The Puffer Forum

So, my dog ran off and came home with fleas, they were having a groovy jam session (thanks for nothing Frontline). So, got the dogs de-fleaed and haven't seen a flea anywhere in the house or on either of my cats. So, just in case, what can I use to get rid of them in the house and how on earth do I go about it with all the tanks?

Spray boric acid in the carpet, leave it for twenty-four hours, and then vaccuum up all the dead fleas. The acid will continue to kill fleas until you steam the carpet. Any flea that hits that carpet = dead.

Fleas are usually resistant to Frontline now.

Start giving your dog brewer's yeast. I've never found a flea on mine in the 5 years I've had him. Found in most large chain pet stores.

If you want to continue using a chemical preventative on the dog I would suggest advantage. It has better reviews than frontline and it also treats against ticks, mosquitoes, and works as a heartworm preventative. The boric acid will work although i'm not sure how safe it would be for the dogs and cats to be around. If there is a particular room you are finding fleas in get a bowl of water and mix in some dish detergent. Place it on the floor and point a light at it like a lamp. During the night the fleas will be attracted to the light and water. They'll jump in the bowl, get trapped by the soap and drown. It sounds crazy I know lol but it'll work. i've also heard of feeding brewers yeast and it seems to work as well. Makes the dog smell off to the fleas and they won't bite.

qtrhorse89 wrote:If there is a particular room you are finding fleas in get a bowl of water and mix in some dish detergent. Place it on the floor and point a light at it like a lamp. During the night the fleas will be attracted to the light and water. They'll jump in the bowl, get trapped by the soap and drown. It sounds crazy I know lol but it'll work. i've also heard of feeding brewers yeast and it seems to work as well. Makes the dog smell off to the fleas and they won't bite.

Uh huh...Uh huh...I zee!! Vat do you zee when you look at zeeze ink blots? No no, stay lying on zee couch....no need to get up....!

I've actually heard of that before but never thougth it would work. I haven't seen any as of yet but I am going to have to give that a try now, just out of curriosity!

Good tip PP. I want to try the brewers yeast on my pets. They sell the pills for pets. I don't want the pill form. Will the powdered form sold for humans work on the pets to repel fleas?

Advantage is good, I second that - just started using it myself (well, not for me, but for my cats and bunny). Frontline doesn't work worth crap anymore, at least that's my experience and I'm starting to hear and read that all over the place now. If you do happen to have a bunny, it's the only approved flea medicine for them as well.

You can also add garlic to the dog's food (makes 'em smell bad to fleas) and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. I was lucky enough that I only had to treat the carpet and couches, etc. once and do the flea dip bath a couple times before Baz was free of them last winter. I'm pretty sure it was the kitten we got (and Baz subsequently accidentally killed while playing) because it was an outside cat and was never treated for fleas or anything until we got him.

bazil323 wrote:You can also add garlic to the dog's food (makes 'em smell bad to fleas) and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. I was lucky enough that I only had to treat the carpet and couches, etc. once and do the flea dip bath a couple times before Baz was free of them last winter. I'm pretty sure it was the kitten we got (and Baz subsequently accidentally killed while playing) because it was an outside cat and was never treated for fleas or anything until we got him.

I see that this thread is a few months old, however, it is important to understand that garlic is toxic to dogs and cats. DO NOT feed your animals garlic. Onions and Garlic can cause heinz bodies to form on RBCs, thus causing anemia.

Fleas can be eliminated by using products like Advantix, Revolution, etc. Flea collars are not a good idea, as they can release unpredictable amounts of toxin when they get wet. If you treat your pets, the fleas in the house will die on their own without a food source. They won't infect humans, either.

Giving your animals products like Brewer's Yeast is not generally recommended. When you give these products, you risk changing the animal's pH, contributing to things like bladder stones, etc.

falconpuff wrote: Fleas can be eliminated by using products like Advantix, Revolution, etc. Flea collars are not a good idea, as they can release unpredictable amounts of toxin when they get wet. If you treat your pets, the fleas in the house will die on their own without a food source. They won't infect humans, either..

There are several stages to a fleas life and it can lay dormant for 6+ months!! Our indoor cats got fleas after living in the house for 2 years, 3 years after the previous owners (1 year vacant)! Even without a viable food source don't under estimate the power of the flea! Temperature and humidity are the main triggers to release them.

We just used frontline for like 3-5 years, then again as a single treatment only if a relative visited with their pet. No fleas at all.

J-P wrote:
There are several stages to a fleas life and it can lay dormant for 6+ months!! Our indoor cats got fleas after living in the house for 2 years, 3 years after the previous owners (1 year vacant)! Even without a viable food source don't under estimate the power of the flea! Temperature and humidity are the main triggers to release them.

True, but I guess it all depends on where you live. You're right that if you live in an area where it has a higher heat and humidity, it's more difficult to get rid of. I guess we are just lucky in Colorado. Put on a top-spot, vacuum the carpet, and you're pretty much home free.

yes frontline !! that's how we killed off the adults and we also used a pill that made them sterile... this season I am a little worried because those untreated eggs will surface in a couple months

I have always given my dogs Brewer's Yeast pills 2x/day & never a single flea on either of them. Garlic is a common ingredient in home-made dog foods.

Pufferpunk wrote:I have always given my dogs Brewer's Yeast pills 2x/day & never a single flea on either of them. Garlic is a common ingredient in home-made dog foods.

Garlic is a tricky ingredient. Some dogs can eat it, and they are fine, others end up with hemolytic anemia. Keep in mind, they used to put raisins in certain foods (ferret, for example) now there's raisin and grape toxicity. Food for thought, so to speak.