[seeker1950]

Okay...I have fleas on the brain right now...having spent the past week battling them on three cats and new pup.
I have used the Frontline on all the pets, sprayed the house, vacuumed every surface of upholstery and floor today and I'm exhausted.
Researching last night, I saw several posts on a flea thread online about Dawn liquid. Not wanting to put any more insecticide on the young pup, I followed the suggestions to fill a tub with a dilluted solution of Dawn (the plain blue kind) and soak the pet up to its head for at least two minutes. I did this as well as washing his head while avoiding his eyes. He has remained flea free for twon days now! I'm amazed, since nothing from the vet or over the counter was working!
Someone here on a previous thread had mentioned Dawn liquid and that is what gave me the idea. I want to thank whoever it was!
Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't mop my garage and inside hard floors with Dawn?!!!
Patty

<font color="purple"> When our neighbors had fleas, they would leave cups of soapy water around the house, the fleas would be attracted to the sweet scent, jump in, then drown.

But man, my sincerest codolences. I had to visit and live in a house infested with fleas for years and it's like torture. </font>

[seeker1950]

Kaika, I've read about the soapy water trick, but I doubt that would remove all the fleas!
I'm working diligently to rid myself of them!
Patty

[nightbird]

I will pass this on to all my pet lovin' friends.

thank you (((Patty)))

peace and gentle ways,
night

[seeker1950]

I will keep you updated on how this works. I know that constant soaking in Dawn would not be good for the pup's skin, but neither are fleas and insecticides!
I'm tempted to buy some elbow length gloves and try soaking my three cats, but, boy, would that be traumatic! I've searched the cats and can't find any fleas, but I still suspect the Frontline isn't working as it should on them.
Patty

[nightbird]

good - I'll check back, I'm gramma to two ragdoll kitties so, I would like to have an alternative advice available should this happen to pretty kitties, plus one day I do plan on a pup of my very own.

thank you

[Zorah]

don't try to bath the cats without elbow length leather gauntlets & full protective clothing, unless they are used to being bathed
may we ask how old the cats are ?

if you really think it's neccesary, let some poor professional groomer or vet do it, rofl, we would not advise bathing the cats, they often become ill after bathing unless you have experience in restoring the protective oils to the fur
(sorry to sound like such a know-it-all, but we breed cats, & when we were younger we bred dogs)

there are herbs you can plant in the garden to discourage fleas, & the puppy can be given garlic pills, these will really help, he may even be happy to eat fresh garlic, the cats will not unless they are old, but if you provide the right herbs the cats will roll in them & this helps too.

Suitable herbs for this would depend on your local climate.

[SeptemberMorn]

It might have been me that posted that. I swear by Dawn to kill fleas on my dog and on my husband's ferret. I don't do cats, though!

I'm glad you said you also washed the pup's face. I always start at the forehead and at the jawline of my dog and the ferret because if I don't, those nastly little buggers will crawl in their eyes and up their nose!

My animals don't go outside much, except that I take the dog out for a couple walks a day. I don't have any experience with using Dawn on anything else than their bedding at the same time I bathe them. If it was me, I'd delute some Dawn in a spray bottle that also shoots a stream and go around the baseboards or where the floor meets the wall in the garage and across thresholds if your garage attaches to the house... and just leave it. Don't wash it off. You could respray with water once a week or respray with deluted Dawn until the fleas are all gone. Fleas hatch out every two weeks so keep that in mind both for your animals and for the garage.

Now... do you have an equally good fly killer?? The whole mobile home park has been infested by them this year! I have three fly traps on my itty bitty lot, they're almost full of dead flies, I spray Raid insect killer every morning and every afternoon, my next door neighbor bought a bug light but the swarms still remain! GGRRRR! I detest flies!!

[EDIT] PS If you want to continue with flea killers for the cats, my experience tells me that Advantage works better than Frontline.

[Zorah]

OT, (((((Sept))))) you need some cats, our cats hate flies with a passion & will not allow one to live

[SeptemberMorn]

OT again! I need one of YOUR cats, then. My cat doesn't even know they exist. My dog will kill the occasional fly if it gets too close to her. She'll kill it in her mouth then spit it out. She gets a treat when she does that. LOL

Maybe when my tadpoles-just-turned-frogs grow up, they'll do away with the flies, ya think? I've already seen a couple catch a fly. One fly fills their baby tummies up for a while, though.

[Zorah]

hehe, we are baaad Sept

OT again, the frogs are good for flies, but you need hundreds we breed endangered species frogs in ponds all over the property

Abysinnian cats will catch flies, try to get one from a cat shelter Keep the inside fly free anyway.
Those Raid lamps, or cintronella candles work fairly well outside, over a limited area, but Raid is quite dangerous.

[seeker1950]

Okay, so I had almost three days of no fleas on the pup, but they are back on him this morning. I feel oppressed! I don't know whether to soak him again in the Dawn solution, risking drying out his skin, or to spray him with flea spray (which didn't work well before!). He already has Frontline on him.
I know they are in the grass when he goes out to potty. One even jumped on my foot as I was standing there with him this morning for his potty trip!
Patty

[seeker1950]

And, Zorah, no, my cats have never been bathed. They would scratch and bite for sure if I tried the soaking on them! I think I'll just let them stay in the garage and outside during this plague of fleas.
Patty

[wanttoheal]

Just a note: garlic is actually toxic to dogs (although not as toxic as other things).

Toxic foods for pets

[seeker1950]

Want...I did not know that. I put some minced garlic in the puppy's food this morning. I will research this!
Patty