Oh yuk, Marda, that is so GROSS when you see one up close like that. I think I like it better when they are just tiny annoynances! Hope they leave you alone from now on--our cats stay indoors and we haven't had a flea in years. Which is fine with me. Even if I did never see one looking back at me.............

I've seen them up close with the nekkid eye of course, but now that I see this microscopic view, I understand why the little buggers are so successful at burrowing down into fur.....and eyebrows. Look at those spines and how they are placed for forward movement!

I hate them and some years back, took in a long-haired feral cat who came with them onboard into our multi-pet family. It was like the Amityville horror. I went to the vets, and this was just as the IGR products were hitting the market and this particular vet did not carry them. I was given a bottle of flea powder and wished the best of luck. TMALSS.....this poor little cat died a horrible death from having the blood sucked from his body with the fleas hidden from effective shampooing or powdering by the undercoat of soft fur. I am still in horror of it and it haunts me.

After his demise, many dollars later from medical bills trying to save his life.....the house came alive with fleas. I bombed, vacuumed, sprayed, carpet shampooed with enough insecticide to drop a horse and repeated that routine daily for two weeks also washing every cloth item in the house and all the furniture repeatedly. I even found the larvae and cocoons in plain view. I boxed up all my other animals and took them elsewhere until the epidemic was over. And....I am not exactly a dirty person.

The insect growth regulator made for cats was available almost immediately thereafter and although I had to force it down the cat's throats (it was an oral med) I did. I have never had a problem since then since I am completely phobic about fleas now. I just thank God for the researchers who came up with the topical applications. It was a great step forward in veterinary medicine and also relieved our environment of the arsenal of chemicals we had to use to try, and always fail, to keep fleas under control.

What a nasty insect!
I've treated all 11 house & potting shed cats over and over again this summer---along with repeated bombing.
I get a 3-pak Frontline for large dogs and suck up .05 in a syringe and treat the cats with that-----a money-saving tip given to me by a vet friend.
The colony at the shop seems to be OK except for a couple of upper-respiratory outbreaks in a few of the weaker cats.
Try to treat them twice daily---doesn't always work out as planned, if they decide they've had enough doctoring!
This has been a rotten summer for fleas and 'skeets ...hate those buggers!

I'm phobic about fleas too. Once we had a neighbors dog come and hide out under our front porch and left a zillien fleas behind, so many we had to call an exterminator and he had to come twice before we got rid of them. They were every where outside.Shiver Shiver.
We've got more than our share of ticks,skeeters, and chiggers too, We use Frontline for those critters and Frontline for heartworms too.

I don't think even a mother could love that ugly flea.LOL

Jeez Louis Marda! I haven't even finished my first cup of coffee! But yes, this has been a horrible bug season. We've treated the dog & cats twice this summer for fleas & ticks. Thankfully, so far none in the house. I know what a mess that is when they decide to settle down inside.

Wow! Another reason to WAX your eyebrows regularly!

I am crossing my fingers so those buzzards stay away.

And how rude of her to NOT at least dust herself off before attacking.

Ick, Icky bick, Yuck!

Jan

One sighting of one single flea will send me into the panic mode. Thank the stars i havent seen a flea on my cats in over 11 yrs.
My mother on the other hand is one of those "close the barn door after the horses are out" types. She has always allowed the flea situation to get out of control and then it takes major intervention to get rid of those b%$#@#ds. Must be why im so phobic....

Kathyjane-

Did you mean to say treat them twice daily?

Frontline & such are supposed to be applied monthly, aren't they?

To all-

Please be *very* careful with the topical products;
over-dosing can kill your pet.

& check the chemical before you use something advertised for dogs on your cats:

Advantage, for example, is the same chemical in the "dog" or "cat" tubes, so you can use kj's tip & buy the bigger tubes & use one tube for several cats.

But Advantix for dogs can kill your cat.

I think I was lucky to have only one flea infestation over 17 years of raising indoor/outdoor cats. It was just on my brickfloored porch and the exterminator told me it might not even have been caused by my cats but that a teaspoon of soil brought in on cleated shoes could have jillions of flea eggs. They then hatched and my porch floor was "jumping". I think the exterminator sprayed inside too but don't remember any inside house. I don't remember now what we or the vet used on our cats if anything...this was years ago... but both cats lived to a ripe old age.

The main insects here seem to be those tiniest of black ants which cluster around my containers outside for water and I usually discover one or two on my arm when I come inside after watering. But they don't bite, thank goodness.

Marda, I would have flipped out for sure when I saw that blowup of a flea after having found one on my face. What an ugly creature. josh

The little sucker is constructed like my roto tiller.