Fleas - when and how to treat?

So the other night I found a flea on Venice. One flea. Not even down at the skin, but standing on TOP of the fur on her ear. I looked her over and couldn't find any others, or any flea dirt.

She has a very short sparse coat - but I do know those little guys can be quick to get out of the way when you're combing through fur so it's possible I missed some. I have yet to check Ferdy - he has a somewhat thicker coat.

So first question - would you even bother treating your dog if you could only find one measly flea, and no flea dirt? Is there the chance a flea just unwittingly ended up in the apartment? Neither dog is scratching and I'm not seeing any skin reactions to bites. Should I wait and continue checking them? Am I totally naive to think a flea got lost and ended up on my dog? I'd rather not use oral OR topical treatments if I can avoid it, which is why I'm hesitant.

Second question - I was thinking about giving each dog Comfortis (adulticide) a couple times and also using Sentinal to get the eggs/larvae, just because I have the two of them lying around. Is there an issue using these products together?

Ok, one more question - do you treat your home? I was planning on just washing dog stuff/couch slipcovers in hot water, and doing a good vacuum. I've had fleas on a dog once before and never treated my home, just the dog. We didn't have a recurring problem.

Comfortis is a product that lasts for a month. (Capstar is the 24hr acting product). Capstar and Sentinal are ment to be used together. I have no idea if Comfortis and Sentinal can be used at the same time.

If it were me, I'd definitely treat for fleas on both my pet(s) and in my home as well. But, I hate fleas and tend to go overboard when I think I may have a flea problem. Fleas are gross and creep me out. LOL

If they are not scratching, then I would hold off and keep a close monitor. I assume you gave your dog a bath after finding that one flea, which is a good way of flushing and checking for more fleas by checking the running water into the drain.

If it were me, I'd bathe my dog, wash dog beds, thoroughly vacuum carpets (getting the edges and corners), and wash any hard floors. All to try to kill/destroy any eggs. Then vacuum/wash floors daily for at least a week as any eggs might be hatching.

Get a flea comb if you don't have one. They are really cheap, <$1, to check the dogs for at least two weeks.

Thanks for all the advice, guys.

No, they have not had baths yet. I guess I'm just not super grossed out at the thought of fleas, because I wasn't in a panic to do something about it THIS INSTANT.

So bath time, clean ALL THE THINGS everyday ... I may go pick up comfortis from the feed store and do a couple months of that on each dog as well. Will phone the vet today about using Comfortis and Sentinel together.

Vacuuming and washing with hot water and soap will kill fleas in the environment, so that's what I'd do in your shoes and just keep tabs on the dogs. If I saw any more, I'd prob go to treating the dogs.

Just in case anyone else was curious, I got the okay to use Comfortis and Sentinel at the same time.

Dangit! I just found three fleas on Harlow. I just gave them a flea bath about three weeks ago because I had found a few on Seal and one on Rider.

I sprayed her with Adam's flea and tick spray, but tomorrow my house is getting another full cleaning, all bedding is getting washed. GRR! So, I feel your pain.

Logan has been SO itchy all summer. A few weeks ago I found 3 fleas and 2 pieces of flea dirt on him. He's been on Advantix all summer, which is supposed to REPEL fleas, but I wonder if he's just bathed too frequently for the Advantix. So as soon as I found those buggers, I bathed him, then when he was 100% dry I treated him and Gavroche with Frontline. I have not seen another flea since.

If you have an infestation, treating the home is important, especially if you're struggling to get it under control. If you're just doing it for prevention, put flea control on the dog and let them roam the house (if it's a topical) and your house will be treated by proxy. Regardless of what you use, you WILL get flea on your dog on occasion - they're just supposed to die or jump off fairly quickly.

I used Trifexis (same thing as Comfortis plus what used to be in Interceptor) when I got a free box, and I really like it, but I still have a stockpile of Frontline I got for free, and Logan gets Advantix for free, so I use those. Comfortis is actually better for dogs with flea allergies. Yes, the dog has to bite them to die. BUT with Frontline, it takes a while for the flea to die, so it has a chance to bite several times before dying. With Comfortis the flea bites ONCE and then it dies. Also, you don't have that gross grease spot.

Fun fact: If you find Comfortis or Trisfexis at a feed store, pet store, or any place other than a vet, it was obtained and sold there unscrupulously. The company ONLY sells to vets. They have tracking on their package, so you're supposed to report when you find it for sale outside of a vet clinic so they can track down the vet that allowed it to get there and cut them off (and possibly take legal action).

I treat once a month aug, sep, oct,nov,april, may, june, july.

k9 advantix topically. When we lived in the middle of the city and the parks are totally perfectly maintained, it wasn't a big deal.
But now we live next to a bigger park and things are a little more wooded/less perfect so..we treat.

I am paranoid about them so I nuke the little bastards and anytime I see one it's bath, hot laundry for beds, etc..

Oh, and if you're treating because you saw fleas, you must treat for at least 3 months (ideally more), and you must treat ALL the animals in your house (with something safe for them). So if you have rabbits, ferrets, cats, etc, they all need to be treated, too.

Thanks guys.

I should have known about Comfortis only being available through vets. I thought I had a few doses lying around but I just have the Sentinel.

Everyone has had baths, house has been thoroughly cleaned/vacuumed/everything washed, and I'm just going to check them over daily before treating.