flea cycle

Hello,
My name is Susan and our weiner dog mix has never before had a problem with fleas untill my youngest son got a dog with his exgirlfriend and then an infestation happened. And now the poor thing is starting to bite off his own hair. No matter what I do I can’t seem to get rid of them. PLEASE PLEASE HELP me and help my dog! He is a member of our family and it hurts me to see him in pain like this.

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We have a dog and had rented an apartment with carpet. We have been out of the apartment for a month. Our lease is up 7/9/2011. Since there has been no food source for the fleas should the apartment be considered free of fleas, eggs, etc. I am curious in case they want to charge me to do pest control for fleas.

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Could a opossum  in the back yard leave fleas in the yard that could then jump onto my dogs.. we had a full grown one trapped by the dogs in the yard and then with in 2 days they were all scratching and we found one that jumped off one of the dogs onto my husband…

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Hi, Sorry to take up your time when you have produced such great articles already. I think I have been reading and researching too much, so now I feel overwhelmed. Please tell me exactly what I should buy.  I understand we need to treat each stage of the flea cycle. We live in the Florida Keys and I cannot control the environment as far as the wild cats that are so prevalent and coming through the yard.  We have a 10-12lb Pom mix that uses the yard of course to do his business. I have products from the vet to take care of him.  Orkin just treated the house and barrier on the outside.  We washed bedding in hot water. I understand we need to vacuum regularly.  Here are my questions.  1) What do I buy to treat the flea cycle inside the house and in the yard?  2) Can I use anything on the furniture? 3) Do You carry everything I need including a sprayer to hook up to the hose?  4) Do I need to use protective devices when applying? Please help.  We live with my dad at the moment and his wife is not thrilled about the dog. Thanks, Cindi

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My question is, can fleas live in and on furniture. If so for how long?

Yes and no. As explained in our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, adult fleas aren’t comfortable out in the open so yes, they can live on a couch. However, they won’t last long. If any person or pet came to the couch, adult fleas on it would naturally seek this warm blooded person or pet hoping to hitch a ride and to take advantage of what this host would provide: a stable living environment. As our article explains, if you left a flea on a couch without food, water or shelter, it would probably die in 5-8 days.

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How cold must it be to end the “flea season?”  I live in the St. Louis area and currently it’s down in the low 30s upper 20s at night, but warms to 40s-50s during the day.  Last week it was in the 70s.  If it warms during the day, will the darn things continue to be active?  My pets have been plagued since July despite a visit from the bug man in August to spray inside and regular applications of Frontline.  From what I have read, I suspect I need to do some serious vacuuming and call the bug guy back.  I was hoping for a reprieve when the cold weather hit.

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Hi there…I came across your and now better understand the flea cycle. I think with the help that you gave in it I have a good idea of where to start in order to rid the house of the pests.  But I have a couple more questions.  Let me fill you in on our problem first…We have 2 indoor cats and 1 primarily indoor dog (he goes out no more than an hour a day).  We have treated them all with Capstar and the monthly preventative Program.  It will be fine for several days and then all hell breaks loss.  I finally hit the roof the other day when I found one on my 5 year old while I was brushing her hair.  Our dog seems to not be as infested as the cats.  He does have some probably but he primarily stays in the laundry room and kitchen where the cats do not go.  However, the cats are COVERED and they are all over the house mainly in my room and my girls room.  I am going to purchase the items in our article (Precor, Permethrin, and the gallon sprayer). I am prepared and willing to spray once a week for as long as I need to spray.  But here are my questions…Since the cats sleep pretty much all the time on our beds can I spray mine and my girls beds and it not harm us?  Should I strip the beds and wash all sheets when I spray in hot water?  As for the cats…they HATE baths.  What can I go to get the fleas off of them?  Should I dose them with Capstar every time I spray the house?  I think they might let me spray them down but bathing is out of the question.  Also one last thing.  We have carpets.  We have hardwoods and tile.  Will the sprays I mentioned I am getting harm my floors?  Thank you Thank you Thank you so much!  I now have hope that we can defeat this nasty things!

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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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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.

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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.

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I just came across your website and have a question for you. I have a flea problem. What I need to know is how can I get rid of my fleas by using some sort of non-toxic means? I have 3 dogs, a cat, a rabbit and I have birds (parrots to be exact) and am unable to use any toxins that pollute the air because the birds are very sensitive and the toxins can be absorbed through their skin and make them very sick or even kill them. I would appreciate any help you can give me. I bathe my dogs every other day and spray my cat with a pyrethrin (spelling?) spray. I vacuum my floors wash the dogs bedding. As I said, any help and advice would be appreciated.

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Do you carry any non-toxic spray for fleas and their eggs?

We have some really low impact type sprays and treatment options that you might can call a non-toxic spray for fleas. Mind you these won’t work as quickly because they won’t be acutely toxic. But they will be equally if not better in the long run. As explained in our FLEA CONTROL article, breaking the flea cycle is paramount to long term flea control.

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I’ve been using flea bombs over and over and I don’t think they’re working. Did they change something in the formulation? This year the fleas are so bad I bomb and then like the next day I have fleas again. What’s going on? My cat is staying up on the countertop and I think that makes harder for me and my husband. Funny thing is this year even he is getting bit so it must be bad!!!! What can I do?

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I have a wicked flea problem and would like to know if there are any home remedies that might get this problem under control. Last year I used some borax powder when I saw one and that seemed to cure it. this year I didn’t apply any till I was being bit and now the borax isn’t doing anything. Is there something else I can use that isn’t a spray?

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I’ve heard that 20 muleteam borax can be used for flea control but I can’t find fleas on the product label. Is this something you sell or should borax be used for flea control at all?

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