Fleas in the house

[Jean in Newcastle]

For the first time in decades upon decades of having pets we have fleas in the house.  The dog has been dosed with Sentinel (once a month pill).  I had washed all the pet bedding.  But dh and I are now getting bit in the living room.  A flea bomb?  Would that be safe for our rabbits?  We have one dog, one cat and two rabbits. 

[PeterPan]

Have you tried sweeping (vacuuming) every day? It can help disrupt their cycle.

You can also wash the animal with Dawn and vinegar. 

Edited May 5, 2020 by PeterPan

[Pen]

You probably need to dose all four animals to get on top of fleas.

 I suggest call to vet.

I would not use a flea bomb

 

consider soapy water and light bulb traps and or borax type treatments  and or steaming — depending on your surfaces and equipment available 

(eta in addition to vacuuming and laundering what you can ... putting some salt, borax, or diatomaceous earth in vacuum cleaner bag may help keep live fleas from just walking right back out—or getting rid of the vacuum bag promptly.) 

ps.  I feel for you.  House fleas are awful. 

I just saw a flea and discovered that we are out of flea Rx!!!

Edited May 5, 2020 by Pen

[katilac]

A flea bomb is overkill for such a minor infestation. 

Diatomaceous Earth is great for indoor flea control. I buy food grade from Amazon. You just sprinkle it wherever fleas might be (NOT A LOT!!), leave for at least a few hours, and vacuum. If you can leave longer, like overnight, that's great. It only kills adult fleas so you need to repeat. Google for full instructions. 

You may not even need that if you don't have tons of them. Other things that work well: 

• Put saucers of water with a drop of soap in them in any areas you have spotted fleas; the fleas will jump in and drown. This is also a good way to see if you are making progress (you should see fewer each day). Bonus if the room is dark and the saucer is near the only light source, like a night light, but we find it works pretty well regardless.
• You have to continue washing the pet AND human bedding as often as you can, for as long as you are seeing fleas. 
• If your pets have soft toys of any kind, you need to wash/dry them (again, as often as you can, for as long as you see fleas). 
• Daily vacuuming, including the furniture if possible. 

 

[katilac]

5 minutes ago, Pen said:

You probably need to dose all four animals to get on top of fleas.

 I suggest call to vet.

I would not use a flea bomb

 

consider soapy water and light bulb traps and or borax type treatments  and or steaming — depending on your surfaces and equipment available 

I missed that she only dosed the dog. I would dose the cat for sure, and the rabbits if the cost is reasonable (I know it exists, just don't know if the price is around the same as cats). 

If only a few, a flea comb DAILY might do the trick (along with other things listed for environment)

[Slache]

Dose all 4. Daily vacuum. If it's really bad get capstar.

Do not burn the house down.

[PrincessMommy]

don't use a flea bomb.  It gets everywhere  - including eating surfaces.   I have used a powder you sprinkle on the carpet and couches/bedding etc.  You leave it on for a time and then vacuum.  Vacuum every single day for -- -14 days???  a month.?? I can't remember.  Take extra care to vacuum the corners and edges of the room, where the flea eggs like to wait.  This was the rec by a friend who is a vet.    She said the eggs can lay dormant for months and years until something activates them to hatch.  Ugh. lovely. 

Also, I really liked this stuff as a natural repellent:   I spray it on the dogs bedding and on our bedding (his favorite place to nap 😕)   I don't know if it's safe for smaller animals but maybe someone has asked the question section. 

https://www.amazon.com/Vets-Best-Treatment-Certified-Natural/dp/B003PRI6OC/ref=psdc_3031965011_t2_B0077PWF68

Also, neem oil shampoo is great.  I have some on hand for when the dog shared his fleas with us...   It repels fleas and lice (if that ever become a problem).   I can't easily find the one I used on Amazon, but I'm sure they're all similar.  

Our dog seems to be a breed of dog that is extra attractive to fleas so I have to doubly vigilant... off to make sure he's had his meds this month!!  

Edited May 5, 2020 by PrincessMommy

[Jean in Newcastle]

2 minutes ago, Slache said:

Dose all 4. Daily vacuum. If it's really bad get capstar.

Do not burn the house down.

I tried burning the house down yesterday.  Fortunately I also put out the fire.  I wonder if that did anything to the fleas? 

[StephanieZ]

All your pets need to be treated. Get "good stuff" from the vet, more than simply Sentinel. If you've got an active infestation, Sentinel on only one pet would take ages to rid the house of the fleas. 

I'd add a good quality topical "topspot" such as Advantix for the dog and Advantage Multi for the cat. I don't know about rabbits, but if they can get fleas, then give them whatever your vet recommends for them. BE CAREFUL because some dog products are VERY toxic to cats. Don't use a dog product on a cat. EVER!!

You need to vacuum daily and throw away the vacuum bag each day. And wash everything that is washable (throw blankets, pillows, etc) and dry on hot. Repeat as frequently as you can manage (daily is ideal). 

90 days after the last known flea bite/infestation, you can probably safely go back to once a month treatments/medications for your dog and cat. Then stick with that until the end of time, IMHO.

I prefer to avoid "bombs" and household sprays if possible, but if you can't avoid that, then there are good products out there. Ask your vet for recommendation. You will need to bomb plus spray under couches, in corners, etc, to really do the job. A professional exterminator might be your best bet. If you need to DIY . . .  at our vet hospital, we generally recommend the KnockOut line by Virbac. Buy online or wherever. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Going to pick up flea meds for the cat in a bit.

My vet doesn't do rabbits but I called one that does.  They won't prescribe flea treatment without examining them first (with an exam fee of course).  I'm a bit ticked about this. 

[katilac]

5 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

My vet doesn't do rabbits but I called one that does.  They won't prescribe flea treatment without examining them first (with an exam fee of course).  I'm a bit ticked about this. 

Ugh, that's annoying, but I googled and it does seem par for the course. There is no rabbit-specific medicine, you have to use something for cats and they have to figure out a dosage. 

If the fleas are fairly minimal, I'd still consider a flea comb for the bunnies if the visit is really inconvenient rightnow. To me, catching just a few fleas in a water saucer would be minimal. 

But, if they need to get established with a vet anyway, and you can fit it in, might as well do it now. 

[Ausmumof3]

Is it through the house or only one room?  If you can temporarily move the pets out of the room and seal it off from eating areas it might be worth flea bombing that one area to get a head start then increase the vacuuming.

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Is it through the house or only one room?  If you can temporarily move the pets out of the room and seal it off from eating areas it might be worth flea bombing that one area to get a head start then increase the vacuuming.

I agree with the above if you are sensitive to fleas. I'm all for all natural stuff, but I am extremely sensitive to flea bites. If no one in your home is sensitive, it sounds like you'll have plenty of things to try. 

[Okra]

We got rid of them by vacuuming every single day for a month, and making sure all animals had flea medicine.

Slightly irritating, but way better than a flea bomb.

[Amccracken]

I'm so sorry.  We had the problem last year and now we are still paranoid if we see even a speck of dirt that looks like a flea.  I'm very sensitive to flea bites. 

I tried all the natural things: diatomatous earth, vacuuming every single day (sometimes multiple times per day) for weeks, changing the vacuum bags, salt, water and vinegar.  The diatomaceous earth is hard on a vacuum, btw.   I had the pets treated.  I felt like they were just laughing at me.  :)  Finally, I broke down and bought a flea spray (NOT a bomb) that I could spray on the worst areas. I used it on carpets, curtains, couches.   Even with the flea spray it took a long time to completely get rid of them.  Thought we were going to go crazy.  They are hard to get rid of.  But persistence will finally pay off.

[hopeallgoeswell]

On 5/5/2020 at 10:22 AM, PrincessMommy said:

don't use a flea bomb.  It gets everywhere  - including eating surfaces.   I have used a powder you sprinkle on the carpet and couches/bedding etc.  You leave it on for a time and then vacuum.  Vacuum every single day for -- -14 days???  a month.?? I can't remember.  Take extra care to vacuum the corners and edges of the room, where the flea eggs like to wait.  This was the rec by a friend who is a vet.    She said the eggs can lay dormant for months and years until something activates them to hatch.  Ugh. lovely. 

Also, I really liked this stuff as a natural repellent:   I spray it on the dogs bedding and on our bedding (his favorite place to nap 😕)   I don't know if it's safe for smaller animals but maybe someone has asked the question section. 

https://www.amazon.com/Vets-Best-Treatment-Certified-Natural/dp/B003PRI6OC/ref=psdc_3031965011_t2_B0077PWF68

Also, neem oil shampoo is great.  I have some on hand for when the dog shared his fleas with us...   It repels fleas and lice (if that ever become a problem).   I can't easily find the one I used on Amazon, but I'm sure they're all similar.  

Our dog seems to be a breed of dog that is extra attractive to fleas so I have to doubly vigilant... off to make sure he's had his meds this month!!  

When I only had one dog, he picked fleas up outside at my mom's. He's a big English lab with a double coat. I went to the vet and got him some expensive flea treatment that was supposed to kill the fleas within several hours.  It most definitely did not, so I went to the local natural pet store that afternoon and picked up Vet's Best. Within minutes of spraying, the fleas were flopping onto my kitchen floor. I use diatomaceous earth for vacuuming twice a day on the floors, vacuumed the couches daily, washed the bedding daily, and sprayed the dog with Vet's Best daily . Within a day or two, they disappeared as quickly as they showed up. I continued the tedious processes for several days after the little buggers were gone. Best wishes. 
 

Edited to add: I think we gave him garlic for a few months after that, too.  Just be careful your dog isn't sensitive to it and it's the right amount. 

Edited May 7, 2020 by hopeallgoeswell

[katilac]

4 minutes ago, hopeallgoeswell said:

When I only had one dog, he picked fleas up outside at my mom's. He's a big English lab with a double coat. I went to the vet and got him some expensive flea treatment that was supposed to kill the fleas within several hours.  It most definitely did not, so I went to the local natural pet store that afternoon and picked up Vet's Best. Within minutes of spraying, the fleas were flopping onto my kitchen floor. I use diatomaceous earth for vacuuming twice a day on the floors, vacuumed the couches daily, washed the bedding daily, and sprayed the dog with Vet's Best daily . Within a day or two, they disappeared as quickly as they showed up. I continued the tedious processes for several days after the little buggers were gone. Best wishes. 

I just looked up the cat version of this, and the first ingredient is peppermint oil, which I have. We actually use it (diluted) every time ants invade the house, with great success. I might grab that spray bottle and have a go. My cats are creatures of habit, so I know when I could spray it in certain areas and not have them return for hours. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Peppermint oil is toxic to rabbits. 

[katilac]

26 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Peppermint oil is toxic to rabbits. 

It's actually toxic to cats as well. Vet's Best is heavily diluted and they tell you not to let animals in the sprayed area for a certain amount of time. We have sprayed it, diluted in water, in our house for years with no ill effects on the cats. It's diluted but you can definitely smell peppermint when you spray it. I think the big danger is in letting them eat it, and in diffusing strong essential oils or letting them touch the skin. 

 

[NotSharon]

On 5/7/2020 at 8:29 AM, katilac said:

It's actually toxic to cats as well. Vet's Best is heavily diluted and they tell you not to let animals in the sprayed area for a certain amount of time. We have sprayed it, diluted in water, in our house for years with no ill effects on the cats. It's diluted but you can definitely smell peppermint when you spray it. I think the big danger is in letting them eat it, and in diffusing strong essential oils or letting them touch the skin. 

 

Indeed. You need to be careful when using essential oils around pets and children. Though I must admit that peppermint does it's work even in diluted state. But for better effect you're supposed to spread it around your house and take vacation for at least one week if according to this guide. Same with standard foggers which are used both by pest controllers and people in need.

Edited May 15, 2020 by NotSharon

[mmasc]

First, let me start with saying I’m so, so sorry you’re dealing with this. We dealt with it many years ago and not only was it difficult to fix, but then I had paranoia about every itch or speck of brown for months!

We were using good quality, topical flea meds from the vet at the time we got our infestation, and I truly think either 1) our dogs ages (seniors) were making it not work somehow or 2) the fleas were immune. The vet tried giving cap star to kill present fleas and topical to prevent more. Nope, didn’t work. The only thing that helped was to have our house professionally sprayed. I have no idea if that’s the same as ‘bombing’. But a service came in and sprayed everything. They also set up water pans (maybe dish soap too? Can’t remember) but some little pans of something in all areas where our carpet met our hard floors. They said that naturally the majority of fleas were in the carpeted areas and would die or begin to flee to non-carpet. Oh.my.goodness. We had TONS of fleas in those dishes for days and days. It was truly disgusting. We also had to vacuum every nook and cranny twice a day. We had to do this for at least a month (going thru the whole flea cycle thing). It seems like the treatment plan was for them to come back and spray again after a week but I’m can’t remember for sure. We were definitely able to tell the decease by seeing fewer and fewer fleas in those death pools daily. I’d also vacuum up less and less fleas daily as well. I only had a vacuum with a see thru canister so I could see how many I was getting each day. But it would be much, much better if you have a bagged vacuum for this job. 
 

Good luck! I hope you have some success and as minimal stress as possible during this!

(just as an aside, we currently use NexGuard on our dogs and have had good success with it)

[itsheresomewhere]

You can use Advantage as it is safe for rabbits.  Very small amount for the rabbit ( a tube last awhile).  Will your vet sell you a tube of it for kittens/ small dogs?  Some will, some won’t.   You put a small amount on the back of the neck so the rabbit can’t lick it.  
 

 

[Acadie]

5 minutes ago, mmasc said:

(just as an aside, we currently use NexGuard on our dogs and have had good success with it)

 

After we had fleas in one of our cars and my friend's dog got Lyme disease during a winter warm spell, we dose NexGard year round for fleas and ticks. 

For the car we didn't want chemicals everywhere, including the air vents, so we used a powder you sprinkle on the carpet and vacuumed every couple days. It took a while, hence my desire to stick with oral meds after that.