Another one about fleas

[Ninedays9]

I think I've just discovered that we have fleas. I've never noticed them before, but I saw one on one of our cats today. I'm pretty sure that's what it was... it was smaller than I remembered them to be, but it has the same hopping movement when it moves. I haven't seen any others on the cats, but I am very paranoid now.

My question is... We are moving at the beginning of October. What would be the best course of action to make sure we don't bring the fleas to the new house with us? My first thought would be to use medication on the cats to kill the fleas closer to the day that we move... but how good does that stuff work? Which medication is the best? And what if the fleas get on us (the people) and we carry them over?

Uggggh... just what I need when I'm already too stressed. But at least I do believe that it will be easier to get rid of them if we're moving... at least I hope.

[SkippyNXC]

if u have fleas u need to bomb ur place before you move... otherwise they're gonna follow you... you may even want to treat AFTER you move in to catch any of the buggers that got away...

i'd treat ur cats now too b/c they're just gonna keep reproducing and that'll just be more fleas to get rid of when u move...

[WebLady]

If you treat the cats but still have fleas in the house, they will get them again. If they still have fleas and you bring them to the new house, you may end up with the same problem.

I have never had a flea problem, but hear it can be hard to get rid of them.

There are all sorts of dips and powders you can get for the cats and the house, but they may not all work all the time.

I have heard of using diatomaceous earth (http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceous-Earth.html) to get rid of fleas and ticks on and around pets too, but never tried it.

[Ninedays9]

I thought about this after I posted, and I agree that it's probably best to start trying to combat the problem now so that there's less fleas to reproduce. And I agree that treating the cats after we move is a good idea. DH doesn't know about the problem yet since he isn't here, so I'll have to see what he wants to do... And I'll have to check out that link.

We had fleas when I was growing up, and it lasted for awhile (untreated) ... but then one day, they just disappeared. The same cats were still there, but the fleas were gone. It was odd. I'm not going to hope for that kind of luck now, nor put up with it for as long as we did then, though.

[Katie-ryn]

I tried using Frontline when my cats had fleas, and it didn't do anything at all. I used Advantage and after two or three months they were gone. I didn't do any extra cleaning or vacuuming than normal, just applied the Advantage once a month.

I'd recommend using Advantage on all the cats, and vacuum religiously under furniture and in corners and tie up the bag and take it out to the street/dumpster immediately. I've also heard you can sprinkle Borax on your carpets about 2 hours (keep the cats off the carpets during this, don't want them to ingest it or get it on them) before vacuuming will help kill the fleas.

[2dBride]

You definitely want to start treating now--if for no other reason, because the new people in your place are not going to be pleased if you leave behind fleas that will bite THEM if they have no pets.

If you can afford it, I'd get one of the pest control companies to start treating the house, while you start treating the cats. The reason is that it often takes several treatments. If you space the treatments too far apart, they won't work. If you space them too close together, you'll build up too much of the toxins, which is not good for you or the pets. Typically, the pest control companies have a guarantee which ensures that they will come back as many times as is necessary until the fleas are gone.

Also, I would suggest getting the cats onto a preventive program that you continue even after the move. It is a whole lot easier to prevent fleas in the first place than to get rid of them after you find them.

[Ninedays9]

This house is very likely going to be empty after we move for awhile, so I was kind of hoping the fleas would die. I was thinking we could get some of the stuff you sprinkle on carpets and use that up until we move. Hopefully that would be enough since we probably can't afford exterminators.

[NOTKT]

Another tip: Vacuum frequently!

[ChibiAiChan]

the fleas will not just die... they can live up to a year dormant. Treat the cats and the house and vacuum everyday... and if you have a bag vacuum dispose of right away, bag less, dispose of outside *just dealt with this problem over the summer* my cats are on frontline plus.

[savepaws]

We've only had a flea problem once and it SUCKED! I tried frontline but it didn't work for us. So I tried diatomaceous earth (food grade) and we had really good luck with it. I rubbed it on the dogs and sprinkled and rubbed into the carpet & washed all our bedding and the dogs bedding. I can't remember how long it took but it seems like they died off pretty quick.

I'd recommend using it both on your old carpet and also on your new house carpet before you move in, in case there would happen to be a flea a problem there or in case you end up bringing some with you.



Diatomaceous Earth is Mother Nature's product with no harm to the environment, pets or to people.
Diatomaceous Earth is not an earth, it is the fossilized remains of microscopic shells created by one celled plants called DIATOMS.
Diatomaceous Earth kills by physical action, not chemical, by puncturing the insect's exoskeleton and absorbing the moisture in their bodies. It desiccates the bugs.

[Ninedays9]

I was reading about fleas and found out about the one year thing. I kind of wonder if there may have been some here when we moved. 'But I think it's more likely that one of the cats had them when we got them. We should've just given them all treatment when we got them, but I didn't think of it. When we move, I'll use the carpet stuff here and make sure we vacuum more than once. There's really not too much carpet here. And I think there's only carpet in the living room and bedroom at our new house, but I'll be sure to use it there, too. I'll have to see what DH thinks about the Diatomaceous Earth (haha, I had to copy and paste it).

[Ninedays9]

The fleas seemed to go away on their own before, but now they're back... Grrr! So I ordered the diatomaceous earth. Hopefully it works (in combination with washing bedding, vaccuuming, etc)!

[MrsBeegle]

I don't know if your cats love bathing (In fact, I'd highly doubt they would) but a trick I learned from a local dog grooming place told me to quickly wet the neck and make sure it's saturated with water, flea shampoo and citronella oil. Now, if you can manage to hold them in the water for about 5-8 minutes in a bubble bath of salt and flea shampoo (make sure the water goes up to the neck) you can actually start to see floating nasty little buggers in the water drowning to death. After so, continue with regular flea medication (frontline, advantix, etc) and vacuuming.

You could omit flea shampoo if your kitties are the type to lick and drink the water. Salt alone is effective enough, but medicated shampoo and running a flea comb underwater can have fleas sliding out to the bottom of the tub in no time.