FLEAS! HELP!!

flatblackplastic

so it started the other day when i found one on me. to today where i've killed 5 since i woke up.
i wanna set off a flea bomb but im worried it might cause harm to my records.

any advice???

my cat doesnt even go outside!!

cookbook

early this summer, we were in the basement and my girl saw a flea jump on her book. we killed it, but the next day we found one or two more. we instantly vacuumed the entire carpet on that level, and bought a pet safe spray, which we sprayed on the entire carpet (don't forget to move your furniture around).

the next day we did another vacuum and spray cycle. and continued vacuuming for the rest of the week. throw out the vacuum bag after each vacuum session, fleas can thrive in there as well.

we got lucky, no flea infestation.

good luck! the shit can get bad, but you may have caught it early enough. do you use frontline?

onetet

probably an obvious question, but are you sure your cat is up to date with their flea meds? I lived in a house w two cats about 8 yrs back, roomie lied and said cats were current, had a miserable outbreak that quickly spiraled out of control.

the only natural alternative to the flea bomb that had an impact was a spray made of basically just water and orange peel. spraying that in the floorboard seemed to make a big difference. but it took a vet visit for the cats to stop it completely -- do it now if needed, the growth of an unchecked flea population is exponential and in addition to tbe physical irritation of their bites it can have a drastic impact on your mental outlook.

flatblackplastic

i have one 11 year old cat thats inside only. ive never ever given him flea medicine because ive never ever seen one on him or in my house.

im definitely giving him medicine but at this point im more concerned about my house and not damaging my records, books, etc. i need to do something for both my house and him today.

thanks for the replies so far!

CousinLarry

We had this a few years ago. Our cats are indoor too, but you can bring fleas into the house just walking outside. Get some revolution for your cat, they also have a pill that will kill any fleas living on your cat, the revolution will keep them from coming back. Flea bombing the house will help too. If you vacuum put a cut up flea collar in the vacuum bag since the little fuckers can survive and breed inside there. All that natural shit is useless, you need good chemicals to kill those little fuckers. Your records will be fine, just shut off your pilot lights and keep your cat out of the house before bombing.

onetet

yeah, should've mentioned that the two cats in my house at the time of the outbreak had been lifelong indoor cats as well. flea eggs can remain intact forever, seemingly, and explode into your life suddenly even if you've been in the same house with the same cats for years w/o an outbreak.

Horseleech

As much as I hated the idea, I had to resort to flea bombs once (I killed them all by hand the other time), and it didn't affect my records at all. It totally worked, too.

Just make sure your plates/eating utensils are bagged or thoroughly washed afterward.

flatblackplastic

i forgot to mention that my entire 1st floor is tile or brick. the carpet doesnt start til my stairs to the upstairs. should i still bomb? i know it sounds crazy but i try everything mentioned so far.

also regarding the medicine, my friend said he could hook me up because his mom has tons of it since she runs a cat/dog shelter.

if for some reason i dont get any from him, can i buy it at the grocery store or do i have to get it from the vet?

CousinLarry

You can get frontline and stuff at petco now, but the pill to kill the active infestation needs to be obtained from a vet. If your vet is cool you might be able to call them and tell them the deal and just pick one up instead of having to pay for an office visit. I would bomb just to be safe, those little fuckers are feisty.

dj_cityboy

damn man....i dont have pets, but my brother had some fleas issue with this dog and cat..i did some googling though...

Remove any fleas from your pet using a fine-toothed pet comb designed for flea removal, and drop the fleas into soapy water to drown them. Bath pets weekly, if possible, to get rid of fleas. If bathing is not an option, speak to your veterinarian about appropriate alternatives.

Be diligent in your exterminating efforts. A flea pupa, while in the cocoon, is impervious to treatment and can live for eight months without feeding, and an adult female can lay one egg per hour for every hour of her life (usually three months).

Ingesting fleas could give your pet tapeworm....if you cant find what your looking for at at local grocery store (they might not have the proper fix/solution) you'll wanna go to a Vet and explain the situation so they can give you the proper fix to deal with what you have going on...cutting up a collar and putting it into the bag is a really good idea as well..it'll take a lot to get rid of em depending on how many you have and thats almost impossible to judge...

Grope

i had a cat once and used FRONTLINE. worked in two days, it's easy to use and won't do any harm if used correctly.

you should try it

---www*frontline*com---

Breez

^^^This is the sure shot.

A dog I had a few yrs ago had gotten fleas REAL BAD. They were everywhere!! The vet gave us Frontline and not only did it treat the dog, it treated our whole house: 3 floors-12 rooms. It worked damn near instantly. Also, there are little to no harmful affects. You don't have to change your day-to-day routines at all. Good luck!!

mateo

cookbook said:

we instantly vacuumed the entire carpet on that level, and bought a pet safe spray, which we sprayed on the entire carpet (don't forget to move your furniture around).

the next day we did another vacuum and spray cycle. and continued vacuuming for the rest of the week. throw out the vacuum bag after each vacuum session, fleas can thrive in there as well.

do you use frontline/advantage?

mannybolone

Hey man,

When we first moved to LA in 2006, our apartment had a major flea infestation awaiting us. Because we had a small child, we didn't want to bomb so instead, we called these guys: http://fleabusters.com

Their approach is completely non-toxic and based on our experience, very effective. They basically do a thorough vacuuming to remove existing " live" fleas and then "salt" your floors with a desiccant that will make the floors inhospitable to flea eggs, preventing the next gen from being born. All their treatments come with a one year warranty so if fleas come back, so will they. Our apartment needed one return trip but after the second treatment, no more fleas for the remainder of the time we lived there (3.5 more years).

One suggestion: if you vacuum on your own, throw a grip of moth balls inside the vacuum bag and that will kill any fleas or flea eggs that get sucked in. Just make sure you keep your skin protected when you vacuum; the sound/vibrations of the vacuum often is a trigger for flea eggs to hatch in the room.

Good luck! And don't panic - this isn't like bedbugs or termites.

Saracenus

Flea bomb them from orbit, its the only way to be sure. Your records should be safe. Just remember to wipe down all the surfaces afterward so your cat doesn't get residue on itself while walking around the house.

Frontline is one method of keeping your cat flea free, personally we use Advantage in our two cat household. Just remember if you bathe your cats with any regularity then these topical solutions are less effective over time (they should last one month, bathing will reduce this).

There are pills that do much the same thing and will not wash off. Highly recommend the pills for dogs as they generally get bathed more than cats.

Indoor only status for your cat does not guarantee a flea free environment. As has been stated, they can travel in on your person or through open window and doors. Protect the cat as without a food supply they can't breed in the house.

For you dog owners, make sure you are giving them heartguard to protect the from heartworm. This scourge was spread all over the US after Katrina and all the animals that were rescued afterward.

Good luck.

batmon

discos_alma

Y'all ever fucked with diatomaceous earth? I'd rather use this stuff than any petro-chemicals. Period.

From Wikipedia:

Pest control
Diatomite is also used as an insecticide, due to its physico-sorptive properties. The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate[7]. Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick's law of diffusion. This also works against gastropods and is commonly employed in gardening to defeat slugs. However, since slugs inhabit humid environments, efficacy is very low. It is sometimes mixed with an attractant or other additives to increase its effectiveness. Medical-grade diatomite is sometimes used to de-worm both animals and humans. It is most commonly used in lieu of boric acid, and can be used to help control and eventually eliminate cockroach and flea infestations. This material has wide application for insect control in grain storage.[8] It has also been used to control bedbug infestations, but this method may take weeks to work.[9]

mannybolone

Y'all ever fucked with diatomaceous earth? I'd rather use this stuff than any petro-chemicals. Period.

From Wikipedia:

Pest control
Diatomite is also used as an insecticide, due to its physico-sorptive properties. The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate[7]. Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick's law of diffusion. This also works against gastropods and is commonly employed in gardening to defeat slugs. However, since slugs inhabit humid environments, efficacy is very low. It is sometimes mixed with an attractant or other additives to increase its effectiveness. Medical-grade diatomite is sometimes used to de-worm both animals and humans. It is most commonly used in lieu of boric acid, and can be used to help control and eventually eliminate cockroach and flea infestations. This material has wide application for insect control in grain storage.[8] It has also been used to control bedbug infestations, but this method may take weeks to work.[9]

That's what Fleabusters use. Non-toxic and effective. You can apply it yourself if you want too.

Saracenus

Y'all ever fucked with diatomaceous earth? I'd rather use this stuff than any petro-chemicals. Period.

Except that you are closing the barn door after all the cows have left. This only works after an infestation. It takes time and it doesn't deal with the eggs in the carpet that are going to hatch and re-hatch over time. You will be putting this stuff on you and your cat for a long time in hopes that the newest outbreak doesn't get enough blood to breed and start the cycle anew.

I would rather do preventative measures so that my cats don't get fleas in the first place and possibly suffer worms or other parasites that can be transmitted via the fleas.

I have seen what cats that have been ravaged by fleas look like and the health issues that come with it. Its not pretty.

Stuff like Advantage is toxic while it is initially applied, but it will cease to be toxic when it drys.

mannybolone

Desiccants such as what Musica described kill the entire lifecycle of fleas: eggs, larvae, adults. However, from my experience, these are largely floor treatments and won't work if fleas have gotten into, say, your bedding.

I wouldn't have a problem using Advantage on a pet. But if your trying to treat a house infestation, and the choices were between bombing with toxins vs dusting with a desiccant, the latter makes me feel a lot more comfortable.

flatblackplastic

last night i did two flea bombs, one upstairs, the other other down.
i covered up all my record shelves with sheets and drop clothes, then vacuumed the entire house, then set the bombs.
my cat had to go in the laundry room for 3 hours for the bombs to drop and then for me to air it out.
then i put advantage on him so hopefully that will do the trick.

thanks again for the advice and replies.

JimBeam

then i put advantage on him so hopefully that will do the trick.

keep this up on the bi-monthly schedule (or whatever is recommended on the packaging) and you will not have any problems. even though it's an indoor cat, it is what the fleas are after. as soon as the next one bites, it will die before it has a chance to multiply. advantage is awesome.