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Post by dayeanu on Nov 21, 2015 23:52:19 GMT -5
A simple DIY flea trap is to take a desk lamp and put it on the floor with a bowl underneath it. Put water and a drop or two of dish soap in the bowl. Obviously make sure the lamp can't tip over and fall into the bowl of water. I liked to put a heavy book on the lamp base as extra security. Not only will this trap fleas, it will also let you know if there are still any around. We dealt with fleas this summer. I think we are done with them now. Vacuuming, using DE a few times in the carpeted areas, washing all pet bedding (or people bedding the pets could get to) frequently was a good start, but I think the Capstar is what let us get a good handle on it. (Topicals didn't work well enough.) I eventually bought a bottle of generic capstar (around 100 pills for $50 vs 6 pills for $25 that I was paying at the store). Dose is one pill and can be given as often as daily. Kills fleas for 24 hours and starts working almost immedately. To start, I gave all inside pets a pill two days in a row and during this time did another good cleaning round. I made sure to use a flea comb on them also, starting about an hour after giving them the pill. (Dip your comb in soapy water frequently to remove fleas and eggs from the comb and drown them. I waited about 3 days and gave them another pill and combing. Repeat. I did this twice a week schedule for a few weeks and then went to once a week for another few weeks. I kept up with washing bedding frequently during this time. I am not doing anything right now (aside from general cleaning stuff), but I do a flea check periodically still. The pans of soapy water, with or without the lamps for added light and heat, work really well. Slow but well. Nexgard is what I give my animals - very much like Capstar, but works on-going for weeks.
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Post by womble on Nov 22, 2015 15:52:08 GMT -5
Thank you everyone, wouldn't wish them on anyone, but it's not something talked about openly in real life so I don't feel I'm the only one at least. Janine that is a good point about opening cupboard doors, I hadn't thought of that. Good idea too to get some flea traps so I can monitor them. Lottie is on brewers yeast, funny I bought it in the week as it helps absorption of some meds she's on, they really do help stop insect bites I've used them myself, but of course won't kill them. I have tried soapy water in the past, but caught none, I'll try again though thank you x Abubu sorry I did laugh, but can imagine how you felt! Hubby took his jacket off in work once and a flea jumped on the desk in front of people and someone said that's a flea Well I was going to post we hadn't seen any fleas since posting, but hubby checked Honey earlier, she blonde so they're easy to spot, can't see them on Lottie and found two on her they were half dead so presume they'd bitten her and the advocate is working, I tested the other flea spray I've been using and it killed both so I know both sprays are working. She'd just been out the garden so I'm really wondering if the dogs are bringing them in from there as that's the second time. The garden is big and hubby said she'd had a good sniff around so I can't even nail it to a certain area. If I can I'll sprinkle the rest of the DE around. I haven't vacuumed as much as I'd like this week, but been right through today and flea sprayed upstairs again, I'll do downstairs in the week when someone takes the dogs out. Both dogs due to be treated again this week and have them ready. The battle continues...
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Post by womble on Nov 22, 2015 16:07:01 GMT -5
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Post by magda on Nov 23, 2015 22:54:13 GMT -5
we had fleas once. I had never had them but my two cats brought them in, our general area was infested according to the vet. I had never seen a flea bite so I thought my dd had a rash on her legs and I called the pediatrician and was trying oatmeal baths for her. Then a friend said it looks like flea bites. UGH. horrified. my poor baby! I guess I am immune to bites. Took cats to vet and got Advantage. I vac'd all furniture and washed all bedding and stuffed animals in hot water. I went to a pet store and bought some spray and bombs. and...I still had flea bites on my dd. So I called in an exterminator. I talked to two of them and they had different treatments. One was only going to treat the baseboards. That did not make sense to me. I had some kind of professional bombing spray done as well as a spray. I felt bad using so many chemicals but could not tolerate fleas in my house. We had to stay out the house for hours, people and pets. Before he came I had to vacuum everything. And I vac'd daiy for a long time. It did the trick. I think I even bought a new vacuum in case the vac was infested. No fleas since and that was about 8 years ago. It was a shudder event!
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Post by dustylady on Nov 25, 2015 18:51:23 GMT -5
Womble, how goes World War Flea?
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Post by downandout on Nov 29, 2015 5:58:26 GMT -5
I'm battling fleas now. Hate them so much! My cat only goes out to the screened in porch but we have a lot of animals in our area both wild and not...lots of cats. Anyway I think they (the fleas) come under the door and some through the screen. So I've been spraying the porch and outside too. Using Advantage on the cat and flea combing her too. Vacuuming like crazy....I have to check my ankles every time I leave the house and entering too. Huge pain. And then....our house is built off the ground by about a foot. Its an old house and I think they did this back then to avoid minor floods. Anyway, something crawled under there and died so not only do we have the smell but I'm pretty sure whatever it was had fleas and I think we had those too. It's been a weird Thanksgiving.
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Post by mythreecats on Nov 29, 2015 23:41:50 GMT -5
Argh, fleas!!!
Despite my user name, I haven't actually had cats since 2012. But my parents have two 15+ year old cats that get them every summer. In years past, Frontline and Advantage worked. This year the Frontline did nothing. Advantage II worked for one month, then didn't on the next month's treatment (weird!)
I've been flea-combing like a maniac, tried DE, but it didn't do much. I'm only there once a week, and my parents aren't really on it, so that's not helping. The vet told my mom that Revolution is still working around here, so we used that last week. I did notice at Thanksgiving that the cat who gets really itchy didn't scratch at all, so I have my fingers crossed!
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debisala
New Member
Joined: November 2015
Posts: 3
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Post by debisala on Nov 30, 2015 1:42:09 GMT -5
We are salting our carpets and pet bedding, it's working.
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Post by womble on Nov 30, 2015 5:25:58 GMT -5
Good luck debisala I thought salt was good in the past too,I mixed it with borax. mythreecats they're a nightmare aren't they, I think persistence is the answer as you think you're clear and then the blighters are back, it's like a horror movie Oh downandout I feel for you! Hope you are seeing some improvement, it's hard when its things out of your control. Good idea to spray outside I'll pinch that idea and do around the doors xxx magda it's funny how they love some people, they love me and eldest DD, don't touch youngest or DH, I think our council will come out and treat at a charge, I am wondering to just do that if I'm still seeing any. I think they would have access to chemicals stronger than what's for sale to the general public. Thank you everyone, well I've not seen any since I last had those couple on Honey, this is my danger point now where in my head I relax about them so this week aim is to Hoover right through 3 times, spray downstairs and sort these sofas out, which I never got too xxx I'll add wash dog blankets to that list too.
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Post by dustylady on Nov 30, 2015 20:14:40 GMT -5
Womble, I highly recommend Ultracide if it's available across the pond. If not, shop for an Insect Growth Regulator effective against fleas. IGRs keep males in their juvenile stage. Females will still mate, if they can find a male who remembers how to do so, but there will be no fertilized eggs and thus no next generation, and Ultracide (which contains an IGR) + aggressive vacuuming will take care of the adults you already have.
Death to fleas!
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Post by mythreecats on Dec 1, 2015 1:26:18 GMT -5
I hope you've succeeded, womble!
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