I talked to the vet today, and they sold me some Frontline Plus. I put it on my cat, and at the same time attacked my apartment with my new Dyson vacuum cleaner. My roomate had been complaining about legions of fleas in his room, but after I vacuumed in there, I’m pretty sure he was mistaking flea dirt for actual fleas.
Hopefully the Frontline drops will work. I will keep the thread updated with progress.
Frontline Plus worked very well on my cats and dogs during our flea problem. Since fleas don’t survive in Alaska once I had eradicated the problem I didn’t have to keep treating. My understanding of the product is that, when used for (at least) three consecutive months it will have killed the current batch of bugs, and when the second batch hatch they will be rendered sterile, and any last-to-hatch will also be sterile, and the cycle will be broken.
I just washed all the bedding with hot water and my usual laundry soap, vaccumed like a mad woman, sprayed the furniture with a flea spray and put cut up pieces of flea collars under the cushions.
Good luck, I hate fleas!
Oh! The Dyson! Excellent! Doesn’t it suck?
Make sure you get everey nuke and cranny with the extra noozles that come with it. Like in your couch, under the cushions, under the bed, everything. Fleas hide.
Go get 'em!
Neato! I have used 20MTBP for years per the advice of my vet, and it works! I thought I was just about the only one who knew about this (though I have told many pet lovers about it as well as the local Humane Society). It’s a salt; it gets on the flea eggs and dehydrates them so they don’t hatch. However, for the poor kitty or doggy itself, nothing beats Advantage. It does seem to make my little guy a bit woozy for 12 hours, but for once I am selfish when it comes to my cat; I just see the alternative (fleas) as too gross for us both; and animals get worms from the flea bites; not to mention humans can (and I have) get ringworm which is not an actual worm, but a fungus amongus; Tinactin cures it, but in the interim…ugh!
Hmmmm…maybe a Freudian Slip? I.E. you MEANT flea/pest; but you TYPED “bed”; so maybe you look at your husband as a pest? Or maybe he bites? Let’s hope you don’t get ringworm from him. And believe me…this IS a joke. I’m sure your flea, I mean your husband, is a doll! hahahaa!!! 
We had a horrible flea problem about 15 years ago. My husband is allergic to them evidently. My son and I were fine, but my husband clawed his legs to a bloody pulp.
We dropped the big one and it took care of the problem completely. They’ve never returned.
Does anyone have an opinion about meds for fleas? My dog likes to swim in the ocean, but this cleans off the Frontline. The vet suggested some sort of pill, but I didn’t take him up on it yet.
I just met a guy today who does use Frontline, but also puts a bit of garlic (in olive oil) on his dog’s food (she likes to swim, too).
His dog actually has a beautiful coat.
We use Frontline plus, and it’s not supposed to wash off- you just have to keep them out of water for about 24 hours.
http://frontline.us.merial.com/products/sub8_faq.asp#q11
“8. How long after application can my pet be bathed or go swimming?
FRONTLINE Brand Products remain effective for 30 days, even if a pet swims or is bathed. After application, keep the dog or cat from getting wet until the application area appears dry, usually 24 hours. If a FRONTLINE Brand Product is to be applied after a bath, make sure the pet is completely dry before application.”
“2. How do FRONTLINE Top Spot and FRONTLINE Plus spread over a pet’s body? How long does this take?
FRONTLINE Top Spot and Plus spread over the pet’s body by a process called translocation. When applied, these products are gradually dispersed by the pet’s natural oils, collecting in the oil glands in the skin. It is then “wicked” onto the hair over the next 30 days. The translocation process can take up to 24 hours to complete.”
I don’t know if that was the case for the old Frontline (topspot) or any other product, but we’ve not had a problem with Frontline plus washing off.
And by “dropped the big one”, do you mean you nuked the site from orbit, just to be sure… or what?
Here’s the story my vet told me, as I remember it. “The company salesman came by with samples in the morning, and he said this flea stuff was great. I didn’t think about it again until just before closing time. A lady brought in a cat who was covered with fleas and really suffering. I figured we’d give him a flea bath in the morning, but just before I put him in the crate,I dsed him with Advantage®. In the morning, the cat was sleeping peacefully, and the bottom of the crate was densely covered with dead fleas. It looked like pepper in there.”
I have acquired a problem in inserting text, and I can’t edit this thing. Sorry.
I just discovered that my ferrets have fleas, and I’m pretty sure I know exactly from where and how they acquired them-- thank you so much, cat-hoarding insane elderly neighbor lady. And here I thought it was the low humidity that has been troubling them the last couple of days. I feel so ashamed.
I haven’t been able to talk to the vet yet, and the local pet shop seemed frankly befuddled at what anti-flea products would be safe and appropriate; evidently ferrets are not a pet of choice in my area. Meanwhile, I’ve been thoroughly terrorized by the information available over the internet. Did you know that ferrets can actually die from anemia due to fleas? I didn’t. What the hell is that about? How many fleas would have to gang up on a ferret to fatally exsanguinate it? Or do they all wait until the ferret is asleep, then suddenly leap on it together and all feed at once? How do ferrets even survive in the wild, if they are so vulnerable to mortal flea-induced dessication, like a moose siphoned dry by Yukon mosquitos?
I have seen large dogs, such as a Siberian Husky, die from flea anemia. I’ve seen many others come pretty close. I have alse seen large dogs so intested with ticks that they were anemic. It’s a matter of numbers and the fact that the pests suck blood and reproduce faster than the animal can replace it’s blood. Eventually, their bone marrow starts shooting out immature red blood cells that are not even capable of carrying oxygen yet. Meanwhile the pests just keep reproducing and sucking blood.
Advantage is safe to use on ferrets, talk to your vet.
Sometimes a dip is just a dip. (Anastasaeon, you know I’m kidding, right? 
)
You’re just going to have to nuke them from orbit. It is the only way to be sure.
GASP! Yes. 
It’s not like I have a history of Freudian slips or malapropisms or Spoonerisms or such things. :smack:
[sub]And apparently, rereading post #23 by me, above, posting under the influence of a couple of Guinness isn’t such a great idea. “Nuke and cranny”? “Noozles”? Cripes. Stay away from booze, kids. And don’t post under the influence. This is a perfect example of “But I thought I was perfectly sober!” syndrome. Just imagine the damage I could have caused if I’d tried to start a thread. The humanity![/sub]
The Frontline Plus has been on my kitty for about 2 days now. The night I put it on, I noticed some dead fleas on a counter where she had been sitting, so I assummed that this was super-medicine that worked great. However, last night and this morning I am seeing some small fleas moving around on her. But at the same time, there is no flea dirt sprinkled where she sits/lays. Before the Frontline, it looked like a psychotic pepper shaker was defecating in all her favorite spots.
What is going on? Are the fleas on her doomed? Am I going to have to bomb the apartment?
Gabe, do not despair. I noticed fleas still moving on Buddy the beagle the first 2 days after I applied the magical potion. By day 3 there were none left. That was 4 months ago. I haven’t seen a flea since, and believe me, I’ve looked.
The peppery looking stuff is actually dried blood where the little buggers bit her. No flea dirt is a good thing because it means they aren’t biting her.
Don’t worry, the fleas have to get on her and run around a bit before the stuff will kill them. The new fleas you are seeing are probably ones that had dropped off prior to you applying the Frontline. Now they are getting back on for a snack and hopefully to meet their doom, like the others.
If you weren’t too severely infested you may be okay with treating the cat and just doing a good vacuuming around the house as others suggested. You could also pick up a flea spray with an insect growth regulator to spray around some of her favorite areas to keep any eggs you might have missed from maturing. Usually the ones with just a growth regulator are safer to use around pets, but always read the label on the spray and make sure you keep her away from those areas until it dries.