My West Highland White Terrier had a terrible time with fleas. She attracted them in summer,she was allergic to their bites and would scratch like crazy. She slept under my bed all her life. One summer I put a Hartz collar on her and dusted under the bed with OTC flea powder. I never applied powder directly to her. In December she developed trouble breathing (wheezing) ,the doc thought it was either psychosomatic because I left her at a kennel or some kind of allergy. By February she was diagnosed with lung cancer. It spread to her brain and she had seizures. I put her to sleep Valentines Day. I blame myself for the aggressive use of OTC flea treatments.

I am sorry for the death of your cat. And I know you feel bad already - but the "strong stuff from your vet" is much safer for mammals than the OTC stuff that you buy at the store.

If you compare the lethal dose information for the active ingredients between the stuff from the vet and stuff from the store its pretty easy to compare them.

You overdosed your cat and used a medecine that is not good for cats .... which is another problem with OTC medications (and OTC insecticides), people don't read instructions or they think if a little bit works good then a lot will work better. I am sorry for your loss.

Perhaps you can share your kitties death with others to make something good come out of it?

As for your fleas, normally I would recommend a whole house flea bomb but you probably should hire a professional. (As it appears that you cannot follow instructions well.)

I know that sounds harsh. And I am sorry for your cat.

Bud, I'm so sorry about your cat. What a horrible experience.

As for the fleas and your remaining kitten, as soon as the kitten is old enough (8 wks. I believe) you can apply Advantage topical flea treatment to the back of its neck once a month which for me works very well. Frontline is another brand widely used, but I'm not sure about the kitten age for that one.

Then keep vacuuming on a regular basis, like daily until you see no more fleas. Empty the bag often, even every time, if you think the fleas could get out of the bag. Good luck. Again, I'm sorry about the loss of your cat.

I knew before I opened your post this was going to be about Hartz. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Hartz has been embroiled in a class action lawsuit regarding the deaths of many pets as a result of their products. The EPA has investigated them and as a result ordered at least one of their products off the market and enforced more rigorous labeling.

I would suggest you contact a pest control company like Orkin and have them come out and professionally deal with the flea infestation in your house. Once that is done then you can safely use a product like Advantage on your cats to keep them under control.

All our cats are indoors only, but during the summer months from say, July through September, I use Advantage on them. Fleas can come in on your clothing or through open doors and windows. The Advantage kills them before they have a chance to multiply.

Thank you for bringing up the safety of Hartz products - it's a good thing for other people to learn about.

Good luck to you, and again I'm so sorry for your loss.

Here is a link that might be useful: EPA Restrictions on Hartz Flea Drops

In the 80s I bought a Hartz flea spray (Blockade). I thought my large dog was overreacting when I sprayed her about every other day. I didn't make the connection when I was throwing up every few days.

A few years later I saw a news story about Hartz flea spray killing small pets. "We don't know what it's doing to people."

I never bought another Hartz product.

IMO the only worthwhile product is from the vet. I'm so sorry about your kitten.

I guess I'll be the only one to address this, but if anyone EVER sees what you described.............."it was laying on it's chest and belly with it's limbs splayed out. Then it's whole body went limp and it emptied it's whole bladder".........PLEASE get the cat to a vet. Spray or not, the cat was showing severe symptoms of something wrong.

As others mentioned, your house needs a professional pet control treatment..........and please remove all pets during treatment.

I guess I'll be the only one to address this,
Yep, I will no longer point out the obvious, seems to get me in trouble with the "I can't afford the vet" people.

Sorry for the loss of your cat, but it certainly helps to read directions. Many problems with Hartz products can be avoided if people actually read the directions BEFORE usage.

A Hartz flea collar killed our dog in 1974. She died of organophosphate poisoning. She had never had a flea collar before and started acting funny, not sick, just different. I immediately removed the collar but she began walking with a wobble and acting confused. We took her to the vet but the damage had already been done.

If I had just bathed her instead of just removing the collar she might have had a chance. I didn't realize the collar worked by poisoning the fur, then the skin and then the blood of the animals. Without bathing her she continued to be exposed to the poisons through her fur.

It was a horrible, agonizing death and I've never used an Hartz product since.

bud_wi, I sympathize with your loss. The Hartz flea products that were damaging to cats were recalled. I saw they were pulled from Wal-mart and such earlier this year, but you may have gotten some of the remaining product.

Flea infestation control program:

These are only suggestions and you take any responsibilty for them

- DE and Borax are helpful.
- vaccum daily or more frequently.
- apply household insecticide containing Lufenuron. It prevents the eggs from hatching.

- Adult fleas can live up to 6 weeks without a bloodmeal. It will take more than a month for the flea problem to go away, even with the best treatment.

- do you have other pets that could host fleas? do you have wild mice or other rodents in the house to act as hosts? Do your close neighbors have pets? We had a terrible flea problem in a house that shared a wall with another house. The other owner had a dog and did not know how to control fleas, so they came back regardless whatever we did.

Here is a link that might be useful: PDF flea control program from Okla State Univ Ext Service

joepyweed: "It appears that you cannot follow instructions well.) I know that sounds harsh."

and "People don't read instructions."

minibim: "It certainly helps to read directions. Many problems with Hartz products can be avoided if people actually read the directions BEFORE usage."

+++++++++

What part of my story gives you the impression that I was too stupid to follow directions properly??

Or that I was too lazy to read the directions before going gun-ho with the flea product????

You just ASSume that I didn't read the bottle before using it. Or that I couldn't comprehend plain English and became 'confused'.

I have the bottle in front of me. I followed directions to a "T".

>> Directions say; Shake well before use. Hold bottle upright 6 inches from pet. Direct spray towards pet and spray entire coat, pressing dispenser with quick short strokes. Move bottle to get even coverage of coat until tips are moist. Apply lightly and rub into coat, ruffle hair for spray to reach skin. For ticks spray directly. After 10 minutes dry cat with towel. Comb and brush coat. Repeat once a week. That is it word for word. Easy instructions. Except for the part about repeating once a week, (which has now become obsolete), I followed the instructions exactly.

So tell me how I screwed up applying the product, since you both were obviously looking over my shoulder while I was treating my cat for fleas?

How was I suppose to KNOW that something sold at a pet store was "not good for cats" as you put it?

Why do you ASSume that I do not take my animals to the vet because I have no money to do so??? I take all my animals to the vet.

Right now I am very angry with my vet for not identifying the flea problem with my new kitten. I made an appointment to take the new kitten in *right away* when I got her, for an initial check up. AND have had her back there, right on schedule, for all her kitten shots. I even TOLD the vet that she seemed to be scratching a lot! He said there were no fleas and no ear mites. THAT is the reason that the flea infestation has gotten out of control. NOT because I didn't take her to the vet because I was being cheap and miserly.

When I saw the fleas jumping around in my laundry basket, where both cats like to sleep, I knew I had a flea infestation. I wanted to address the flea situation RIGHT AWAY. It was the weekend when I discovered that I had a flea infestation and even if I HAD called my vet on Monday, it would still be a while to get in for an appointment. I don't drive a car and my vet is in another town. Going to the pet store seemed at the time to be the quickest and most logical solution.

Silly me.

I know now after doing some research that Hartz products are not safe. Who woulda thunk?????

And BTW, I may not have made my story clear on one point; My older cat, whom I treated with the spray, was normal acting when I put him in the cage. He only did the 'limp thng' while I was rubbing him and combing him. I thought he just didn't like the ordeal and was trying to avoid the situation. He is a quite guy, and never has been a 'fighter'. His eyes were open and he perked up after about 4 seconds and was meowing. I did not stuff a limp cat into a cage.

I never thought that an OTC spray could be so deadly. I know now. And also, I did not "abandon" him in the basment. I was doing lots of loads of laundry and walked by him every 15 minutes for hours. I even looked directly into the cage and talked to him. He was normal acting then. He died overnight. Or am I to be blamed for going to sleep for eight hours??

+++

joepyeweed: "Perhaps you can share your kitties death with others to make something good come out of it?"

Ahh, well I thought that was what I was doing here by posting the story. I wanted to warn people about Hartz Control flea spray and keep this from happening to someone else's pet. Maybe I saved a life.............

Geeesh. I was warned about this Pets Forum. I posted my story on two other pet sites and did NOT get this reaction. Nobody tried to make me look like a bonehead for buying a product off of a store shelf, and being to ignorant to use it properly, to boot.

Thank you to those who expressed their condolences and I return my sympathy to those who have lost pets due to using other Hartz flea products.

I am sorry for the loss of your Kitty. I would be writing to Hartz right now.

Don't let the nasty remarks here get you down.

Did you leave out the part of the directions that say not to use it on kittens or that the product is "for cats" and doesn't mention kittens?

Why do you ASSume that I do not take my animals to the vet because I have no money to do so??? Well cause if my cat were limp, splayed out and un-able to control it's bladder, I would kinda deem that an emergency and not stick it in a cage with food and water - but that's just me.

I am sorry for the loss of your cat. You did a good service by posting your experience here.
Talley and measure twice gave some excellent advice.

Please don't beat yourself up for this nor let a few self righteous posters get to you.

Thar ya go - pointing out that you don't use cat products on a kitten and "limp" cats oughta see a vet - gets ya labelled self-righteous. Whodda thunk it?

I saw it in my crystal ball. Just another unfortunate "accident"

Geeesh. I was warned about this Pets Forum.

bud_wi, I have found strong reactions and strong words to be part of any pet forum, and I have participated in many. I have been guilty of being very harsh so I have been trying to moderate my words especially in pet forums.

Hang in there. Both the gentle and the harsh people are trying to be helpful. Personally, I tend to distrust a forum where people are not passionate. That would seem too much like a schmoozing-sales kind of thing.

Hartz has been killing cats and kittens for a long time now. There was even a special news report on their flea products a couple of years ago. Yet, the products are still being sold. It's unbelievable that they get away with this. I hope you write them and the store where you purchased the product. Also alert the ASPCA in New York and the Humane Society of the United States. They send out alerts on these matters. So sorry about the kitten.

OP said: ****Right now I am very angry with my vet for not identifying the flea problem with my new kitten. I made an appointment to take the new kitten in *right away* when I got her, for an initial check up. AND have had her back there, right on schedule, for all her kitten shots. I even TOLD the vet that she seemed to be scratching a lot! He said there were no fleas and no ear mites. THAT is the reason that the flea infestation has gotten out of control.****

Just want to say I don't think the vet is at fault here. It's very possible there were no fleas on the kitten since the scratching you witnessed was probably due to her having an allergic reaction to their bites.
The majority of flea problems are not found on the animals but in the places the fleas like to hide/breed and surrounding areas of the yard.

Hartz, Advantage, Revolution, Program, Ivomectin etc. can all kill an animal, can all cause a reaction and can all cause skin problems, especially when the improper dosage is used. They are chemicals, they are not perfect and 100% of all animals are not guaranteed never to have a reaction.

I'm sure if someone wanted to really research it and accurately present facts; Hartz probably outsells vet only flea products simply because they are so readily available, thus you will have more cases involving Hartz.

Bud, so sorry for your loss. But I feel you did what you thought was the right thing and as you said, who would have thought that Hartz was not a good product.

Mimi, I think you have misread the post.

I read his first post as the kitten brought in fleas. He knew he couldn't use insecticides on a kitten but he bought the OTC Hartz spray to control the fleas on his OTHER cat, and it was the OLDER cat that died. Not the kitten.

His second post clarified it - "My older cat, whom I treated with the spray."

Whom he put in the cage, who later died.

I thought he was quite clear about this.

As for researching the facts, perhaps you should google Hartz lawsuit yourself, and see whats out there. You can start with http://hartzvictims.org/

Their products have been notorious for years.

I am so sorry about the death of your cat, I know it is harder when it the result of something you did trying to make life better for your cat. I think you were a good pet owner and you taught us all something. Good wishes with the kitten. Don't be hard on yourself.

Posted by minibim: Did you leave out the part of the directions that say not to use it on kittens or that the product is "for cats" and doesn't mention kittens.
++++++++++++++

Why don't you READ my entire post??? I don't come to this forum often and never posted before, so I don't know if you are just a troll or you can't comprehend what you read.

My post clearly said that I had no intention of using the product on my *new kitten* and was only going to give her a bath and comb her. It clearly says that I used the spray on my *other* older __cat__ . That is the one that died. New kitten is fine.

I don't let any of my animals out of the house so I believe it was the new kitten who brought in the fleas. I'll never know. Maybe they came in on my socks from the garden. Maybe, as someone suggested, a field mouse got in through a crack and brought in fleas to my animals. My next door neighbor had a huge fluffy Collie that they kept outside most of the time and it would run in my yard. It recently died this summer and maybe it had fleas and now needed a new host and they came into my house. I'll never know......

I clearly had enough common sense to put my animals in the basement while I vacuumed and sprayed my rugs, so I can't be too much of moron, can I?

I only sprayed my cat lightly and was surprised when I thought the spray was repelling and dripping off of him. It turned out to be urine not the spray. I just read now that flea spray can burn skin, and only a little bit, can burn a cat's genitals, making the poor cat extremely uncomfortable. I think that is what happened and why the cat did what it did.

I am so sorry for your loss. Most of the people here are very nice and helpfull. The ones that have been...well *harsh* are ones that are usually rude and not so nice most of the time. I ignore them. Thank you for telling your story so that others may avoid the same sad outcome.
Lisa

I'm sorry for your loss Bud and no, I don't think you are a moron. I think you are incredibly brave, in the face of your recent loss, to share your story here in hopes someone will not suffer the same.

Lori

I'm so sorry about your cat. I wish more people knew about the dangers of organophosphates. They are just all-around bad chemicals for every living being. They can cause cancer in human adults, and probably birth defects in human fetuses. Not good things at all, and because we're much bigger than our pets, we don't have nearly the bad effects that they do.

Please do not be confused about the products sold by vets vs. the OTC organophosphates (OPs). The only reason certain products such as Frontline and Advantage are ONLY sold by vets is so the manufacturers could avoid the negative publicity of people mistakinly using the wrong product or dose on their animals and causing a bad reaction or death. The companies that make Frontline and Advantage realize that Hartz will never be a trusted company again because of the fact that their products kill cats. Some (not all) of those products were misused, either wrong product or wrong dose. For example, hartz makes a canine flea control spray with pyrethrins, which are very toxic to cats, and people used it on their cats even though the product was labeled for dogs only. Or people used the wrong dose or the wrong dosage interval of the correct product. And of course even used correctly, some cats are more sensitive to OPs than others and have died because of it.

Frontline and Advantage, seeing how many problems can occur even with products clearly labeled and dosed, decided that they would only sell to licensed vets. There is no legal or regulatory reason for them to do this; they could sell OTC if they wanted. But Hartz is now a brand that few people trust for anything, and Frontline and Advantage didn't want this to happen to them. They figured if a vet is Rx the product, then it will be much less likely that cats will get dog products, or anyone will get the wrong dose. And so far that has proven true.

I'm not saying that there are not individual animals that are more sensitive to Frontline and Advantage than others. There have been some problems, though not nearly on the scale as with the OPs. Frontline and Advantage are not super-concentrated versions of Hartz products- they are a completely different class of drugs and are not absorbed systemically by the dog or cat. This is a good thing- the reason that cats have problems with OPs is because OPs are absorbed systemically.

In repsonse to your original post, my suggestion for ridding your house of fleas is a multistep process. You've already done step 1 and cleaned everything.

Step 2 is protecting your pets. Get Frontline Plus and use it monthly on all your cats and dogs. It contains an insect growth regulator that will prevent fleas eggs from developing, in addition to the adulticide. The fleas eggs already in your house will continue to hatch for at least 3-6 months, so use Frontline Plus for at LEAST 6 months. I use it monthly on all my dogs year round and have never seen fleas in my home.

Step 3 is killing the live fleas in your home. I've used Adams foggers before without incident. You do have to leave the home with the pets for at least 30 minutes; I'd stay away as long as possible and open the windows for a bit before allowing the pets to return. Use one fogger per room and treat every single room in your house- including the basement and attic if they are stair-accessible- at once. I'd also use Adams mist to get under all the furniture. If you do not treat the entire house at once, the fleas will simply hang out in an untreated area until it's safe. If you have fish, turn off the filter and cover the entire aquarium with several plastic bags to prevent the chemicals from getting into the water. I only mention Adams brand because I have used it a long time ago (before Frontline came out) and the vet I worked for back then sold it; there may be others but I have no experience with them. If you have birds, I'd take them out of the house for at least 24 hours after using the foggers/misters because birds are so extremely sensitive to everything.

Again, I'm very sorry about your cat. I wish OPs were illegal in every circumstance, but so far the FDA and Dept of Agriculture have been reluctant to remove these products from the market. The best we can do is to help make people aware of the dangers of these products, and to the much safer alternatives.

Hold on here, you could be seeing this all wrong. Start from ground level questions. How old was your cat? Did he have any health problems? Bad Heart possibly? An animal with a bad heart, can pass away from the smallest stress, like a bath. There could've been added stress due to a new kitten (jealousy). It's like taking grandma on a roller coaster that has a bad heart. Also, if your home is very infested with fleas, your cat could've been anemic. Fleas are ONLY on a pet for food, then they jump off. Remember this, fleas and ticks suck blood from pets, thus, blood loss. Then you have an anemic cat, you bathe it (stress), cats body shuts down.

When cats urinate or pant during a bath, it's a sign of stress. That should've been warning #1. Going limp was the biggest warning that could've happened. That would tell me either he/she fainted, had a stroke, or major shut down.

I treat my animals like my child. If my child reacted to something like your cat did, I'd send him to an emergency hospital. You need to get your house sprayed by a professional, they'll know what to do.

The biggest mistake is cats cannot handle the amount of pesticides that dogs can. If something does not say it can be used on cats, or kittens, DON'T USE IS.

I myself have heard of many animals getting sick from Hartz products, and other generic off brands. Most groomers won't even use dips on animals anymore, too toxic.

I agree with Meghane, before you use any solution on you pet, get professional advise. Vets and groomers have alot of experience with many products for pets.

I'm sorry for your loss but not surprised. I'm just surprised that Hartz is still in business. In the 80's I was raising a small kitten whose mother was killed. She had fleas and I put some Hartz spray on my finger and rubbed it around her neck. A minute later I saw her staggering and rushed her to the sink and washed it off and she was okay. You mean that same product is still out there after 18 years??? I hate using anything on my cats but do use Frontline Plus and just did my indoors since we had a slight problem earlier in the summer from a few on one cat. We must've brought them in. So they got two doses 6 weeks apart and the eight week old kittens got a dose from the rescue group which the vet proportioned for their weight. I have never used a Hartz product since nor will I ever.

Sorry about your cat. I had no idea about Hartz. I've always purchased my flea/worm medicine from the vet, and find the once-a-month flea/worm products amazing (Revolution is the one I currently use). Although I only have 2 dogs now, about 10-15 years ago, I had 3 dogs & 3 cats and lived in a rural area. The flea/worm stuff from the vet meant NO fleas ever.

Thank you for posting - by doing so, you may have saved someone's pet.

That's so sad! I'm so sorry about your cat. I hope people reading this will pass along the hazards of using this product.

The health of the cat doesn't matter in the case of OP poisoning. There is some percent of normal healthy cats who are sensitive to OPs. Just like most people can eat peanuts and others die. It's one of those things. The fact that OPs are systemically absorbed is the root of the problem. The vet-sold topicals are basically at worse topical irritants.

Please, tell everyone you know with pets, especially cats, about the dangers of OPs (not just Hartz brands). Small dogs are also very susceptible to OP poisoning. Please also remember that pyrethrins and related compounds are extremely toxic to cats- NEVER use a product labeled for dogs only on cats.

WOW! Very scary! I didn't know all this! I'm so sorry for your loss. I thank my lucky stars that I've always used Advantage after consulting a vet for my pet's flea problems. I've had two pets, a dog and cat, who were both highly allergic to flea saliva. This would cause the cat to literally pull his fur out in tuffs from his legs (I can use this as a sort of barometer of the flea situation) and the dog would dig spots bald. Both had such a problem that they had to be treated with steroids to quell the allergic reaction. Fortunately, they were of an age to be treated with Advantage or I would probably have gone the Hartz route as well!

Where to start with all of this... Bud, im so very sorry for the loss of your cat and for the insensitive words some have posted here. I too had a cat that would splay its legs out, go limp and urinate just before it fainted. It only took turning on the kitchen tap and getting out the flea soap to trigger this response. Annz, I did take my cat to the vet for said reason. His response was this. "Yup, your cat hates baths! Finish washing her up when she does it and she will be fine." minibim, dont assume to know peoples financial situations. At one time in my life I had to choose between food on the table for the kids or vet treatment for a cat that was a long term member of the family. Reason I had to choose? Spouse broke his neck at work and WC decided to loose every paper submitted to them multiple times. Dont ever assume to know why people do what they do. Joepye, If you cant say something nice at all.... dont say anything. Annz, minibim and Joepye... I am noticing a total lack of empathy on your part for ben even though you obviously misread the post. Perhaps on overdue apology is in order?

Hang in there Bud .... as unfortunate as your situation is - it will help some people .I never knew about the Hartz thing .... I don't have cats but it's a good thing to know. I'm so sorry about that happening to you and your pet.... it's heartbreaking . As for the fleas - have you tried one of those "flea Bombs"? I never used them myself but my friend that had cats & fleas used it often. Good luck Bud - and let the harsh comments roll off your back.

Thanks for sharing your sad story. Although everyone's intentions might have been good, it doesn't help when you are suffering the lose of a beloved pet and part of what you are trying to do is voice that as well as helping others.

I hope you get rid of the fleas soon and that you will enjoy your kitten, and find comfort in the memories that you have of your lost pet.

I know this is still hurting, but I will tell you I went to give my Akita/Cyote 9to 12 yrs???old a bath today and there in my dog bath shampoo was a bottle of HARTS medicated shampoo. Now I dont know that all thier products are bad....but I thank you ...again.....I chose to use a different product on my OLD dog. Older animals may not tollerate what the younger ones can. Because of your post I chose a safer product, got her cleaned and smelling fresh and feeling better with no adverse health problems. I cant not thank you enough for your post!
Lisa

My husband does pest control for a living and I have added a link for you to check out. This is the company my husband has worked for for over 10 years. They really know their stuff. I strongly suggest you have a professional spray your house for fleas. We have sprayed houses with horrible infestations and the fleas were gone a very short time. Always vacuum before treatment and after, this will loosen eggs and remove some fleas. Bombs, in our opinion are worthless, because fog will not get in cracks and crevices, only fleas caught out in the open. Remove any pets during home treatment, treat pets with Frontline, Advantage, etc. before returning pets to home. If you have any other questions please contact Starbuck Pest Control using the link I provided. Also, treat entire house. Fleas can live on any type of flooring. Not just carpet. Sorry to hear of your loss.

Here is a link that might be useful: starbuckpest.com

Thank you for the recommendation of a reputable pest control company but I don't think they would come out to Wisconsin. LOL. If anyone has a recomendation of a good pest control comapny that would serve Milwaukee County please share.

I took Meghan's advice an ordered four Adams foggers and they arrived today (finally!). These don't look like 'home use' products. The cans say you must turn off ALL pilot lights; gas dryer, water heater, stove, what not. I do not know how to turn them off and even if I did I would be afraid of blowing up the whole house trying to relight everything.

I can't find the shut off for the dryer and what looks like the shut off for the water heater may not be it. There are two thingys that could be it. I've never been very 'handy' with things like this.

The person who answered at Adams hotline admitted that THEY would not know how to do this themselves!

I called the wholesale house I ordered from and they too, admitted that they would not know how to turn off gas pipelines and relight the pilot lights and burners.

I called the hotline for Adams and they say I must call the Gas Co. to to the turn off and relight and that they charge for this. $$$$$ There is no guarantee that foggers work either.

It also says on the can that all electric all appliances must be turned off; air conditioner, refrigerator, fans on a timer, ect. They said the best thing to do is to turn off electricity for the whole house.

It the stuff is THAT flamable, I am not sure if I want it covering everything in my house. I have guests who smoke. I don't want my rugs or couch bursting into flames because of an errant cigarette ash.

The cans say to activate the can with the spray away from face and run. This does not sound good.

I am sending them back.

Meanwhile, I have used Frontline on the kitten last week. I never saw fleas on her before (or flea dirt or eggs) but NOW she is jumping with fleas and shedding dirt.

(*Note to anyone who thinks "I don't know how to follow directions": I received kitten on Memorial Day and was told that they *thought* it was four weeks old. It was very small. Hardly a palmful. I was told it was the 'runt of the litter'. Because of it's petite size, and the fact that the age was up for speculation, I was super-cautious about using the flea spray and chose not to. Using the info I was given, kitten is probably now about four months old now, and has gained enough weight to make her 'average' weight for her perceived age. Frontline should be safe.)

I now read on the Internet that Frontline no longer works. I read that just like with other incectides, fleas have developed a reisistance to the chemical used in Frontline.

I also got a can of Vet-Kem Siphotrol and sprayed everywhere.

As I mentioned before, EVERYTHING has been washed, curtains, draperies, bedding, pillows, everything emptied from closets and drawers. I don't have carpeting, but I took up my area rugs and hosed them down outside. All upholstery has been vacuumed.

Fleas are now worse than ever. They are now jumping on my legs as I walk through the house. They are jumping on me when I lay on the couch. I found them covering my slippers and those were washed AND sprayed two days ago.

I am at my wits end.

I am going to try an exterminator. This is going to cost big bucks I am sure.

I don't understand how the flea problem could have just expoded like this?? I already have DE and Broax in my rugs and around the house because of the incessant ant problem that this house came with. I even spray with incecticide, always in Spring during "ant season" and occasionally other times.

I've discussed this with friends and no one has ever heard of a flea problem this bad where the fleas are on me like fruitflies on a rotten banana. I'm going to shave my legs, maybe that will help. I have found that spraying a homemade mix of tea tree oil and rubbing alcohol on my calves seems to keep them away for a few hours.

I feel that I just washed everything I own in my house for naught. I didn't do any good. And neither did any of the sprays.

Has anyoe had a huge flea problem like this? How did you get rid of it?

Maybe I should start a new post.

Foggers do work. I grew up in pre frontline era and our house had fleas from our one dog and one cat. My mother would set foggers when they got bad, and they did get really bad. The foggers worked fine.

You already have the foggers so use them. Call the gas company, it can't be that much, and have them come out.
I hadn't heard that frontline doesn't work anymore...but I don't have cats. I use frontline plus on my dogs with great sucess.
You wil get through this!

Call the pest control and just pay the $$. This is out of control and without leaving the house and having a professional treat it you won't get rid of the fleas. Fogging the house yourself may help, but even then you may not get rid of the fleas if they're nesting under your house or in the attic. Rats and squirrels can carry them to the attic and any animal can carry them under the house.............unless you have a slab floor.

Washing everything will not rid your home of them since fleas and their eggs can easily survive soap and water.

If you think you're miserable, imagine what your pets are going thru. Even with Frontline/Advantage, etc., they're still being constantly bitten.

Fleas can survive soap and water?! I read that they drown in plain water. I already know I wasted my time washng everything. I guess they did live through it. I read about a trick to use where you take a candle and put it in a water dish. The fleas jump toward the heat and CO2 but land in the water and drown. I'm so deparate I was even going to try that, even though it sounded bizaar.

What I don't understand either is that it seems to be the basment that is the worst. It is just a cement basement. No rec room, no carpeting, no curtains. I just was down there again for about one minute to spray again (again!) and when I came up the stairs my ankles and feet and calves were COVERED WITH THEM. It reminded me of that old commercial for Off Incect Repellant where the guy sticks his arm into a glass box filled with mosquitos and they all land on his arm. The worst thing about these fleas is that when you slap them, unlike mosquitos, they just spring right up and can't be crushed.

I went into my little tool room in the basement, where I rarely go, and there was so much flea dirt that it looked like coffee grounds were scattered all over the table.

I had to SWEEP flea dirt out of one of my closets in the guest room there was so much. Things stored in the basement are covered with flea dirt. All my stored canned goods and extra stuff stored under the basement stairs is covered with black specks. HOW????? I know it it flea dirt because when I try wipeing it with a paper towel the specks turn red. How could this have gotten this bad so fast like they just exploded all over.

I hope that I don't have the fleas down there because of critters. :shudder: Critters are just about impossible to get rid of once they get in. There are a lot of skunks in the area, I just had one on my back steps a couple of weeks ago. I had to stand in my driveway until it decided to leave. I was hoping it wasn't going to go to sleep there for the night. Front door was locked. Possums too. Lots of rabbits and squirals My garage is overridden with field mice even though I have glue traps, snap traps and poison all set out. Nothing works on those critters. If they got in the house I don't know what I would do.

I have to deal with the death of my dear cat Max. My anger at Hartz. And now this flea nightmare that is getting worse and worse. If I find a nest of critters I am going to go insane.

I am so sorry that this is so bad for you! You would think that the DE would have kept this from getting so bad. I agree that it is time to get out the credit card (if that is what it takes) and call the exterminator. Let them figure out why this is happening. Is the garage attached to the house? I got mice in the house through an attached garage. Had to get out calk and Great Stuff and Steel wool and plug up every hole I could find.

You have one heck of an infestation. I use Frontline Plus on my indoor cats and a smaller dosage for my 10 week old kittens who live in the carriage house. I don't know how I get fleas since my cats don't go outside but at the first sign, I frontline. The kittens were dosed almost two weeks ago and they still have some. I comb them but can't give them more frontline for over two more weeks. When they're out of the carriage house, the fleas will go since it's mostly a concrete floor and unheated and there will be no warm bodies. In 1988 I had something almost as bad as you. I had indoor cats then as well as a tiny kitten I was raising. We went to Boston for the week and took the kitten w/ us and it was 100 plus every day we were gone. My son and wife came to feed the cats who were kept in the carriage house for that time. They did come in to feed the bird and bring mail in. When we returned there was a note on door. Do not go in the house w/ Peeper because it is infested w/ fleas. They were hopping on our legs because evidientally we must've had some we didn't know about and in the week we were gone w/ 100 degree temps, they multiplied. We vacuumed like crazy, sprayed and evidentually bombed the house taking the parrot somewhere else. We didn't bring the cats in till the fleas were gone. It was awful!!

You definitely need a professional pest control at this point, no OTC products are going to be potent enough to get rid of what you have now.

I am so sorry for your loss of your cat, and keep us updated as to what happens with the flea situation.

Never Harts, it has killed many a cat and puppy and should not be supported - even when the cat is no longer there.

With serious infestation , I recommend getting all your pets to a GOOD VET,, having them de-flead and, while they are away, flea bomb your house. You will need a friend's help to set them off. They really work and leave a nice smell behind.

Some flea collars are effective as a preventative, but, the treatment that goes on their skin, at the base of their skull is the best.

I'm sorry you learned a hard lesson and lost your cat.

I forgot to mention, that I use products from CHEWY.COM . Also, get some garlic gel caps, little, tiny ones. Give them to your cats, as garlic repels fleas.

Fleas can come into your home on your clothes.

If you live in a rural area, this is more likely. Before entering your home, check the bottoms of your pants.

Fleas live in grassy areas, mostly, so your lawn could be a source.

Treat your lawn.