r/AnimalAdvice • u/ArgumentBeautiful217 • 15d ago
Flea help!!
we have 3 dogs and 4 cats! my dogs have fleas the worst, i’ve tried giving them baths with a bunch of shit that is supposed to kill fleas but they just keep coming back. i feel like it’s mainly one dog that has them the worst, he is constantly itching and biting and i feel so bad. we got them a collar that is supposed to get rid of the fleas but it doesn’t seem to be working. i dont want them to live in such discomfort just because of something i cant fix. it’s getting to the point where the fleas are jumping onto me and my family, i see them on my bed and i dont know what to do. i see them crawling all over the dogs but the cats doesnt seem to have them. i have treated them just incase but i am a bit more worried about that said dog, please let me know what to do! i know they hide in furniture but how would i get them out ? do i just vacuum the furniture and wash bedding? help!
EDIT!! thank you so much for all your help!! i’m working on getting them into the vet i’ve done some things you all have said and it has worked!!
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u/Drifter-6 14d ago
Heavy duty clean. Vacuum everything, sofas, floors, fabric chairs, cat trees, etc. Wash all bedding, pet beds, all the rooms. vacuum everything day and keep everything as clean as possible. You’ll be doing this for a while because fleas go through a life cycle so at some point there will be some that may have been missed and will hatch, and you also have them outside and they’ll be coming in the house. Good thing you treated the cats because I’m sure they have them too.
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u/ItchyCredit 12d ago
Put a flea collar in your vacuum dust bin/cup/bag. Otherwise your vacuum becomes a flea incubator. Even if you plan to empty it quickly, you are reducing the flea population that might reproduce and reinfest. Those dang guy are a hardy bunch. They've been around since the Middle Jurassic period, 165 million years. Don't underestimate them. 😲
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u/KirbyRock 13d ago
This. They also have flea-killer powder you can sprinkle on the carpets. Additionally, try treating your yard.
Bravecto has worked wonders as a topical treatment for the dogs and cats.
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u/bishbah01 13d ago
Yes, don’t forget to spray your yard/garden! My cat is 100% indoors and still managed to pick up fleas that had hitched a ride from outside. (Also, my floorboards had holes. It was a shitty rental.)
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u/Overkill_S 14d ago
Dawn dish soap kills fleas almost instantly. Have you tried that???
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u/tamreacct 14d ago
It’s a surfactant and basically drowns them and helps reduce flea infestation. Of course there will be eggs as well that’ll hatch. You can also use a nightlight (bulb not led) and have a dish with soap water and it will attract and kill then as well.
Make sure to place a barrier so the dogs and cats don’t drink the flea stew as their revenge.
When you vacuum everything, don’t place it directly in trashcan, use a large ziplock bag to seal them in and then dump in trash.
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u/Separate-Author5317 10d ago
When I lived in the US, exterminators sold a liquid that disrupted flea egg and larval stages. If it's available, I would add that to whatever contact spray you use.
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u/NovaLunar721 14d ago edited 14d ago
Uh this was easily treatable and preventable..not only do they have a dog treat pill that kills and prevents fleas, ticks and also heartworm..if you didnt know that. Surely you knew about the stuff you can buy at the store to put on the back of their necks to kill and prevent fleas which is very effective. I really don't understand the flea collar?
I hope the fleas are only on the pets. Once your house gets fleas they're almost impossible to get rid of.
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u/Arry42 14d ago
I once helped my sister rehome some of her dogs (she had like 22 animals total) ... had them in my house for all of 5 minutes and dealt with fleas for a freaking year. She never even thanked me. In fact she got mad I didn't keep the dog I said I'd foster because I found it a home immediately. She thought I'd fall in love and keep it because I wanted a dog at the time.
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u/Objective-Solid-4537 14d ago
Unfortunately, most flea collars don't work. I'd recommend giving everyone capstar to start (this is a pill you can find OTC at a lot of pet stores, though it's usually behind the register. It will kill fleas within 24 hours). After that, you should treat them with preventative - the kind you use is very important. Anything Pet Armor or Hartz brand is useless. Reputable brands are Bayer or Elanco (K9 Advantix, Advantage) or Revolution. If you want to save some money, you can get the generic as long as you make sure they have the same active ingredient. This probably goes without saying, but the consequences can be fatal if you don't know - you will be getting different products for the cats and the dogs and it's very important that you don't mix them up.
As someone else said, Dawn is another good way to kill fleas but it has the be the regular blue Dawn dish soap. It works because please have a waxy layer that keeps them from drowning in water, and the soap dissolves that. If you're going to go this route, start with soapy water on the pet's head before doing anything else, because the fleas will all run for higher ground. Make sure the suds is on there for a few minutes before you rinse them. And, you still have to follow up with preventative or they will just get fleas again.
Finally, you do have to clean the hell out of your house. Wash any linens or rugs you can in hot water and vacuum everything else. Fortunately, if the pets are treated with preventative, they won't get them again for a month, but that won't stop them from biting the humans in your household.
Good luck, OP!
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u/Illustrious_Exam1728 14d ago
Please bring pups into your vet. A heavy flea burden can cause a number of health issues including anemia. This is a priority!
Get them on a proper flea and tick from the vet.
Ask the vet how to heavy duty clean your house to get rid of the fleas. If memory serves me the eggs have a three month cycle.
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u/Intelligent_Bird1 14d ago
you can wash and vacuum but it won’t get rid of them. here’s what worked for us because we had them for almost an entire year: flea lamps, where they set on the floor as sticky tramp and attract with a tiny light, flea bombs, salt (supposedly kills larvae or something), vacuum religiously 2-3 times per day. animals got baths and capstar, which kills any fleas on the body. rooms were closed and bedding washed (hot water) so that animals weren’t allowed in the rooms.
we also got pet armour flea sprays but unsure of their efficacy due to using so many other things. Unfortunately it did take a long time to get rid of them because cats travelled through the house so much but it’s possible.
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u/LeslieKnopesBlackEye 14d ago
You need to give your pets actual flea medicine. All of them. For as long as they'll be going outside.
Vacuum every day, 3 times a day. Move everything and vacuum. 3 times a day.
The flea medicine will kill the fleas that drink from treated pets. Fleas like pets a lot more than humans. Once you treat the pets, the fleas will start to die. If you vacuum up the eggs, you will be flea free in no time.
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u/EnglishLore 14d ago
Not sure where you are and if you can buy them where you live but I would recommend defleaing all the animals and keeping them out of the house while you fog the entire house with flea bombs.
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u/Spare-Shirt24 14d ago
You can't just clean the animals. You need to clean the entire environment they live in.
Vacuum frequently.
Wash all bedding.
You need to also use chemical warfare. Spray carpets with something like Nygard Plus that can inhibit the flea reproductive cycle.
You also need to properly treat your pets with regular flea and tick prevention. The collars you described are pretty useless.
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u/ketchupROCKS 14d ago
We had fleas so bad growing up our hamster had them. Frontline plus worked really well then we bug bombed, washed every item in the house vaccumed everything with flea powder. Flea collars do not work. The vet has flea medicine as well.
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u/WormWithWifi 14d ago
Get medication that actually works like bravecto and then treat the house as much as possible. They’ll go away is the pets are treated properly
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u/Potential-Echo1586 14d ago
Make sure you don't just toss your vacuum cleaner back in the closet. Throw out the bag or all the eggs will hatch there and keep reinfesting. If you are looking for a do-it-yourself in the house try the sprays you spray directly on the carpet/ furniture instead of foggers. The yard will also need treatment. You're going to repeat the whole thing in 3 weeks. And then the animals will need something probably orally to take care of things.
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u/caitejane310 14d ago
You have to vacuum pretty much daily and empty the vacuum immediately outside. I know that's harder if you have a bag vacuum instead of a canister. If you have like a shed or somewhere outside you can keep it until the bag's full.
When I had this issue I used borax to sprinkle on the floor and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. But diotomascious earth is one of the best things to use, but do some research first cuz it can irritate lungs.
Use flea bombs as a last resort. You'd be better off hiring an exterminator instead of using flea bombs cuz they can become immune to it and then you have super fleas 😅
It's quite a bit of work, but it can be done without an exterminator. Back in 2018 (I remember cuz my mom had just had a stroke a few months prior to this) we had a flea infestation that had me crying every day. I'm pretty sure I have PTSD from it!
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u/Sharp-Rutabaga-4900 14d ago
You need to set off bug b0mbs in your house, bag up all of your laundry until you can wash it, and bathe all the animals in one day. Then vacuum floors and furniture and get the pets on oral flea meds. Fleas are the worst.
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u/SideshowDustin 13d ago edited 13d ago
You’re going to have to get medications from your vet. Don’t buy over the counter garbage, as some will leave chemical burns and such. Bravecta is solid. They actually make a 3 month version which may be what you need, as I don’t think 1 month will break the egg cycle, but it’s also kind of pricey for that. Treat all the animals simultaneously.
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u/YamMysterious7119 11d ago
There’s flea repellent you can get to spray out in your yard that kills the fleas so they’re not so rampant. Until that gets done, your dogs are going to just keep getting fleas.
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u/Firm-Plantain8151 11d ago
when my dog got fleas, I threw out everything of hers that was permeable (bed, toys, collar, etc), deep cleaned 3 times in 1 week followed by more rigorous cleaning than I usually do for a few weeks, washed every linen, blanket, and any clothes that hadn't been firmly put away while she had them in very hot water at the local laundromat, and gave her a series of baths with anti-flea shampoo. She hasn't had them since, nor have I seen any hint of them around the house. IDK if I went overboard, but it worked. would be harder with multiple pets, as you'd have to replace more than I did and wash them all multiple times, but yeah
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u/Buddy-Sue 11d ago
There is an oral med that kills fleas almost instantly but is short term. not long lasting like the ones you see advertised. You can give daily It’s called Capstar
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u/roccosito 10d ago
You absolutely need to have ALL of your pets on oral flea meds. Nothing over the counter works. It is all one time use in-store.
Also, fleas need to bite to die. The collar can actually cause more harm on your pet by emitting and causing an even worse reaction.
You’ll continue to find fleas so have a candle burning and light stick handy. Just drop any fleas you find into the hot wax. Much easier than trying to pinch them because they’ll just jump off. And it guarantees they die which water won’t.
You then need to pick up anything ingestible from the floor (dog bowls, toys) and spray your home with PT Ultracide Flea. It’s what exterminators will spray. $20-30/can vs $300 for an exterminator visit. You can pretty much go back inside after spraying.
Vacuum. Vacuum. Vacuum. You will want to empty the vacuum dust bin and throw it in a trash bag and tie it. The fleas can breed in there so you don’t want to just leave the dust in there. Wash everything in hot water. Cat towers may need to be thrown away if they are carpet.
Brush your pet. You can put diamachous earth outside of your home.
The flea cycle is 6-8 weeks so you will see them again for a while. You can also do the white sock test when walking in your home.
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u/one_who_has_seen 14d ago
Diatomaceous Earth
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u/itsJustE12 14d ago
I’ll add: food grade diatomaceous earth & only where the pets won’t be laying, since breathing it is harmful.
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u/Key_Instruction9732 14d ago
You’re going to have to get oral meds from the vet for all of them to fully get rid of them.