my house is overrun with fleas. i just bug-bombed my house a few days ago and scrubbed the dog and cat, and hosed the yard down with some bug killer. but still the dogsd itching and i’m finding fleas on my couch. how can i get rid of these?
It can take a while. We had Flea Busters do our house using chemicals (not the nematodes) and it took about week. Nematodes are better, but more expensive. I have found that its worth it to have a professional do it.
Just elaborate on my last reply, Ive tried bombing my own house with poor results. And then–
We moved into a house that previously had a couple of dogs. We had a cat. The fleas were HORRIBLE. You could see them jump all over your socks when you stood on a carpet. They’d hitch rides on me to work. Once during a business meeting I had a flea jump off me onto a conference table. Our own efforts at bombing did not work.
Then we had a professional gas the house and the fleas were gone FOREVER. My advice…go with a pro.
Have you tried treating them with Frontline+ or Revolution? They’re worth a shot. Under no circumstances, though, buy the grocery store brand flea drops. At best, they might work. Probably, they won’t work. Possibly, they’ll make your pet sick.
I’ve always washed my dogs with a dandruff shampoo. (Head & Shoulders). Kills fleas instantly. Used Raid flea spray on the rugs, but had to use quite a bit.
What was the cost of a professional flea gassing?
I think it was about $100 for the chemical gas attack. It came with a 90 gaurantee.
The nematodes (little creatures that eat flea eggs) would have about $200 with a 1 year gaurantee. They spray your house and lawn (where the little bastards breed).
This is really bad for your dog’s skin. Human shampoo is formulated for the PH of human skin; dog’s skin is a different PH. and human shampoo can cause dry skin.
I second never using Hartz or anything you don’t get directly from your vet. We use Frontline or Advantage (I don’t remember) and it actually kills the fleas in the house as well as on the dog and in the yard.
I get a terrible itchy reaction with big nasty bumps from flea bites, so we treat all the animals every spring, summer and fall.
We used frontline recently and i gave our dog the willies. He starts panting and paces around all night. It must make his skin crawl.
However, this will not get rid of fleas in your house. The eggs last forever. They must be killed!
Someone had to say it: Nematodes are roundworms.
So, how do you get rid of the nematodes after they’ve eaten the fleas and eggs?
I knew an old woman who had some fleas
I don’t know why she had some fleas,
Perhaps we’ll see.
I knew an old woman who ate some worms
She ate the worms to catch the fleas
I don’t know why she had the fleas
Perhaps we’ll see.
I knew an old woman who swallowed a bird
She swallowed the bird to catch the worms
She ate the worms to catch the fleas
I don’t know why she had the fleas
Perhaps we’ll see.
*.
And so on.
Fleas are almost impossible to eliminate rapidly. The problem is not the eggs but rather the cocoons. These cocoons are waterproof and so resistant to most insecticides. Worse yet the cocoons hold fully developed adult fleas that won’t hatch until the detect the vibrations of something walking past. They then immediately burst out and leap for the animal. (Ever wondered where they got the idea for the Alien facehugger?)
That makes fleas a real pain to try to eliminate. Even if you kill every mobile flea in the area the cocoons will continue to produce new fleas. Added to that the flea maggots that live in the carpet and ground will continue to grow and produce cocoons.
Unfortunately there are no easy solutions. A good treatment with a residual insecticide goes a long way because as the fleas emerge they will walk on the insecticide and die. Nonetheless this takes some time and you will still be bitten. And if you haven’t thoroughly treated all the areas your pets frequent then you can bet that some eggs, larvae and cocoons will be unaffected.
20 Mule Team Borax. Spirinkle it on all your carpets and cloth furniture. Leave it there, bursh it in a bit, so it doesn’t show, if you like. Its the same stuff Flea Busters used in my house a few years ago.
Don’t use it on your pets, it dries their skin and makes them itch.
It works by drying up the eggs and the bugs. It only takes a few days.
Do treat your pets with one of the vet-supplied flea killers, like Advantix
As long as they aren’t in her ear.
If your pets are regularly treated with Frontline or Advantage, then the flea population can’t take hold. It’s not going to solve your immediate problem, though. For that you need insecticides now. But be sure to use those products in the future to keep these problems from happening again.
From The Simpsons, where an invasive species of lizard has wiped out the city’s pidgeons:
Skinner: Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.
Lisa: But isn’t that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we’re overrun by lizards?
Skinner: No problem. We simply release wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They’ll wipe out the lizards.
Lisa: But aren’t the snakes even worse?
Skinner: Yes, but we’re prepared for that. We’ve lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: But then we’re stuck with gorillas!
Skinner: No, that’s the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.