More fleas...desperation!

The puppy I brought home had ticks and fleas. I did what the vet tech recommencded...spray thoroughly with Adams spray and then bathe. He was flea free for a day, then covered again with fleas. Though he is only about 8 weeks old, in desperation, I bought a puppy Frontline application and put it one him. Free of fleas for a day and then covered again this morning when I took him out of his kennel cage at 5 a.m. I have the cage in the garage, and have sprayed there repeatedly with a house spray for fleas. Tonight, I'm going to move the cage inside, and hope he doesn't have fleas in the early a.m. tomorrow.
I did a lot of research online, and found many warnings about the flea applications, both from the vet as well as over the counter. One thing which was repeatedly mentioned was Dawn dish soap. I followed the advice and filled a storage tub in the bathroom, leaving enough room for wrinsing in the bathtub outside the storage tub. It said to immerse the animal up to its head for several minutes to kill the fleas. I did that, and the pup wasn't too unhappy. Then wrinsed with the hand-held shower nozzel thoroughly. He is now hinding from me. I hated to do this to hm, but I'm desperate to rid him of fleas. I think he's picking them up when he goes out in the yard to potty. I am even thinking of calling Chemlawn to come and do some treatments, though I'm not sure if this is safe for the pets either!
I also have three inside/outside cats, which I treated with the Frontline, but still seeing some fleas on them as well.
Any suggestions appreciated. I will let you know how the Dawn liquid worked. I have to now go vaccuum the garage, and maybe also mop with some Dawn solution!
Patty

I think you should call the lawn people to spray the yard. there is also a pill you can get to rid them and keep killing the fleas. not sure what it is but my daughter uses it on her dogs. works great!

watch it with the lawn spray, as most of them are lethal to cats unfortunately

even spraying the garage, use only pyrethrins, the rest are awfully dangerous

you can buy pills in the supermarket here for fleas, in both cat & dog size doses, they kill off all living fleas on the animal within about 4 hours, & will prevent re-infestation for a few days while you try to get the siuation under control. Comb through with a flea comb after the 4 hours are up, & you should get most of the eggs too. burn all this if possible. Stand animals on old paper while combing.
back this up with applications of Frontline to both the puppy & the cats (actually if the Frontline didn't work, we would swap to Advantage if you get that in USA)
Don't use those commercial flea shampoos, or any kind of flea killing spray inside the house as they can be dangerous to your families' health

this is a kind of off the wall thought, but we suppose you area is not experiencing a flea plague ?
the only time we have a very bad flea problem was during a plague of fleas, this can be exapserating, but as soon as the weather cools down they will all die

Thanks, Zorah, and Bebop,
I am concerned too about having the yard sprayed. I have a garden as well, and the idea of runoff into the garden is a great concern. So, I'll probably just try to control the fleas in the house and on the pets. Last night, after the Dawn soaking and rinse, Fozzie was completely free of fleas, and this morning as well after a night in his kennel cage in the house, not in the garage.
I think fleas have become resistant, or immune, to the flea products out there, and it is a real problem.
Patty

check out the pills hon. my daughter swears by them. I am so thankful I don't have a flea issue. they find me in a crowd!

if im right frontluine doesnt kill the fleas it stops them breeding so they die off that way i might be wrong , if puppy is getting them from out side that needs to be treated coz he will keep picking them up and bringing them indoors

good luck

I'm sorry to hear this, fleas are terribly tenacious. You have to be aggressive and consistent with your attack too.

My vet told me eons ago that the flea/tick drops/collars etc really don't do much as the life of the insect is short and they drop off or die before the commercial product really does anything.

You have to treat EVERYTHING on the same day: house, animals, yard, car, fabrics. There's no way around it. And then, you must do it within 5-6 weeks again (all of it) to kill the eggs hatching before they can reproduce.

We had a bad season down her years ago after a bad hurricane. I sent the dog to the groomers for the day and to be taken care of while I sprayed the yard (there are some good easy sprays that not only take care of the ticks/fleas but also the normal yard bugs) and washed all the rugs, bed linens etc and vacuumed and dusted and misted the drapes etc. I sprayed around the openings of the doorways and windows too. At 5 weeks, I did it again, and while everyone else had problems continue, I didn't. Recently the neighbors behind me left and their dog's ticks I guess figured they would come over to my yard and dog. I sprayed the back of my yard, PLUS THE HEDGES, and the very back of their yard too... I have no problems now!

It's a miserable issue that takes perserverence (I had to put notes on calendar!) Good wishes!

My cats had fleas and I had to treat my whole house to get rid of them. I had to wash all curtains, sheets, towels, slothes anything fabric. Then, I had to spray the furniture, carpeting, and other surfaces around the house including all mattresses. Of course, the cats were treated also. But simply treating the animal is not enough. Fleas get into anything fabric in or around your house.

Hi Seeker
I found this site that talks about a natural supplement you can give the dog that will discourage fleas to jump on them. I haven't tried it, but might be worth looking into it. I'm so happy things are going well with your new pup. Good luck with the fleas

http://www.fleaaway.com/

garlic is a natural deterent to them, and there is a dust that you can use in the yard to kill them that is supposed to be safe for your pets. also there are two different pills, capstar will cause all the fleas on an animal to die withing a couple hours, at the same time use the frontline or something to fight the immediate re-infestation, and then there is another pill, i don't remember the name off hand, that actually causes the fleas to become sterile. so after 6 weeks or so of using those pills your remaining fleas can't breed anymore. and vacuum vacuum vacuum. and best case change the bag and get it out of the house after each time, if not then at least spray the bag heavily with flea killer. i stayed flea free for 9 years in our last house with 5 dogs and 3 cats.

lost

HI, yes, I've spent the whole day vacuuming and laundering. I'm exhausted. I'm confining my cats to the garage and outside, since I think, despite the Frontline treatment I put on all of them, they still may have fleas.

Seeker ... Also be certain to dispose of the vacuum bag that you use for the flea clearance. Replace it with a fresh vacuum bag. or wash it out if you have a non-disposable type of cylinder for the vacuum contents.

Thank you, Ingrid, for reminding me about the vacuum bag. I have one sweeper, an Oreck lightweight that does use a bag, and I had stored it in the closet without removing the bag. The other sweeper I use is a Rainbow, which uses water in the collection bowl. It's great, and traps all the dust (and fleas, hopefully) in the water.
I just mopped all my hard floors with Pinesol. I've read it really helps. We shall see!
I haven't seen any fleas in the house today, and I'm so paranoid and watchful of them!
Patty

Sounds to me like you need a fumigator out to your place, Seeker.

I may have to do something like that, Sept!
I was just out in the garage with one of the cats, who kept scratching around his neck and head, and he let me search there, and sure enough he had a flea. He just had the Frontline a couple of weeks ago, but I've read you can reapply Frontline safely after three weeks. I may do that soon. It has always worked before, but I guess the boogers have developed resistance to it.
The constant vacuuming and mopping is exhausting, but it seems to help in the house, and today I again soaked the pup in a solution of Dawn and Adams flea shampoo, so he's free of fleas again, for now!
I'm going to research about yard treatments to rid fleas.
Patty