Fleas

HELP! Since we moved to this house we have been fighting a flea battle! Infestation is more like it! We are in a home we purchased that we are working on...Needs a lot of work... The original owners let the dogs pee inside (that's been cleaned up) but left the fleas when they moved! We use frontline faithfully. We had the house sprayed and bombed a few times in the last 2 years. Yard is sprayed. And still we are in flea territory! (I personally think it's a little better than last year, but Bruce says bad is bad.) So, we have Simba that we can't touch that needs to be moved so we can have the house sprayed again. (We didn't have Simba when it was sprayed previously.) I don't know what to do. Simba needs to be out of the house for a few days for the house to be sprayed as well. Any suggestions? Is there a better way? Anything that works? We've used the diamotaceous earth, Frontline, yard professionally sprayed, Frontline sent in (I think it was) Terminex previously. Still have fleas every summer plus. It's crazy!

Because i have parrots and dogs ,i too have battled fleas in the past. Beside a good preventive (trifictus ) for the dogs, we use lamps with a shallow pan to catch/kill fleas. The fleas will jump to he heat of the lamp and land in the dish/pan with water in it. Works great. You may have to put several such setups around the house. It may take several weeks. We usually only have this problem when we move into a new home and then it's never an issue again (fleas are usually in the yard). IMO it works as good as spraying with toxic chemicals if not better. It's much cheaper and you can see the results (drown fleas in the water). You can tell when a new hatch has occurred (small/tiny fleas , about every 10 days) or if they're are larger, then the dogs are still bringing them in. When the numbers drop then it's time to move the setup to a new location.

We've also used the water method as henpecked described- shallow bowls with water and a touch of Dawn dish soap with lamps/flashlights pointed at the water....fleas are attracted to light so when they jump to the light, they land in the water. (You'll see results in the morning if you do this at night)

Vacuuming helps as well- the vibrations attract them and they think a victim is coming near so they'll start popping out. I read that the babies can lye in wait for a while and then POP OUT when they sense a "food source" coming near.

Check cracks, crevices, boxes, couch cushions, EVERYWHERE. One of our cats brought in fleas and caused a HUGE infestation in our closet- we found eggs EVERYWHERE including the cracks between the shelves and the wall...we had to rip everything out.

Peppermint also helps- if you're getting bit, use a body wash like Dr Bronner's with peppermint and they'll stop biting you. (I learned this after discovering my husband was using the wash and I wasn't and they were eating me alive!)

I get bit a LOT! And I have scars on my legs to prove it. We seem to have a lot in the basement, too. More dishwater and lamps? Basement is unfinished, but I do go down there fairly often. I used diatomaceous earth on the bedroom floor, because they were bad in there, and that seemed to help a ton, but that stuff is messy. We have hardwood floors and I spread it out an into the gaps between the boards. And because it's so fine, I don't really want to use it around the birds for fear that I will irritate their lungs.

I have used it around the birds for years and haven't had a problem. In fact we use it every week in the chicken coops for the fire ants. I also keep it spread around the base of the aviary. If you vacuum it up then everyone is breathing it, it goes every where. Still never had an issue with it.

That's great to know! Thanks!

Thanks everyone! We have been using the soapy water and daily vaccuuming. It seems to be helping a lot! Thank You!!!

I don't know if it's the same over there but over here in the uk frontline is now virtually useless... Last year I had both my cats up to date with frontline drops but found my house and cats were absolutely infested! It was the worst thing ever. My vet advised me fleas are becoming immune to fiprinol, I bought some different stuff and sprayed the carpets and beds and get rid if the little sods in days
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I am lucky(ish)- I have carpets upstairs but all laminate flooring downstairs so put the birds outside, treated the cats and hoovered and sprayed the carpets and stairs, then brought the birds back inside in the evening after a day of airing.

If you have carpets near Simba, I can only suggest a few days holiday with a friend as none of the stuff which works is good to be around birds

If you have carpet, consider getting rid of it as soon as possible, unless you've put it in since you moved in the house.

For those who have recurring problems after treatments, you're not catching the egg cycles, like HP mentioned.....before the girls went off to school, the ex would battle fleas, told her to ban the cats to the outside only, she did & when I moved back, I got some 5% Sevin Dust, moved furniture, raked it into the carpeting, vacuumed every other day & did the same thing all over again.....

Within a month, no more fleas.....but.....you either have to use a new vacuum bag every time or empty your canister outside after every use or shake some Sevin Dust into the bag or canister.....during our infestation, I even dusted the bird's cages.....it's safe for use around & on them.....

Everything everyone has suggested sounds good. We got fleas in the house last year. We were SHOCKED! We bathed the dog right away, which didnt work, so we literally climbed in the tub and pulled them off him one by one! We then commenced a nightly flea-combing routine. We had competitions of who could catch the most fleas... Hey, everyone needs a horror story from thier first year of marriage, right?

We vacuumed EVERYTHING. Then we rolled up our rugs and put them in storage. We washed ALL of our clothes in hot water once a week at least - I constantly had laundry running. We vacuumed all the furniture once a day, and emptied the bin in the dumpster across the alley - it doesn't do any good if you dont get rid of the contents! We stayed away from the dog park, and didnt let the dog in tall grass or woods (this made him very sad). It took us months to get rid of it! Oh yeah - we also used the dog flea shampoo on ourselves...

Also, call your local vet. Call two or three in fact. Call the local military vet if there is one. Ask what they prescribe for fleas, because fleas in some areas dont respond well to certain meds. I am not sure how civilian vets work with this kind of thing, which is why I say the military vet, because they are only allowed to prescribe ONE kind of flea med - whatever works best in the area. Then switch your dog to that right away if you have a dog or cat. Also, dont bathe the pet too often as it will wash off the oils carrying the medication.

As for Simba, can he stay with a friend? Use caution while moving him of course. What about boarding? I know that can be stressful, but so is living with a house full of stressed people! Fortunately birds dont typically get fleas, but if they do it would be really hard to treat them, especially if you can't touch him.

Hi there, I live in Southern Spain with three dogs, two cats and a parrot. The dogs all have protective collars, the cats are having frontline once a month (the cats live outside) and we also have an Amazon parrot we rescued from the local vet. We have had the parrot for six months now and no nothing about its history. How can I find out about its history? It does have a tag on one foot with a number on. Also how can I tell if the parrot has fleas? It is always grooming itself. The temperature here at the moment is 35 degrees so I have sprayed her with water and she loves the baths. Any help would be appreciated with fleas and finding out her history.

Many thanks

Be very careful with Frontline and other topical insecticides around companion birds, they can kill birds.....be sure to wash hands throughly before handling your bird(s) and don't let your bird near any animals that have been treated with these products.....that includes beddings and furniture frequented by the treated animals.

As to friendly chemicals for flea control, Ortho manufacturers a product called 5% Sevin Dust that you can use around and on companion birds and since you are in Spain, I have no idea what is used locally, but you might talk with your veterinarian. Similarly, I do not know if the Sevin Dust is available to you locally, so you'll have to do your own research further.....

Good luck.....

Living in San Diego, we usually have a constant battle on our hands every year. Things slow down in winter, but we still treat the dog and vacuum frequently. This year so far is different. Not one flea on my dog, and I have only seen maybe a couple that landed on me, which they rarely do. Now my husband on the other hand, they love him. He hasn't complained once so far this year. Anyway, along with all the other ideas I would also place 1 or 2 flea collars in your vacuum bag or container. Any fleas you manage to vacuum up will die. Putting flea collar on an animal is useless, but in the vacuum cleaner, it works. Also if you bath your animal in a shampoo mixed with tea tree oil (melaleuca) you will knock out the fleas and they end up down the drain. You can keep a mixture handy and spray your dogs and cat (not birds). They will love it, but the fleas won't.