Flea!

Saw a flea on Eddy! EEK. Went to Banfield and got a single dose of Frontline Top Spot, since he won't be seeing his vet for a couple more days to get what we hope will be his regular flea medication - Frontline Plus. Tomorrow night, after the 24-hour kill flea period, we'll attempt to de-flea the house and his stuff. Sigh. Eddy B. Scrapperdine will get a cold bath tomorrow night as well to sooth his bites. I'm from a flea-less state, so I'm new to this problem, and I wonder if these precautions tomorrow night will be enough:

Wash everything in soap and hot, hot water. His bedding, our sofa cover, our bathroom rug, his toys.
Vacuum all the rooms, spray the rooms and sofa with carpet stuff (Hart flea/egg/larva killer). Vacuum again.
Soak the vacuum filter in hot, hot water. Twice.
Give him a final flea-comb thru and shampoo.
Soak his comb and brush in scorching soapy water.

Is there anything else I could do? I mean he's on flea prevention now, I just want to drastically cut down on any chance of reinfestation and the number of eggs that could be laying around. On the other hand, I have absolutely no idea how long he's had fleas or where he got them. So there could be few eggs, or millions?

0 members like this

Comment

You need to be a member of MyCorgi.com to add comments!

Join MyCorgi.com

Comment by Bonny on April 28, 2009 at 11:16am: Frequently washing the bedding and vacuuming will help bring the numbers down while your dog is on medication. I found Frontline to be totally ineffective against fleas in KY, but it was the peak of summer and we lived in close proximity to a raccoon population. We've used Advantix ever since then, and haven't had a flea infestation.

As irritating as these things are, I find it fascinating that flea eggs can be stimulated to hatch through vibration (hence the effectiveness of vacuuming).

Comment by Sky and Lyla on April 28, 2009 at 10:15am: He will be fine. Here is what I have learned about fleas from having pets... You may continue to see them for a month or two, but as long as you continue using the flea treatments it will break the cycle and they will eventually die out. (The reason they stick around sometimes is because depending on the medicine you use, they may have to hatch and then bite before they will be killed.)

When I brought my Aussie, Sky, home he was covered in fleas and ticks (he was bred and raised on a farm). I totally freaked out and my cat got them too. I saw them for about 2 months, but with faithfully applying Frontline Plus to every animal in the house every 30 days, they did die out.

The other thing I learned is that the fleas would much, much rather be on your pet than on you or your stuff. You probably will get a flea bite or two, but fleas prefer dogs and cats to people. This is actually good because it means they will bite your dog (although I know we feel sorry for our poor puppies), ingest the medicine, and die.

I know fleas are nasty and I hate thinking about them, but I think as long as you apply frontline and washing his bedding and your sheets, everything should be fine. If you have only just found them, chances are you do not have an infestation in your house and they will go away just by treating your animals.

Also, do not use any over the counter flea products. They are not regulated as to what can go in them and can be harmful to pets. Also, if you have applied the frontline, I would not apply any other flea meds for 30 days- it could reduce the effectiveness of the frontline or give him an overdose of meds. I would also wait a couple of days to give him a bath as you don't want ot stip his skin of oils since that is how the frontline travels. Good luck!