I don't like the flea drops either, but I have used them. We had a flea problem last spring and I used the drops (just twice for each cat) and sprinkled ordinary table salt on the carpet and furniture.. then vacuumed up the next day. I kept the cats and dog in a separate part of the house during this time. I think I did this twice and the fleas were gone. This was with a dog (one who liked to visit his neighborhood dog friends) in the house too.

I've done the salt thing several times and it has always worked for me. Not sure why it works... but it's cheap and safe.

Thanks, Lydia. Salt sounds like a inexpensive solution.
The Plunkit man was just here. He checked Buster with a comb (which he took out of a sealed plastic bag & had me toss when he was done) then checked pretty closely under Busters tail. The he checked the carpets and I'm happy to say we are flea-free.

We have one cat, indoor- outdoor, and use Advantage on her. I think the directions say to use it monthly but we have found that twice a year is all she needs. Nice to be flea free.

Those drops are wonderful. We used them on Senorita and she lived to be 17. IMHO they are well worth it.

Daisy is an indoor cat but she got fleas last summer. I used the liquid drop on her once, and the fleas went away so I did not repeat.

Glad to hear you don't have fleas, dot. You are lucky to live in a building where they pay attention to problems like that.

I have always had my dog on a pill regiment - Comfortis and Capstar. This year, the fleas INFESTED my home and I could not get control of them.

I finally gave up on the flea bombs and powder and had a professional exterminator come. He treated, then ten days later, he treated my house again, as well as the foundation of the house. NO MORE flea problems.

I still have him on the Comfortis once a month, and the exterminator will come every 4 months to treat the house. This is some of the best money I have ever spent! The cost was $125 for the initial treatments and $75 every 4 months for maintenance - I will NEVER be without professional treatment again.

What kay said. My mom brought her dog up on a trip from Florida with fleas. Battled those darn things for years before I hired a professional. He treated inside and outside once and then the outside one more time a couple weeks later. Never had another problem. Well worth the money.

Two words: Diatomaceous Earth. I guarantee it will work to kill the fleas. It is non-toxic. It has been discussed at length here at GW in many of the forums. It works for ants, bedbugs, fleas, cockroaches, anything exoskeletal.

Critters are getting more and more resistant to pesticides and I would suggest to everyone to put DE down before you get an infestation to prevent one. That way if your pet brings in a flea or two they don't stand a chance on reproducing into an epidemic.

If you don't mind using pesticides, use one containing pyrethrum, which is a larval inhibitor. That way you get instant knock down and then the eggs won't develop into more.

http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

Here is a link that might be useful: Diatomaceous Earth

What a timely topic for me. I have had dogs & cats ALL my life, but this past spring, we got a flea infestation in our basement.

My 2 cats are strickly indoor, so where the fleas came is beyond me. We tried the fogger once ourselve. I've had a professional come out twice now to spray. He said that the chemical he used would take care of any spider or roach on the spot, but the fleas were still pretty bad.

My 2 kitties are on FrontlinePlus & did get Capstar from the vet. We have almost no carpeting in our home--mostly ceramic & laminate flooring. Would the salt work on the basement floor? I am also going to look into the Diatomaceous Earth that DD mentioned. I am truly at my wits end. Fortunately, the infestation is confined to the basement.

We need to get the basement cleared out, but I'm terrified to go down there. I got bit up so badly & had a really bad allergic reaction to the bites.

We actually went out to Home Depot & I bought those white/plastic jumpsuit with hoods that painters use. The worse thing is now my one baby runs away from me when she sees me. I think I look like the Big StayPuff Marshmallow Man to her all in white.

Thanks for all the suggestions & I hope to update when this flea mess is finally over. Could the heat & humidity be a factor this year? We had days between 103 & 110 heat index.

Be sure to get the DE that is labeled for horticultural or food use. Pool grade DE (used in pool filters) is much less expensive but the manufacturing process makes it useless for killing arthropods. It is also MUCH more hazardous to use.

Yes to that.

I know someone is going to ask "Where can I buy DE?"

Check your garden department at retail stores or garden centers. Some hardware stores will carry it also. It won't be found on the shelves where the pesticides are sold.

This is timely, since the other day I was asking about using Advantage for long term.

My elderly neighbour is hell-bent on thinking her (new to her, a few months ago) cat has fleas. She's indoors, and we live in a high-rise.

She has been using Advantage since July, and the other nite she came over saying that Molly bites her leg and S. swears she has fleas. I mentioned that often Roxie will chew her leg when she's grooming, but my cats don't have fleas.

I also said that if there were fleas in her apartment, her ankles would be bitten. She was talking about this before, and I told her to comb her over a white sheet. etc etc. I have checked Molly numerous times and have never seen any sign of fleas.

S. then said that the other morning in bed 2 little black bugs crawled across her chest. She rushed to the vet and got 3 months more Advantage. (which I have to put on her) Geesh!

Poor Molly. I'm wondering if S. saw Bed-bugs!!

Katclaws, if I remember correctly you live close to me. The fleas this spring were the worst I had ever seen. I'd try sprinkling the salt along the baseboards and any cracks/ect in the flooring. Sprinkle the furniture too. If you are able to close up the room, do that and leave it for a few days then go back and vacuum well. Throw the vacuum bag out once you are done. Hope you get the problem solved.

Years ago, I boarded my dog at a kennel while we vacationed. Picked her up and she was full of feeds. Tried giving her a bath, they were junping all over. About a week later, Dh found flea bites all over his ankles. Yikes, our carpets were infested! So I bundled up dog and our 2 cats, took them to vet for a flea dip and to hold overnight. Meanwhile, set off three flea bombs in our house, closed it up and went to my in-laws to stay overnight. Next day we picked up the pets and returned home. Vacuumed everywhere, took ALL our dishes and washed them. Oh, I had made sure there were no open food packages. The fleas were gone and we lived in peace after that. Noticed we had no spiders inside our house for a couple years after that, a real bonus for me as I fear and loathe spiders. We didn't bother with treating outdoors. But we did use flea drops from the vet on our dog after that. The cats never went outdoors anyway.

Comfortis monthly and DE is the only way to go. You can use DE directly on the animals as well as in the home and outside around the home.. It is fabulous stuff... I never use any of those topicals that you place on the neck or scruff area.. as they really never worked well for us..

Good luck..

Kitt

"I'm wondering if S. saw Bed-bugs!!"

Fleas don't crawl. They jump.

Bedbugs tend to leave bitemarks in groups of usually three in a row, but maybe two. Bedbugs seek out the veins. Flea bites are more random.

Get some DE.

DotMom, the drops are a pesticide, but a dog, or cat, having fleas is a much worse problem. If fleas are in the building the will find them on your pets...and your carpets...and you.

I stongly suggest using the drops, but you don't have to apply them every 30 days. Harry-The-Perfect and Sam-The-Not get their Frontline Plus drops every six weeks. My vet suggested this extended time frame. He said I could drop back to 4 or 5 weeks if I saw fleas.

They get them beginning in May and the last dose will be in October. Since you live in a warmer area you may need to apply the drops every six or seven weeks all year round.

As much as my boys are out in the woods and on the prairie (where all the squirrels, badgers, coons, rabbits, coyotes, mice, rats, cats, etc. are covered in fleas) we've never had one flea on the dogs, in the yard, or in the house.

Fleas carry diseases and parasites. You don't want them on your pets or family. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

My dogs have never had a problem with the drops.

I don't like putting the drops on my pets but I do. I do it every 6 weeks or so but not year round. This year in particular has been brutal weather wise but thankfully no fleas ,and I think they all had only two treatments and will probably get one more. I order Frontline online from Canada.

Another tip that someone mentioned to me (Not really sure if it works or not, but I thought I'd put it out there) was throwing a flea collar inside the vacuum bag or shop vac. Hopefully it will kill the little buggers before they figure out how to escape the vacuum.

And, Lydia, you are right about us living fairly near each other. I remember the post you made about traveling to downtown STL being a nightmare. It was & it is. LOL

Caroline,
"Harry-The-Perfect and Sam-The-Not"

Does poor Sam have an inferiority complex? The poor guy, I feel so sorry for him. But your posts and pics always make me laugh!!!!!