Fleas - The losing battle.

[Wyluli]

Ok guys and gals. My boys both (2 pembroke Corgi's) had a nasty flea infestation about 4 months ago. I gave them both several flea baths with flea shampoo (and got lots of flea's off them) and I put this flea killer powder down on the carpet all over the place and worked it in with a broom (this seemed to help too, it's supposed to kill larvae), and I put both dogs on Frontline flea drops. Now, 4 months later most of the flea's are gone, but I still see a few flea's now and then. What the heck do I need to do to get rid of them all together! It's driving me crazy. I hate to keep giving them flea baths as I'm afraid it is bad for them.
I did wait a few days after applying the Frontline before giving more baths just to make sure I didn't wash it off.
Does anyone know if Advantage works better? I ran into a guy at the feed shop and he said he tried everything on his dog (including Frontline) and nothing worked, then he tried Advantage and it worked like a charm.
I may give it a try when the frontline runs out.

So, if anyone has any other ideas, short of burning the house down, let me know.

[bubbatd]

I get K9 Advantix from my vet.......never a flea though my neigbor was so infested they had to fumigate many times and their flea infested cats lived in my crawl space. Of course they never gave their animals anything but flea bathes and sprays. Said they couldn't afford the drops !!! Glad they moved !

[Mordy]

for me personally frontline has never worked well, but advantage does. you could try switching products and see how it goes.

a note on advantix - it is not safe to use on dogs who come into contact with cats, as it will kill them.

other things you can try to get rid of the fleas is sprinkling food-grade diatomaceous earth uner furniture, in corners, along baseboards and in other out-of-the-way places around the house. it kills fleas and flea larvae but is harmless to pets and people.

[Wyluli]

Originally Posted by Mordy

for me personally frontline has never worked well, but advantage does. you could try switching products and see how it goes.

a note on advantix - it is not safe to use on dogs who come into contact with cats, as it will kill them.

other things you can try to get rid of the fleas is sprinkling food-grade diatomaceous earth uner furniture, in corners, along baseboards and in other out-of-the-way places around the house. it kills fleas and flea larvae but is harmless to pets and people.

Thanks again Mordy, I was just thinking about advantix and wondered if it was the brand I heard about being bad for cats. I'm definately going to try the Advantage once the Frontline runs out. I hope there is no chance of health issues switching flea meds, just using one in place of the other when it comes time to medicate. I'll ask the vet while I'm there (although my opinion of the healthcare down here for both people and animals is questionable).

[Debi]

Just thought I'd mention this, too...IF you are only seeing a flea here and there..they do come indoors via a ride on our clothes, or they just happen in like other insects. If you have the dogs treated (I like Advantage, too) and vacuum regularly....those occasional visitors shouldn't be a problem, just like any other little critter. I read once that putting a drop or two of Dawn dishwashing liquid in the bath kills fleas......for my pups it doesn't seem to be an irritant, so I add it when washing the dogs.

[Renee750il]

Mordy, thanks for the remind about diatomaceous earth. Marvelous stuff in the house and garden!

I've found Neem based products to be a great help, too, especially in pet shampoos.