Is it possible to clear out a flea infestation at home wtf

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Current Events » Is it possible to clear out a flea infestation at home wtf
Have four cats, they all got fleas and there are fleas in at least one of the bedrooms (second floor). The second floor is carpet, first floor is hardwood.

Tried putting on OTC flea medication last week (Frontline Plus or something like that) but it didn't do anything except give the cats a bald spot.

What I've done so far:

Wet wiped the first floor
Washed all the blankets we use to cover the couch.
Sprayed a rosemary anti-lice spray around the edges of the rooms upstairs and THEN
Steam cleaned the carpet (I have a Bissell steam cleaner)

I'm keeping the bedroom doors closed and also applying a lavender spray at the edges since they apparently really don't like that.

And we've given dish soap baths to three of the four cats, about to get the fourth one now. Then we use a flea comb and tweezers to pull off any fleas we find.

Everyone I've talked to says a prescription medication is the only surefire way to kill them off but I've called the two urgent care places that are around and they don't carry it in stock. So best I can hope for is a regular clinic has it and I can get them in this week.

But like with regular bathing every few days and regular steam cleaning can we fight these things off or what

Edit we've also washed all clothing and bedding too
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I have never personally dealt with it but known people who have and it is possible but damn it sucks and is a ton of work. Good luck.
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You need to vacuum your entire house every day until theyre gone.
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Yeah seems like the OTC did jack all lmao.

I also ordered some flea traps
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You have to keep putting the flea stuff on your pets for a while because it has to kill off the existing fleas and then the next generation that will hatch soon.

We used frontline I think, this was like 10 years ago.
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i got flea traps & diatomaceous earth (sprinkle some, let it sit, vacuum) and they went away after a while
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Gladius_ posted...
A lot has changed in 10 years. Depending where you live some fleas are outright immune to Frontline and Frontline plus.

oh shit that sucks

Id go to my vet for an answer at that point I guess.
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Post #10 was unavailable or deleted.
Rub coconut oil on your pets. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth throughout the house.

And then use flea foggers when it dies down to be sure to kill off the remaining.
Temperature needs to be below 70F to stop the eggs from hatching.

OTC medicine is garbage if you are at this point. Go see a vet and get the prescription kind.
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If you have a yard, then the yard can be a source for fleas. Treating the yard without poisoning the cats is a challenge.

Check out the web store Puppy Butts. You can just order on line. They have the stuff you rub on and lufenuron.

It might be worth the expense to pay someone to vacuum everyday. Just to get through this.
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a really bad flea infestation in the house often means you need to do to all the crevices and baseboards and fill them with diatomaceous earth. you can treat the rugs and carpets with flea powder all you want but it wont get rid of the fuckers literally hiding in the crevices under your drywall.

CobraGT posted...
If you have a yard, then the yard can be a source for fleas. Treating the yard without poisoning the cats is a challenge.
this is a massive issue this time of year, especially if you've either got cats you let out or you've got neighbor cats who lounge in your yard. i have to treat my yard multiple times a year because of bastard cats bringing fleas in.
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Thanks for all the tips everyone.

The dish soap baths went well, unfortunately I'm not sure if the soap also kills off eggs too or if we rinsed the cats enough but the fleas for now are at least dead and I'm thinking of at least doing a rotation of 1-2 cats per day because doing all 4 is too much.

I got a spray in the mail today and applied it to the office and bedroom upstairs. There is also a landing area and our main bedroom.

Thankfully our kid sleeps with us anyway and i only noticed flea activity in the kids bedroom that she doesn't use... I also noticed less flea activity after spraying when I was leaving the room so that's promising. And I havent noticed fleas anywhere else so I'm hoping regular vacuuming/steaming of floors and furniture and washing the sheets will help.

ALSO ordered a few flea traps
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No, it is not possible. You need to tear the home down and build over.
If you build a man a fire, he is warm for the rest of the night.
If you set a man on fire, he is warm for the rest of his life.
Topical treatments won't cut it.
Priority 1 needs to be removing the main host and food source for the fleas: medicate the cats. Give them a long acting oral option, and make sure you keep it up to date. After that, things will get easier over time.
I've never had to use diatomaceous earth but it seems like a good choice.
Keep it green.
I am curious if there's a relationship between the fel d 1 protein and flea protection in cats. They never had fleas before but I started them on the Purina LiveClear food to reduce their allergens and then this happened... Or just weird bad luck I guess
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I dealt with this with 2 kittens I got off craigslist. Eventually the fleas got so bad they started biting me and were everywhere. I was beginning to lose hope and thought I was going to have to let my apartment know. I kept shampooing the cats using flea shampoo but it didn't work. I read online that you will never get rid of them if you don't kill what's in the house/apartment. When I read that, I finally killed them all quickly by doing the following:

  • Giving the cats a haircut
  • giving them a flea bath again
  • putting a flea collar on them (not sure why I never did this before)
  • Buying flea foggers from like amazon or the store. Fogged my apartment twice I think with flea floggers
After that, they were all dead. For the first time in my cats lives (think they were several months old at this point), they no longer had fleas and no longer scratched their bodies. Felt satisfying seeing them no longer being itchy. Poor things had fleas since birth basically. We got them so young too. I honestly thought they were weeks old since they were so tiny. One of them wouldn't even eat food. My gf at the time had to use a nursing bottle. This was several years ago. I have a cat that I got from a shelter that I also thought was super tiny and possibly weeks old, but I think he was 3 months.
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Gladius_ posted...
Depending where you live some fleas are outright immune to Frontline and Frontline plus.


damn, that shit didn't work on my dog years ago. had to use something else :(.
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Thanks for the reminder of flea collars Jupiter. I was thinking about shaving them but flea collar sounds like a good addition.

The oldest cat, we got him like thirteen years ago, turns out he also had fleas when we got him, but for some reason we just gave him a bath and scrubbed them off and never saw the fleas again...
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Hexenherz posted...
Thanks for the reminder of flea collars Jupiter. I was thinking about shaving them but flea collar sounds like a good addition.
seresto flea collars work. they're expensive, and you need to be careful that you dont buy a fake one, but they work. put it on tight because if its loose the cat will chew through it, i learned that the very annoying way.
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Day 2 of the Flea War

For some reason my wife left the bedroom door open and is washing all the sheets again AND the one cat is lying on the bare mattress AND I see fleas crawling on him again. Going to kick him out, spray rosemary spray around the bed and wall, steam the mattress, steam the floor, bathe all the cats again. Honestly we messed up with him because we didn't get his head and face first so the fleas all flocked to his face when we put him in the bath. Also we only held the one in the water for fifteen minutes, going to hold them all there for fifteen minutes.

Mopped the floor downstairs

There's something in my shirt biting the hell out of my back too
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Bathed the first cat and he had a lot on him again, not as many as yesterday though. Still more than we expected though

Worse comes to worst we might have to shave them down :/
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Flea infestations. My mortal foe.

I've dealt with this in the past, including a MISERABLE one last year. There was a point where my cats both got fleas from some dogs, and eventually every single room with carpet (5+) was fucking covered with fleas. Like I'd step into a room and within seconds, there would be dozens of them crawling on my legs.

I had to kind of learn about them fast. So here's what I learned:

A lot of over the counter stuff SUCKS. Like, ranging from "This does nothing" to "My cat is allergic to this and got pretty sick" all the way to "I found out that this shit that they sell at Walmart is apparently actively harmful to pets in general and can kill them." Legit, do a lot of research with anything over the counter, because there's some stuff in the shelves that has some MISERABLE word of mouth around it.

If you can afford it, heavily recommend going to a vet and asking for flea pills. They're kind of expensive, but they're pretty damn safe and they work so much better than any of the over-the-counter shit.

Getting fleas out of carpets is an insanely difficult task. They apparently lay eggs super super fast and those eggs will hatch quickly when there's a source of blood nearby. The lifecycle of a flea is kind of demented, they pop up fast as shit and are ready to lay more eggs ASAP.

What worked for me was this peppermint anti-flea spray stuff, and a LOT of raw determination. I sequestered any room that I didn't absolutely need to be in, and what I'd do is spray -> wait a while -> enter room to see if fleas pop up. If so (they did for a damn while), spray more, seal room again, repeat. One room, thankfully a side bedroom that I don't actively use for much other than storage, where one of my cats spends a lot of time, was particularly bad about it, and it took days and days of doing that process to get rid of them. Each time I went in there, there'd be fewer fleas hatching and jumping on me, but there would still be some for like weeks after I started it until eventually I got them all.

Vacuuming helps. I'd vacuum anywhere where the cats regularly hang out, like couches and stuff, though it was the peppermint spray shit that really killed them in the end. If you vacuum fleas up, you're supposed to take the bag out of the house ASAP, because fleas can survive inside of the bag and eventually escape apparently.

Good luck. Fleas fucking suck.
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dotsdfe posted...
Flea infestations. My mortal foe.

I've dealt with this in the past, including a MISERABLE one last year. There was a point where my cats both got fleas from some dogs, and eventually every single room with carpet (5+) was fucking covered with fleas. Like I'd step into a room and within seconds, there would be dozens of them crawling on my legs.

I had to kind of learn about them fast. So here's what I learned:

A lot of over the counter stuff SUCKS. Like, ranging from "This does nothing" to "My cat is allergic to this and got pretty sick" all the way to "I found out that this shit that they sell at Walmart is apparently actively harmful to pets in general and can kill them." Legit, do a lot of research with anything over the counter, because there's some stuff in the shelves that has some MISERABLE word of mouth around it.

If you can afford it, heavily recommend going to a vet and asking for flea pills. They're kind of expensive, but they're pretty damn safe and they work so much better than any of the over-the-counter shit.

Getting fleas out of carpets is an insanely difficult task. They apparently lay eggs super super fast and those eggs will hatch quickly when there's a source of blood nearby. The lifecycle of a flea is kind of demented, they pop up fast as shit and are ready to lay more eggs ASAP.

What worked for me was this peppermint anti-flea spray stuff, and a LOT of raw determination. I sequestered any room that I didn't absolutely need to be in, and what I'd do is spray -> wait a while -> enter room to see if fleas pop up. If so (they did for a damn while), spray more, seal room again, repeat. One room, thankfully a side bedroom that I don't actively use for much other than storage, where one of my cats spends a lot of time, was particularly bad about it, and it took days and days of doing that process to get rid of them. Each time I went in there, there'd be fewer fleas hatching and jumping on me, but there would still be some for like weeks after I started it until eventually I got them all.

Vacuuming helps. I'd vacuum anywhere where the cats regularly hang out, like couches and stuff, though it was the peppermint spray shit that really killed them in the end. If you vacuum fleas up, you're supposed to take the bag out of the house ASAP, because fleas can survive inside of the bag and eventually escape apparently.

Good luck. Fleas fucking suck.
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*ps give your pets baths with dawn dish soap .
Dawn kills fleas
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Relax I know what I'm doing,I been killing topics since 1987
Yeah we are bathing them now with dawn lol.

Bought a new vacuum
I haven't had a chance to steam clean yet

@dotsdfe where do you buy the peppermint spray stuff?

I sprayed the two rooms last night with anti flea stuff and noticed when I went in my legs both had like a dozen each on them but after spraying and moving towards the entrance it was more like just one or two.
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Hexenherz posted...
Yeah we are bathing them now with dawn lol.

Bought a new vacuum
I haven't had a chance to steam clean yet

@dotsdfe where do you buy the peppermint spray stuff?

I sprayed the two rooms last night with anti flea stuff and noticed when I went in my legs both had like a dozen each on them but after spraying and moving towards the entrance it was more like just one or two.

Unfortunately, I don't recall the spray that I used. My parents had a big bottle of it from when they had a similar issue with their dogs and they let me borrow it. I had to spray a ton of it, but it did work for me.

I'd look into flea sprays for carpet with peppermint, with the note that I believe that peppermint can also allegedly be harmful to cats too. I didn't have any issues with it, mainly because I was keeping them out of the rooms that I sprayed, but I'd be careful about that element too just in case.
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Thanks for the heads up.

I've seen remedy sites recommend lemon/citrus too but afaik that's also toxic to cats...
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https://naturalcarepets.com/collections/cat-flea-tick/products/advanced-flea-and-tick-pet-home-spray-32-oz

Works miracles

Dawn dish soap is good for bathing when dealing with a severe flea issue but make sure it is the original blue color.
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KFHEWUI posted...
https://naturalcarepets.com/collections/cat-flea-tick/products/advanced-flea-and-tick-pet-home-spray-32-oz

Works miracles

Dawn dish soap is good for bathing when dealing with a severe flea issue but make sure it is the original blue color.

I THINK that's what I used. The bottle was slightly different, but I'm pretty confident that it's the same brand that worked for me.
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dotsdfe posted...
I THINK that's what I used. The bottle was slightly different, but I'm pretty confident that it's the same brand that worked for me.

That is the new type of it. It used to be a white and green bottle.

https://naturalcarepets.com/products/flea-spray-for-house
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Hexenherz posted...
we might have to shave them down :/


part of me wants to see that happen but i don't want the worse scenario :(.

reminds me of the time my dog had to be shaved on her belly for a spay. she had the best coat color (mostly black with white markings on her chest and feet). it'll grow back.
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at least three people in this topic have given their cats brain damage with the shit they're describing they did, jesus fucking christ
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ConfusedTorchic posted...
at least three people in this topic have given their cats brain damage with the shit they're describing they did, jesus fucking christ
This post is useless if you aren't going to explain why.
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My house had to get sprayed twice on 2 different days to get rid of our fleas.
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ConfusedTorchic posted...
at least three people in this topic have given their cats brain damage with the shit they're describing they did, jesus fucking christ
Yeah I need to know more.

Thankfully my wife is super paranoid about chemicals so like any real spraying we are doing is in rooms no one really uses.

Also I don't remember if I mentioned I got flea traps in the mail too...
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Day 3

I had to go to work so I can't be as vigilant.

Washing all sofa blankets the cats slept on last night.

Keeping all doors closed.

I vacuumed downstairs, stairs and upstairs landing. Definitely saw at least one living flea inside the vacuum, sprayed some all purpose lavender cleaner along the tubing, carried it outside, emptied it in a trash bag and sprayed more cleaner in the vacuum and just put it on the porch for now.

We bought a new vacuum that I'm picking up today. The other one is just alright but it is cordless and can't hold up to clean the whole house. Picking up the new one today.

My wife is surprisingly less panicky than I am about it. I'm applying all my hazmat handling knowledge to avoid contaminating things and she's just haphazardly throwing sheets and pillows around -.- like yesterday I was vacuuming the couch and she's like, "you gotta vacuum under the cushions too" and just threw the cushions on this rug that I hadn't even vacuumed yet... But at least she's optimistic about it.
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16-BITTER posted...
Flea collars for the animals and those mist bombs for the rooms worked for us. After a good bath and combing first of course.

The worst part is after you put the collars on the animals, the fleas will start biting humans (if they hadn't already) til you exterminate them.

Ask me how i know
Oh lol I definitely had something in my shirt the other day, my wife saw my back and let out a "w t f"

Although it could also be shingles, I had those a few years back and it just felt like a bunch of big bites
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Fleas are one of the reasons I don't have pets
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ConfusedTorchic posted...
at least three people in this topic have given their cats brain damage with the shit they're describing they did, jesus fucking christ
@ConfusedTorchic

You gonna elaborate?

Seems like information that'd be more useful shared than hoarded.
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Trumpo posted...
Fleas are one of the reasons I don't have pets
Bro we've had cats for nearly 15 years, first time this has happened to us. I will be keeping them indoor only from now on too which sucks since they liked to just sunbathe outside
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This is the season for fleas. Make sure you maintain your lawn as fleas will thrive in taller uncut grass. I would recommend advantage and regular cleaning and vacuuming. Maybe the powder that goes on carpets if you have lots of them at home. There's no immediate solution outside of maybe pricey professional pest control so expect to have fleas for next month or so until you break their egg laying cycle.
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Please consider adopting a cat from your SPCA or local animal shelter.
Yeah the eggs are what freak me out. Apparently they're not sticky and fall off animals though so I'm hoping regular vacuuming is enough. It does concern me that the one bedroom was utterly infested and I haven't seen many elsewhere though. I'm freaking out about a fresh wave soon and I can't really spray in the main bedroom since that's where we sleep. Though I can spray the perimeter and steam again
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Hexenherz posted...
which sucks since they liked to just sunbathe outside


i was going to suggest to buy one of those things that allows cats to be on the porch to sunbathe but then the flea problem will come back :(.
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Probably already been mentioned a few times, but ...

My family is heavily involved in pet care, I've had cats and dogs in my house nearly my entire life.

The only sure fire way are those bug bombs. You're gunna have to gas the house. It sucks, but it's not as big of a deal as it sounds.

Obviously fea baths and shit.

Vacuum the hell out of everything. Spray chemicals on top of all that.

For the outside, use a chemical treatment. We used to use Triazicide, but something happened with that and it was pulled off shelves where I live. Now we use another Spectracid product.

Chemicals suck, but we fleas you HAVE to go hard or they won't go away.
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After you vacuum make sure to take out the bag, or empty the canister if it's bagless. Seal whatever you through those into well and get it out of your house. If not the fleas can escape back into whatever you just cleaned.
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monkmith posted...
seresto flea collars work. they're expensive, and you need to be careful that you dont buy a fake one, but they work. put it on tight because if its loose the cat will chew through it, i learned that the very annoying way.
I use those on 2 of my 3 cats. The 3rd is sensitive to it, so he just goes without, but gets most of the protection from being in the vicinity. They're all indoor only cats and it's me feeding the strays that lets the fleas in.

They're expensive, but last 8 months so I get them once a year in late April to cover flea/tick season as I don't get the problem in winter ...also chewy/amazon has a bulk discount.
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doodles40 posted...
After you vacuum make sure to take out the bag, or empty the canister if it's bagless. Seal whatever you through those into well and get it out of your house. If not the fleas can escape back into whatever you just cleaned.
Thanks, that's what I did this morning. And sprayed the inside of the canister and the tube that it connects to the base through for good measure.
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Current Events » Is it possible to clear out a flea infestation at home wtf
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