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View Full Version : How can I get rid of fleas?


boxers4me
Jun 2, 2009, 06:56 AM
I rescued a 9 month old Boxer 2 evenings ago. He has fleas. Not a horrible case of them but I know how quickly they can multiply. I bathed and treated him with Frontline but I noticed this morning that he still has them. Did I do something wrong? Did I not do enough or have I just not waited long enough? I have a 6 month old Boxer and a cat also and don't want this to get out of control. Both of my other animals are already on Frontline and have been. Any suggestions?

0rphan
Jun 2, 2009, 08:44 AM
I think you need to pay a visit to the vets, they'll give you exactly what you need to clear the fleas, the last thing you want is your other animals getting them.

shazamataz
Jun 2, 2009, 09:22 AM
Hi boxers for me.
No, you didn't do anything wrong. A lot of flea baths only work to remove the fleas on the dog.
As horrible as it sounds, there are more than probably fleas throughout your entire house.

I recently had to get rid of fleas off my 2 poodles. I used Advantage liquid which goes on the back of their neck.
I prefer this over an actual bath because it is concentrated onto one area and then the dogs natural oils on their skin spread the treatment over their whole body.

It lasts for a whole month so any fleas that jump onto them from your house are killed within 3-20 minutes of being on the dog.
When they have this sort of treament on when they walk arounf the house they tend to "mop up" and left over fleas and kill them.

It is important to wash any bedding they use as well as any clothing that you have lying around (My bedroom is a disaster with clothes on the floor so I hd to wash all of them)

Flea bombs are another option for high risk rooms... they are a can that you set and then leave the room and close the doors and windows.
They set off and spray out the entire room.
Only downfall is that they acan be smelly and you will want to air the room out afterwards.

Any rugs should be washed or sprayed with fly spray (just make sure you get one that says 'kills fleas' on the can.

I hope that helps... I treated mine a little less than a week ago, it took until the second day before I stopped seeing fleas on them.
I still am not sure if I have completely erradicated them as you have to wait for the next batch of eggs to hatch before you kill them all.

Catsmine
Jun 2, 2009, 09:39 AM
The problem is that fleas pupate inside a cocoon, like butterflies and moths. They can take from two weeks to two years to hatch out. Making sure the animals are treated is the first step. Shaz had some good advice for treating the house.

One thing research has shown is that the three main factors to the cocoons hatching are temperature, humidity, and pressure or vibration from a host animal walking by. Temperature and humidity you can't help. Vibration can be provided by a vacuum cleaner's beater brush. There are several flea dust products you can sprinkle on carpets and vacuum up to treat both the carpet and the vacuum bag.