Tabrett Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I have a Pomerian. I shaved him and gave him a dose of Frontline Plus. We bombed the house and left for three days. While we were gone, my dog did not have fleas. After being home for two days, he was crawling in fleas. A week and a half after I gave him another dose of Frontline (I know you're no supposed to, but I didn't know what to do). That got rid of most the fleas. Three days later he was crawling with fleas again, so I bathed him in flea shampoo. It killed most the fleas on him. The next day he is crawling with fleas, again. I don't think I have a flea infestation in the house. The fleas are large (adult) so, I think he is getting new fleas every time he goes outside. I can't treat the yard because we live in the country on acreage (old farm land with woods behind the house). Surely there is something that I can give him that will kill the fleas he gets on him outside. What do you suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Our vet has us using Advantix b/c he thinks Frontline is becoming ineffective in our area. You could wait a while and try a different product. You can also treat the perimeter of your rooms indoors to cut down on reproduction while you wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 My vet gave me Comfortis when we had a flea problem. That along with treating the house worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ailysh Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I think you have fleas in your house. They drop eggs everywhere, and the eggs can stay, alive and unharmed, for YEARS. They will hatch when they feel warmth and vibration. We had this problem a couple of years ago with cat fleas, after we took our cats back to the shelter because our daughter was deathly allergic. We washed every stitch of washable fabric in our house. All bedding, pillows, blankets, curtains (we had to do that anyway because of her allergy). Then we vacuumed everything, upstairs, downstairs, the couch, every nook and cranny, which caused many eggs to hatch, then bombed the house. Still had fleas. Did the same thing again, three more times. It was an entire summer before we no longer saw them. They are notoriously hard to get rid of. On the plus side, our house was cleaner than it had ever been. :laugh: I still shudder thinking about it. However, they are easy to kill as adults. If I saw one on myself or my dd, I would grab it and put it in a cup of soapy water. It would die almost instantly. I think cat fleas are bigger than dog fleas, though, and easier to spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Frontline stopped being effective around here a few years ago, Advantage works still. I'd do a flea bath then switch. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Stop treating the dog, or he will get sick. Get some nematodes for the yard, and only take dog out on leash. Use the raid bombs that you drop in the water, not the orange fogger type. Re-bomb your house in 3 weeks, to get the ones that have hatched since the previous treatment. Wait 30 days, and use advantage. Frontline has never worked for our pets. hth Oh and you can also try diatomaceous earth on your yard, instead of the nematodes- it can also be used in the house if you have carpets. You should be able to get the earth and the nematodes at your local nursery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I read something about baking soda for carpets, upholstery for treating fleas naturally. You might want to consider creating a specific dog run area for your pet, avoid the heavier grassy areas. I know that once you get fleas in the house, it's a tedious miserable task to get rid of them. Sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Don't dose him with Frontline again! Capstar is safe, oral medicine that will kill the fleas on him. Amazon carries generic version of it, just search Capstar. Do you have carpet? You can check if there are fleas in your carpet by putting a shallow dish of soapy water under a nightlight overnight. Our dogs now take an oral prescription med for flea and tick prevention. The name escapes me, but I'm sure your vet would know. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pereztribe Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I had the same problem with my mini-dachshund. I used Frontline, it didn't work. I used Advantix and man,what's world of difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 If your yard is infested with fleas, continually dosing the dog with stuff is NOT the way to deal with them. As Unicorn said, you need to treat the yard immediately around your house, and then take the dog out on leash and keep him well away from untreated areas. In addition to trying nematodes or diatomaceous earth, another thing you could use (although maybe not so environmentally friendly) is Sevin Dust. It took care of a flea infestation problem we had in our yard at a former house many years ago. But you could treat your dog and the inside of your house with various things for the next zillion years and it's not going to help until you take care of the source of the fleas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Trifexis or comfortis for the dogs alomg with capstar which will only kill the living fleas, not the eggs. Then get about 10 defoggers, depending on the size of your house. The ones that worked for us were from dollar store...we tried a few and only these worked. Then, remove all your furniture or pile it in garage. the fogger needs to get everywhere and the furniture blocks it. Remove all clothes from closet, curtians, drapes, movable rugs, etc and wash them, then double bag them and put them out of house. Open your closet doors. Seal your windows and doors, but not the front door until you have set off the defoggers in every room, closet and bathroom. Run out of house, don't breathe. Obviously, take the dogs and kids with you...... Stay away from your house for at least 12 hours, preferably 24. When you return, Set off another round of defoggers. I know they say you dont need to, but you do. That's why you need a lot of defggers. Leave home again for 24 hours. When you return home, open all your windows and door for at least 2 hours before staying indoors. If you are lucky, and you washed everything well, they will be gone. Ask me how i know. Eta: oh, and yes, if you have a yard, you have to put flea killer on it. We have 2 acres and we ended up hiring some guys to come every 2 months and spray the yard. $100 a pop, but it is worth after what we went through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted July 1, 2013 Author Share Posted July 1, 2013 I washed him in Dawn. It killed most of the fleas. I will try Advantix and see how that works. Do you think waiting 2 weeks before application of Advantix would be safe? After searching online, I read that since Frontline and Advantix were different meds you didn't have to wait 30 days before applying the second. Our house is also being remodeled and we are grating the yard, so yard treatment is out. I live in a cooler climate and we only have to deal with fleas for 4 months or so. This the the first year the meds didn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeninok Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 I haven't read all the responses, but Comfort is is a flea killing miracle at our house! We also use Precor concentrate from amazon. It is an insect growth regulator so it won't kill adult fleas, it will however prevent eggs from hatching which is where most of your infestation comes from. Being an IGR it is very safe around mammals! Comfort is made with spinosad which is also faulty non toxic as far as pesticides go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest roberto Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 It's sounds like you're on the right track, and there have been some good suggestions here. Dawn dish soap is a good shampoo for fleas, and if Frontline isn't working, Advantage or Comfortis is probably a good bet. Vacuuming every day is one of the best things you can do. It'll suck up fleas as well as eggs and larva. Try putting a flea collar in the vacuum cleaner bag to kill the fleas you suck up. Putting something on your carpet to kill fleas in conjunction to your vacuuming is a great idea. I like to use diatomaceous earth. Make sure it's food grade. It's often used in gardens, so check out the gardening section of Home Depot or whatever is convenient to you. DE can also be used in your yard. DE is non-toxic, and works by scratching the fleas' exoskeletons and dehydrating them. The down side is it's messy, and can be an irritant if inhaled. I like to spread it on my carpet at night, and then vacuum it up first thing in the morning. If you treat your pet with an effective topical or oral med, then you just need to focus on your house and put your energy into that. Don't let up until well after you stop seeing adult fleas. Those eggs can live a long time and then hatch and start the process all over again. I hope that helps. Here's a site I put together with more info: http://www.howtogetridoffleasez.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 You need Comfortis or Trifexis. Get to your vet and get one of them! If you really, truly can't see a vet that can dispense one of those, then get Capstar over the counter. If you use Comfortis or Trifexis, that alone will solve your problem. They kill every living flea that gets on your pet for a month. So, over a few weeks, the fleas in the house will be killed off. If you add a lot of washing and vacuuming, you will get rid of the fleas much more quickly. If you want to bomb the house, you need to also spray areas the bombs won't reach such as under cushions, under furniture, etc. I like to avoid bombing or spraying because that stuff is sooooo toxic. But, if you must, then look at KnockOut spray and bombs. If you use Comfortis or Trifexis, you can avoid the poisons. . . Capstar works similarly, but it only kills fleas for 24 hours, so we generally advise dosing every 48 hours. Capstar is cheap and effective, but it will get as expensive as Comfortis or Trifexis if you have to dose for weeks or months on end, which you will likely have to do. Truly, Comfortis or Trifexis is a miracle cure in the situation of severe flea infestation. Call your vet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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