Flea Products That Work

Updated on April 17, 2008
A.L. asks from North Richland Hills, TX
8 answers

We are having problems with fleas on our cat and in our house. We have tried many things such as flea baths and sprays for the cat, house and yard. We have vaccummed and steam cleaned, as well as washing all clothing, blankets, bedding and stuffed animals. Alas- We STILL have fleas! My poor cat and kiddos are suffering. Anyway- this weekend the cat is going to the vet to be treated and me and my kiddos are going out of town so that we can treat the house. We are thinking of using flea foggers on a grand scale with the hubby returning home a day before me, the kids and the cat to air out the house, wipe everything down and vaccum up the floors. My question is what has worked better for those of you who have been through this? What foggers brands work better, or is it more effective to just have an exterminator out? Thanks!!

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B.P.

answers from Abilene on

When I was still at home with my parents, my bedroom in our new house had sand fleas HORRIBLE! I mean it got to the point where our cat wouldn't come near my room and I couldn't go in there either. We got a bomb to set off and went out of town for the weekend. It took care of it!

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K.H.

answers from Dallas on

I had a severe infestation from my dogs. They love the yard although they are house dogs. I treated my yard with Liquid Ivory Soap for dishes. Applied it with a hose end sprayer. I reapplied this several times after a good rain for a protective measure. I put frontline or similiar product that affects the flea eggs on the dogs themselves. In my house I used diameteous earth sprinkled on carpet & cloth based furniture, left it for several days came back and vacuumed. Until I got the problem under control I limited the area the dogs were allowed to roam indoors. No more flea problems. I have health problems so I tried to go a route without a high degree of chemicals in my house. Hope this helps.

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

We live on a heavily wooded lot backed up to an 85 acre park (flea and tick infested I am sure!!) Lot of wildlife (which I love) but not including the snakes.

My approach is probably not popular due to it being a chemical that we use in the house. IF you or your family have health issues....it might not be the best route for you. I am just stating what works for us.

Our routine includes a fogger EVERY 3 months or so....depending on the weather. We buy the Raid foggers at Home depot (3/pack and about $12/pack). We use about 9 packs for our home (Large home and yard) each time. We have at least one in every room, garage and attic areas.

We pack up the dogs and rabbit in my old minivan and just go away for 3-4 hours. I pack up picnic lunches, the laptops, phones, radio, ipod, etc. I open ALL cabinets, cover all pillows, etc IT WORKS.

NOW.....BEFORE we do this.....hubby treats our yard and uses a liquid spray around the foundation.

We probably spend upwards of $200 BUT we have no issues with fleas, ticks, or any bugs, lizards, nothing and we live on a heavily wooded lot. This process also keeps away the snakes, lizards etc because they feed on the insects.

Our cue to treat our yard is when we start seeing the copperhead snakes and lizards. It simply depends on the weather and how we approach the best time to treat. The thing to remember is to treat the YARD, FOUNDATION and HOUSE. I have numerous exterminators soliciting me because of where I live and they are shocked when they realize, we have no bugs, fleas, or tick problems.

Good luck!

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L.H.

answers from Dallas on

Whether you use a fogger or any other remedy, you need to do one of two things. Either find a product that kills the fleas AND the eggs or write on the calendar when you treated and as soon as you notice the first flea, treat again. Until you get all the eggs as well as the adult fleas, it will be a vicious cycle. I do also recommend treating your outside areas as well (yard, flower beds, foundation, etc.) otherwise you will be carrying more back in. HTH

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T.G.

answers from Dallas on

hi, you need to use frontline flea and tick control for cats. ask you vet they should supply it at the office. its alittle more than other stuff but it works. good luck

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A.K.

answers from Dallas on

I second the "flea control product" but would like to specify to use "Advantage"- there are other competitors, but if you do any research or ask anyone who's tried them, it's the only one that *really* works. Beware of Advantix- my friend thought it was the same thing because it sounded similiar- but it doesn't work. You can only get this product through a vet or online through a company outside of the us (I use joespetmeds.com- best prices). It is pricey, I will warn you. I have had fleas before and used the Advantage and they disappeared from the house because they had no one to eat, though I do know they can hang around for a while, so fogging mightn't be a bad idea. Oh and put it on the cat at night before bed so it has time to disappear because if you pet her (or your child pets her) she'll get it on her hand.

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M.B.

answers from Dallas on

I also recommend the products like frontline that you put on the pets. The fleas do not live long after they get off the animals, so to resolve the problem, you really just need to treat the animals. I don't recommend the foggers at all - we used to do that and I think it likely contributed to my health issues (and that was before I had kids). It's impossible to clean every item and surface on which those chemicals land and it gets into your air conditioning/heating vents, as well. We had cats that had severe allergies to fleas, but since they stayed inside, we only had to treat them a few times and then treat the dog (with the frontline) regularly and that resolved our problem several years back.

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R.F.

answers from Dallas on

I had the same problem! Be careful if you use a fogger and have gas appliances! I didn't want to use any chemicals since my son was still all over the floor at the time.

I did some research, and tried this out, and it worked... I mixed some borax and salt together and sprikled it all over the house, inbetween the matresses and box springs, in the couch, everywhere!!! I let it sit for awhile and then vacuumed with moth balls in the vacuum cleaner bag. If you have a bagless I am sure you can put them in the canister. What this does is dries out their environment, which they hate, and eventually kills them. The moth balls will take care of any eggs that hatch after you vacuum. Do not steam clean the carpet right after doing this! I did the first time, and had to do it all over again!
Getting the cat treated at the vet is the best for her... I have found most of the stuff over the counter doesn't work too well.

Good luck with whatever method you decide to use..

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