Help! How can we kill fleas in our house?

25 October 2014 | Mene

[TangoLimaSierra]

why would you get rid of your cat?????? that’s ridiculous.

Isn't it wonderful how some people know your situation better than you?

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

There’s a prescription strength liquid similar to “Pet Armor.” I think it’s called “Revolution” and you can get it from your vet. Your cat will help kill off the fleas because they will be exposed to the medicine.

I typically spray the back yard abotu three times a year with something from “Spectrum” that attaches to the garden hose.

We had a really bad infestation when we first moved down here. Our dog brought them in and they spread to the cats.

I used a lot of carpet sprays and vacuumed every day (put a moth ball in your vacuum canister to kill anything you suck up).

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

We began Advantage treatment (Google Advantage and Fleas), took them out of the house to a local park (used carriers), but before we left we prepped the house and bombed it with pesticide.

---

We left while the place was treated and the fleas infested the car. One hot summmer day I started it and left it running for about an hour with the heater up full blast. No more fleas in the car...

[who knows what evil?]

He is a real nice cat, but he has to go.

Then find him a good home, since you can't provide one...no need to have him/her executed.

[RoosterRedux]

My cats wear Seresto flea collars and they even kill fleas in the yard left by raccoons.

[gortklattu]

Moth balls!

[CH3CN]

Fleas got into our Mom’s wool rugs and carpet and she never had a cat or dog in the house. We bought the house from her and finally had to pull up the wool carpet. Took the rugs and liberally applied anti-bug dust, rolled them up and put them into long plastic tubes, laid them in the sun for a few weeks. Left the rugs rolled in the garage a few years, putting them into the sun a few weeks every summer. (It was either 3 or 4 years-don’t remember.)

That was what finally got rid of the fleas when all other attempts failed. We’ve even added 2 cats to the household and no new fleas.

[NoKoolAidforMe]

Eucalyptus is a natural flea repellant. Go buy a whole bunch and it around the house including under the bed. It’s decorative so you can put it in a vase. Also, cedar chips that you can buy in a pet store (for gerbils or hamsters) is another repellant. Fill up some old socks with the cedar chips and put them all over the house. Call you vet and get your cat a flea dip and FrontLine Advantage. Do not use Hartz flea spray as it is harmful to pets. When I first got my dog, he was infested with fleas so we sprayed him with it. It irritated his skin so we put him in a warm bath with baby shampoo. Vet said we probably saved his life. I’m not sure they even still sell that Hartz product.

Boric acid is supposed to be good too. Poor along your door sills.

[SakoL61R]

Had this issue several years ago and used:

Victor M230 flea traps-they work well

Precor IGR and Ultracide from:
http://pestcontrol.domyownpestcontrol.com/search?view=grid&w=fleas

Also used Bifen IT inside the house and outside. Kill fleas in the yard with Bifen granules.
http://pestcontrol.domyownpestcontrol.com/search?view=grid&w=bifenthrin

Using the above in combination eliminated them completely from the house, the garage and outside areas to include the yard.

[BelleAl]

I agree with you. Use the cat as your flea bomb with Advantage, etc... This has worked great for us in the past. As fleas bite her, they will die.

Getting rid of your cat will make it worse. You’ll become the next host animal.

[lonestar]

The cat is probably NOT the source of the fleas. I lived in an apt building that did not allow pets. One apt had to be sealed and fumigated to rid it of fleas.

A small tree in a flower bed outside the door attracted birds and that was where the fleas were and came in on the people.

Another friend lived on second floor with a balcony and had fleas that came from a big tree by the balcony...according to the exterminator. Again, no pet and the fleas got on the people.

Good luck...do you have trees? Whatever, they are probably in your yard.

[who knows what evil?]

I just had this conversation with my pest control guy last week. If you give the cat Advantage flea treatment, any fleas that jump on him will die after biting him. If you flea bomb the house and get rid of the cat, in two weeks you will have a another round of fleas that have hatched and no way to kill them other than another round of flea bombing. If you keep the cat, and keep it on Advantage, you might not even notice the next couple of rounds of fleas. If you get rid of the cat, your problem will last much longer and your house will require many rounds of flea treatment.

Exactly. Our SIX cats are treated with Advantage...no fleas ever here in soviet Red Hampshire; a state overrun with blood-sucking parasites of all kinds.

[left that other site]

DE works on any creature with an exoskeleton.

It gets between the plates and saws the critter up!

hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe

It even works on (shudder) bedbugs (eyew)

[BykrBayb]

Get a citronella plant.

[MarineMom613]

They DO still sell the Hartz flea powder for cats. Thank GOD, that I googled it prior to using it. So many people lost they furbabies, due to this product. I am home today and am preparing to rip up some carpet, take my bed apart and bomb my b/r. I have 4 kittys and 4 pups. They all have flea collars on them for the last 2 days. I was advised, to do that, go to the pet store to get nail caps (just like humans put fake nails on),so I can bathe these two kittens without getting torn apart. Was told after bombing, bathing and flea collars, the fleas will go away, because they wont have no where to feed off of.... It’s going to be a long day. I’m also going to try that light w/soap water also, at this point I’ll try anything. Tho I think the 2 ferral kitties are the culprits, I will not get rid of anyone. I am sure I will get this done!!!!! (or kill my self trying)

[onemiddleamerican]

Had a massive flea attack with our dog. Vet said “Boric acid”.
$5 a container (a pound?) at local hardware store. Sprinkled on carpet, brushed into the pile of the carpet, to get down deep where the little bastards hide, with a push broom. You’ll have boric acid dust on your furniture just from applying, as the powder is so fine; so you’ll have a little cleanup to do.

Bathed the dog every few days for a couple weeks to get the live hitchikers off them; quit using Frontline and switched to K9 Advantix (not sure if there is an equivalent for cats). After a few weeks the fleas were history and we have not had a problem since (3+ years); we reapplied boric acid annually, as we figured vacuuming eventually sucks up most of it over time.

Boric acid dessicates the fleas and as the eggs hatch (did you know they can “live” as eggs for more than a year) they get dessicated too.

Good luck!

[HandBasketHell]

All the previous posts should give you enough info to get rid of the fleas.

If you have the cat treated with Advantage, and the cat is an indoor cat, then once your house and cat are flea-free, you will never have fleas again (hence no need to get rid of cat).

[Shadow]

I have ‘fostered’ up to ‘blank’ number of kitties in my house for years. Found the best flea-buster NON-TOXIC, natural product that does work: http://www.cedarcide.com/pests/fleas-control-methods/
OR
http://www.cedarcide.com
It is called BEST YET.
I bought the ‘fogger’, as my place is large. It works like a champ.
You can call Cedar Cide and probably have as nice a conversation as I did w/a pleasant rep.
I have used the largest jug of Best Yet during the flea-season(s). The fogger makes it go a long, long way.
Just to let you know, I used every conceivable product for years before finding CEDAR CIDE....and, the foster-kitties I care for are allowed outside where there are grass-fleas (The property is enclosed. They cannot get off the property.)
I hope you try it, and don’t throw out the kittie because of a pest you can control.
Shadow

[rsobin]

Permethrin.

[JamesA]

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/fleas-c-24.html this is the best stuff on the market. Also you can put a lamp on the floor, over a bowl of beer. Leave on overnight and you will not be able to count the number of flea’s drowned in the bowl of beer.