on 5/13/2007
Do not use baby shampoo on your animals.4 days ago,my beautiful 22 lb sheltie stopped eating and started vomiting.Took him to the vet.He,s anemic he said from all the fleas on him.Had to get him shaved,he,s om medication,had to dip the cat,and bomb the house.Right now,I,m in my office with both pets.Can,t ride around in The Florida heat for 4 hours with a cat and dog in the car.I am diligent about vacuuming and putting their monthly treatmentAdvantage)on plus regular baths for both.How did this happen?I had a mobile groomer come to my house and bathe the dog.Since he had no fleas,she used baby shampoo.The groomer who ended up shaving my dog said baby shampoo will eradicate any flea protection you are using and is harmful to a dogs'eyes.In addition to my poor bald dog,I have spent $300.and 4 days battling a problem I,ve had under control for years.
on 1/9/2008
I liked this article. But if you want to know the real details on how to get rid of flea visit the flea killer newsletter for free. http://www.only-the-facts-about.com/How-to-get-rid-of-fleas.html
on 4/16/2007
Woo Hoo!!! All praise Ehow!!! I don't have pets but man I experienced an outbreak of fleas in my garage, my car, my house...all over look you wouldn't believe. For 6-8 weeks I was in tears from frustration and being slowly sucked dry of blood by these vampires. Then I came across the diatomaceous earth and borax solution on Ehow. I GENEROUSLY sprinkled and worked this solution into over 800 sq. ft. of carpet. NOTE: Some people have stated you can leave this solution down for 30 minutes, a day, vacuum it up and you're done with fleas. >BUZZ< I had to REAPPLY this solution and leave it down for at least 4 DAYS. I did it for a week in some rooms. The DE cuts into the fleas exoskeleton and the borax dehydrates them (as I loosely understand it). For those with children, this might be your best route. That got rid of most of the fleas. The downside of this solution is that you have to dust and clean EVERYTHING. The DE/Borax solution is a fine powder..and it gets EVERYWHERE. Use a mask to avoid breathing in the powder. Sorry to say, I had to resort to napalm (pestisides) to kill the rest. Hee hee hee, but I have my house back! Also, I I did these things: Used a lice shampoo all over my body to kill any flea larva that crawled on me, washed clothes and bedding religiously (fleas got up all in them), vacuumed religiously, avoided wearing anything WHITE (no socks). MOST IMPORTANT: FIND THE SOURCE of the flea infestation and ELIMINATE it. Get RAMBO on fleas or else they will get COUNT DRACULA on you, your family and pets.
on 9/23/2006
When Program first came out a number of years ago, I was skeptical, but desperate. I wanted something that wouldn't poison my children, so I hadn't done anything but an occasional desperate flea bath on my 3 dogs. I recall picking about 20 fleas out of the hair of each of my young children one day, and vacuuming massive amounts of fleas off the dogs sometimes.
So we gave the dogs Program, and it is supposed to work in about three months, since it works by placing a chemical in the pet's fat layer that later after the fleas bite the pet, prevents chitin from forming in the fleas' larva. Therefore, all the existing eggs had to mature, bite a dog, and then their flea babies would not develop.
Well, ours took 5 months before we were completely flea free (reducing slowly to zero). I was ecstatic! The reason it took longer, I think, was because all the fleas biting us humans were laying viable eggs, and those had to run their course. But they do prefer dogs and cats, so eventually the remedy got around.
I got a kitten later on who was crawling with fleas. I gave her a normal shampoo bath (probably washed away about 2/3 of the fleas off) and put her on Program immediately. That was it for the fleas, they were gone in about two days. The neighbor that had given me the kitten was amazed, and put her cats on Program after that, and her cats were soon flea free too.
I've read websites written by manufacturers of other remedies, who say Program is no good because the fleas will live their whole 6 week lifespan (or whatever it is) on your pet. But the thing is, fleas die in a few days if they are allowed to have a blood meal and lay their eggs. So they don't really hang around on the pet very long, but it seems like they do because more hatch and climb on all the time.
That's why when you and your pet leave your home for awhile, adult fleas can accumulate in your carpet and you have an infestation that seems like it came out of nowhere! Why weren't they that thick when your pet was there? Because they were getting a blood meal, laying eggs, and dying quickly. Now, without a host, they just hatch and hatch, waiting for the host to come back.
So don't get the foggers out, like a friend of mine did when she came home to a hopping carpet--she was worried about the fleas biting her baby! Afterward she did research and found out about the neurotoxins in the fogger! She could have just vacuumed, maybe with some diatomaceous earth or borax in her vacuum bag, and she'd be back to a tolerable level. Then if her dogs were on Program, the rest of the fleas would disappear soon enough.
on 9/18/2006
Hartz flea treatment that you put on the cat's shoulders almost killed two of my cats. They got very sick. Luckily I recognized early on that they weren't looking too healthy and I saved them by washing the Hartz stuff off. I called my vet and they said they've seen animals come in foaming at the mouth because of Hartz brand flea treatment.
on 9/18/2006
I was so shocked when my little cats got fleas. I was dreading the day that this would come. My husband and I tried everything. Even the Hartz spray, which I regret because it made the fur so yucky and left residue on their skin, which made their skin twitch. We put a flea collar on them until things died down. Last night we used Dawn dishwashing soap on them and it worked like a charm.
We held the cats in lukewarm water that was up to their necks for a little less than 5 minutes because we read that fleas drown underwater. That worked really well because in the first minute we saw fleas floating around. Then we used Dawn and it worked! I was so surprised, and now my cat's fur is so soft. We were scared that it would dry up their skin, but it's softer than ever. We checked their fur this morning and we did not spot anything crawling around. We made sure to vacuum everything.
on 9/4/2006
I've tried many things over the years to get rid of fleas. My veterinarian recently suggested I use a product called Rx for Fleas. I checked it out, and it seems to be similar to Mule Team Borax. I called their company, and a representative willingly told me exactly what was in the product and explained the differences between how their product works with others on the market. Their product contains boric acid and sodium. The sodium does a number of things, but primarily it allows them to grind the mixture down to the consistency of graphite - it is super fine. The grinding process also creates a static charge on the particles, which is what keeps the vacuum from removing the application. The fact the product continues to stay in the carpet means we won't develop another flea infestation.
They guarantee you won't get fleas again for one year with a money back guarantee. A little more expensive than the borax, but it is well worth it because you can't see the powder in your carpets (you can see the course borax granules), and because of the residual effectiveness. I would caution people not to use diatamaceous earth in their homes. It is not meant for this use, and will damage your lungs if you inhale it, which you surely will do to some extent.
on 8/30/2006
The #1 flea treatment is BioSpot. It costs roughly $15 for a 3 month supply. Put the treatment on your pet and hours later you will see the fleas literally dropping dead. It's simply amazing and highly recommended!
on 8/29/2006
I have used a fine comb on both of my cats, then dipped it into very hot water. It worked like a charm on fleas. Just make sure to shake excess water from the comb so you don't hurt your cats. But I suggest using Advantage, or something like that to make sure everything is gone, don't take your pets' health for granted.
on 8/19/2006
Take 3% hydrogen peroxide and baking soda and mix. Place dog in bath water. Rub dog with mixture and let set for 5 minutes. Shampoo and rinse and it does help.
This is also good for a dog sprayed by a skunk. It does lighten the dog's hair, but will not harm the dog. My vet gave me this tip when my dog was sprayed.
on 8/19/2006
My vet told me to use masking tape to wrap around my cat's paws (it is not very sticky and doesn't take off the fur),when giving them a bath. Your cat will not be able to bare his/her claws, and protects you from scratches. It is safe for your cat and really works!!
on 8/9/2006
Right now I'm battling fleas, even though I have no indoor cats. The fleas seem to be concentrated in my room (go figure). I have combined a few things that seem to be helping tremendously.
1) Fill a dinner plate full of soapy water (I used Palmolive), and place a lamp over it. I also put two white towels under the lamp and dish (you'll see why at #2). Turn all the other lights in the home off, and leave just the lamp on at night. The fleas will jump in and drown themselves..fun to watch!
Last night I set this up around 8 PM, and when I went back in my room to go to bed, four fleas had already jumped to their doom. But on the white sheets around, there were about 15 MORE fleas, still living, somehow using their little psychic flea brains and not getting too close to the water, but I outsmarted those little .buggers.
2) Take a sticky roller, one of those you get at WalMart for 99 cents used to take off dog hair and/or lint, and roll around the white towels to catch those stragglers. In total (one night) I caught about 15 fleas in the soapy water, but every time I woke up I took my roller and went over the towels. I bet I got a good 40 fleas last night. I am going to keep the light on and continue this process all day today, and hopefully in a couple of days they will all be gone.
on 8/8/2006
We had 3 dogs and had to let them go due to moving. The dogs were with us in the new house for 2 weeks before finding them homes. After they left within days we had fleas everywhere in the house! Researching on the Internet I found this:
Small plate Dish Soap Lamp
The fleas jump in and don't jump back out. Remember fleas are attracted to the heat. I bought a desk lamp that I could bend as far down to the water as I felt safe. I caught fleas and any other bug that happen to like heat. The candle I would be a little fearful of and it might burn itself out too soon.
My fleas were gone within a 2 week period and I could keep the lamps on day and night without worry.
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Malion46 said
on 5/13/2007 Do not use baby shampoo on your animals.4 days ago,my beautiful 22 lb sheltie stopped eating and started vomiting.Took him to the vet.He,s anemic he said from all the fleas on him.Had to get him shaved,he,s om medication,had to dip the cat,and bomb the house.Right now,I,m in my office with both pets.Can,t ride around in The Florida heat for 4 hours with a cat and dog in the car.I am diligent about vacuuming and putting their monthly treatmentAdvantage)on plus regular baths for both.How did this happen?I had a mobile groomer come to my house and bathe the dog.Since he had no fleas,she used baby shampoo.The groomer who ended up shaving my dog said baby shampoo will eradicate any flea protection you are using and is harmful to a dogs'eyes.In addition to my poor bald dog,I have spent $300.and 4 days battling a problem I,ve had under control for years.
sfagent07 said
on 1/9/2008 I liked this article. But if you want to know the real details on how to get rid of flea visit the flea killer newsletter for free. http://www.only-the-facts-about.com/How-to-get-rid-of-fleas.html
WhoGivesADayyum said
on 4/16/2007 Woo Hoo!!! All praise Ehow!!! I don't have pets but man I experienced an outbreak of fleas in my garage, my car, my house...all over look you wouldn't believe. For 6-8 weeks I was in tears from frustration and being slowly sucked dry of blood by these vampires. Then I came across the diatomaceous earth and borax solution on Ehow. I GENEROUSLY sprinkled and worked this solution into over 800 sq. ft. of carpet. NOTE: Some people have stated you can leave this solution down for 30 minutes, a day, vacuum it up and you're done with fleas. >BUZZ< I had to REAPPLY this solution and leave it down for at least 4 DAYS. I did it for a week in some rooms. The DE cuts into the fleas exoskeleton and the borax dehydrates them (as I loosely understand it). For those with children, this might be your best route. That got rid of most of the fleas. The downside of this solution is that you have to dust and clean EVERYTHING. The DE/Borax solution is a fine powder..and it gets EVERYWHERE. Use a mask to avoid breathing in the powder. Sorry to say, I had to resort to napalm (pestisides) to kill the rest. Hee hee hee, but I have my house back! Also, I I did these things: Used a lice shampoo all over my body to kill any flea larva that crawled on me, washed clothes and bedding religiously (fleas got up all in them), vacuumed religiously, avoided wearing anything WHITE (no socks). MOST IMPORTANT: FIND THE SOURCE of the flea infestation and ELIMINATE it. Get RAMBO on fleas or else they will get COUNT DRACULA on you, your family and pets.
jgorman100670 said
on 12/20/2006 Can I apply Mule Team Borax directly to the dogs coat or is it harmful to them.
Anonymous said
on 9/23/2006 When Program first came out a number of years ago, I was skeptical, but desperate. I wanted something that wouldn't poison my children, so I hadn't done anything but an occasional desperate flea bath on my 3 dogs. I recall picking about 20 fleas out of the hair of each of my young children one day, and vacuuming massive amounts of fleas off the dogs sometimes.
So we gave the dogs Program, and it is supposed to work in about three months, since it works by placing a chemical in the pet's fat layer that later after the fleas bite the pet, prevents chitin from forming in the fleas' larva. Therefore, all the existing eggs had to mature, bite a dog, and then their flea babies would not develop.
Well, ours took 5 months before we were completely flea free (reducing slowly to zero). I was ecstatic! The reason it took longer, I think, was because all the fleas biting us humans were laying viable eggs, and those had to run their course. But they do prefer dogs and cats, so eventually the remedy got around.
I got a kitten later on who was crawling with fleas. I gave her a normal shampoo bath (probably washed away about 2/3 of the fleas off) and put her on Program immediately. That was it for the fleas, they were gone in about two days. The neighbor that had given me the kitten was amazed, and put her cats on Program after that, and her cats were soon flea free too.
I've read websites written by manufacturers of other remedies, who say Program is no good because the fleas will live their whole 6 week lifespan (or whatever it is) on your pet. But the thing is, fleas die in a few days if they are allowed to have a blood meal and lay their eggs. So they don't really hang around on the pet very long, but it seems like they do because more hatch and climb on all the time.
That's why when you and your pet leave your home for awhile, adult fleas can accumulate in your carpet and you have an infestation that seems like it came out of nowhere! Why weren't they that thick when your pet was there? Because they were getting a blood meal, laying eggs, and dying quickly. Now, without a host, they just hatch and hatch, waiting for the host to come back.
So don't get the foggers out, like a friend of mine did when she came home to a hopping carpet--she was worried about the fleas biting her baby! Afterward she did research and found out about the neurotoxins in the fogger! She could have just vacuumed, maybe with some diatomaceous earth or borax in her vacuum bag, and she'd be back to a tolerable level. Then if her dogs were on Program, the rest of the fleas would disappear soon enough.
Anonymous said
on 9/20/2006 I found that Ajax dish soap works best. You can even put it in a sprayer and use it on your yard.
Anonymous said
on 9/18/2006 Hartz flea treatment that you put on the cat's shoulders almost killed two of my cats. They got very sick. Luckily I recognized early on that they weren't looking too healthy and I saved them by washing the Hartz stuff off. I called my vet and they said they've seen animals come in foaming at the mouth because of Hartz brand flea treatment.
Anonymous said
on 9/18/2006 I was so shocked when my little cats got fleas. I was dreading the day that this would come. My husband and I tried everything. Even the Hartz spray, which I regret because it made the fur so yucky and left residue on their skin, which made their skin twitch. We put a flea collar on them until things died down. Last night we used Dawn dishwashing soap on them and it worked like a charm.
We held the cats in lukewarm water that was up to their necks for a little less than 5 minutes because we read that fleas drown underwater. That worked really well because in the first minute we saw fleas floating around. Then we used Dawn and it worked! I was so surprised, and now my cat's fur is so soft. We were scared that it would dry up their skin, but it's softer than ever. We checked their fur this morning and we did not spot anything crawling around. We made sure to vacuum everything.
Anonymous said
on 9/4/2006 I've tried many things over the years to get rid of fleas. My veterinarian recently suggested I use a product called Rx for Fleas. I checked it out, and it seems to be similar to Mule Team Borax. I called their company, and a representative willingly told me exactly what was in the product and explained the differences between how their product works with others on the market. Their product contains boric acid and sodium. The sodium does a number of things, but primarily it allows them to grind the mixture down to the consistency of graphite - it is super fine. The grinding process also creates a static charge on the particles, which is what keeps the vacuum from removing the application. The fact the product continues to stay in the carpet means we won't develop another flea infestation.
They guarantee you won't get fleas again for one year with a money back guarantee. A little more expensive than the borax, but it is well worth it because you can't see the powder in your carpets (you can see the course borax granules), and because of the residual effectiveness. I would caution people not to use diatamaceous earth in their homes. It is not meant for this use, and will damage your lungs if you inhale it, which you surely will do to some extent.
Anonymous said
on 8/30/2006 The #1 flea treatment is BioSpot. It costs roughly $15 for a 3 month supply. Put the treatment on your pet and hours later you will see the fleas literally dropping dead. It's simply amazing and highly recommended!
Anonymous said
on 8/29/2006 I have used a fine comb on both of my cats, then dipped it into very hot water. It worked like a charm on fleas. Just make sure to shake excess water from the comb so you don't hurt your cats. But I suggest using Advantage, or something like that to make sure everything is gone, don't take your pets' health for granted.
Anonymous said
on 8/19/2006 Take 3% hydrogen peroxide and baking soda and mix. Place dog in bath water. Rub dog with mixture and let set for 5 minutes. Shampoo and rinse and it does help.
This is also good for a dog sprayed by a skunk. It does lighten the dog's hair, but will not harm the dog. My vet gave me this tip when my dog was sprayed.
Anonymous said
on 8/19/2006 My vet told me to use masking tape to wrap around my cat's paws (it is not very sticky and doesn't take off the fur),when giving them a bath. Your cat will not be able to bare his/her claws, and protects you from scratches. It is safe for your cat and really works!!
Anonymous said
on 8/9/2006 Right now I'm battling fleas, even though I have no indoor cats. The fleas seem to be concentrated in my room (go figure). I have combined a few things that seem to be helping tremendously.
1) Fill a dinner plate full of soapy water (I used Palmolive), and place a lamp over it. I also put two white towels under the lamp and dish (you'll see why at #2). Turn all the other lights in the home off, and leave just the lamp on at night. The fleas will jump in and drown themselves..fun to watch!
Last night I set this up around 8 PM, and when I went back in my room to go to bed, four fleas had already jumped to their doom. But on the white sheets around, there were about 15 MORE fleas, still living, somehow using their little psychic flea brains and not getting too close to the water, but I outsmarted those little .buggers.
2) Take a sticky roller, one of those you get at WalMart for 99 cents used to take off dog hair and/or lint, and roll around the white towels to catch those stragglers. In total (one night) I caught about 15 fleas in the soapy water, but every time I woke up I took my roller and went over the towels. I bet I got a good 40 fleas last night. I am going to keep the light on and continue this process all day today, and hopefully in a couple of days they will all be gone.
Good luck with your flea battle!
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 We had 3 dogs and had to let them go due to moving. The dogs were with us in the new house for 2 weeks before finding them homes. After they left within days we had fleas everywhere in the house! Researching on the Internet I found this:
Small plate
Dish Soap
Lamp
The fleas jump in and don't jump back out. Remember fleas are attracted to the heat. I bought a desk lamp that I could bend as far down to the water as I felt safe. I caught fleas and any other bug that happen to like heat. The candle I would be a little fearful of and it might burn itself out too soon.
My fleas were gone within a 2 week period and I could keep the lamps on day and night without worry.
Good luck getting rid of the fleas.