bad flea problem!!

Noel · 06-01-2008, 10:35 AM

my dog has a pretty bad flea problem.
every week and a half i will give my dog a flea bath. it doesnt even work for a day. the day after i give her the flea bath, i run the flea comb over and, and i see fleas, and flea dirt and A LOT of it in the flea comb. i have to comb her every single day now.

i used to have her on flea meds, and that didnt work at all, either. i had her on k-9 advantix. they didnt work. a couple days after i put the flea meds, i would run the flea comb over her, and get a whole bunch on fleas/flea dirt.
i did continue to give her a bath, but i used regular dog shampoo. it was the kind that didnt wash flea meds off.

i even tried giving her flea meds twice a month and that didnt help either. she has a pretty dense coat, and we live in florida, so that doesnt help the matter at all.

does anyone have any advice???

Lovin'Dawgs · 06-01-2008, 12:04 PM

You're infested. No matter what you do, if you don't get all the bedding, the carpeting, the yard, and perhaps even the car, you won't get anywhere. The meds probably are working but they only kill as the dog is bitten so as one or two die, more jump on from the bedding and such.

There are a couple of options. For anything that will fit in the wash, wash it on hot and dry on hot. For things not washable, dust it well with SEVIN dust, top, bottom and so on. If you have things like pillows that have fluff in the middle, toss 'em, the fleas and eggs will be down in too deep for a dusting to work. Either get a pro to come and spray your carpeting and yard or use liquid SEVIN or better yet diazinon spray.

Now after you do all of this, dust your dog with SEVIN, very safe.

Then repeat this whole process, every week for four weeks to get all the baby fleas that are going to be hatching.

Infestations are a hassle to say the least. Perhaps calling an exterminator first would be a good idea, they may have a program for flea infestation that will take care of it all for you.

Either way, don't use double meds, that's really bad for the pet. Also get rid of any infested bedding and get some that can be thrown into the washer on a regular basis

Graco22 · 06-01-2008, 10:30 PM

Yeah, I agree..you have an infestation, and flea baths are not going to clear that up. Flea shampoo ONLY kills the fleas on the dog at that time. Some don't kill eggs even. As soon as the dog is dry, the fleas are back on. Get that yard treated. Get that bedding washed like the above posted stated. And go to your VET and get what they are recommending for the fleas in your area. (Frontline Plus, advantage, etc.)My sister and her husband have a vet clinic in FL, and they seem to have to rotate the meds for fleas until they find one that works on the superfleas down there. You will need to treat her every month with the meds from the vet. The over the counter stuff does not work as well, even if it appears to be the same label. NOT the same stuff and doesn't work as well. You can get this under control. Make sure you treat any other pets you may have (cats, other dogs, etc) also. Best of luck.

Noel · 06-02-2008, 03:14 PM

yeah my mom is going to ask our exterminator for help.
also, i had called our local pet store's grooming area, and they were the ones who suggested the double meds.

briteday · 06-02-2008, 03:53 PM

Also on rugs or furniture you can sprinkle borax, and vacuum up after an hour or so (be sure to throw vac bag out to the garbage right away in a sealed bag each time). Do it every few days for a few weeks and it helps keep them out of things that are too sensitive to be exterminated or washed with hot water.

mrandrei · 06-03-2008, 01:28 AM

Another effective, convenient treatment method involves applying a few droplets of material between the shoulder blades of the animal. Two veterinarian-supplied products, Advantage™ and Frontline™, control adult fleas on pets for at least 1 month. On dogs, Frontline Top Spot lasts up to 3 months.

ccualumni · 06-04-2008, 05:37 PM

We use sentinel and have three dogs. We lived in a wooded lot in Georgia and have never had fleas.

My 2nd was covered very badly in fleas when we bought him. It was so bad, that my 1st dog got covered in fleas on the ride home. We took him home and washed him with flea shampoo and it killed some, but there were tons on him. We got him to the vet the next day.

After that, we never had any more fleas.

It is about $15/month or so, but well worth every penny. It also prevents ticks and heartworm.

Noel · 06-04-2008, 05:43 PM

what is sentinel?

Lorina · 06-04-2008, 05:46 PM

Sentinel is a heartworm preventative that has an additional ingredient to help control fleas. It's like Interceptor and Program in one tablet. It won't kill fleas, but will cause fleas to become sterile, ending the breeding cycle.

poofywoof · 06-06-2008, 02:18 PM

You have been given good advice regarding ending the flea problem.... Just one more thing: with that many fleas, it is very likely that your dog has bitten at them and eaten some= which means he could also have tapeworm. Please check with your vet about this. If you see rice-like things in your dogs stools or bedding that is a sure sign.

Noel · 06-07-2008, 01:37 PM

my cats had tape worms before. that was gross.
thank goodness, i dont see any signs of tapeworms. so sentinel is a tablet? well, noel does not do good with taking pills. we have to basically strap her down, and shove them allllll the way into the back of her throat. well, we dont really, becuase that would be pretty violent, but i have to hold her, and put the pill far back in her throat for her to swallow it, overwise, she we get it back up and spit it out. she does that with her heartworm meds. i use heartguard, but she wont eat it. so i chop it up into 16ths and put them in the back of her throat. usually she bites me to death though. i just wish they would understand that we are trying to help them, but they cant, becuase they are dogs.

ccualumni · 06-07-2008, 04:41 PM

NOel, grab the dog by the lower jaw and cover the teeth with the sid of the lip that you grab the dog on. They will not bite down, because it will hurt them.

The dog will typically stick its tongue back and forth trying to kick the pill before you can put it in. I time it so the tongue is coming forward and shove it in the back.

It is painless to the dog and works almost every time.

My other two dogs do not care if you put it in their mouth, so no big deal.

I have stuck pills in hot dogs and cheese and such and just fed it to the dog. That works with one of my dogs, but not the other two.

When it is pill time (monthly), I go ahead and pull out cheese and they know they will get it after they take the pill.

GL to you.

gasoonergirl · 06-10-2008, 06:48 PM

My family & I just adopted a lab puppy...along with a family or two of fleas!!! I was super concerned about treating everything and ending up with a ton of chemicals in my house and on my family & pets. I have ran everything that could not be washed in my dryer for at least 20 minutes. Washables were done with Borax. I used diatomaceous earth(food grade) on my carpets. It is the consistency of baby powder. I vacuumed all my carpets, sprinkles the DE in every room, used a soft broom to work it into the pile. My husband and I were amazed. We have also had a little problem with carpenter ants. Since I put out the DE...No More Insects!!! It is wonderful. It can even be sprinkled on the animals and rubbed into their fur, avoiding their eyes and other tender parts. My yorkie is allergic to flea meds so the DE was a real lifer saver and I am only sorry that I had not heard of it sooner!!!

alphadoginthehouse · 06-11-2008, 07:36 AM

Where do you get DE? I don't think I've heard of that before. I'm always up for something safer/cheaper for my dogs. Will it work for cats too? I have one of them critters too! Thanks.

skelaki · 06-11-2008, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphadoginthehouse

Where do you get DE? I don't think I've heard of that before. I'm always up for something safer/cheaper for my dogs. Will it work for cats too? I have one of them critters too! Thanks.

http://diatomaceous-earth.net/ Here's one source.

gasoonergirl · 06-16-2008, 08:16 PM

I got it from my local feed & seed store. Make sure you get "food grade" DE. I paid a little over 10 dollars for 5 pounds. It was worth every penny. We just got back from a camping trip. We took our new puppy. There as lots of hiking and walking through pine straw and high grass. As soon as we got home I sat down and used the flea comb on Dagny....not a single flea was found. I was absolutely amazed!!! I can't give it a higher recommendation than that.

LHARTWICK · 08-18-2008, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gasoonergirl

My family & I just adopted a lab puppy...along with a family or two of fleas!!! I was super concerned about treating everything and ending up with a ton of chemicals in my house and on my family & pets. I have ran everything that could not be washed in my dryer for at least 20 minutes. Washables were done with Borax. I used diatomaceous earth(food grade) on my carpets. It is the consistency of baby powder. I vacuumed all my carpets, sprinkles the DE in every room, used a soft broom to work it into the pile. My husband and I were amazed. We have also had a little problem with carpenter ants. Since I put out the DE...No More Insects!!! It is wonderful. It can even be sprinkled on the animals and rubbed into their fur, avoiding their eyes and other tender parts. My yorkie is allergic to flea meds so the DE was a real lifer saver and I am only sorry that I had not heard of it sooner!!!

Where did you get the DE? I've posted on these boards but I can't seem to get an answer. Thanks!

CinnamintStick · 08-19-2008, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lovin'Dawgs

Either get a pro to come and spray your carpeting and yard or use liquid SEVIN or better yet diazinon spray.

Where can you buy diazinon? I used to use it for ants. It worked good but I have not seen it in years. Must be illegal here now. I would love to get some. Nothing works for my ant problem. Fleas do not live in the high desert. So nice.

poodleholic · 08-21-2008, 04:37 AM

With infestations like you have, you're going to have to treat your house, your yard, AND your dog.

I would do the following:

Bathe the dog, using Dawn dishwasing liquid. Leave on for 4-5 min., then rinse. This will kill the adult fleas.

Give your dog a Capstar pill. Will kill adult fleas within 30 minutes, and lasts 24 hours.
Use Advantage or Advantix on your dog.

In the meantime, vacuum everything, and throw out the bag into the dumpster.
Treat the house with appropriate product for inside use (I happen to use Diactomaceous Earth, but you can also use Borax).

Treat the yard. Keep grass short - tall grass and weeds will be a problem for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LHARTWICK

Where did you get the DE? I've posted on these boards but I can't seem to get an answer. Thanks!

I ordered mine online, then found it at my local Feed Store. It works GREAT!