FLEAAAAAAAAAAAS!

[draggar]

Adams spray for outdoors - I've used it in the past when ticks here were **REALLY** bad (normally they're just bad). You can get it at most pet supply places.

Vacuum a lot - yes, that is great advice. Maybe sprinkle borax on the carpets about 20 minutes before vacuuming? Just keep the cats out of that room until you clean it up.

[KiaKat]

Draggar - I was waiting for you to pop into this thread. Figured you'd had to deal with them a time or two.

The topical stuff seems to be working. Current theory is that one of us picked up a flea or three in the alley behind our apartment and brought them in. One more good vacuuming should do it. We locked the girls out of the bedroom as soon as we suspected fleas, and there's been no sign in there, so we have one safe room, though neither of us are showing bites, even though we've both napped on the couch with the cats on top of us.

Outdoor sprays may not work, since we're in an apartment building in a semi-urban town. But I'll try anyway, at least in the back. Good to know for the future, though, since we only plan on being here another couple years before buying.

[draggar]

Fleas are nasty and hard to treat. They're very easy to kill but it's their numbers and if you get eggs - forget it. You need at least TWO treatments (once to kill the adults, then another a few weeks later to kill the new fleas form the eggs).

Hopefully you get it taken care of quickly. If you don't have much area to spray outdoors I think Adams also comes in a spray bottle (like cleaners) so you can mist around your plants etc.. One bottle should last you a long time.

[Seenoevil]

Okay advice time.

Background: I work for my dad who owns a tiny pest control company.

Here's what we tell our customers or people who ask:

1. Your cats are indoors. The only way they could get fleas is from an introduced source. Have you had any animals getting into your house? Squirrels, raccoons, bats, mice, etc. If you don't get to the source of the problem, you can kill fleas all day and they'll keep coming back.

2. Talk to your vet about getting your cats treated for fleas (you've done this).

3. Treating your home. Cats can be tricky. You need to treat all the surfaces they regularly are on. Carpets, beds, washing machines, in closets, etc. You can call a professional to do it or do it yourself. The most important thing is to get a pesticide that specifically says it KILLS FLEA EGGS. IF it doesn't say that, it does no good. Flea eggs can lie dormant for years. All stages of the flea development can be killed except the pupa (between baby and adult stages).

4. Vacuum regularly. Not only will it suck some of the fleas up, it will stimulate the pupae causing them to hatch out, letting the pesticide do its job

5. (this is a mini-rant) No. Our pesticides will not kill your baby/dog/cat/hamster/mother. Do you honestly think we'd be legally allowed to treat homes with poisons that could. Of course it is poison, and all poison is dangerous. Always follow label directions. (As my dad likes to say, "We charge extra for the big ones." )

[KiaKat]

I'm about 99% certain one of my girls got them at the vet. She went in right before The Wedding (two weeks ago) for an asthma treatment, and we noticed the scratching on... Monday? Tuesday? Sometime this week. She's always itchy, so the only sign that it was something more was that she'd scratched her face bloody, and I saw fleadirt on her white belly.

We've got a small apartment, and the cats aren't allowed in the bedroom, so we're going to treat them, hit up the two little area rugs with borax, and then vacuum the crap out of everything. Then repeat a couple weeks later.

I'm trying to avoid using general pesticides, mostly because both Husband and I are extremely sensitive to chemicals, and we're already having trouble with something that the landlord put down in the hallways to curb the inevitable bug infestation (northeast US, incoming winter, inevitable bugs coming inside). I don't want to irritate either of our already-annoyed systems.

[Seenoevil]

That should work Consider vacuuming the couch too. Unless its leather.

[KiaKat]

That should work Consider vacuuming the couch too. Unless its leather.

Not leather, so I should. But we're replacing it with a new one at some point soon - our local store is having a clearance sale, and if I can find one with microfiber for <$300, I'll jump at it immediately.

Couch needs vacuuming anyway. It's been far too long since I did a thorough strip-and-scrub of it.

[Scorpodael]

There's another problem you probably haven't thought of, I'm afraid. Fleas don't just carry diseases and make your kitties itch. They're also a vector for tapeworms.

[KiaKat]

Meh. I've had outdoor cats before. I'm not terribly concerned about having to de-worm the girls, if it comes down to it. I won't bother with a preventative, but if they start showing signs, I'll get them to the vet.

[Amethyst Hunter]

Borax, lots of it, rubbed into the carpets. Let sit for at least 3 days straight. Then vaccuum.

Revolution (topical application, onto critter's back of neck) works fairly well. You may need repeat treatments. Will also help in deworming, if any of those nasties are present.

[ShadowBall]

All the cats and dogs (5 in total) had fleas a couple months ago. I have no idea where any of them got them because all are indoor pets (save for when the dogs go for walks), and none have been in a kennel for a few years (usual source of fleas). So they all got Advantage and that did fuck all when I noticed, a week after treatment, fleas hopping around on my girl cat's head.

The second round seemed to work since the cats aren't scratching, but the smaller dog has been scratching madly ever since and I've not the faintest idea why. It can't be fleas because the others aren't scratching, but I don't give a fuck if he itches because I hate him anyway.

My BF's cats always had loads of fleas too - anytime I petted one of them, I'd see a few fleas hopping on them. He and his parents constantly got OTC flea treatment, but they just kept getting the fleas back, so they stopped because it was a waste. His cat that got put down not too long ago also had really bad worms her whole life - again, they gave her medication for it a lot, but she just always kept getting them, so they gave up and let her have worms.

The cats always seemed happy nonetheless. I know it's frustrating when you throw possibly hundreds of dollars away treating parasites and the fuckers still don't go away, and sometimes you just throw your hands up and let them scratch and shit worms forever.

[wagegoth]

Several years ago, Raid made a non-poisonous flea killer that worked awesomely, so, of course, it was discontinued. If we ever get fleas again, I'm going to rig one up. It consisted of a small light behind a green translucent plastic panel that stood up at a ninety degree angle to the base. In the base was a changeable sheet of sticky tagboard. The fleas were attracted to the light, jumped at it, bounced off and onto the sticky board. It worked amazingly well.

For personal treatment, lemongrass is the best. I had developed an allergy to fleabites and I was miserable. Then I noticed that wherever I had applied a new skin lotion I had no flea bites. I checked the label then did some research and found out that lemongrass, which was in the lotion (it smelled so good), is a common treatment in natural flea repellants. I slathered myself with the lotion that night and the smell penetrated the sheets. I never got another fleabite.

[AccountingDrone]

Rob is currently working on ripping up the carpeting in the bedrooms - when we bought the place it had wall to wall in both bedrooms. I am personally against wall to wall carpeting, I prefer small area rugs. I like to to be able to toss them out on the hanging line to freshen in the sun and breeze while the floors get a good wash and polish. Every place we have had wall to wall in my 50 years of living has always ended up having fleas at one time or another, the few places I have had that had no carpeting at all never had flea issues.

My roomies poor eldest cat is very allergic to fleas. She scratches herself bald, and gets hives from the bites - poor little thing. A couple years back we made the decision to make her an entirely indoors kitty because of that. It has helped her drastically - she hasn't had a flea attack since.

[KiaKat]

Lemongrass! Good to know, I'll pull out all my soaps and lotions with it.

The girls are still scratching, but less. No sign of fleas on either the Store Puppy or my coworker's dog, which gives me a bit of relief.

[wagegoth]

Lemongrass! Good to know, I'll pull out all my soaps and lotions with it.

The girls are still scratching, but less. No sign of fleas on either the Store Puppy or my coworker's dog, which gives me a bit of relief.

I would suggest getting the herb (search for a large amount for cheap) then grinding it up and spreading it around. You can use it as flea powder on animals.