Ugh, Fleas!!!

[Brigidt36]

Tis the season for fleas and apparently the Advantage Flea control I've been using the past few years no longer works or the fleas have developed immunities to it. My poor Tucker is miserable. I've bathed him fleas shampoo, used the flea comb several times a day, been washing his bedding daily and vacuuming like an obsessed person. Called the vet yesterday and he.came out, Tucker has a really bad rash from the flea bites and was almost aneimic (sp). He was also due for his heartworm test, his bordetello and Lipto so he got the works. The vet checked the cats, and sure enough they had fleas too, Grrrrrr and Gross!!! The vet took Tuck off the Advantage stuff and put him on Comfortis which he will start today. Vet didn't want me to start it yesterday because of all the shots and the bloodtest. Also got some allergy pills for his rash and Revolution Flea treatment for the cats. So, hopefully, after dropping a quick $358.00 we'll be flea free soon. Also got more heartworm meds but have to wait until Tucks bloodtest results come back. Poor Tucker is still miserable. The cats don't seem to be bothered at all. Wish I could stay home today with Tuck, but work frowns upon calling in sick for pets, lol

 

[GG.]

I feel for you Brigid - they are horrible here this year too - I can't remember when they have been so bad

 

[Greycloud]

Brigid, I feel for you! Been there, done that but it has been a while. Cindy (Rileys Mom) told me Advantage or Revelution has become ineffective on pets. They recommend using every 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks or changing all together. I will alert her to your post and see what she recommends.
I hope you doggy is feeling better soon. Flea bite rashes can be horrible. Anything you can do about the house? I know with having birds it is very difficult to bomb.

 

[GG.]

I was using a borax powder made for carpets but have pulled up all the carpets and am considering using diatomaceous earth around the baseboards in the bird areas

I also spray them with a little original Blue Dawn (no more than a teaspoon in a quart spray bottle) when I see them in an area - it kills them quick and is non toxic and doesn't leave a residue at that concentration

I add a capful of Pine Sol to the dogs bath water and that helps too

we have been spraying the yard with an instant kill mixed with a growth inhibitor every couple of weeks and almost have a handle on them til it rains again - but don't use that near the house

it is a never ending battle here too

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Yuck, I feel your pain, a few years ago when we lived in a warmer climate our dogs all got fleas BAD - I was 8 months pregnant and my husband was away on a fishing trip so I had to handle it all on my own and it was out of control!!
We tried to meds to no avail....so I bought this spray can the vet recommened, sprayed it around the edges of the floor where they meet the wall. Apparently they track through it and take the poison back to the dog and they all die...seriously I was flea free in 10 hours!
Yucky clean up though. And my guys were super infested..yuck!
Course that was before any birds.....

 

[Gen120]

We are afraid we will get them again, so we have been vacuuming like crazy every day and sprinkling borax powder all over the carpet in each room. That is what we did last year. Only 1 of our cats is indoor/outdoor.

 

[Jally]

We've been doing the all natural thing on our furry pets and we have not seen a flea yet! *knock on wood* The dogs get bathed every 2 weeks with an all natural flea shampoo and they get a garlic pill every morning. I quit using anything topical when my poor kitty had such a horrible reaction that she tore her hair out.

 

[Archiesmom]

Ugh I DETEST fleas. Frontline for me all the way. It kills them quick and keeps them dead.

 

[Melissa M]

I feel your pain. We use K9 Advantix on the dogs and Frontline Plus on the cat and have not had a problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BraveheartDogs]

Tis the season for fleas and apparently the Advantage Flea control I've been using the past few years no longer works or the fleas have developed immunities to it. My poor Tucker is miserable. I've bathed him fleas shampoo, used the flea comb several times a day, been washing his bedding daily and vacuuming like an obsessed person. Called the vet yesterday and he.came out, Tucker has a really bad rash from the flea bites and was almost aneimic (sp). He was also due for his heartworm test, his bordetello and Lipto so he got the works. The vet checked the cats, and sure enough they had fleas too, Grrrrrr and Gross!!! The vet took Tuck off the Advantage stuff and put him on Comfortis which he will start today. Vet didn't want me to start it yesterday because of all the shots and the bloodtest. Also got some allergy pills for his rash and Revolution Flea treatment for the cats. So, hopefully, after dropping a quick $358.00 we'll be flea free soon. Also got more heartworm meds but have to wait until Tucks bloodtest results come back. Poor Tucker is still miserable. The cats don't seem to be bothered at all. Wish I could stay home today with Tuck, but work frowns upon calling in sick for pets, lol

I was going to recommend the Comfortis too. I am still having luck with Advantage but I know others who are using Comfortis. I can't believe it only cost $358 for the vet to come to you and do ALL that. That's pretty good, at least compared to here.

 

[logo89]

That is so horrible when that happens. I use frontline here and since I started using it there has yet to be a flea problem.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Aw poor baby. Fleas are so annoying. Here in Florida they get bad. I remember my dog always had to be on the Advantage or else she would try to scratch her skin off.

 

[atvchick95]

well i was going to look in to Comfortis, specially when I seen its a pill - sheba Flips her lid when i use liquid Flea stuff on her and its getting worse last time she almost nailed me

but every page i've clicked on has big warnings, about it and won't sell it on line any more

 

[GG.]

Ugh I DETEST fleas. Frontline for me all the way. It kills them quick and keeps them dead.

I like frontline too, but the fleas here are pretty well immune to it

 

[Brigidt36]

It's a royal pain, but I think the comfortis on Tuck and the Revolution on the cats seem to be working. I keep using the flea comb on everyone and all I'm finding is dead fleas. I'm still vacuuming like crazy. I keep the couch and loveseat covered in white sheets (easier to see the live and dead fleas on the white) and pull them off every night and straight to the washer they go. Every morning Tucks bedding gets washed and dried. I've resorted to baby gates trying to limit the area the animals are in, this doesn't work with the cats of course, so everyone has strict orders to keep bathroom and bedroom doors closed. I'm hoping to avoid having to bomb the whole house. If I do I'll have to board the birds and I'd really like to avoid that. I can't take them to friends houses because I don't have extra cages that are small enough to move them in yet large enough for them to be comfortable for a day or two. I have travel cages, but they aren't anything they can stay in for an extended period of time. The dog and cats would have to be boarded too and the goldfish moved elsewhere. This is a total PITA.

Good news is, Tucker is doing much better. Not sure if it's due to the Comfortis or the allergy pills, or a combo of both, but he's not as miserable and pathetic anymore. He is back to chasing and wanting to play with the cats, he's been bringing me his ball to play fetch and he is interested in his food and squeak toys. This makes me happy. The fleas don't seem to be bothering the cats at all. The vet says the cats pretty much eat them while they groom themselves.....yuck! Max (YNA) has picked up a new phrase, "Awwww, poor Tucker", so I guess I've been saying that alot, lol.

 

[Sadieladie1994]

Brigid, I feel for you! Been there, done that but it has been a while. Cindy (Rileys Mom) told me Advantage or Revelution has become ineffective on pets. They recommend using every 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks or changing all together. I will alert her to your post and see what she recommends.
I hope you doggy is feeling better soon. Flea bite rashes can be horrible. Anything you can do about the house? I know with having birds it is very difficult to bomb.

Use boric acid with salt. Don't let bird in it or dogs. Shake it on the floors/carpets and leave for an hour and vacuum. Dries them up and kills them

Peggy

 

[Sadieladie1994]

Ugh I DETEST fleas. Frontline for me all the way. It kills them quick and keeps them dead.

Frontline ineffective for most here in the south Had to go to oral meds for the dogs.

Peggy

 

[Riley's mom]

Glad to hear Tucker is feeling better. Comfortis is great for fleas, but does nothing for Ticks. If Tucker goes to dog parks, or places where he could possibly get Ticks, you can use frontline in addition to the comfortis. We are using Frontline about every 3 weeks. Even the colder weather we had here this winter, didn't slow them down. We have been seeing dogs with flea dermatitis all winter also. Tucker is also going to be helping clear your house of the fleas too. When they jump on him, they will die. Kinda turns him into a hoover. We have not had one person have any complaints about it. Good luck.

 

[Becca0406]

Luckily, AZ has not been hit yet, but with 3 cats, 1 dog and 5 birds now we are keeping a close eye on everyone and using Advantage on all! Glad Tucker is doing better ~

 

[waterfaller1]

Frontline never did anything for us. We started using Comfortis, and in bad months Advantage too. I also have my yard sprayed periodically. We don't worry about ticks here. My vet says do not use flea shampoo. The fleas run into the orifices of the dog{yes, there too} then come back out and attack the nice clean dog. We wash with good shampoo, then apply the advantage. Boric acid{you can use 20 mule team power} will rid your inside home of fleas. Just douse carpet and cracks, then vacuum after a couple hours. Reapply a week later for newly hatched eggs.