fleas in seminole co FL are resistant to both frontline and advantage. we had to resort to Comfortis (against my better wishes) which does not prevent fleas from getting on them, they die once they bite the dog. our neighbor has 3 dogs untreated, i don't know how they live in their house like that LOL so it's a 12 months out of the yr battle. i thought after our record cold winter we would get a break but this yr is as bad as 2006 when i nearly doused the yard in gasoline and tossed in a match. our vet also said this yr was one of the worst ever :-( ~ liz

Bigack, I feel for you. I posted about fleas a week or so ago. A number of APTs in our bldg are infested with the buggers. The Plunkit man went from apt to apt checking on who has them and who hasn't. Luckily, we were flea-free. it sounds like it is a big problem all over. I really don't like to use those shoulder drops on my cat. I did use them on our dogs, when they were alive, because they went outside, but our Vet at the time, didn't like them, but saw that they were necessary for in-out pets.

This is the first year my 18 year old, indoor cat has EVER had fleas.

I've been using a flea powder recommended by a friend who owns a pet shop, flea combing her twice a day, vacuuming at least twice a day, and we are getting a handle on the situation.

Not sure why they're so bad this year? The super hot, super dry weather? Or, I'd wondered if all the digging construction on our street disturbed them? (our streets have been closed for months--they're replacing all the water, sewer and gas lines for several blocks.

You can buy Advantage directly from Amazon.com. I wouldn't fiddle with powders and creams and collars. I am highly allergic to flea bites so I can not have fleas in the house. Were it not for Advantage, I probably wouldn't own a dog.

Recently, I went to buy heartworm medicine from 1800Petmeds and even though my last Rx from the vet said, "One refill permitted," the vet declined the order when PetMeds called her office. Let's see: Pay $40 at Petmeds or $85 or her office, plus $42 exam? Which would I prefer????

Anyway - if I were you - I'd buy the Advantage (or similar product) direct from Amazon and forget about the vet.

Rose

Here is a link that might be useful: advantage at Amazon

I'm using Revolution on both the dogs and the cats. It works well for me. Protects against heartworm too. I did have to get a blood test on the dog because I hadn't kept him on it all year. They don't want to give heartworm medicine to a dog if it already has heartworm. That can kill him. So I do the test.

Just ordered a 4 pack of Advantage from amazon, plus free shipping! Hope it gets here quick, for the other dog

I have Advantage for my dogs. No fleas which is a good thing because I am allergic to those little buggers. It also is really hard to get rid of them if you have them. My indoor cat doesn't get treated but has never had them. If I am not mistaken Revolution also keeps tics at bay where Advantage does not.

Last year my dogs and cat got fleas for the first time in I don't know how many years. I blamed it on the feral cats showing up. This year, I only have one dog and the cat; and the dog is allergic to flea bites. I bathed her, not expecting to see two drowned fleas!

So I got another tube of Advantage and treated both animals. I hate to give it every month, but looks like I may have to. My vet also recommended Revolution, Murraysmom, but it's $17 a month. I guess with all the benefits I should go ahead and try it instead of Advantage. None of my dogs have ever had a heartworm problem all these years, but never say never.

Lady at the pet health store said fleas are a big problem for everyone this year - even those without pets! The fleas are coming indoors on pants legs.

I have two different flea tabs that work on my chi and border collie:

Comfortis and Interceptor. Before I found these, I used Advantage and Capstar tabs - the Advantage stopped working for us. Since starting these two a couple of months ago, I don't need the Capstar anymore - the dogs have no fleas. I also have an exterminator treating my home and yard every 3 months, which REALLY helps!

I have found the tablets that work for ME and my dogs, so I will stay with these until they no longer work.

No fleas in my house. The 3 kitties are indoor cats.

My dog was on Sentinel (sp) which is for fleas and ticks, but he still managed to bring some fleas in back in the spring. The 2 indoor cats got them then and the older cat has a flea allergy and goes nuts with scratching. I used the Advantage on both cats just twice and I did the salt treatment on the rugs and furniture. Haven't had a flea issue since.

Lots of people will say the salt treatment doesn't work, but I'm convinced that it does. Just sprinkle ordinary table salt on your carpets and furniture and leave overnight. Keep pets in a different unsalted room during this time. Vacuum it all up the next day and treat the rooms that the pets were in the next day. I imagine some salt stays in the carpet and that helps to kill any hatching eggs. Salt has got to be safer (and cheaper) than the chemicals and bombs that people use.

We use Frontline, and I buy it at UPCO, or any other pet supply place. I like UPCO because shipping is free with a $80 order. Some neighbors go in with me, and by the time we buy Frontline and a couple of dog toys each, there's no shipping change AND we get a discount.

Plus, they don't flood you with catalogs in the mail all the time. One a year, plus a couple of smaller mailings.

Oh, and if you have larger dogs, buy the next larger dosage size and split the vial between two dogs, and you'll be saving by half! We use the giant dog size for two Golden retrievers.

Here is a link that might be useful: UPCO

I've always used Advantage Plus, one dose every six weeks from May-October only. Neither Harry nor Sam have ever had a flea even though they're very busy and far-roaming hunting dogs that are exposed to all sorts of wild animals.

I've been beside myself about all the squirrels in the back yard. They tend to carry fleas, too, but short of trapping them and dipping or dosing them, I don't know what to do.

None of their fleas have ever made it only the dogs, us, or the house so I guess I shouldn't worry. I just hate seeing them scratch and scratch and scratch.

Ragweed has been really bad here and one of our dogs is so itchy, we took him in. Apparently they're seeing a lot of itchy dogs. They said the rain and some cooler temps will help, along with a tiny bit of Pred. He's a lot better now. We, too, thought it was fleas or seed ticks, but a bath didn't help at all.

I dont know if this works or not. My grandaughter will be trying it this week. Fleas are very bad in our area this year too. If it does work, it is certainly one of the safest,cheapest and non toxic ways, I have ever heard of to treat them. Good Luck to those of you trying it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Apple cider vinegar and fleas

I use Frontline on one cat and Capstar on the other, which seems to work fine.

The Capstar I cut in half to save money and it still works.

I have to admit I just use Frontline once in a while-if I am taking Sparky to the kennel or dog park. I have never seen a flea on him-maybe because his fur is very short?? One day I saw Frontline at Costco. I probably should be more diligent, but he doesn't itch and I do check him occasionally. I don't like the idea of putting poison on him regularly.

FrontLine Plus from Petmeds2go.com or 800-798-2165. I can split it into diiferent amounts and use it on both my dogs and cats. 6 applicators/89-132 lbs. have lasted 3 months for my 10 pets(plus one of their friends). It was 81.00, and that including shipping.

Also, the lady there told me that you did not have to have an RX for it!!!

Tammy

My sister has a dog and two cats and could not get rid of the fleas. Her dog had a bad reaction to the flea treatment too so she didn't want to keep trying the regular methods. She ended up covering her entire yard and house with boric acid and leaving it for days, and treating the pets while the house was still covered in it. She said it was irritating to have everything covered in powder for days but it was the only thing that finally got rid of the fleas.

Here is a link that might be useful: boric acid

We use Advantage--only had to use it once last summer on our indoor kitty, but in years gone back with the dog and another outdoor cat, Advantage worked very well.

I totally agree with your DH--bunch of carp! All the vet's refusal did is build ill will with you folks.

Both of my dogs have fleas, been trying over the counter flea meds but it didn't work. But, I split one vial in half for both dogs because I was afraid to use a whole one on Emily after hearing horror stories some people told about this type of medication a while back. I'm going to try the other vial on both and if it doesn't work I'll try something else.

Molly got a flea dip at the vet Sept 1, then the next day I applied a tube of Advantix. A week later another. She has finally stopped scratching. I brushed her yesterday and saw absolutely no fleas or bites on her.

I did wait until much later in the year this year to put anything on the dogs and cats. I checked them every day with a flea comb and if I found any, I would just take them off and drown them in a saucer of water. I don't like putting chemicals on my animals either, so until the season gets well under way, I try to just take them off as I see them. It seems to work for me.

There was another post in August. DH & I finally found a local place to pick up the Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. They'd been out of it for awhile.

I will do another update to let you all know if dusting the basement with DE helps. Wish me Luck! lol

Here is a link that might be useful: Flea infestation

This is the first year we have had a flea issue. So, we use food grade Diatomaceious earth in the basement, garage, in the yard, decks. We don't have carpet any longer, so that is not a haven for them. And we give them comfortis every 6 weeks. Not a flea in sight now. We have been flea free for nearly a year since we started with the comfortis and DE. We have 3 cats too. and none on them either.

Well, I said I will be back with an update and I have to say the Diatomaceous Earth aka Fossil Shell Dust did the trick! The salt didn't work for me, but the DE did.

Thank you to the poster who suggested it. I did alot more research on DE & it will naturally kill off pests with exoskeletons like spiders, ticks, roaches, fleas & bedbugs. Forunately, my infestation was confined to the basement.

And, because it is the "FOOD GRADE" DE I was even able to sprinkle it over their food & in their litter boxes. We even put it in our bedroom as a preventative since my DH travels alot & we did not want to take the chance that any bed bugs hitched a ride along the way on his suitcase.

I still am keeping my girls on Frontline Plus as a preventative, but as for the basement, we are no longer "swarmed". I might actually have to go down there now & start tossing stuff & organizing. We also but out "flea traps" (trays of soapy water) to gauge how many were being caught & the numbers have gone down very, very significantly.

So, here I am, your roving reporter, saying that after several months, 2 professional sprayings that didn't work, the FOOD GRADE DE seems to have worked! I hope I never have to deal with that again!

I have yet to see a flea here in El Paso.In PA they were bad though,we used Advantage there.

My vet swears by Advantix, a drop you put on the back of their neck, and it is the only one we have found that Kills the fleas and the larva.

Our Pest Control guy said that most of the flea treatments turn a pet from an incubator into a bus. They may make the pet's flesh unsuitable for fleas to lay eggs and hatch on, but that just means the fleas ride the pet around until they find a better host. Advantix (sp) kills all stages of Fleas and Ticks.

When our BabyGirl was nursing new puppies the vets tech called the Advantix company and asked for clearance. The Company rep told him it was safe for mother & puppies, and then faxed written statement to that effect. They were confident enough to put in in writing.

$15/mo per pet at the vet's and we just go in an pick it up. no visit required.

The man at the Feed store showed us some granules that you water the yard, let it dry, then sprinkle all over the yard and they will kill pests. $8 a bag and we could treat both front and back yards. We didn't get it because DM has a Pest Control service spray house, trees, plants, & ground (upon request) on a routine basis.

What am I doing for fleas?

Running away ... as fast as I can!

You remeber the old saying, that " ... there ain't no flies on him!"?

Well, I hope that 's the same for me, with regard to fleas.

ole joyful

You can now buy Frontline and Advantage at Petsmart too.

You can buy Frontline over the counter. I buy it for big dogs and split it into doses for the cats...about .5 cc per cat. I give the dogs Comfortis.

Last Friday I spent a small fortune getting the dogs updated on their shots and medications for fleas and pesticide for the house. They gave them one pill of Comfortis (sp?) and then Frontline topical. I also got some spray for the house which I'm going to use again tomorrow morning. The vet said it's not toxic and the dogs don't have to be moved elsewhere, which is one reason I went ahead and bought it. The dogs are scratching less but I don't think the fleas are gone because I've seen a couple live ones in the bathroom that I flushed.

I don't recall ever having flea problems before. I hope this works.

Are you sure it is fleas that is causing the dog to itch??? Our German Pinscher has no fleas at all, but she is allergic to grass... (and we live in the country)... I have both dogs on Comfortis and it works for the fleas, but poor Lucy has to have benedryl every day plus Itch Stop applied to her poor lil belly and legs... PLUS she gets a depo shot periodically...

For fleas, we use Diatomaceous Earth all around the perimeter of the house, decks and even indoors near baseboards and any place those varmints can hide.... We have 3 cats and we even put some directly on the kitties from time to time as a preventative.. and so far in 20+ years, no fleas....

Carolyn

The apple cider vinegar works. The first few days we added it to their water every day. After the fleas were gone we only have to add it about twice a week. Makes a world of difference.
1 teaspoon per quart of water is recommended.
We mix one tablespoon per gallon jug of water.

Pooh Bear

Just finished giving both my dog and my cat a bath with flea shampoo. I was checking the dog's belly to see what she was itching and there were fleas! I couldn't believe it.I thought everything was under control with Advantage - guess I should have given another dose three weeks later like the vet's receptionist suggested. Well, I'll be buying some more in the morning.

Here it is near the end of October and the fleas are still hanging around, we had a frost last night too.