Fleas!

[openarms]

Arghh why can't I get rid of them?! I am giving my dogs comfortis AND advantage (?) spot treatment. I vacuum twice, sometimes 3 times daily and spraying surface spray on the floors- you'd think that would do the trick wouldn't you? But i am still having the odd flea jumping on me. Why? what else can I do to get rid of them? My poor little girl keeps getting bitten by them lots :( they don't seem to bite me at all. I'm desperate to get rid of them. Help?

Edited December 16, 2013 by openarms

[openarms]

I forgot to mention I have also bombed the house as well.. Sigh..

[aliwake]

Maybe talk to a proper pest control company - they may have some ideas for you? We usually get a general treatment for our house yearly, and it's around $100. Might be worth looking into if it means they can get rid of the fleas properly for you?

[_PL_]

God I hate fleas.

Had the same thing one year and switched flea treatments around until I found one they weren't resistant to. This year it's advantage. Next year it will be something different I'm sure.

I've got wooden floorboards so mopped with eucalyptus or lavender instead of bombing (Takes about 2 weeks for the bomb to interfere with their breeding cycle so if you only did it recently don't stress).

Last thing was to clear them from the back yard. Get food grade diatomaceous earth from a produce store and dust the whole yard (natural but terribly messy!) because I didn't want to use Coopex but you could try that first (water soluble version) if you don't want the yard to look like a weird snowstorm and have dust tracked in. :)

[Maddy]

Fleas can lay eggs in the wooden frames of furniture (like couches) so they need to be thoroughly cleaned. Bug bomb under the house (if you're not on a concrete slab) and also in the ceiling cavity. DE, as Powerlegs suggested, is also great and can be dusted into cracks and crevices where eggs might be hiding. Malaban can be used outside to do lawns and concrete, sandy soil is their preferred habitat so if you have that, soak or dust it heavily. Keep lawns short and treat under bushes or anywhere else animals sleep outdoors.

Fleas can be a real pain to get rid of once you've got them so even after this lot is cleared out, keep up with the monthly treatments.

[WreckitWhippet]

lime your grass, gardens and dirt.

[~Anne~]

Flea eggs can lay dormant for a couple of years too. Hot humid weather makes them hatch so you could be dealing with fleas historically... so to speak.

The cycle is hard to break. Persistence is the key.

People routinely and persistently treat their dogs but not their environment. I'd pay for a pest control to do specifically for fleas inside and out and then I would bomb the house again 4 weeks later and then again 4 weeks later. and I would also wash the dogs bedding every week in a flea rinse and let them dry in the sun.

[openarms]

Has anyone here ever tried a spray for your house called Indorex? My vet suggested I try using that. I haven't got any yet because I had hoped the other measures I've taken would have worked. But I think I'm going to get some tomorrow. I am really interested to know if it worked for other people.