# Help..fleas >(



## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Are there any natural remedies to kill fleas and their eggs on dogs?

I have used dawn dish soap and that seems to work well at instantly killing adult fleas but is there anything that works to kill the eggs and prevent reinfestation? Also is there anything to use to kill them in the home?

I have tried spot on treatments, sentry flea and tick bath, Dawn dish soap and salt water. I get rid of the live adults with the soap and shampoo but there are 2 cats and 2 other dogs here that are not treated with anything and he keeps getting fleas. Well, that is not entirly true. The 2 other dogs (not mine) have some cheap spot on treatment but obviously it does not work since I spent 3 hours picking fleas off of Savannah last night. The cats - nothing at all. Although one just has tumors removed last week and has staples in his back - not sure what can be done about him. The other is a 7-8 month old cat.

I'm not sure what the source of them is either, but I suspect the kitten my sister got a few months ago may be the guilty party. 

Also, is there anything I can use that is safe for cats, since my sister refuses to do anything about them :evil:

I think I'm gonna cave and get advantage 2 for my dog tomorrow but I have heard fleas are so bad this year not even that is working too well

whats the difference between advantage 2 and advantix 2? Both are made by Bayer..

what about frontline?


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

I prefer Revolution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selamectin

Vigorous vacuuming with a bag vac, not bagless. Foggers, flea bombs, but those are messy and could kill fish :shock: so only use in rooms where you can stay out for 24 hours or more and no fish tanks.

Diatomaceous earth is supposed to be good, I never tried it. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth#Pest_control

also we buy stuff to spread on our yard every year that kills fleas, get it at Home Depot or Lowe's.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I was hoping to not use foggers or anything like that, but we may have to.
Where am I going to put 16 bettas?? :shock:


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

First you gotta treat the house, the yard, bedding.....etc or the products used on the animals won't do much good.....but you know that....

I live in the woods and have lots of animals that go in and out of the house and what I do.....Since I have 30 cats....I buy the Frontline plus for X-large dogs and dose it down to treat all my cats and the small dogs.

I have a dog that is really sensitive to flea bites and I use a product on him and the 18 year old cat that has Nitenpyram 12mg-Its a oral medication that starts to kill the fleas in about 20-30min-You can see them drop off-really neat-I just found this product this year-got it on E-bay-I got the generic brand 12 capsules for $16.00 I think-the name brand is really expensive. Its safe for both dogs, puppies, cats and kittens over 4 weeks old and the 12mg is for 2-25lb-they have one that is 25mg for bigger dogs/cats too. Then I use the spot on treatment Frontline on them too. The Nitenpyram is just a one time treatment so the long term treatment works better.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-capsules...072?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33769901e0

I use a carpet powder flea treatment for the floor and a spray product on the everything else and another product out in the yard and on the trails twice a year-But with the drought for the past 2 years and the mild winter...both the fleas and ticks are really bad this year....

I haven't found anything natural that works for me....It seems like the flea have gotten tougher these days....lol


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I hear fantastic things about diatomaceous earth since if it's ingested it's safe. 
Baking soda will dry eggs up if you want a natural harmless method. Fleas lay eggs in corners and folds of clothes, and along baseboards, and in pet beds etc... So pop a dog flea collar in the vacuum bag (never put these on pets!) and vacuum everything once a day and then sprinkle baking soda on it.. I think you can buy diatomaceous earth at home depots but make sure it's not labelled for slugs and gardens!!! Make sure its human grade. 
I never tried advantage. Only Revolution. I prefer it because it prevents internal worms along with repelling fleas.


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

theres this herb thing we ended up using... its like a powder... it was called "dirt" we through it on our floor and padded it down with a broom... and it burrows into the wooden floor or the dog bed.. and it has microscopic spurs that cut into the flea and eggs and kill it... idk where to get it... my parents had to go down to a little shop in nyc... but try googling dirt... its a natural herb remedy


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

you cant put it on your pet... i personally use frontline plus for the dog...


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Here is a dosage chart for Frontline plus X large dog for cats and small dogs and more info..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Month-Fro...155?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43b11253c3


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## misty1477 (Jun 22, 2012)

I use Capstar as a 'starter' on my 7 cats then use Frontline +. 

Capstar is available for dogs. I don't know how dogs react to it, but it is kind of funny.....It is a pill that kills adult fleas beginning in about 30 minutes....it has what they call a 'tickle effect'. While you can actually see the fleas falling off your pet, it kind of 'tickles' them or something. My cats start meowwwwing and zoooooomming around the house and acting silly .... imagine 7 cats acting like crazy nuts all at the same time :lol: 

I have tried other spot-on type flea products and have found that Frontline+ works the best. Just my opinion :-D

As for diatomaceous earth .... I tried that once and found it to be way too messy.

I spray my rugs, furniture, and pet sleeping areas with Raid flea spray and then VACCUUM. During flea season it is important to VACCUUM as much as you can .... even daily.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I noticed that too Misty.....they kinda go nuts in about 20-30min after taking the oral flea killer. This is the first time I have ever used it and had both dog and cat on a white floor so I could watch the fleas fall off and die...It really does work that fast......

The Nitenpyram is the active ingredient of Capstar and much cheaper....I like it because it is both cat and dog safe.

Be sure and have some fresh activated charcoal/carbon on hand just in case any of the flea products get in the aquarium. Make a water change and add the carbon ASAP....I had some flea powder get in one of my tanks one year (_forgot to turn the fan off..duh.._) lost some shrimp but saved the fish....

When I treat the house-I vacuum really good first-then put down the flea powder and scrub it in with a boom-I wait 2 days and vacuum really good and repeat-but I leave it for a week before I vacuum and reapply again. I spay the sofa, chair and anything cloth-turning the cushions to get them really good under, on and even all the way around them and behind the sofa/chairs-including my curtains with a flea spray. 
One flea product that I found at walmart is supposed to last for 9-12mo-but I usually do it twice if I have fleas really bad along with the carpet. I strip the beds and wash everything and spray the mattress and pillows really good. This generally will take care of my bad infestation as long as I keep the spot on treatment on all the animals every month during flea season. 
Off season I only use it every 3 months on the cats but monthly on the dogs year around and I still get fleas in the house sometimes....Thats not fair....lol.....but when you have as many animals going in and out of the house as I do-I guess it will happen no matter what sometimes.
With all my aquariums I can't use foggers- but the method I use seems to work pretty good and I only have to do it once a year.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Isn't diatomeaus earth dangerous? or so i read online

I'm gonna get some frontline tomorrow but will it work if my sister does nothing for her fleabag cats?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

There's 2 kinds of DE. One is used to kill slugs and garden pests so there's a harmful ingredient in it.. The other is labelled as human grade which makes it safe for consumption (bc I think people can actually eat it as a holistic supplement).. You want to make sure that you get the human grade DE. My sister texted me tonight (from Montreal) and she says they sell it there for like 10$. Montreal has a bad bed bug problem.....


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

you can eat it?? sounds...nasty

actually, gonna get advantage instead as I have heard the fleas seem to be immune to it here


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## misty1477 (Jun 22, 2012)

Oldfishlady said:


> I noticed that too Misty.....they kinda go nuts in about 20-30min after taking the oral flea killer. This is the first time I have ever used it and had both dog and cat on a white floor so I could watch the fleas fall off and die...It really does work that fast......
> 
> The Nitenpyram is the active ingredient of Capstar and much cheaper....I like it because it is both cat and dog safe.
> 
> ...



Geeeee...now I am on the Finless Friends forum .... I spend almost all day just on the Betta forum :lol: :lol: :lol: I love all animals.

It is soooo funny to watch them after the capstar starts to work :lol:

BTW....my 7 kitties (spoiled rotten like my betta) are all indoor cats. I found out that* I* am the one that brings in fleas from walking in yards during my job. Jeepers Cats !!! 

You really have a lot of finless + finny friends to take care of ... you are awesome. :yourock:


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

so aparently they do sell diatomaus earth for pets and it can be taken orally -it can be used as s dewormer or so they say.

I could only find frontline plus and I found like 10 fleas on him today :evil::evil:


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Hmm.. Do you have a flea comb?? Because as you pick them off you can drown them in laundry soap water.. And sprinkle powder along baseboards and in pet beds and wash your own bedsheets in hot water.. The powder can be baking soda until you get DE. How DE works as a de-wormer is that it slices up the coating on them and kills them. Since DE is basically just some sort of pulverized shell it's a totally harmless way to kill fleas, eggs and worms.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

yeah but bubble's undercoat is like trying to comb through a cottonball. 
Plus the little ******* jump :evil:


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## misty1477 (Jun 22, 2012)

Tikibirds said:


> so aparently they do sell diatomaus earth for pets and it can be taken orally -it can be used as s dewormer or so they say.
> 
> I could only find frontline plus and I found like 10 fleas on him today :evil::evil:


Try a dose of Capstar. You can use it even though you used Frontline+ already. See my post above about how he will react when the capstar starts to work....it is a super product as a 'flea-removal-starter'.

Good luck ... I know what a pain it is to get rid of the little buggers!!!!


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## bettasusa (Nov 1, 2011)

To add something you might like, you can use Garlic powder to repel fleas and ticks once you have gotten rid of them in your house. Not fresh garlic as it can be dangerous to the dogs but the powder works wonders. Once the taste of it is in the dogs blood the fleas hate it, but it must be fed on a regular basis to keep them repelled.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

YES
I forgot about garlic powder. It's more of a preventative. Dogs love it too! Cats cannot have it though.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I though all garlic and onions were poisionous to dogs? 
I have given him some in his food but I don't want to overdo it. Plus one of the cats is always eating his food :evil:

can i only get this capster stuff online?

I put some avon sin so soft lotion on him thinking it would at least slow the fleas down so I could get them. I have only seen like 3 fleas on him since. one on his head which I didn't put stuff on and one on his paw. 

also the lotion really conditioned his fur! So easy to get a comb through it


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Skin so Soft is amazing stuff!! Repels mosquitos too!


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## misty1477 (Jun 22, 2012)

can i only get this capster stuff online?

I put some avon sin so soft lotion on him thinking it would at least slow the fleas down so I could get them. I have only seen like 3 fleas on him since. one on his head which I didn't put stuff on and one on his paw...

You can get capstar from your vet. I found it is less expensive from the 'advertised' online sites, but you have to wait for it to be shipped.

Hmmmm....never heard of using skin-so-soft on animals .... I remember my mom putting it on us kids when we were younger to repell mosquitos though. From what you say...it must be okay for pets too.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I used to use the skin-so-soft on my horses for flies....never used it on dogs or cats....

I get the generic Capstar off eBay-exact same ingredients.....and much cheaper-plus more caps...see the link in my other post...also, I got it within 3-4 days of ordering it...


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

DE might not be as safe for consumption.. I know I read today it can scratch up the intestines of rabbits.


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## Frazzle (Apr 10, 2012)

Do not use hartz products.


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