Fleas

[JudyN]

A while back I stopped treating Jasper for fleas with the intention of treating them when I spotted them. Last week I did, so treated him with Effipro on Tuesday. Today, 6 days later, I'm still seeing the odd live one on him I'm guessing they've got into the environment so I now have to treat that.

I've been investigating alternatives to spot-on treatments, and found that there are oral ones. But I'm worried about introducing chemicals into his system if they're not known to be safe both in the short & long term. However, I'm also unsure about the efficacy of natural treatments and deterrents such as garlic & Billy No-Mates - reviews suggest that though they seem to work for some dogs, they don't for others. I also wonder whether using natural treatments will mean I need to attend to the environment, i.e. his beds, carpets, etc., more often, and I'm afraid that I'm just not likely to keep up with a regular regime of thorough vacuuming

There's also the possibility that the dose of Effipro has simply failed to work - it is a similar formulation to Frontline, for which there are several reports of resistance in fleas.

So, can anyone advise on a short-term strategy to get rid of the current fleas, both from him and from wherever else they might be lurking, and also suggest a long-term strategy, please? And also thoughts on whether the concerns about chemical treatments are overstated?

[minkee]

Here's a post from me, from forever ago, quoting a post from emmabeth, which I very helpfully didn't link to so I don't know where the original came from! Anyway, I hope it helps at least a little bit

https://positively.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 76&p=94769

[JudyN]

Clean everything, wash everything, treat everything.... Eeeeeeek!!!!

Thanks for that. I need to give Monty the cat a good check-over too - I've treated him regularly as he has such a thick coat and when I tried not treating him a few years back he got an infestation.

[Nettle]

For Jas - short term dip a flea comb into warm water to which you have added 20 drops of lavender oil, comb through his coat, and the fleas will come coughing to the surface wth their hands up. Collect on comb and dunk in the water, making sure they sink, because some are light enough to spring off the water surface. When he is dry, diatom earth his coat and bed. If you can stand the dusty appearance, diatom is surprisingly effective round the house too.

I never had a good enough result from other natural treatments but I daresay there are fleas and fleas.

Long term - I continue to be in awe of the Dorwest product mentioned in the linked thread. We have seen ONE flea this year, after a squirrel incident.

For cat - will have to be a safe chemical and I don't know much about what is safe for cats, so will leave it for the vets to say. As cats groom, lavender is not appropriate.

I avoid chemicals as much as possible, but sometimes we have to use them to kick-start a process or deal with major infestation.

[minkee]

What with Jasper being somewhat sensitive, I'll tell you that I think my 'EEK THIS IS GROSS' reaction to finding fleas on Scout REALLY freaked her out, and is part of the reason she doesn't like being 'inspected'. I really couldn't contain my horror at what I found or the thought of what I might find. If you can keep that to yourself you'll probably get on a lot better than I did!

[JudyN]

I wonder if a human headlice comb would work? I think I still have one somewhere....

Minkee, for some reason fleas don't gross me out - I just regard them as a nuisance, particularly when the remedy involved housework (now housework does gross me out ). Monty is indeed also flea-ridden. I think I'd subconsciously suspected this for a while but buried my head in the sand and told myself he'd been rolling in the dirt... In fact he's probably the original source. So Effipro isn't working on him either. But I probably can't treat him with Stronghold for a while as the Effipro will still be in his system.

Nettle, do you think the diatomaceous earth would work if used over the house and on the pets? (I'd only do Monty if I can confirm it's safe for cats.) Or do you think I might need to use nasties to get rid of the current lot of unwelcome guests, and then use the DE more as a preventative?

[rnor1120]

From the vet side of things -
I know chemical treatments are unpopular 'round these parts, but fleas and other parasites are tricky little stinkers and sometimes chemical warfare is required. I always recommend with infestations to treat all animals (including cats or ferrets or rabbits, etc) in the household for a minimum of three months with a topical or oral product.

Besides that, I echo the others when they say a thorough vacuuming, sweeping, and washing of linens is required. I have some clients that swear by diatomaceous earth.

[Nettle]

One extra is to put a flea collar of the highly toxic type in the vaccuum cleaner bag so that fleas hoovered up will die. I've never actually treated a house apart from that - but then I've never had a cat and they do skew the figures somewhat.

Diatom does work IME but does not work instantly so in effect you have to suspend vaccuuming activities after one thorough go-through. What it does is destroy eggs and larvae, so breaking the life cycle, and stopping fleas brought into the house after treatment from breeding.

Initially you have to go for it, using chemicals if necessary, then use the multiprong approach for long-term.

[JudyN]

Operation Deflea is under way

I realised that it was four weeks since Monty was treated with the Effipro, so have got some Stronghold from the vet (they have found Frontline & Effipro not to be as effective nowadays). I've also cleared out the airing cupboard, where Monty spends most of his time (it's a large walk-in one), and sprayed it with Acclaim, and will gradually work through the house - I'm hoping I can get away with just concentrating on beds, etc., and not washing every single bit of bedding & towels that came out the airing cupboard.

I still want to keep the chemicals off Jasper - it would be too soon to apply another spot-on, and I'm not keen on giving him an oral treatment unless it's necessary. Sighthounds can react differently to other types of dog, and it won't have been tested specifically on them. So I'll persevere with the flea comb (actually a nit comb from when my sons were young), and get some DE and something like the garlic & fenugreek tablets. I might get a collar for the vacuum cleaner too. I've still only found three or four fleas on him in total, despite using the nit comb and lavender oil. He was happy with the grooming, but less sure about the bowl of water & lavender oil. Either he associated it with when I've used dilute Hibiscrub on his cuts & grazes, or he objects to smelling like a tart's boudoir

[Nettle]

Tea Tree has a more macho smell but it's rather on the strong side (12 x stronger than pure carbolic) so I tend to be very sparing with it.

[JudyN]

Jasper prefers eau de swamp

[JudyN]

So, following Operation Deflea, I haven't seen any more fleas on Jasper, but I've seen one, and some flea dirt, on Monty, despite him having been treated with Stronghold and his airing cupboard fumigated. So I set to with the DE yesterday, sprinkling it in the airing cupboards and the pet beds, and rubbing it into Monty's coat. I tried to avoid inhaling it, mostly by holding my breath as much as possible and then moving out of the area to grab another lungful, but as it's OK to apply it to animals I didn't think there would be that much of an issue... but later, my nose & throat were feeling quite uncomfortable.

I was fine this morning, but I've just groomed Monty, and again, my nose & throat are feeling the effects As far as I can see, permanent damage isn't a problem unless you work with the stuff, but I do worry about the effects on Monty, as he's in such close contact with it the whole time. He seems fine, though.

It's surprising in a way as I don't have asthma and even when I get a cold my chest stays as clear as a bell.

is it important to vacuum it up in a specific timeframe, or can I leave it until I get the time (which may be in about a fortnight the way things are looking right now )?

[Nettle]

Leave it down as long as you can, and it can scrape more fleas, eggs and larvae to death