We brought in cats from the outside, the vet said they did not have fleas, well months later we found a flea. this was after their night over at the vet months later. We treated them with frontline and flea bath (before letting them upstairs from the basement they were there because of the claws until surgery) The problem started in dec. The cats have been flea free, I check daily. I continue to frontline monthly. The sprayed the basement in Jan. then upstairs we had fleas so I sprayed and carpet powder. Many times. (i’m the one who gets the bites) I have had no bites up here, and since no fleas upstairs and continue to vaccum freguently and spray every few weeks now just to be sure and continue the treatment to be effective. Well I realized a few weeks ago we had a problem in the basement. The cats don’t go down there and we dont often So we didnt realize we still had a problem. I sprayed again and cleaned and threw everything away. We then set off foggers 4 weeks ago. We have been now vaccuming frequently. We are going to set off foggers again next week and continue to vaccum. And then set them off again in 3 weeks after. I know the fourth stage you can’t kill and need to stimulate to hatch out. If we are vaccuming frequently 4-5 days a week and set off foggers every 3-4 weeks and do the sprays inbetween. How long will this take? I mean I know the last stage they can stay dormant a long time, but with the vaccuming and vibration we are making down there shouldnt that help quicker? I’m parnoid. I won’t vaccum down there. I make my husband. It is all I talk about and I have about had it. I know cement is harder with sprays because it is porus. But if I’m continously spraying and bombing, and vaccuming shouldn’t this be effective? And how do I know when I’m at the point where I need to get a professional in? and also today went I went down and did some spraying I didnt see any (and I look, because I’m parnoid about it all) There were three on my clothing (not on me because I tuck all my clothing in and wear gloves, I got them and drown them) But I’m not seeing a whole bunch jumping around or anything, and its easy to see on the cement floor. Does this mean, there are probaly only a few now hatching out and we are becoming effective, or I’m I just talking myself into the fact that things are working? Please give me some advice before I go crazy!
MY QUESTION IS DO THEY (SPRINGTAILS) BITE YOUR PETS? MY DOGS, SINCE WE MOVED HERE, HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT SCRATCH LIKE CRAZY. THEY HAVE RED SPOTS LIKE A RASH. HELP PLEASE .
Hi,
I was looking at your website and would like to ask what you would recommend for the flea problem I’m currently having.
I have 2 cats which spend some time in the backyard. This is a horrible season for fleas, as I’ve never experienced such a problem in the 15 years I’ve had my cats.
I ran across your site on Google.
Was searching for flea control information.
Thanks for all the time you have put into it.
The information is great and is the most informative one I have found.
When it rains hard, does it kill the fleas that are outside?
If you read our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn some key yet often times unknown facts about fleas. One of the big ones is that in general, fleas don’t “hang” out in the open like the grass in a yard. What’s most likely out there would be eggs, larvae and pupae. And this would only be true of larvae and pupae if the conditions are right for them to survive past the “egg” stage. As our article explains, these guys need a lot of water, humidity and food to live past the larval stage. Now if they do survive this stage, they’ll then pupate and when ready to hatch, they’ll only do so when a meal is close by so they can jump on it and feed. The key here is that they’ll only hatch out to an adult when food is close by and not because they’re ready to hatch.
I’ve treated the yard for fleas, but my dog keeps getting reinfested. Could rats in my garage or backyard reinfest the yard with fleas?
If you take some time to read through our extensive FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn the most favorite place for fleas to stay is on the “host” animal they target. Amongst the favorite host’s for fleas will be dogs, cats, squirrels, rats and mice. In fact, pretty much any animal in the yard could have fleas during the summer or warm months. But as our online article explains, fleas don’t want to leave their host animal as this is where they get both food and shelter. In fact most fleas will live their entire life on whatever animal they first find. Additionally, this life is quite short and in most cases will be less than a week. All the while they’ll be laying eggs on the pet which will live out their life cycle right there under all the fur and pet hair.
Hello, I found flea eggs (i think) and 2 live fleas in my bed. (i do not own a pet). I managed to freak out and clean every inch of my place, call an exterminator, etc. However, when I was cleaning, I only saw about 3 more very small fleas. I found an adult dead one upstairs on a couch. I dont see them and cannot tell the difference between dead fleas, eggs, and just specks of dirt? (I see a lot of specks of dirt looking things) How can I tell the difference? Will I know when it is a flea/larvae/pupae/egg? No one else in my family believes me because they dont see them but are they just hiding??
Hi there,
I caught a flea in my 13-month old’s room and saw another a few days later. She shows no evidence of being bitten (neither does our cat), even though she plays on the floor every day. My husband and I are a different story; even though I’ve only seen two fleas, we have multiple bites. I started vacuuming every other day, treated the (wall-to-wall) carpet with borax, and kept my daughter off the carpet as much as possible. Is there another treatment that is safe for me to use on our floors with a crawling baby?
can you wash them out of your clothes? wash with what?
Fleas are easy to wash out of clothing. If you read through our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn they commonly jump on people and get on their clothing. But you’ll also learn adult fleas need a host on which to live and clothing isn’t the best place for them to complete their life cycle. In fact, most will die unless they make it a bit further like on the person underneath all that clothing! But if you have been finding fleas on your clothes and want to wash them extra good, get some of the KLEEN FREE CLOTHING DETERGENT. We mostly sell this product for use where Lice have been active but it’s recommended for fleas as well.
We recently used an off-brand flea product on our 4 month old pitbull puppy and it has shown no signs of working in fact I think it is getting worse. I was wondering what options I had to help my itchy puppy considering all flea products I’ve seen say to not use more than one flea product in a month.
do fleas live on people?
It’s rare that fleas could or would even try to live their lives on people. As explained in our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, fleas prefer a host which can supply blood and provide a sheltered environment for them to hide. Dogs, cats and other hairy animals can provide both a blood meal and lots of hair; lots to eat and lots of areas for adequate housing. For this reason most fleas prefer these animals on which to live. But since people have blood, fleas will most certainly jump on us to grab a quick meal. But in virtually all cases they’ll usually forage away and off our skin where they land to feed. This is because they feel vulnerable and unprotected out in the open.
Hi there,
We’re having a ridiculous flea issue. My son and I get bitten by them in bed- my husband and daughter don’t. We run the blankets, pillows and sheets in the dryer every night befor bed, vaccuum the bed, etc, etc. We’re covered with bites. We’ve made homemade light traps and have caught a fair amount this way. We keep the animals out of the bedrooms almost completely at this point. We give them Capstar and Program. And we have diatomateous earth, etc.
I was wondering how to get rid of fleas, eggs, et al, from behind the master bathtub. My cats have access to this area, but I really do not (6 in. x 6 in square max.). I was thinking of putting a heated flea trap since there is electric. Any other thoughts? The access to this area is floor level through the master bathroom closet and is almost impossible to get to.
Not fleas like I’ve seen before. My dogs a 6 pound poodle. I can’t see anything on her skin or after flea bath ? What else could it be ? I feel like I itch when I’m around her!
would the yr long flea powder work in the walls? what would? we are very badly infested; the bomb did not work!
If you take some time to review our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll see we make no mention of “bombs” as a viable way to treat any flea problem. That’s because they don’t work. All they’ll do is kill exposed fleas and as our article explains, adult fleas only live a few days and die so killing them won’t help the problem. The reason you have a problem is because there are lots of eggs and pupae throughout the home which need to be controlled if want them gone. And as our article explains, you’ll need to treat with some of our sprays or ONCE A YEAR FLEA POWDER if your trying to get rid of them as these are the only good products to use for existing problems. Personally I prefer the Powder because it’s easy to use, works so well on carpets and you only have to apply it once a year. Combined with some FLEA TRAPS set up in the home and you’ll have all you need to break the flea cycle within a few weeks.
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