R.

If you review our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you'll learn the real key to breaking any flea infestation is to get their eggs. Our ONCE A YEAR FLEA GRANULES do just that. They're plenty safe for use in any home – even where a child or other other "sensitive" person might reside. More importantly, they actually works. Get this applied to any carpeting found in the home and you'll be well on your way to solving your problem.

Additionally, you should deploy 3-4 FLEA TRAPS in the home where flea activity has been noted. They will really help to both collect any foraging fleas as well as alert you to any problem area you may have missed.

Lastly, don't forget the yard or any pets that have access to the home or the yard. As our article explains, it's important to get control of the problem throughout the home but if you leave the yard and the pet untreated, no doubt the problem will persist.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Control Article:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control

Once A Year Flea Granules:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page23.html

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page22.html

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.

So if your pet isn't getting them from the yard, where then are the fleas coming from? Well, the answer is the pet itself. As explained in our article, the pet and the inside of the home are the two most likely places for fleas to be breeding. The pet is actually number one with the house being a close candidate for second place because it's usually infested by the time anyone living there realizes what's happening. In fact the least important area to treat is the yard so I would say to forget it for now and instead focus your attention on the pet.

What usually happens in cases like this the pet will get 1-2 fleas. Once they feed they'll start laying eggs. Most of the eggs will at first stay on the pet. Over time if the problem is allowed to develop without treatments being done, the pet will get so filled with fleas the eggs and larvae will start dropping off them which is what leads to homes getting infested. In many cases it's the pet causing the problem in the yard too.

So at this point it's important that you make sure your pet is being bathed and treated weekly. Using the TRIPLE PY SHAMPOO and some PETCOR should stop the flea cycle on the pet and for now, I'm willing to bet this is the main reason why your problem is continuing to have a problem. If you actually had fleas in the yard or home, you and anyone else living or walking around there would be attacked just like the pet. But when it's just the pet that's getting them, it usually means the pet is the main "flea generator" and only after you take a direct approach of treating it will the problem subside.

Second, if the pet has full access to the house, you should also set out some FLEA TRAPS to make sure they aren't established inside. If you find the traps are catching fleas, treat with our ONCE A YEAR FLEA GRANULES which is by far the safest and most effective method for long term protection. It goes on dry and lasts 6-12 months no problem. Combine this with the direct pet treatments I outlined above and I'm sure you'll be flea free in a few weeks.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Control Article:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control

Triple Py Shampoo:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page247.html

Petcor:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page2011.html

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page22.html

Once a Year Flea Granules:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page23.html

Thanks for all the time you have put into it.
The information is great and is the most informative one I have found.

Many Thanks,
L.E.

Thanks for the feedback. Our FLEA CONTROL article does cover quite a bit but we feel this is needed. Trying to solve a local flea problem can be frustrating unless you fully understand the way they develop and how each stage interacts with it's surroundings. Once this is understood, the methods we outline to control them makes a lot more sense.

http://www.flea.net/flea-control

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.

About a month ago, I began noticing my cats scratching more than usual and started seeing flea dirt around the house. I applied Frontline Plus to my cats and they seem to be doing ok…not scratching as much but I am experiencing a big problems with fleas in the house, of course, in the places they hang out which is my bedroom and the kitchen. I have been treating the kitchen which amounts to spraying 3-4 times (once a week). The flea dirt is much less but it's not gone completely. The big problem is my bedroom. I've sprayed the floors in against the walls, in corners, even on my dresser. Seems better now. But, the biggest challenge is the closet. My cats have a habit of running into my closet which means that my closet and all it's contents must be treated too. My closet is full of clothing, much of which requires dry cleaning only. There are also many boxes, shoes on the floor, etc. This is a nightmare. How can I rid my closet of fleas without having to take my clothing to the cleaners or having to wash every single item? What about my shoes? Please advise if there's a painless way of handling this. Thanks so much, R.

If you take some time to review our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you'll learn the most important thing about controlling fleas is to get control of the flea cycle. More importantly still is being able to do this by treating the key area or areas where it's happening. No doubt it's been happening on the pets. At this time your treatments of the cats with Frontline should be helping. However, as our article explains, there is no doubt a problem anywhere your cats have had access to roam. This explains why you continue to see fleas on them. Everytime they enter areas where the fleas have been breeding, they'll get new ones on them. Remember, the Frontline takes days to kill fleas so even though new fleas will die once they land on your pets, they'll still be biten and have to endure the discomfort of the fleas presence until you rid them from your home and yard.  And though you feel the bedroom and closet are problem areas, I am 100% sure the entire home must be treated with equal diligence, along with the outside, if you wish to rid yourself of this pest.

Another important point you'll learn in our article is that fleas don't leave host pets. In other words, the thing that will infest your home is the flea eggs which fall off the pet and not the adult fleas since they don't ever want to leave their home (which is on your cats). Doing this will result in their quick death (they're not very mobile and do not migrate anywhere) so instead they try very hard to stay on the targeted host at all times. So how does your home get infested? It gets infested from all the eggs that are dropping off your cats as they walk around your property, both inside and outside, and these eggs can easily number in the thousands since one flea will lay hundreds of eggs. Once they hatch and go through their first 3 stages, they'll lay in wait as flea pupae and hatch only when target animals (people and pets) come close enough to them. And since they can stay in this stage for upwards of a year, it can take a long time for the cycle to run it's course. All the while these hatching pupae will be seen on you and your pets and the general feeling is that the infestation will never end but rest assured it can if you do the right treatments. And just what are the right treatments? Using products that will last long enough to control both new eggs and larvae as they are introduced in the flea environment.

The most important point I'm making here is that even if you did have fleas in your closet, they would be limited to living in the rug below all your clothes and shoes as explained in our article. And though you might think you need to treat these items, the real target of your treatments should be the carpeting. Based on the problem you've described and the information you've included, I'm confident for your home the best approach will be our ONCE A YEAR FLEA POWDER combined with 4-6 FLEA TRAPS placed throughout the entire home. No doubt this will solve the problem though it will take several weeks for all the pupae to hatch as our article explains. However, this is perfectly normal. As long as the powder is installed you'll have something working continuously at killing the flea eggs and larvae which is paramount to solving the problem. Eventually the pupae will run out and since the powder will be stopping larvae from becoming pupae, the torture will finally end.

Lastly, in the yard, apply some BIFEN GRANULES followed up with some CYONARA RTS sprayed over the top. The granules will last a month or two providing long term control and the Cyonara will kill off anything that's hatched our right now. I would recommend reapplying the granules every two months too till the problem is resolved.

Here are direct links to the products and information mentioned above:

Flea Control Artilce:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control

Once a Year Flea Powder:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page23.html

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page22.html

Bifen Granules:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page242.html

Cyonara RTS:  http://www.bugspray.com/item/cyonara_rts.html

Cats do carry fleas and the cat flea is one of the most common ones around. Chances are high they are dropping eggs off the cats as they move through your yard. This will eventually lead to a flea problem if you don't alread have one. You'll need to first apply some Cyfluthrin Granules to all the areas where the cats are active around the bird feeder. When applied properly, this product will pose no hazard to the cats or birds. Be sure to treat as much of the area as possible paying particular attention to where the cats are entering your property and all the areas where you've seen them hanging around. Next, spray with some Permethrin over the top to kill off all that are active now. The granules should be applied monthly throughout the spring, summer and fall. The spray should only need to be applied once or twice; once the fleas are gone the granules should stop any new ones from forming so the spray won't be needed. For immediate control, using the spray is suggested since the granules won't kill adults.