Fleas.. and my husband's stupid cat..

[GoinBackToCali]

My husband's cat started going outside.. I didn't really give much thought to fleas then.. the dogs are usually dosed with Frontline..

Once I realized the cat was bringing in fleas, he has been treated, but the damage is done.. were getting a *population*

The bunners are all fine, it's just embarrassing to have a guest over and them get some fleas on them.

I have been told there is a natural remedy..a couple of people SWEAR theres some sort of plant or bush that you can get and stick under rugs and under couch cushions that fleas hate. Nobody can recall the exact name.

I really only have carpet in my family room, where the bunners arn't allowed, and I hate spraying chemicals..

I did a bit of research and apparently garlic isn't a fav of fleas.. and I also read PennyRoyal is especially potent to them, aside from I don't even know where to find it, I also read it is EXTREMELY toxic in the amount I would need.. so that's out.

I also read CHRYSANTHEMUMS...havn't tried that yet..

Anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Leader of the Pack]

I'm afraid I can't offer much positive feedback toward any of the "natural remedies".

We have 10 dogs and are a multi-cat familyon top of that. None of the cats go outside but we dose them "at least" every three months with Advantage to make sure that we keep the fleas under control. We don't give the cats regular baths and we've found that Advantage can have a active life of up to 3 monthsif the cat isn't being bathed orexposed to the outside. We do the dogs every month and bathe them with flea shampoo we get from our vetabout every other month.

Fleas supposedly dislike citrus....but that same remedy is supposedto also work against common house ants. I tried cleaning with a citrus based "all natural cleaner" at one time and one of our cats had a terrible allergic reaction to it. Our vetsaid that some animals, especially cats, are just allergic to citrus. Feeding your dogs garlic is supposed to be another "sure cure" for fleas. I personally would never do it because there have also been studies showing that garlic can be harmful to dogs.

I've heard a lot of compalints from dog and cat owners about Frontline not working as it should. Not because it's not a good product per say, but the fleas are developing an immunity to it in some areas. Our vet switched over to selling mostly Advantage now unless a client just demands Frontline because he has gotten so many complaints of it not working. Maybe you could try switching to Advantage and see if that helps. If the flea product you keep on your pets is working, it shouldn't take long to rid your house of the annoying pests along with daily vaccuming and washing the pets bedding in hot water and Clorox....which you may all ready do.

I wish you luck. We've been lucky, because I know if we developed a flea problem in our home things would be unbearable. But from my own personal point of view, natural remedies are more of a waste of time than they are worth; and some animals still risk reacting to the plants and substances "naturally" , just as they do the man made chemicals.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Terri

 

[Leaf]

Mint, Pennyroyal, Fennel and Tansy plants will work for you...

Orange De-Flea Bath: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/3340/deflea.html

(I use this and have for years) ^^



To catch them in the house get a dish (like a glass loaf pan) and put water in it with some Dawn dishsoap. Put a gooseneck lamp over the water. That will attract fleas like a moth to a lightbulb...

For the carpeted room, buy a flea collar and cut a protion off of it to put in your vaccuum bag (or bin if it's bagless) so any sucked up fleas/eggs are killed and therefore not allowed to breed/hatch/reinfest.

 

[luvthempigs]

I have four dogs and three cats and haven't had fleas in my house in years. I used to use Advantage but have changed to Frontline Plus over the last few years (it lasts a little longer than the Advantage and is a little cheaper) it kills all stages of fleas not just adult.

I remember the day when I had to treat the whole house with flea bombs and get all the dogs and cats flea dipped. It was awful and expensive

 

[GoinBackToCali]

 

[PixieStixxxx]

When I brought little Spank home 2 1/2 years ago after he was found wandering on the streets, he had fleas. I didn't have enough time to get him treated before my whole house of animals were infested. I used Revolution (Which failed, as they didn't kill the eggs) and then Advantage (but only 1/4 of this dose as even 1/2 would cause skin burns and irritation) and the whole flea population was killed. Expensive though.