Guest hankodie Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Arghhhh Hank has fleas. He was on the bed this morning scratching and fussing and when I looked closer I saw a couple crawling on him, he was on flea preventative but I've been slack the last month and thought he'd be OK seeing as we're in winter but obviously that was a stupid idea My question is what do I do first? I'm going to take him to the hydrobath and give him a flea & tick rinse but should I wash all the bedding first before I do this? Does that mean I have to wash the bedding on our bed too? And the couch? I looked on Odie and can't see any on her but she's got black fur so it's hard to tell. I've never had to deal with fleas so I'm not sure what to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbaudry Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I would put them both on Comfortis (starts acting very quick), wash whatever can be washed and treat the rest of the environment. My dermatologist vet recommends using a spray that targets both the living fleas and their eggs (some supermarket brands do the trick - baygon, mortein). Make sure you pay special attention to skirting boards, floorboards, underneath and behind furniture etc. Also dispose of - or spray as well - your vacuum cleaner bag that will most likely contain eggs or fleas in their larval stage. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Thanks for the advice fbaudry, the problem is I can't treat Odie (my frenchie) chemically as she's got a liver disease. Would you know of a more natural/milder way I can treat her? She's never had an issue with fleas before. Our vacuum cleaner is a dyson so thankfully it's a lot easier to clean. I will have to run to the supermarket to buy some spray. Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbaudry Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Sorry I should I thought about Odie; I think your vet would be the best person to advise you of any treatments for her (if any). I suppose the spot on ones are out of the question too, since they would get into her system as well? I also forgot to say if you have other pets, cats in particular, they should be treated as well even if they don't necessarily show signs of infestation. Not sure if they spend a lot of time outdoors and what your yard is like, but if they tend to hang out in areas like under a deck etc it would probably be a good thing to treat that as well. Diatomaceous earth is recommended for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah82 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 (edited) definitely get a surface spray, you can use that outside as well and a flea bomb for the next time you're all out of the house for a few hours. And if Odie is not reacting to the bites you could just use a fine tooth comb and lots of baths to get rid of them and hopefully the fleas haven't laid to many eggs. If she does have them it's likely that they have set up shop in her lady bits. Horrible to think about I know but they like the warmth so if they're going to be anywhere they'll be there. I had a couple of small flea episodes last year that were easy to get rid of, the dogs just picked up a couple at the park so we got rid of them pretty quickly without the need to use strong chemicals. However after spending a few hours at Kepala for the first time they both picked up a lot of fleas and unfortunately I didn't notice until a week later when we had to tackle it with the strong stuff (comfortis, surface spray and flea bomb) Edited June 26, 2014 by Leah82 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Thanks so much fb and leah. I just ran to the pet store and got capstar (they didn't have comfortis) a flea surface spray, frontline and flea shampoo. Another quick question - if I treat hank with capstar do I have to wait a certain period before I can administer frontline? I will try what you suggested leah thank you, they seem to be bothering Hank more than Odie and I tried to look to see if I could find any on her but as you know they are tricky little buggers. Might call my vet and see what he suggests re: treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbaudry Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Capstar is only effective for a 24 hours period; so any flea biting Hank say in 2 days time won't be poisoned. You could administer frontline at the same time (though I found the fleas around here to be completely immune to it, hence the switch over to Comfortis) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Ahhh I see, thanks so much fbaudry! Will have to see where I can get some comfortis as that's not the first time I've read about frontline not being very effective. Gah I have spent the whole day cleaning + washing bedding, fingers crossed it was just a mild outbreak! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brightstar123 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 You can use the Capstar sequentially to keep killing emerging fleas, it's safe to give everyday if needed. It also provides very fast relief (in about 30min) from itching. Comfortis/Panoramis are both good products; Advantage/Advocate seem to have less resistance than Frontline at the moment. However, I believe that Fipronil (Frontline) is a safe product to use in dogs with liver disease, as it is never absorbed systemically, it just accumulates in the sebaceous glands, so there is no metabolism by the liver. Obviously check with your vet though! Then treat the environment as others have said and you should be fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackiemad Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Could you use herbaguard powder for Odie as it's a natural based product? From the natural animal solutions range... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Just remember when you give Comfortis, make sure it's straight after food... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 (edited) So 3 weeks on and fleas are still a problem Everyone was right about Frontline, it's completely useless. I applied it and found a flea on him not 12 hours later. I have bought Comfortis but haven't given it to him yet - I asked the vet nurse and she said it was best to wait a month as I had already administered Frontline. Just wondering if it would be safe to give him today? I also plan on getting the yard + house flea bombed as obviously they are breeding somewhere and then hopping on to him. Odie doesn't seem to be affected by it but I realised after writing the post that she gets Revolution every month (which the vet approved for her liver condition) and that is a flea treatment as well. Any advice is appreciated! Edited July 15, 2014 by hankodie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Also do I need to call someone to get the house bombed or can I do it myself? Same with the yard? Forgot to add I've also bathed him in flea rinse which seemed to help for a while but found fleas on him again last night. Argh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Avanti* Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) Also do I need to call someone to get the house bombed or can I do it myself? Same with the yard? Forgot to add I've also bathed him in flea rinse which seemed to help for a while but found fleas on him again last night. Argh You can do it yourself but read up on it well as I'm sure you will. I haven't needed to do it for years but I remember you have to turn things like gas pilot lights off (heating units etc) because the bombs are flammable, or used to be. I hope you get rid of them all soon, it's no fun having flees and you have my sympathy. . Edited July 16, 2014 by LabTested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbaudry Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 You can definitely flea bomb the house yourself using one of the products I mentioned before (make sure it targets ALL life stages, including eggs). Just remember you need to unplug all electrical appliances (including fridge), cover your fish tank if you have one, and be able to leave the house with all doors/windows closed for a few hours. As far as the yard is concerned, it might be with calling a professional, as I'm not sure what can be done. I think I'd be giving Hank a comfortis tablet (I've done so in the past), but remember you'll keep on seeing fleas on him as the ones living and hatching in the environment will jump onto him to feed. They'll just get poisoned from feeding off him but it might take a while for the population to get eradicated (hence the need to treat the environment). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Use Capstar now to get rid of all live fleas on the dog. You can use it daily if necessary. It's safe to use after applying Frontline. I wouldn't bother with flea rinses or messy flea powder that probably won't work. You can flea bomb the house yourself, just follow the instructions carefully. Though it's probably a lot easier to call in a pest control company to spray house and yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Thank you for the advice all, I really appreciate it they seem to be bothering him more at night than in the day time, poor thing. It's been roughly 3 weeks since I've applied Frontline - am I OK to give him Comfortis or should I wait another week to do so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justrace Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Do you have any sand in the yard? Fleas seem to love sandy & sandy soil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Do you have any sand in the yard? Fleas seem to love sandy & sandy soil. Yes there's a patch in the yard near the door where grass doesn't grow and Hank loves rolling in it, I think this might be where he is picking them up. We plan on having that bit concreted over soon as part of some renovation plans but I might have to call in a pest guy anyway as I can't be sure this is where they're coming from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denali Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 We had the same issue. I think in our case it was our cats bringing them in. So I capstarred all the dogs, flea treated all the cats. Washed ALL bedding including cushion covers, dog beds, our bed linen, and then flea bombed. So far so good! We had been battling fleas for about 4 months, but now even if they get one flea, i will give them a capstar, and then it doesnt turn into an entire infestation! So glad i did it :) The house did smell terrible and had to be opened up to air out for a while, so do it on a day you can sit outside :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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