We have got fleas :(  I am covered in bites and Fagan is non stop scratching and biting.  We saw the first flea on Fagan a couple of days ago and then last night one jumped from the sofa on to me   so I have now declared war

I was just wondering what you guys do to eradicate the flea problem.  Fagan is treated with stronghold drops every month but I still keep finding fleas on him - does this mean they arent working ? The cats are treated with frontline drops every month.  I must admit ive been a bit lax on the spraying of bedding, furniture etc.  Last night I washed everything and sprayed everything with some household spray I have from wilkinsons but as it was a cheapy im a bit dubious as to whether it worked or not. 

My mum gave me a leaflet about flea tablets which guarantee to kill all fleas within 24 hours - has anyone used these?

Im a bit confused about the drops, do they continuously kill fleas for the month? and if not how do I get rid of fleas the animals pick up when out each day ? Fagan does have a garlic capsule everyday (when I remember :rolleyes:) but what else will help ?

What products do others use, and is there somewhere on line where I can obtain them ?  I paid £27 at the vets for 3 months worth of drops

Any advice would be much appreciated - I cant stop scratching :(

I think you maybe refering to the oral tabs called Capstar, that kill the fleas instantly, actually saw this done and the results were outstanding, it was a a rescue dog puppy that was at the dermotolgist, its new owners didn't know it had fleas " cough" the poor pup was practically anemic due to the fleas, within 15 mins of administering the capstar, the fleas just fell from the puppy like snow, we counted over 2000 fleas on an 16 week old puppy.
These tabs are available from vet medic www.vet.medic.com and do not need a perscription. Approx £7.00 for 6 tablets.
HTH

The ones I saw were called 4fleas by Johnsons.  Apprantly they are vet strength and you can by them from petshops,  but maybe I will just order the ones from vet medic though.  Can they be used alongside his drops do you know ?

Johnsons do a tablet called 4fleas (same active ingredient as Capstar)  They start killing the fleas within 15 minutes but are only short acting so household sprays etc. need to be used as well. 

http://www.johnsons-vet.com/4fleas-home.htm

They sell them much cheaper on ebay :-)

Kath.

I was just about to say the same thing Kathy...LOL  these tabs are mainly used for the knock down effect, and last for approx 24 hrs, so are given when you see the dog/cat has fleas, its not a preventative.

My vet recommends Frontline Combo which kills eggs as well as live fleas. Mind you a lot more expensive. In England you can only get them from the vets. Mine cost me nearly ten pounds for each treatment. This is effective for 8 weeks.

Ooh - I do know how you feel - I'm itching as I type this!!!

I was in the same situation as you - but it seemed that with the cats and dogs frontlined, the fleas would feed from us !

Remember - for every flea you find on the dog/cat, there are 10 in the carpets     

We tried everything - from smoke bombs, to calling out a pest control company - they used a product called Acclaim Plus (I think!!) - but instead of doing it the way that we would use it - ie - vacuuming the carpets, using the stuff and then vacuuming again the next day, they vacuumed, used the stuff - and then instructed us NOT to vacuum for 7 days - they returned after the 7 days, vacuumed again, then resprayed.  It was an improvement - apparently leaving it for 7 days caught those larvae that were just about to hatch.   However, we only really solved the problem completely when we took up all the carpets.

I might find an occasional flea on Buster, the Rasta cat just as he's due to be frontlined, but no more being bitten every time I go into the dining room!!!

Margot

My dog had the same problem. People on this website recommended Frontline Combo.
The Vet prescribed Frontline Combo (at £26.80 for 3 months treatment). It worked very quickly. It killed the fleas on my dog and also prevents the fleas on the dog laying viable eggs. The occasional flea is appearing as old eggs hatch. But I anticipate that after a few treatments the fleas will be eradicated.

hmm.... I might pop out and get the johnsons tablets just to kill the fleas initially.  I will have to get some more household stuff for the house - any recommendations ? 

Margot - was acclaim plus a powder or spray ?  I only actually have one carpet and one large rug in the whole house, ive put powder on them then hoovered it up, maybe I should leave it on ?  the problem then being the animals cant walk on it.

Im still scratching and im at work - maybe I have brought them in with me

I treat the carpets and furniture with either the acclaim 2004 or staykill sprays both effective for upto 12 months. There is another called Indorex spray again upto 12 months but I haven't tried this one.

I do this once a year as a preventative anyway :-) as I have one girl that is mega hyper sensitive to flea saliva, and she is on fresh garlic daily, but with the yeast and mold allergies and the Hypo T conditions, the dermo specialist suggested I use Capstar, twice monthly and program once monthly to make sure she is totally covered.
HTH

My vets sell Staykill so im going to pop in there on the way home and get some, ive also ordered a flea trap so I can keep a check if there are any more lurking about.  I will also pick up some tablets for him.

Claire (still scratching :( )

Happy hunting Claire :-)

It was a spray - apparently only available to licensed pest controllers!   I did try & "blag" some from them for intermediate use, but they wouldn't sell it to me - and we had to vacate the house for so many hours.

Have you sprayed your soft furnishings - settees, chairs & cushions & curtains?    Might be worth using a steamer on the curtains - I got quite paranoid about waging war on the little bu**ers!!

Margot

I only have one set of curtains in the whole house too - Sound like a right cheap skate dont I, the fact is I have wood flooring and venetian blinds :D :D

I remember my parents using the staykill when I was a kipper, we had to evacuate for half a day, but it did work.

Me and my OH are mega paranoid now (he only saw his first flea in his life a few days ago ) we are preparing to evacuate dogs cats and snake at the weekend and we are going to fumigate (sp?) the place :)

Claire (who has stopped scratching due to funny looks from colleagues but thinks she can feel the little blighters crawling all over her :( )

I have found that Piriton tabs effective in eliminating the scratching in us humans. The only prob is that they make you feel drowsy and you can't drink.

>and you can't drink

 

I would rather scratch all day :D :D

I used the Johnsons 4 fleas tabs with my dogs when everything else failed and they are brilliant, I gave them a tab a week for 6 weeks and no more fleas.
I always keep a box ready for the return but so far so good.
Sandie.

I must have been very lucky then, 5 dogs living indoors, sleeping together, we've never had fleas!  They are given garlic capsules daily which is supposed to help, plus we have laminate flooring and tiles all of downstairs, leather 3 piece too.

My vet checked them all with a fine tooth comb last week and couldn't find anything!  I've never used any chemicals either.  :-)

I have 3 GSDs and use Stronghold. I found Frontline ineffective on their coats, and as I get bitten at the first hint of a flea I can safely say we've been free of them for a couple of years now. I use a comb to part the hair across their shoulderblades so the drops go straight onto the bare skin, not on the hair. It is so effective that the puppies do not need worming until they are 5 or 6 weeks old, and even then I have never found any worms! (They are wormed once and then Strongholded just before they go to their new homes)

I started to use it after one of them picked up mange.. that was really horrible. I also like not having to worry about ticks!

At this time of year the fleas are coming indoors to get out of the cold, same as the spiders. :o

I live in the middle of the country and have two cats who spend most of their time in the fields hunting so I think thats where my flea problem has stemmed from :rolleyes:

Anyway ......

last night we shut the dog out locked the cat flap, covered over the snake hoovered and washed everything and then nuked the house with staykill   We then took Fagan down the pub for a few hours in order to let the stuff settle and do its job ;)

When we got back, as the animals came in they were given a flea tablet and  all the windows were thrown open ....... so far no sign of anymore fleas :)

If humans get bitten by fleas, should anything be put on the bite to prevent further problems, like infections etc ? or is it best to leave the bites to clear up on their own ?  Someone asked me this recently and I didn't know the answer.

I dont know, I just leave mine to clear up - at the moment it looks like ive got chicken pox on my ankles and feet

Hi, I have two cats who go out and roam about and Saffy who is very long haired.  I use Frontline spot on for all three of them and they never get fleas.  I must admit I am quite surprised  - I have only used the drops on them every six months for the last year or so. so I recommend Frontline spot on wholeheartedly and if you only need to use it twice a year (probably less if you don't have cats) then it works out quite cheap really.  They do hate having it put on though!

Fiona

Remember - you have an excuse for not using the vaccuum cleaner for a week :D

Margot