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View Full Version : Fleas everywhere!!!!


auntreenee
11-30-1999, 06:00 AM
<p>Not fleas for me, but ticks galore!!&nbsp; I finally ordered some Frontline from usadiscountpetcare.com and put it on all my cats over the weekend. Today was the first no-tick day we've had in weeks!</p>

Evansville_Wagnbrag
08-11-2008, 08:55 PM
Is it just me, or are fleas far worse this year than before? We had to bomb our house nad the yard be cause even with frontline on our Roxy they still wouldn't leave!

luckychi
08-12-2008, 02:26 AM
<p>I have been fighting the fleas too!! I have been vaccuming twice a day, flea bath, bomb, spraying the yard, using skin so soft, on my puppies, that kills them for a day or so. Advatage don't do the trick. Always before&nbsp; I had put salt on my carpet at night, and it kills them and in the morning vaccum it up, that used to help. So tonite I bought enough regular table salt and going to spread it all over my carpet and I&nbsp; mopped all my floors, have not seen any&nbsp; on my furniture, and I have not had any biting me, but I am constantly finding on my chi"S. I'll try the salt trick and see if that works,&nbsp; then I will bath all my dogs in the morning to make sure they are flea free. Will report back to you.</p>

misswagnbrag
08-12-2008, 05:35 PM
<p>I'll try the salt trick....</p>

danielle
09-22-2008, 01:44 AM
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<p>The best thing is to contact your vet get Capstar for your otherwise healthy pet.&nbsp; This kills fleas starting 30 mins after taking and lasts for 5 days.</p>
<p>Then apply a vet approved flea product.&nbsp; This is very important-It needs to be Vet approved.&nbsp; There are many over the counter flea meds that have and do kill or make animals sick often.&nbsp; Store that sell most of the vet approved products are doing so illegally, black market, diluted or just plain fakes.</p>
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I really like Revolution for cats.&nbsp; Frontline Plus is great for dogs.&nbsp; However, there are many new flea control products now available that I haven't used.</p>
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<p>Fleas are the most common external parasite of companion animals. Flea allergy dermatitis is the most common skin disease of dogs and cats! Flea control has always been a challenge for veterinarians and pet owners because the adult fleas cause the clinical signs, yet the majority of the flea population (eggs, larvae and pupae) are to be found off the pet in and around the home.&nbsp; The ideal flea control program utilizes products that target the various stages of the flea life cycle, not only the adult fleas on the pet. In order to help you to select the most appropriate products to achieve a flea-free existence for an allergic pet, we will start by telling you about the life cycle of the flea.</p>
<p>The Life Cycle of the Flea: Ctenocephalides felis<br /><br />Eggs are laid in the hair coat and are designed to fall off the host. They are resistant to insecticides, but susceptible to various insect growth regulators. Larvae develop in the host&rsquo;s environment and feed on adult flea feces (blood) that fall out of the hair coat of the pet. Larvae are susceptible to traditional insecticides, borates and insect growth regulators. Larvae eventually spin cocoons (often within carpet fibers) for pupation. Pupae are resistant to freezing, desiccation, and insecticides. Pupae can lie dormant for many months; they are stimulated to expupate as emergent adults by vibration, warming and increased carbon dioxide. Normally, expupation occurs when a host is near and the new flea finds the pet within seconds of emergence. Emergent fleas are fairly mobile and can survive a few days without a host, if in a suitable environment. New fleas begin feeding within hours of finding a dog or cat. Once a blood meal has been taken, the flea can survive only a short time if it is dislodged from the host. New fleas experience very high mortality on healthy adult hosts. Most fleas do not survive 72 hours on an animal that is itching and able to groom itself. <br /><br />Unfortunately, limited egg production does occur even on allergic animals. The entire life cycle of C. felis can be completed in as few as 16 days!</p>
<p>Flea Control Recommendations<br /><br />For the flea allergic patient, continuous excellent flea control is required to remain symptom free. Even very minimal exposure may be sufficient to perpetuate itching in a hypersensitive patient. In the past, veterinarians and pet owners always had to try to control fleas by treating the environment of the animal for the immature stages of the flea. This approach, although effective when properly instituted, is labor intensive and requires frequent repetitive applications. Also, some of the older products made for killing fleas on our pets do not kill fleas instantly or are not long lasting enough to really help flea allergy patients, because the female fleas survived long enough to lay a few eggs and perpetuate the life cycle.</p>
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WagNBragShane
09-23-2008, 03:46 PM
<p>Thanks, Danielle! That's helpful information. We've noticed an unusually agressive flea problem this year here in our neck of the woods, too. (Knoxville, TN, to be exact) We've also found some of the standard flea treatments to be hit-or-miss this year.</p>
<p>We're interested in exploring organic alternatives as well and will likely include some plantings in our garden next year that might be helpful. We'll share some information about this as we gather more information.</p>