My cat brought fleas into my home. He has since then been bathed and had a fresh flea collar put on. It seems to be working, although I do find one or two on him every now an then therefore I have banished him from the house until I can comb him and not find a single flea.

My problem lies with the little passengers he left in the house. I have dropped the flea equivalent of an atomic bomb on these suckers and can't COMPLETELY get rid of them.

So far I have:
-fogged the place 3 times
-sprayed Ortho Home Defense Max on all the baseboards and windows
-loaded the carpet with carpet flea killer
-covered the house with 20 Mule Team Borax ( I heard this works)
-washed all the bedding and rugs
-vacuumed the carpet, under around and in all furniture as well
-made a homemade flea trap using a pan of water and a suspended lightbulb (by the way this works but not effective on a larger scale, it definitely tells me whether I have gotten rid of them)


PLEASE HELP!! It's embarrassing to have people come into your house and fear that they are going to get fleas on them. I have definitely bumped it down from an infestation to just a few relentless stragglers, but I don't want them havin' more babies. I've already spent almost $100 on different things to kill these suckers. If anyone has a sure fire way to take 'em out please let me know.

Sounds like you've done everything you can - except treat the cat. Since I know from experience how dificult it is to give a cat a flea bath, I suggest Frontline. It did the job for my cats in one treatment (but I still kept it up for 3 monthly treats).

The 2 best weapons for fleas are the vacuum and air conditioning. (They need the right temp and humidity to hatch and develop and AC prevents those conditions.) It sounds like you've done the vac OK, but did you immediately take out the bag, wrap it in plastic and dispose? That's imp't. And for the fogging, did you choose one for fleas? The better ones have a growth hormone which prevents the fleas developing.

You might also consider a granulated yard treatment. Check labels at home & gard store for one that's labeled for fleas and follow the directions.

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Originally Posted by WVHiflyer

Sounds like you've done everything you can - except treat the cat. Since I know from experience how dificult it is to give a cat a flea bath, I suggest Frontline. It did the job for my cats in one treatment (but I still kept it up for 3 monthly treats).

The 2 best weapons for fleas are the vacuum and air conditioning. (They need the right temp and humidity to hatch and develop and AC prevents those conditions.) It sounds like you've done the vac ok, but did you immediately take out the bag, wrap it in plastic and dispose? That's imp't. And for the fogging, did you choose one for fleas? The better ones have a growth hormone which prevents the fleas developing.

You might also consider a granulated yard treatment. Check labels at home & gard store for one that's labeled for fleas and follow the directions.

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I agree. Go straight to the source. The fleas are coming from the cat so treat the cat There are also flea collars, but I prefer the treatments in the little tube that you put by their tail and their shoulders, these are water proof and dry quickly. The flea collars need to be taken off if they get wet cause they will iritate the cats skin.

Also if the cat had any blankets wash them. For our dog we just get his blankets at the dollar store so when we treat him we throw out the old blankets and buy new one, we also wash his harness and leash's by hand.

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Originally Posted by tadita83

My cat brought fleas into my home. He has since then been bathed and had a fresh flea collar put on. It seems to be working, although i do find one or two on him every now an then therefore i have banished him from the house until I can comb him and not find a single flea.

My problem lies with the little passengers he left in the house. I have dropped the flea equivalent of an atomic bomb on these suckers and can't COMPLETELY get rid of them.

So far I have:
-fogged the place 3 times
-sprayed Ortho Home Defense Max on all the baseboards and windows
-loaded the carpet with carpet flea killer
-covered the house with 20 Mule Team Borax ( I heard this works)
-washed all the bedding and rugs
-vacuumed the carpet, under around and in all furniture as well
-made a homemade flea trap using a pan of water and a suspended lightbulb (by the way this works but not effective on a larger scale, it definitely tells me whether or not I have gotten rid of them)


PLEASE HELP!!!! It's embarassing to have people come into your house and fear that they are gonna get fleas on them. I have definitely bumped it down from an infestation to just a few relentless stragglers, but I don't want them havin' more babies. I've already spent almost $100 on different things to kill these suckers. If anyone has a sure fire way to take 'em out please let me know.

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Hi. I have had that problem myself and as a Certified Entomologist I can give you the only answer that works. Forget about any products sold in stores, the only solution is a Pest Control Company, as ONLY Restricted Use Pesticides will rid this problem.
Set up a day and time for a Pest Control Company to come and do a flea treatment. It is CRUCIAL that you make an appointment to have your pet professional flea dipped while your home is being treated by the Pest Control Company. (Find out re-entry time for you and your pet after home has been treated). For best results, find a pest control company that uses a residual pesticide so that flea eggs will not hatch after treatment. Also, before pest technician arrives, vacuum all carpets and furniture and throw out the vacuum bag.
It is all in the timing... if you can arrange to have home and pet treated at same time, your results will be perfect and problem solved. Lastly, make sure pest control company will do a no-charge re-treatment if fleas come back within 30 days.
Best of luck, I know it sounds like a pain in the butt, however, it is the ONLY effective way and you will never need to waste your money on store bought products that don't work.

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Forget about any products sold in stores, the only solution is a Pest Control Company, as ONLY Restricted Use Pesticides will rid this problem.
... It is CRUCIAL that you make an appointment to have your pet professional flea dipped while your home is being treated by the Pest Control Company. (Find out re-entry time for you and your pet after home has been treated). For best results, find a pest control company that uses a residual pesticide so that flea eggs will not hatch after treatment.. . Lastly, make sure pest control company will do a no-charge re-treatment if fleas come back within 30 days.
Best of luck, I know it sounds like a pain in the butt, however, it is the ONLY effective way and you will never need to waste your money on store bought products that don't work.

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While that's good advice, I disagree on the idea that only a PCO can do the job efectively with only restricted pesticides. I was a PCO and a knock-down with a residual was only part of it. It's imp't to include a growth regulator - even more efective than a typical residual because it prevents the fleas grom developing. Since I'm not a PCO now, I don't have access to those chem, so I made do with store bought. The treatment for the pets I got f/ vet (Frontline) because store treatments didn't work (like a similar one from Hartz). But I treated the house (after good vac) with residual sprays and a flea fogger with growth reg purch from K-Mart.

A professional is the best method for severe infestations, but a diligent person can manage the job w/o PCO as long as they choose the right weapons.

I also hear that you should vacuum, throw away the bag, and then sprinkle salt on your carpet between vaccuums... I think I heard this on the diy channel in one of those between show commercials. Good luck

Thanks everyone. You've all been VERY helpful. I'll keep all of your advice in mind as I battle the flea armada:)

Flea COLLARS do not work. They only help for the area around the neck, and are very ineffective even at that.

If you do not want to empty the vacuum bag all the time, you can buy a flea collar and cut it up and put it in the bag.

I have heard that Ortho's Home Defense product (just bought it at Lowe's for under $10 for a gallon) is the same formula that professionals use (and charge lots for) it is just half strength so if you spray two days in a row, then you will get the same results. I used this for ants that were invading a bedroom. Sure thing, the second dose took care of them. It has been 4 weeks now and still no ants. I'm about to vacuum the house and wash all pet beds and spray inside and out with Home Defense for fleas. I have great hopes...