Flea and tick control

Court7803

Hi! I am having a bit of. Flea problem with my poor pooch right now. We had taken in a family members dog for a short period who had apparently brought in mutant fleas with her, infecting my dog. We had given him frontline, finding out afterwards that it is not very effective anymore, so we can't treat him for another two weeks with something else. We've flea bathed, bathed with dawn dish soap, put a flea collar int he vacuum and extensively cleaned every carpeted area in our house and steam cleaned all bedding and towels, ect. We can't get them to go away.. Normally I would just bug bomb the house, problem is I have a year old son who is very active and put everything in our house. That would be an absolute last resource to do. Next step is steam cleaning the floors. I'm trying to feel out for any kid friendly, pet freindly cures, sprays, wives tales.. Anything. I've been googling around a bit, but am looking for a personal opinion before going any particuLar route.

NavyBlue143

Comfortis. It's an oral pill. Sweet God has it been a lifesaver. Two years ago our flealess yard was just infested. Our poor dogs were miserable, and comfortis was the only thing that worked. It can't wash off like topicals, our three dogs take it without issues, and it costs about the same as frontline or advantage. You can also do Trifexis, which is heartworm and flea pill in one. It has higher chances of causing vomiting, but I haven't seen it in any of my pooches.

NavyBlue143

The pill also treats the environment through the dog's secretions. We mever had to bomb the house.

aggiebug

Did you apply frontline 2 weeks ago? If so you can reapply now. And make sure you apply correctly. I know this seems silly but so many people do it incorrectly. You need to separate the hair and apply it directly to the skin, in multiple areas if need be. And do not bathe within 48hrs of application.

You can also try k9 advantix.

Comfortis is a great product but it is flea only. No tick prevention.

Court7803

I think my mom uses trifexis on her dogs. He has a vet appointment next week to get him on something monthly. I should have been doing that all along.. But I clearly slacked in that dept. I just need to make sure to get them out of the carpets, if they are in there. We haven't really seen any jumping around, just on the dog. I'm sure they are in everything tho.

LuckyAngel07

If you want to treat the carpets/bedding in the house, try diatomaceous earth. Buy the food grade DE on Amazon. It's completely natural (fossilized micro sea creatures, which just looks like a fine white powder, but works as a desiccant for anything with an exoskeleton), and as the name implies, people do take it internally, so it would be fine if your LO got some in his mouth.

When you apply it, wear a mask. The powder gets all over the place, and you just don't want to breathe it in or it will irritate your lungs. Leave it sit for 24 hours before vacuuming thoroughly. I treated our carpets, dog's bedding, mattresses, and pillows (I left most of the DE on the mattresses and pillows and then wrapped them up in their mattress pads and pillow protectors).

And then wash all your bedding/blankets again! Fleas are a PIA to get rid of! GL!