I live in S. Florida, and my three dogs have come down with a bad case of the fleas. I gave them all Advantage, but I guess that just killed the fleas on them, and then new fleas jumped right back on as soon as they went outside. My neighbors have dogs and cats, and my dogs go in their yards, so there’s no way to spray the yard (unless I get everyone to spray their yards, and I don’t see that happening). I’ve heard that Brewer’s Yeast is good, but what else can I do? Oh, and my dogs are indoor dogs; there’s no fence in the yard, so I can’t put them outside while I bomb the house, so I don’t think pesticide is the answer. Any suggestions?
BioSpot works for me. It’s supposed to repel fleas and ticks both, and a friend swears it repels flies. I’ve never really had a problem with them in the yard or neighbors yards, though, and if Advantage didn’t work, BioSpot might not, either.
I use Frontline. I believe my vet told me that Program is a good product to use in addition to Frontline or Advantage if you are having a major flea problem. If you have fleas in your house you are going to have to treat that environment. Program keeps the fleas from reproducing. Frontline and Advantage kills them when they bite the dog. I would imagine that it would take a long time for you to rid your house of fleas using these products.
Couldn’t you treat your house and take your freshly bathed and treated dogs to a friends place for a few hours? You should be ok if you bomb and leave for about three hours. Come back and open your windows and turn on the ac for about 30 minutes. I am sure these chemicals are not good for anyone or any animal to inhale but it’s better than living with fleas. Oh, I have used a spray product for the dogs that is called “Adams”. It comes in a big blue and red bottle. It is slightly expensive but it will keep fleas and ticks off your dogs if they are running around in an area that has not been treated.
You really need to attack by getting rid of them initially and then use Frontline or Advantage with Program. Ask your vet before using these products together. I can’t be sure of the instructions he gave me. I live in Houston, Texas and this is a flea friendly environment. I use Frontline and I do not have fleas in my house or on my dogs. I frequently spray their feet and under belly with Adams when I return from walking them. My understanding is that Frontline does not kill the flea until the flea bites the dog.
So… bomb you house, bathe the dogs with Adams Flea and Tick Shampoo, use Frontline or Advantage with Program. I think you would be able to eliminate the need for using Program after a short period of time. Once you get the initial kick, you should be ok with using Frontline or Advantage.
To get rid of fleas in the house, sprinkle Sevin bean dust on the floor for a few days. It makes a mess, but I’ve found it’s safer and more effective than a bug bomb.
Here is some excellent information about fleas in general, and the specific products mentioned above in particular:
For a clear explanation of the flea problem, including the flea biology, modes of treatment and links to the various product’s sites:
The Flea Control Center
For a chart comparing the features of Advantage, Frontline and Revolution:
Flea Product Comparison
For information on BioSpot and other over-the-counter flea products (short answer = they are not as good and potentially dangerous):
Horrid stuff, that BioSpot. JAPrufrock, it’s an over the counter, cheap version of Frontline or Advantage–basically a super concentrated permethrin, a tenth-generation derivative of pyrethrins… you know that stuff in flea spray? Only much more concentrated. It gives cats and some dogs seizures. It’s a pretty harsh pesticide, not something I’d want sitting on my skin, or my pets’ skin.
You say you applied Advantage, it should start working pretty close to immediately. Advantage works by killing the fleas on them, and killing any fleas that bite the dog. Program is a chitin-inhibitor, it doesn’t kill the adult fleas, it interrupts the life-cycle of the fleas by keeping them from producing chitin. This is a good thing, except the fleas have to go through a life-cycle before it really takes hold, that is to say, the fleas on him have to go through their life cycle and die, the eggs that are already there have to hatch and grow and reach maturity before you see a drop in the population. It’s good in combination with something that will nix the ones that are already there.
You won’t, however, get rid of the fleas entirely unless you get rid of them in your house and your yard. If she keeps hanging out with dogs that have lots of fleas, she will probably keep picking them up and bringing them into the house. Fleas live pretty well in carpets, and if you have a good population of them on the dog, you probably have a grand little colony in your carpets. You’ve got to get rid of them there, otherwise you may kill the ones on the dog, but the ones on the floor will just hop on afterwards.
Keep up with the Advantage, it’s better for fleas than Frontline, but Frontline is effective for ticks, too, so if you have problems with those little creeps you might want to try Frontline instead. Give the dog a good bath with a pyrethrin-based flea shampoo, let it sit for five minutes if possible and rinse very well. You don’t want that stuff sitting on her skin forever. Bleach any bedding she uses and bug-bomb the house. Go to the dog-park for a couple hours or something and air the house thoroughly when you get back. Vacuum. Spray the yard, usually you can get yard spray concentrates at a pet store.
Good luck!
Peace,
~mixie
And upon posting, I see that my Bio-Spot warnings were upstaged by richardb’s link ;).
Peace,
~mixie
Well richardb’s link appears to be a vet clinic trying to keep its corner on the market. It says Advantage, Program and Frontline are “black market” items smuggled in from other countries and only products purchased through your vet are OK. :dubious:
I’ve succesfully used biospot for many many years on both dogs and cats (the dog and cat formula, respectively) and have never had one problem. But if it’s unsafe, as some of you are saying, I guess I’m going to have to rethink using it, but after I’ve done some credible research.
I seem to recall reading that tobacco dust can be used to flea-proof your yard. But I don’t recall where one buys it.
Well, I wouldn’t go quite that far, and you can buy Advantage, et. al. through other sources that may be cheaper than your vet. IANAV, but my father has been for twenty five years, eighteen of which I spent every waking moment in his clinic. I managed a pet store for three years before quitting to work with research animals. Roommates are dog groomers, half my friends are vet students, blah blah. I’ve yet to meet a single pet-industry person who actively recommends the OTC spot-ons for dogs (the cat versions are safer, I’m told, but DON’T ever use the dog one on the cat) except pet store people who want to push crappy products to make money. For the record, we kept 'em on the shelf, but about 85% of the time were able to talk people out of buying them, heh. Sort of nice to be involved in a retail buisness that didn’t just care about getting your cash and sending you on your way.
My mom has smoked a pack a day for fifteen years or so, and hasn’t had any major health problems yet, either 
Peace,
~mixie
:::::I seem to recall reading that tobacco dust can be used to flea-proof your yard. But I don’t recall where one buys it.::::
:::My mom has smoked a pack a day for fifteen years::::
Hmmm, this give me an idea…Mixie, any chance your mom can send me the leftovers?
Seriously though, anyone hear about using tobacco dust? Where can I get it? How much do I use? Does it work by giving the fleas lung cancer?
I got a dog about 7 years ago after not having one since childhood. It was killed in an accident. I got another and lost it in a divorce settlement. I have a 3rd dog now and expect to possibly get another (smaller) so will have two in the household.
I think they are great.
I just got used to scratching. If you lay down with dogs you’re gonna get fleas.
Greetings from a Missouri hick
The home built flea trap involving a small light over a shallow pan of soapy water is much more fun then TV.
Entertainment for all the kids
I have heard that tobacco ashes can keep aphids off of house plants. (Soak cigarette butts and ashes in water overnight, then spray on the plants) but I’ve not heard that it will keep fleas away.
Another thing I’d like to add to this debate: flea collars are useless, and potentially dangerous for your pet. Don’t use them!!!
Advantage or Frontline should be the only thing you need to buy/use to get rid of Fleas on your pets, in the house and in the yard.
When people complain that the topical treatments don’t work it’s almost always because they bathed their dog just prior to application.
Someone in this thread even stated something like… ‘take your freshly bathed, treated dogs out of the house while you’re bombing it’…
Read the directions. Don’t bathe 3 days prior or after using flea control products which require skin oil to distribute on the pets body.
**Someone in this thread even stated something like… ‘take your freshly bathed, treated dogs out of the house while you’re bombing it’… **
Sorry. I should have been more clear about that. In other words, please do not take your flea infested dog to your friends house.
The reason I suggest using more than one product is because the OP seemed to be experiencing a severe flea problem. I think Frontline is great but I would guess that it would take several weeks for the product to rid the environment of fleas. Actually, I am not sure using Frontline alone would do the trick for the house. YMMV.
Read the directions. Don’t bathe 3 days prior or after using flea control products which require skin oil to distribute on the pets body.
Great idea. I agree with reading and following the directions. I confess that I usually treat my dogs a few hours after bathing. Oddly enough, it seems to do the trick.
RichardB thanks for those links. I found them to be very informative. I didn’t realize I needed to change the product I use to prevent the fleas from building immunity to it. Tough critters they are.
my cat never had much of a flea problem, until one year - they were bad, i was getting bitten around the ankels from fleas that had found their way into the carpet. I tried shampoos (yes, i do bath my cat) and powders and nothing worked.
Went to the vet in despiration and he put me onto advantage, I said “but what about the fleas in the carpet” the vet then said, put the stuff on yoru cat and the ones in the carpet will disappear…sounded like a sales pitch but i was desperate…
thing is, within two days, all the fleas WERE gone, not just from the cat but from his environement too.
Avantage is supposed to work that way, dont’ ask me how but it does.
If you used advantage and still have a problem, I would be checking the use by date
I hate not being able to edit out my typos…sorry, hope it still makes sense
:::Advantage or Frontline should be the only thing you need to buy/use to get rid of Fleas on your pets, in the house and in the yard.
When people complain that the topical treatments don’t work it’s almost always because they bathed their dog just prior to application.::::
I’m not sure what you’re basing this on, but I can assure you that I followed the directions on the box (like I always do when I have to use Advantage) and that none of the three dogs have been bathed recently.
The thing is, Advantage has always worked for me in the past, but the flea population must be extremely high this year. And, it can’t be that I somehow got a bad batch of Advantage, because my two large dogs got the dose for their size, and the small dog got a dose from a seperate order (she’s only 4 pounds). If all Advantage does is kill the fleas after they bite the dog, than it seems to make sense that every time the dogs go outside, they can pick up new fleas.
they can pick up new fleas, but those should die too…until you start approaching the month’s end when you need to re-dose