Flea control for dogs

[nachoqtpie]

So, we've had dogs for 6 years, since we bought our house, and have NEVER had an issue with fleas.

A few months back we watched a friends 2 dogs for them for a couple days, and noticed that they were itching, but didn't think anything about it because we thought that they were on flea meds/collars. Needless to say, they were not! When they came home to pick up the dogs, they said that when they got home they had fleas in their house!

Fast forward to now... they've moved away and we're stuck with the fleas!!

We cannot afford to take all of our dogs to the vet and get the meds right now ($45 for each dog (4) for an office visit and then the cost of the medication as well.)

I bought some Permethrin at TSC, and that does seem to help some, but it doesn't seem to last very long? I've bathed them with dawn and neem oil, washed bedding, vacuumed, used borax and DE on the carpet overnight... I'm at my whits end!!!

Is there something that I'm missing? Should I try to put the permethrin right on them undiluted? Try something else? Help!!

 

[Britesea]

Do you have crates? Or could borrow some?

 

[Denim Deb]

Hubby insisted that he saw a flea a couple of weeks ago. I told him it must have come in on him since we have no animals in the house. Maybe I should get him a flea collar.

 

[Hilary Jones]

Our dog got fleas and brought them into the house. I thought I was going to go nuts!. They were biting us. Luckily we got them under control before they traveled through the house.

First we gave her Vetguard Plus for Dogs. Made her stay outside (she usually just comes in for a few hours in the evenings anyways). We cleaned the dog after the stuff had 48 hours to soak in and cleaned her house. sprayed a mix of Eucalyptus oil and water in the house to deter fleas further. Washed her bedding with the oil mixed in with the soap.

Second, we cleaned all blankets and vacuumed the rugs. I sprinkled Diatomateous Earth all over (it feels kind of like cornstarch but the tiny particles cut the exoskeletons of the bugs) Let that sit for 24 hours. Vacuumed all again.... Did this for days....

Third, My husband had enough of "natural remedies" after they invaded his chair and bit him. So we got a flea fogger and chemical bombed the house making sure cushions on the couch were up and the recliner was opened up.While that did its thing I took all bedding and blankets to a laundry mat. Then came home and vacuumed everything again...

They were gone after that. Needless to say the dog will be kept up to date on her treatments. Her indoor bed is washed with Eucalyptus mix weekly. I never want to have to do that again. It was WAY to much work and frustration. Plus the cost and time was much more getting rid of them then now preventing them....

Hope you get rid of those beastly vampire bugs soon. It took my me two weeks to stop imagining I was getting bit by them after they were gone...

 

[tortoise]

For other's future reference, in a flea infestation, removing pets from the home after treating them with something effective (Frontline+, or Vetguard/Nexguard) is a mistake. The fleas will start biting people instead when the pet is gone. Better to have them dying on the dog than biting people. Remember the pet is no longer the source of the problem after the first generation. Flea eggs aren't affixed to the hair like lice nits. They fall off, hatch in the carpet, and look for a host.... any host. In absence of a dog, a human will do just fine. Treating the dog and then removing the dog from the home slows down eradicating fleas and makes the people bitten up and miserably itchy.

They ARE beastly! I dealt with fleas in my home once, a decade ago, before I learned all this neato stuff about fleas and flea products. It was miserable. I am excessively cautious now. Even our barn cat gets Frontline+!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am trying to find a better cheaper way of keeping fleas off of my 5 dogs. Last year I ended up going with K9Advantix11 because Frontline plus wasn't working any longer but they are all so expensive and having 5 dogs makes it really expensive. Any one find something that is cost effective and actually works? I hate using chemicals on my dogs.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

UGH!! FLEAS!
New house, and my son got a new (previously outdoor) kitten, and I've been fighting fleas ever since! Every time I think I've got a handle on the nasty little buggers, I see another one on the kitten. And we don't even have carpets. I don't know if we're bringing them in when we come in from outside or if I'm missing something big, but I'm sooo tired of getting all chewed up! Thanks for the posts. I have a few new things to try.

 

[Jojo]

A 3.00 box of borax washing powder from Wal-Mart sprinkled in your yard a couple of times a year and you won't have fleas or ticks. I had an old man tell me about this years ago and it has worked like a charm for us. I sprinkle the entire box in the back yard.in their dog own and house too...it looks like it snowed but it disappears within a day or two. It really works great! I have no idea if it will harm chickens but mine don't free range where the dogs are.

 

[Beekissed]

Sweet lime works great too...also costs about $4 but it's 40lbs of the stuff, so it goes further for bigger spaces. I do it in early spring when I get a string of days when it won't rain and again, during a dry spell in the fall. This keeps it dry while it desiccates the flea eggs and the fleas, for that matter.

And that will last for a good long time, years even, until you are visited by a flea ridden mongrel of one type or another, which will start the whole flea population up again.

I had forgotten about the lime for some time and was fighting fleas on the dogs and cats this past year until I remembered....put down the lime and none of the animals have had to have any flea treatments ever since.

I'll repeat it here in October...the rainy seasons tend to help flea eggs hatch, for some reason, but if I can put down lime where the animals live most, it takes care of it well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I was thinking that maybe it, thanks for clarifying