Flea Control

[Brian Kent]

OK, we have a flea problem. Here are the actions we have taken:

Hartz Ultra Guard Pro Flea Drops
Hot Shot Flea Fogger
SentryPro Flea Shampoo
Spectracide insecticide on lawn.
Washing dog bedding with bleach, hot water, hot dryer
Spraying surfaces in home with Ortho Home Defense Max

In previous infestations (1979 & 1983) nothing worked until we use D-Con 4-Gone fogger, but they don't make it any more.

Yes, I know I have to kill them and their little eggs anywhere the dogs go.
No, I cannot afford to tent my house.

Does anyone know chemistry and flea-killing enough to advise.

[John A langley]

When we lived in poway Californiawe had the same problem you are having the little boogers have become immune You may have to have to use a pest Control service

[John Gomes]

I have had great luck with Siphotrol Plus II by Vet-Kem

[Brian Henderson]

Make sure you spray outside the home, the second the dogs go out, they are going to be infested again if you don't. Any of the multispectrum pest killers will work for fleas as well. You can always check to see if you've killed fleas in the house by using a nightlight and a pan of soapy water at night. The fleas will try to congregate at the light and will fall into the water and drown. Another idea that works here with ants is to put cinnamon into your carpet. Just buy a bottle, shake it out and then use a broom to sweep it into the fibers. Cinnamon is a natural desiccant, when the fleas contact it, it will kill them, plus your house smells like cinnamon for a while and it's safe for pets and people.

Good luck.

[Alan Rutherford]

You can check for fleas in the yard by putting a piece of anything white on the grass, Cardboard, bedsheet, etc. At least a couple feet on a side. I learned this in dramatic fashion spreading out a several-hundred-square-feet sail. Got lots and lots of the little fiends. I don't think you can really get rid of all of them outdoors, though and everything that's toxic to fleas isn't good for you or the dogs. (With the possible exception of diatomaceous earth, which might help in certain indoor spaces, but not on the lawn.)

Along with all the chemical solutions, a vacuum cleaner helps inside the house, especially if you have carpet.

[John Grider]

The place to concentrate you efforts is on the pets. There are products available that will kill the adult fleas that get on the pet before they have a change to breed. No breeding, pretty soon no big mess of fleas. There is precious little available that gets the eggs, larva pupas and adults that you can use as a premise spray. None of the good ones are cheap. Expect, depending on where you live, to spend around $15+ per pet per month.

[Mark Major]

Brian, I'd highly recomment Advantage, made by Bayer. It deals with all fleas from egg to adult. Here in Canada it's only availabe by a vet presciption but it's definitely worth it. It comes in small tubes that you put directly on your pet in an area they can't reach by mouth (just behind their head on the upper part of the neck). The number of drops you put on your pet is determined by their size/weight. Lat time I bought it, it was about $100.00 for six small tubes but it lasts a very long time. I've never seen anything that works better. I'ts not an over-night fix, but it does work quite quickly, and if used properly is very safe for your pets.


Regards, Mark.

[David Ragan]

Brian, hire that out. Most of those companies have warrantees. When the ants come back, we just call Terminix, and they come out, ants gone.

Pesticides can be bad news if used incorrectly-like, when you're really really seriously out to kill the critter.

[Brian Henderson]

Brian, I'd highly recomment Advantage, made by Bayer. It deals with all fleas from egg to adult. Here in Canada it's only availabe by a vet presciption but it's definitely worth it. It comes in small tubes that you put directly on your pet in an area they can't reach by mouth (just behind their head on the upper part of the neck). The number of drops you put on your pet is determined by their size/weight. Lat time I bought it, it was about $100.00 for six small tubes but it lasts a very long time. I've never seen anything that works better. I'ts not an over-night fix, but it does work quite quickly, and if used properly is very safe for your pets.

If I remember correctly, Advantage is available over the counter in the U.S., but it only solves the problem for your pets, fleas will bite people too and if you leave it in the environment, you'll get eaten alive too.

[Lee Schierer]

We used to have flea problems every summer. We us Frontline Plus on our dog and Revolution on the cat. We haven't had a flea in the house since we started using those products.

To catch existing fleas in your house, you can suspend an incandescent night light over a pie pan filled with soapy water. Leave the light on at night and you will have lots of the little buggers trying unsuccessfully to do the backstroke by morning. Dump the pan and keep the light on for them until you don't get any more. Move the pan to a new location when the action stops.