic. Luckily we found it out and tore the flea collars off our other 2 cats and Sheltie dog.

This is the season for fleas. So do take precaution. It's not the cat's fault. Do take the vacuum cleaner bag outside after vacuuming as they can get out.

Grandma N. in Linthicum

You can bomb the house again but put newspaper down after you bomb. You can also use the sprays and then put newspaper down after you spray. Also I think garlic tablets work to help control fleas. You just put it in the food. Go to pet smart and get garlic tablets and brewers yeast tablets and mix it in her food. That should help. Also I recommend Andvantage flea medication that seems to be one of the best meds out there.

My friend had cats and she put newspaper down after she sprayed and you could hear the fleas popping against the paper. In 2 days they were gone.

I hope this helps. Good Luck.
L.

The first thing to do is wash the cat in DAWN liquid detergent. Flea shampoos DO NOT work. After 3 days put on the flea stuff from the vet. For the carpets, take a container of salt and drown the carpet with it. Leave it on the carpet for a few days before vaccuming it all up. They fleas will eat the salt and BOOM!! they explode. This should help alot.
Email me if you have any other questions.

My cat was an outdoor cat as well and I have 2 dogs now. The best thing you can do is have her dipped, and also get some revolution or one of those guards from the vet to guard against ticks fleas etc. expensive I know but I only gave it to mine during the summer months. you can also search online for cheaper places like vet med or summertime.com
Good luck

L., I had cats too..but indoor cats..sold all of them..my daughter, 9 years old upset..but they had to go..get rid of the cat..take it from me the children will get over it pretty fast..I do not think you can keep spending all that money..I have 1 puppy 1 3year old cat. That is enough..
Well good luck...I have a coupon in the mamasourse section..unrelated...but you can get my info and call me..
I know all about the cat thing...more than I can say in an email...D.

Check with your vet. When my cat was infested they gave him a pill and the fleas were gone in a matter of days. Then you need to clean everything again.

Been there...I, too have spent money I did not have, and you want to treat the problem before you go crazy, and it gets out of control. I went to the vet, and what they have works! It does cost a little extra, but if you get this in the begining, it ends up costing less.
Good Luck.

What worked for us when we moved into a rental house that had been infested with fleas was to splinkled Borax (cheap and found on the laundry aisle in the grocery store) throughout the house in the morning, let it sit for a day, vacuumed before going to bed, and repeated once a week for 3 weeks in order to break the cycle of flea re-population. My landlord had used flea bombs and had the house treated by a professional (who also treated the yard) before this, but that hadn't stopped the fleas from re-populating.
One warning about this, get an old style vacuum cleaner with to use bacause the Borax sort of clogged the filter on my bagless vacuum and I still have to clean it out regularly with a toothbrush because of all of the Borax it sucked up from the carpets. Borax is relatively safe, and you may want to sprinkle a bit in your yard around your house as well. It dries up the fleas from the inside so they can't reproduce, but it takes consistent treatments of once a week for 3 weeks to get rid of them. Also, while treating the house, make sure that your pets have plenty of fresh water available to drink, because if they ingest any, it will make them very thirsty.

The fleas were so bad from the prior tenant that we are not allowed to have pets. But, after we treated our house with Borax, we haven't seen any fleas at all. And Borax works on other bugs as well so we do not have roaches, crickets, etc in the house for very long either.

Good Luck.

I have always had dogs, (at least two) and I have only had a flea problem once. First off, I think you should take the cat to the vet and get her professional washed and dipped. Then get her on a flea and tick preventative. Once done, if there is carpet in the room, put a new bag in your cleaner, put down the carpet powder and vacuum thoroughly. Then throw away the vacuum bag. You may need to get a professional in to treat the entire house and yard. It is definitely a time consuming task, but once you get the cat on the treatment, you should not have the problem again. Also, for a temp fix, wash the cat in lemon joy. The smell of lemons is a real turn off to fleas.

We had a major flea problem a couple of months ago. My cat died & all of a sudden we had sooooo many fleas in the house. It didn't make sense because I used the Frontline flea stuff on him (at $16 a dose) & I also sprayed down the garage (where he slept at night) with flea spray. I have a pest control company so I called them out. The exterminator said that fleas have a 9-10 day (can't remember which) hatching cycle so you have to make sure that you treat your house frequently to get rid of the newly hatched fleas. He said to vacuum every day. The stuff that they sprayed my house with had something that was supposed to prevent newly hatched fleas from laying more eggs but it still took about 2 months to finally get rid of them all and this is with no other animals in my house. It took several repeat exterminator visits supplemented by flea bombs, constant vacuuming, & washing all our linens. After you vacuum you have to throw the bag away completely out of the house otherwise the eggs in the bag will hatch & spread. Fleas are the most awful thing ever. He said that the eggs can lay dormant for up to 2 years =(. I will never, ever have another animal in my house. I was picking fleas off of my youngest because he rolls around on the floor. It was the most awful thing ever.

Hi L.,

Exterminating companies can spray your house and yard to help with the infestations.

A-1 Exterminators, Orking or any other company in your area can do that for you.

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

Well, just getting rid of cat isn't gonna take away fleas...they'll just eat you instead. My parents had same problem. had to get Orkin pest control to come out and got spray from them. Ripped out old carpet and got rid of dog. Weeks went by and they finally starting disappearig. In all it probably took over a month and a lot of work. Won't happen overnight... but just getting rid of the cat won't fix it. Hard wood/laminate floors are best with pets. We use the flea "top spot" frontline from the vet for our indoor/outdoor cat and it seems to be working good (we have hardwood floors) Be patient and diligent for a couple weeks. I know its costly but otherwise they'll just keep biting. good luck!

I had the same problem with my cat when we first got him from the Humane Society. He was covered, and therefore so were we! What I found that worked was using the frontline flea and tick stuff. All you do is put it on their back, right behind their head, so they can't reach it, and it works for about a month. (They kind of go crazy for a minute at first when you put it on casue it feels really cold to them.) We used that and then also bombed the house and that seemed to take care of the problem. (However, our cat does not go outside, except on our back deck that he can't get off of, cause he loves to go outside too but is declawed.) Good luck!

When this happened to us, we were ready to move out. I brought the fleas in in a vacuum cleaner that I used for my cleaning business, and they took over every room in the house, and the animals too. Nothing that we did worked.....until we put the animals on the hartz flea/tick treatment that you put down on their backs monthly, that helped the animals. The house was another story, we did all of the treatments that you have described, and nothing worked. I was told by a friend to sprinkle table salt over the carpets, leave it down overnight, then vacuum it up. This helped, but the stragglers were still reproducing. We finally were told to take a white bowl, fill it 3/4 with water, and put a few drops of lemon joy in the water. Do not make bubbly. Put it on the floor and shine a light directly on it. I used a clip on shop light. Not sure if it was the warmth, but it worked. In the morning there were hundreds of drowned fleas. I continued to put the bowl down nightly until there were no more. Be patient. It worked for me. The cat may not have been the host, the fleas could have come from many other places, you would be surprised. A relative had an infestation, and she does not have pets, but she visited a friend that had an infestation two weeks after she visited. If you have hard wood, eggs get into the cracks in the flooring. Once you get rid of the adults, there will be babies that follow. Be patient!

We had that problem a few years ago and we called Terminex. The spray in the house whenever we need it and outside quarterly. It has prevented us from ever having problems with flees. It has been worth the price. Hope this helps.

We use Frontline on all of our pets. One cat and 3 dogs. Only two of the dogs are allowed to come in and out. The cat is constantly in and out of the house. When you eliminate the transport source, you eliminate the fleas in the home. It is about $6.00 a month. That's it. Nothing else. No shampoos or collars, etc.
It gets the fleas off the cat within 2 days and we are all happy.
No need to get rid of your cat. You can order it online at Petmeds.com or call a local vet.

We had fleas a few weeks ago and used the natural powder indoors and then had our yard treated. The combination seemed to work. For the lawn, we use Naturalawn and love them! They are very responsive, flexible, and all the applications are safer for the kids and pets than the "typical" yard applications. They may be able to help treat your yard if you are interested. Their # is ###-###-####.

Hi! When my parents first got cats they had fleas, too. One thing that worked for them was to leave a lamp on at night on the floor, and surround it with pie tins (the shiny ones) full of water and a little dish soap. The light attracts the fleas and they jump in the soapy water and can't get out. That might be worth a try, since nothing else seems to work! Wish I had more advice to offer! Good Luck!

I know it has been said below....but here is the science of it. If you want to get rid of the fleas, you need to buy the prescription Advantage or Frontline. Flea collars, powders and other neck drops sold at the grocery store DO NOT work. The Frontline and Advantage are neurotoxins that spread over the skin of the cat. If a flea or tick jumps on, they die almost immediately. So, if your cat likes to go outdoors, it won't bring in the fleas b/c they die before she reaches your doorstep. Once you get the medicine on her, though, you will have to wait a little while to get the infestation out of your house. I have 2 great danes and we have never had a flea or tick problem EVER b/c we use frontline. If you can't get rid of the infestation in the house through typical methods, then there are other medicines that you can get from the vet that are a pill that you give your pet. The chemicals block the reproductive cycle of the flea so that they cannot reproduce (I have forgotten the name since I haven't used it in a long time). You might have to do both for a month to see if you can make it work. But getting rid of the cats in a couple of days is not going to make the fleas go away.

I have used Seven dust. You can get that at Wal-Mart or Lowe's or anywhere like that. You put it in a shallow pan. They will die from this. And for the cat I would use the medicine that goes on the back of their neck. That works really good. Let me know if you have any questions. W.

First, have you used flea products from the vet on the cat? Something like Advantix or Frontline - they are worth the money. That should help for maintenance, as long as it is used as directed. As far as getting the fleas out of the house, at this point, you may have to re-do everything, or call a professional if its that bad. I know with my dog, flea bombing worked, as long as I kept the fleas off the dog. I use products from Doctors Foster & Smith (website and catalog) also, and always have good results. Their prices are good too.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Try Frontline and use it every month to keep the fleas off your cat. It is pretty expensive though.

Here's something that worked for me when I had a flea infestation, and it's really cheap. Get 40-Mule-Team Borax laundry powder. Sprinkle it rather thickly over all your carpet, then take a broom (push broom if you have it) and work the powder down into the carpet fibers. Once you've done that, you'll hardly be able to see that you put anything down. Do not vacuum, just leave it there.

Here's the hard part. You won't see anything immediately, but within a day or two, those fleas are going to mass evacuate and all come out of the carpet. I understand it can be pretty bad -- we would do it just before leaving on vacation. However, once they're gone, they're gone. To be safe, you can do it again every now and then if you want.

Another option might be to fog your house first to get rid of the fleas that are there, and then put down the Borax to ward off future buggers. That might help with the mass Exodus.

Good luck!

Well, everyones ideas seem to be logical and worth a shot...one thing I really didn't see and a possible idea...when I was younger, our dog brought fleas in the house and infested our cat as well and it was a pain...literally...bite after bite. I don't know if they still do it but it's worth a shot...we took our dog and cat to the vet to be "dipped". I guess what they do is it's like a chemical they mix with water and basically soak them from head to toe. That, along with bombing, and possibly treating your lawn - that may get rid of em. I know cost is an issue (trust me, I'm strapped too) so you may even just talk about your options with your vet. Hope that helps. :-) Good luck!

I have been in your shoes, and I totally understand your frustration. Unfortunately, getting rid of your cat is not going to be the the quick fix that you expect. Fleas reproduce very quickly, and once they have invaded your home, it takes time and diligence to get rid of them. If they have laid eggs in your carpet, these eggs will hatch at varying intervals letting more the pesky critters into your home. When the cat leaves, the fleas are still there and will feed on your ankles if their primary food source is gone.

Be very careful of the bombs you are setting off as they leave a chemical residue on every surface they hit. Your children can ingest the chemical, and it can make them sick. The only bombs that I achieved results with were Raid Max especially for fleas. Even so, I had to re-use them a regular intervals.

If your cat spends time outside, she may be re-infesting your house with what she brings in from outside so you may want to treat your yard as well. If you have a lot of squirrels, rabbits, etc in your yard, these may be contributing to your problem as well.

The over-the-counter shampoos and drops are typically not worth spending your money on. You will save $$ in the long run buying products through your vet.

I would encourage you to contact an exterminator--but understand that a single treatment will not be enough if you have a significant infestation. Don't trust anyone who tells you that one treatment will cure your problem. The cost of the exterminator should not be much more than your attempts to manage the problem yourself. They also have access to chemicals that do not smell and may be less harmful for your family.

Secondly, go to the vet. He or she will be able to prescribe a medication that will work for your cat. I have always used Frontline on my dogs and cat. Unfortunately, in our area, we have learned that some of the bugs are becoming resistant to Frontline and several of our relatives and friends are experiencing tick problems as a result. So, you might want to consider Advantage or get your vet's impression on the best choice. The vet can also recommend a shampoo or spray to supplement the drops.

Vacuuming will help somewhat, but don't forget to empty your bag every time you run the vacuum. Otherwise, the eggs will get into the bag, hatch and reinfest your home.

As for home remedies, my mom swore by charcoal under beds, and I keep moth balls in my vaccum bag during the summer months. I have a friend who gave her dog brewers yeast with his food, and it helped tremendously. I don't know if it is safe for cats.

Good luck with your problem. I hope that you can get some relief soon.

L.,
Flea collars are really not very affective. Please try one of the flea medications at your vet's office before you part with the cat. (I second the person who mentioned Advantage brand). The medication comes in a small tub and is a liquid. You put it on the back of the cat's neck and within days the fleas won't touch him! Most brands that you vet. uses will be a good one. You may also need to spray your yard. We had a similar experience that took only a couple of days to fix after talking with the vet.
Good Luck,
J.

The ONLY thing I have seen to totally STOP fleas from getting on cats and dogs is the medicine you apply directly to their neck skin once a month, such as Frontline. Id treat her with this asap and then start treating your house again, including vacuuming like crazy.
Ive seen these types of medications cheaper online than in a store.

A few years ago, our house was infested with fleas from our black lab..(try finding those little buggers on a black dog)..Anyway, the best thing to do was get the animal professionally "dipped"..(Petsmart did a fine job), but you MUST bomb the house, wash the bedding, and tie up any unwashables ina plastic and store them away (i.e toys) or get rid of them. meanwhile, you MUST use the VET prescribed flea control ( Frontline?). the OTC stuff was just a waste of money. After you bomb, you may want to board you cat for a day or 2, as well as you and your family. Aloow the house to sit per the fogging recommendations.We even turned the heat WAY up to accelerate their demise. Then everyone can return. If after 2 weeks, they are back, repeat this sequence one more time (again, the Vet prescribed medicine)and it should take care of it. Hope this helps!

Advantage!! I had my pets on Frontline and still had an infestation and went through the bombs and all. When I treated both dog and cat with Advantage they were gone within twelve hours. It starts working on the animal within like two hours (systemically) and I can't explain how it affected the house but it did. Good luck, I hope this helps.

Sounds like you may have to have a professional fumigater come in & get rid of the fleas.
I don't know if this will work for cats but it did for my dog. I put a little bit of garlic powder in her food each day, mixed it with moist food, & she never had fleas.
Good Luck

I have a dog not a cat but can relate. I agree with the comments get one of the top three flee medications (Frontline, Advantage, or K9 Advantix). I have used the first two and they work like others have said. In fact I just got a new supply of Frontline for my dog yesterday and if you need to get it fast, go to Petco. I got mine there yesterday and it was even on sale with a PALS card.
Good Luck

First thing, get the cat dipped. At the same time bomb your house or hire someone to do it. We put all our stuffed things (animals and pillows) in trash bags for a month to make sure there weren't eggs in them. For the yard, put lime down, fleas, ticks and snakes hate lime. Plus lime helps your grass grow. Lime is really cheap at Lowes or Home Depot. I did all of these simultaneously and it worked for us. I also vacuumed everyday for a week. My cat lives outdoors most of the time. She won't barely come in anymore. We also got her that stuff you put on the back of their neck once a month. I think it is Advantage. We buy it at Walmart ($12 for three month supply). I know how heart wrenching it is to have to be the one to say enough is enough and get rid of a pet. Good luck!

I agree. Frontline or Advantage. My grandmother's cat was allergic to flea bites and did very well on Advantage. It also helped to vacuum and then immediately put the bag in the outdoor trash can. You can also try having your yard treated. Please bear in mind that your family could also have brought in the fleas. That's happened to us before. Kids go outside, and the fleas come in on their socks or something.

Hello,

I had the same problem so time ago with a cat I rescued who had kittens. They infested my home as well. I went to Walmart and brought some Borax, it should be in the laundry department. I mixed the borax with salt and spinkled it on the carpet and let it sit for a while. Then I vacuumed the carpet several times a day. You also need to throw out the vacuum bags. I did this constantly for a week or 2 and you can also give the cat a bath with the borax. This really helped but you have to be consistant with it and do the borax w/salt and vacuum several times a day. Hope this helps.

Call the vet and arrange to have your cat dipped. While the cat is at the vet getting dipped, spray your house with flea spray. It is a big pain in the rear, but the problem can be conquered this way. Then start using Frontline every month to keep the cat free of fleas.

I didn't read all of the replies but I see that enough people recommended Frontline...let me tell you that stuff works great!! I am a cat lover who in the past has been eaten up with fleas but not in the last 10 years since I started using Frontline. AND my cat is an outdoor cat. You can get it from 1-800-petmeds - saves gas! - and it is cheaper than at my vet. You don't need a prescription for it. I don't know about the bombing, you may need to, or get a spray, but to prevent future outbreaks get the Frontline. It is worth every penny and in the long run will save you. You have already spent more on the stuff you mentioned than it costs to order the Frontline. Good luck and God bless.
Z.

Dear L.,
My five year old cat got fleas last June when I got a bird feeder. My son sat beside the bird feeder almost daily and brought the birds' fleas inside unbenownst to him. They had jumped on his feet!!!! Our cat is an inside cat and had never had fleas before then.
I tried over counter rememdies that didn't work before going to our vet late July. She gave us a monthly preventative treament (Frontline)and an immediate one(Capstar)as well. The Capstar worked right away, but it wasn't until winter before all sources of reinfestation were found and were overcome.
I hope your journey is a shorter one than ours! I love my cat, too!!!
Blessings!
J. F.

Hello,
We have three cats (which are usually indoor but, I took them out on a harness) then we had a major flea outbreak. I did some research online and read that Borax seemed to work well. I had already tried several other things so, I figured why not try it. I sprinkled it all over the floor, underneath furniture, etc. I let it sit for awhile then vacuumed it up. I did it again the next day and it work amazingly well! I read that it was supposed to soak up all of the oils in the flea's body along with the oils in the flea eggs. After that issue, they became strictly indoor cats again and we have had no issues since.