[MimiGirl]

UPDATE:
Hello to all :)
Its been 2 months since my husband and I have been using ADVANTAGE on our cats. I've noticed that when we use it, the first few days its great- I am able to sleep well without no itchyness or discomfort. But as the month ends, I start feeling all those itchyness once again. My cats also haven't stop scratching and in a way I don't want to check them for fleas cause I know if I do and I find those blood suckers Ill feel even more frustrated and itchy.
Honestly, Iam tired with this flea dilema and have tried everything.. I am exhausted with all the vacuuming and cleaning on not only sofas and pillows but as well as bedroom sheets etc.
Last night I felt a constant tickleness and itchyness on my bed (especially every time I tried to cover myself with sheets). I couldn't go to sleep till 4:00 or 5:00 am in the morning because of this.. :(
I thought the ADVANTAGE would kill them for good but now I am getting second thoughts and was thinking on starting to use FRONTLINE for next month to see if that works on them.
I don't know what to do anymore, I also have stray cats outside that I usually feed all the time and I believe those are the ones bringing the fleas in my apartment (even though they don't come inside)-but I cannot reject them..
Also, a week ago I began to notice on toilet paper in bathroom some tiny gray bugs (u can hardly see them)-they wouldn't move quick nor jump so I don't know if they were baby fleas or some other bugs. Well just thought you should all know what's been going and I could use any advice.. especially when its regarding sleeping with no itchyness-i need my rest.. :(
Help

[Wondergirl]

Also, a week ago I began to notice on toilet paper in bathroom some tiny gray bugs (u can hardly see them)-they wouldnt move quick nor jump so I dont know if they were baby fleas or some other bugs. Well just thought you should all know whats been going and I could use any advice..especially when its regarding sleeping with no itchyness-i need my rest.. :(
Help

Fleas, even babies, jump and move fast. This sounds like another kind of animal.

Using Advantage and Frontline month after month on your cats isn't healthy for them. We feed outdoor strays and have five indoor cats. Only one dose of Frontline (and LOTS of cleaning and vacuuming) was necessary to eradicate "our" fleas, with no new outbreak.

I really think you have something else going on at your house. Can you consult with an area exterminator to identify these little rascals?

[paleophlatus]

MimiGirl,

Take a breath... You're just one of a jillion folks who are learning how difficult it is to battle a flea invasion. But mostly it's because you aren't fully aware of what you're dealing with. I Looked, but I don't see anything to laugh about your situation.

First, while there are both cat and dog variety of fleas, the cat variety is the most prevalent on both pets. ALSO, there is NO host specificity... a flea will happily bite you, especially one just hatching out.

This sort of problem usually has it's beginnings (everything has to start sometime. This doesn't just move in on you) a few months ago. Florida is a favorite spot for people because the weather is nicer than up North. Most of the bugs know this too. There is no 'off season' for your fleas.

You see only a small portion of the fleas that are actually in your environment. A female flea will lay 2000 eggs in her lifetime. These are on the dog or cat she happened to be enjoying at the time. These eggs are small oval things, about the size of a period ->.<- there.. maybe a little smaller. It isn't sticky, so it falls off the pet pretty quickly. In a few days, it hatches into a larva, which spins a cocoon, in which it morphs into a juvenile flea. In the larval stage, it feasts on that 'flea dirt' as has been described earlier. (it, too, falls off the pet into the same environment as the eggs) In a couple weeks, the changes have occurred in the cocoon, and the juvie flea cracks open the cocoon, but remains relatively dormant. It may stay this way for 6 months, waiting for something to eat to come close enough to jump onto. Vibrations, from footsteps for example, signal it to emerge from the cocoon within a matter of a minute or less, and attempt to hop on board you, or the pet. The life cycle starts over when the flea takes it's first blood meal (bite). Probably half of these juveniles are females, so X 2000, and you see the explosion heading your way?

Up north the season starts about late April, or early May. By August, this multiplication process has grown into a real host of fleas. As the last 'litter' comes active, the homeowner feels as if he was suddenly invaded... even though his pets have been scratching "normally" for a month or more.

Most approaches at fighting this invasion are either half hearted (as far as the fleas are concerned), poorly timed, or less than completely effective. A successful battle involves attacking on all fronts simultaneously. Kill the existing fleas, pick up as many of the undeveloped eggs,larvae, and juveniles as possible, and make provisions to kill any you missed. This involves treating the pets... Advantage, or other topical treatments, EXCEPT the less expensive OTC stuff (Hartz and the like) which has the nasty habit of occasionally killing the pet, especially cats and puppies. Flea baths are not really effective, or worth the effort. Residual killing is usually well rinsed off, and the insecticide is less effective than other stuff.

Importantly (enough so to start a new paragraph!) the pet's environment must be cleaned. This doesn't mean scrubbed down, were dealing with bugs, not germs. But an extra effort needs to be made wherever the pet spends time, sleeping, for example. You know the places... a closet, a chair(or more), sofa, basement (be a little more specific, just where down there?) Oh, that's right... no basements in FL. OK, outside, under a porch? Remember, the flea eggs fall off the pet, and wherever the pet spends more time, more eggs will fall off. Logical process. Vacuum the furniture, getting down along the cushions (eggs are small and not sticky, remember?) Vacuum the carpets AND wood floors. Cracks between the boards can harbor eggs, as well. In fact, cracks about anywhere are candidate spots.

Don't rely entirely on the exterminator to do the job, unless you have it on GOOD advice that he can, and has for someone you know. Even then, be a little skeptical.

Repeat the follow-up cleaning often, maybe not every day, but every other? Remember, it is likely that your pet will reinfect itself somewhere after treatment, and nothing is perfect. One or two females will drop a few (dozen?) eggs in a couple days before dying off. And you may have missed some eggs or larvae before.

Treatments... most people are against 'poisons', like insecticides. Well, that's OK, there are some non toxic things that will kill flea stages in carpets. Borax is toxic to them, as is diatomaceous earth... DE for those with pools. DE is very dusty, so brush/sweep it gently into the carpet so it reaches down where the flea is developing. It is this fineness that plugs up the air holes in fleas, and many other insects, so they smother. May not be an easy death, but it's satisfying and quiet.

For the vacuum. All those adult and lesser so fleas that get caught up, they won't die unless you help them along, and will be a great reserve to restock your place if they get out. Raid is probably a household word in FL, so before turning the vacuum off, a little burst of Raid into the hose will do a number on those in the bag. Don't put it away without treating it. Changing the bag every time? Be careful to not let any out, and it may be a little expensive, doing it every other day. Your choice..

If you're not averse to using Raid, or similar products, you can spray that around the carpets, etc, as well. Fleas are not hard to kill, it's just there are so many that you usually miss each time.
There isn't anything magical about this, just a logical approach. Know your enemy to know how to battle him. This makes you the aggressor, not the victim.

I wish you success.

[paleophlatus]

Didn't mention the test for flea poop. (Dirt, for those more easily offended... same stuff). Wet a tissue, just damp is fine. Put a little of the black stuff on it and fold the tissue over on top of it. Press between fingers for a mo, or two, then open. Orange smudges are characteristic for 'it', the smudges being dissolved blood, the main ingredient in the dirt.