Question about fleas

[HisEagle]

Quick question for anyone who may know...

Is there any sure-fire way to keep pets free of fleas? I always thought that if your pet is on flea medications (meaning the skin treatments, pills, shampoos and powder, etc...) that it was pretty much reasonable to assume that the treatments would repel the fleas and keep them off your pet. But I found out today that my niece's dog got a flea infestation after the preventative measures were in place. She said all the treatment really does is prevent new eggs from hatching, but that the pet can still be bitten by fleas and if they are allergic, they will still scratch.

Silly me, I thought the whole point of treating for fleas was to keep the poor animal from being miserable by scratching itself all the time. So what exactly is the point in having those treatments?

 

[Sabina41]

It depends greatly on the type of treatments used. Two products, Frontline and Advantage, work very well at KILLING fleas (Frontline takes care of ticks also) but they have to bite the animal first. Each is applied to the skin of the animal, absorbed into the bloodstream, and distributed evenly throughout the animal's body. The main objective of those medications is not so much to keep the animal from scratching but to prevent disease- they kill the flea or tick within 24 hours of the initial bite and it takes longer than that for either to transmit disease. You are correct in stating that if your animal has a flea allergy (not all do, so be sure to make a distinction between your pet scratching because fleas in general are itching or because it's an allergy, there's a difference) these products won't stop the pet scratching. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use them though because household or yard repelents (which many people with flea allergic animals also use) are not 100% and you need to protect your animal against disease, and not just flea bites. Hope this helps.

Oh, and please don't use products like Hartz, BioSpot, Zodiac, or other generic OTC flea products. They don't work very well and can actually be dangerous for some animals- they have a much much higher incidence of severe allergic shock than do Frontline and Advantage which are very safe.

 

[sunshiinedays]

When I moved into my home it was infested with fleas. The previous owners had four cats. Anyway, I have both a cat and a dog and tried all sorts of products to get rid of the fleas for good, but nothing seemed to work except Revolution. I spent hundreds of dollars on other products, but one dose of Revolution got rid of the problem.

 

[bumblebee62331]

My little cat was a stray and infested with fleas. The only thing that worked was Frontline Plus. I couldn't believe it - one application and whola! No scratching, no fleas, nothing. They were all gone. And she's been fine ever since.

I think there are treatments that are ongoing, you can put on your cat whether she has fleas or not.

 

[Lugus]

I've heard that garlic, as a suppliement, is great for getting rid of fleas. Foods high in B-complex such as brewer's yeast (and possibly liver) are also recommended.

I've even heard that certain mineral supplements such as selenium can help control fleas.

 

[DyingAsylum]

I've heard that garlic, as a suppliement, is great for getting rid of fleas.

I've heard the same thing about garlic getting rid of fleas but I don't know anyone who's tried it. I'd like to be able to recomend it to my customers as an alternative to chemicals. Does anyone know if garlic really does work?

 

[Reilly]

You can bathe your pet in Dawn dish liquid and that is said to kill the fleas. This is safe and is actually recommened by a lot of vets.

 

[Bernergirl]

You can also just add the Dawn to the shampoo. Let the suds sit on your dog for about five minutes or so before rinsing and voila!

I've heard soem who use garlic say it does work, I've heard some say it doesn't. <shrugs>

I personally am looking at using Adams flea & tick mist. I know a vet tech who swears by the stuff and even uses it on herself. I have used Advantage and Frontline in the past and they seemed to work fine, but we're not in a flea heavy area, so...

Chemical flea shampoos are not very good for a dog's skin or coat and, as an aspiring groomer, I would not recommend them. Natural flea shampoos, however, are fine.

You can also buy boric acid to treat your house if you have experienced an infestation. It requires a lot of sprinkling and vacuuming, but flea infestations are a pain to get rid of, so I imagine it would be worth it.

 

[HisEagle]

I knew about dish soap solutions, but I simply didn't understand why flea treatments wouldn't prevent the fleas from jumping on the animal. I've actually used a spray solution consisting of lavendar and eucalyptus oils on myself, and found they won't jump on you if you spray it on your clothes. So I wonder if it could be used on dogs. Would it be harmful to them?

Thanks for your responses.

 

[keeptrying]

I would call and ask my vet then maybe depending on what he said I would just spray or bath one paw or leg in it and see if there is a negative reaction. Let us know if you try it and the results.

 

[PastorMikeJ]

You can bathe your pet in Dawn dish liquid and that is said to kill the fleas. This is safe and is actually recommened by a lot of vets.

and they won't be so greasey either...LOL it does work!!

 

[major_minor]

DAWN works REALLY WELL! Keep it AWAY from their eyes!!

 

[PastorMikeJ]

DAWN works REALLY WELL! Keep it AWAY from their eyes!!

going to be jumping right on to this!!! thank you so very much from my dog simba!!!

 

[ChrisCountryGirl]

fleas & pets stick to each other like magnets. I'd would make a call to your vet. I know that giving your dog brewer's yeast may help.

 

[Bernergirl]

If you are trying to prevent a flea infestation and you stay on top of it, Dawn works great. If you are trying to rid yourself of an infestation, Dawn is like tin foil armor.

What you use for preventative/pesticide also depends heavily on how flea-heavy your geographic location is. You can check this with your vet (I remember seeing a map of danger zones for fleas and I tried to Google it for you, but I couldn't find it...)