10 replies to this topic

[Sandi16]

Why isn't my Frontline working? I have it for both dog and cat, and damn it if both don't have fleas. I've got all the bedding (mine and theirs) in the wash or readdy to be washed. I'm going to have a busy day for sure.

But, I was wondering about treating the yard. I have two kids and two critters, Louie of course and Leah his kitty sister who tends to be the "fleabag" of the two. I think I may have figured out what was causing her fleas, my wonderful husband made Louie a super fancy dog house when we got him. Louie doessn't care for it, but Leah LOVES it and spends most her day in there. Well, guess what he put in there to make it homey? Carpet. I took it out of there, and she isn't happy, but I'm hoping it cuts back on what she brings in. But, I'm concerned as its only June 2nd and my husband is already complaining as he's allergic to fleas.. I told him I wasn't too hip on getting a cat.

[hallswel]

The news said the other night to expect more insects this year because we have finally had more rain. I live in GA and me do have so many bugs this year!

[Puddlesmama]

I dont know..Mine is not working that well either.

A friend of mine advised me to try a product that is all natural in conjuction with frontline..
http://www.prodoggroomingsupplies.com/dog_..._problems-4.htm

I will least give that a try soon and will let you know how it goes...

My vet also told me to switch up frontline to k9 advantix from month to month.. I am not going to do that.. They have different chemical makeup and i sure dont want to mix that on my dogs.

I just started them on brewers yeast and garlic for dogs 2 days ago.. So far so good but i think it takes a few weeks to actually work?

Nematodes for the yard works well if you have shady areas.. I tried it last year and seems i have too much sun and it isnt very efficent here. I liked it because it was all natural.

[Tracy A.]

If the fleas have fully infested the house, you might have to 'bomb' the house with a flea killer. If the yard too is infested I know that you can buy a fertilizer that you can spread like scotts to kill them in the yard.

I had one very bad flea infestation one year and I had to: dip the dogs/cat, bomb the house, treat the yard.... then we were flea free!

[Sandi16]

I don't think we're infested. We're not finding them on us, and now my husband seems to think the bites he recieved in bed last night were from a spider. When he looked for fleas on his blanket, he didn't find any but he did find a spider! They don't look like flea bites now that the day has gone on.


We have laminate floors and I vacummed the rug and couches last night. WAshed bedding today, removed carpet from Leah's dog house and all the dog beds. I haven't felt itchy or bitten today, and my husband hasn't either since being home,. We'll see. I just am so paranoid about bein infested since we had problems growing up and it was HORRIBLE.

[Tracy A.]

You know once the fleas start laying eggs, the cycle starts. You might have to Bomb the house and treat the yard... I recall the issue I had years ago got worse until I did all 3 at once! In the end an outdoor cat was the cuase of the fleas... she was hunting wild animls and brining fleas into the house....thank goodness that was over 20 years ago!

[Karen]

Frontline Plus also seemed to stop working for me last year. I switched to Revolution and Program. You can sprinkle diaceteameous (sp) dirt in the lawn. While it's dry, that will kill any little critters crawling around out there. It's ground up sea shells so has super sharp edges that cut the fleas and they die as the fluids drain out of them. I sprinkled it in my basement since I didn't want to do a flea bomb down there and it seems to have taken care of that. I just vacuumed it up a couple weeks later. The dirt is safe as long as you don't breath the powder while spreading it around. Downside is that once it gets wet, they say it doesn't work anymore.

A friend told me this weekend, she sprinkles it on her dogs, sort of working it into their coats. She can't use any of the chemical preventatives since her dog has an auto-immune disease and she doesn't have any fleas at her house.

Karen

[Sandi16]

Ok... so took Louie for his follow up. We're pretty sure he's allergic to both fleas and outdoor stuff. I told the vet we were finding fleas on both animals. She put Louie on Sentinel heartworm stuff for the summer, and we'll save Heartguard for the winter. Sentinel sterilizes the fleas so that they lay dead eggs. The cat was put on Revolution since she's the flea bag. It won't protect her against ticks, but I guess it's better flea prevention.

Sigh. So 184 dollars later we left. But all this should last us the rest of the summer!!

We haven't had anymore flea bites since we've removed the carpeting in her dog/cat house. Leah the cat is not happy, but whatever it takes. The only carpeting we have is upstairs and both animals are up there very little in the summer since it's always so hot up there. Louie doesn't eve sleep with us anymore.

[Terry K]

I posted an earlier post about Advantage and I'm almost embarrased that I'm beginning to sound like an Advantage salesman but do some research on it. It is supposed to be the quickest acting flea medication, killing 99-100% of fleas within 3-5 minutes. Very good for Cairn's that have flea allergies since it paralyzes the flea and they can't bite once they get on the dog. I've been using it for years on our cat who spends a lot of time outside and in both. Never had a flea problem with her or our Lizzy now.

[Bonita]

Sandi16.
I live in S. CA and it has been very dry here. The fleas are playing havoc all year round. Our Spencer is terribly allergic to even one flea. I contacted Scotts lawn peopl who told me to put on their Max bug killer. It is supposed to last 3 months but did not. Now I am using Spectricide liquid spray. I changed from Frontline to Advantage and give Spencer a treatment every 3 wks now (ok'd per the vet). I was told by Advantage that sometimes frequent baths can weaken the flea product. Also if I sense fleas, I wash Spencer with Dawn liquid soap which brings the critters all out. I have to be vigilent. I also tried the garlic but it did not work for us. Even tried putting some fresh around his neck when he went out.

Good luck as I know how awful this is not only for the pet but for the caregiver. I've lost lots of sleep when trying to heal our little guy. After the fleas are gone, then I had to heal the skin.

Brindle

[Sandi16]

I just feel so bad for him like you said Bonita. He can have ONE flea on him and it will drive him insane. If I see him itching, out comes the flea comb and I comb him until I find it. Usually, it's only one.

We had to take our cat to the vet recently and waiting I found a pamphlet about Advantage and it says it kills fleas more quickly and I think I'm going to ask to have that instead next time. I worry about ticks, but we've already decided we're not going to take him anywhere this year where he can get ticks, and we haven't gotten ticks in our yard. I realize that he can still get them from day to day outings etc, but we'll deal with that if it happens I guess. Frontline, plus allows the flea to live for 18 hours, and that's just too long for Louie.