We have fleas,

I have been using the frontline spray on everyone but the last bottle we got smelled a little different and now I'm wondering if it was defective.

I bought a new bottle today and just sprayed everyone down heavily.
But in the two days since she has been home Nico has chewed her back and the base of her tail to a mess and she is bleeding further down on her tail.

I gave her a capstar on top of the frontline as well.
I also gave her one of her sedatives just a bit ago because it is going to storm heavily in about an hour and I think it will help with the freak out chewing and licking and scratching until the frontline and capstar can take effect.

But, I think we need to treat the house too, but we have 4 fishtanks in the house so spraying or powdering is out of the question...what do I do??

I had the cats (indoors) all get fleas once b/c my landlady, who let her cats outside, didn't know you were supposed to treat them and didn't know that scratching might mean they have fleas :rolls eyes: the cats would sit on opposite sides of my apartment door and well....yeah.

Anyways, what I did was wash EVERYTHING - clothes, sheets, towels, cushion covers - and then I cleaned down everything else with water/vinegar.

It did the trick for me, but I don't think we had a terrible infestation. Not sure if it would work in your situation.

It's not a horrible infestation yet, but she has a horrible allergy..in two days she is already raw and bleeding

I am washing sheets and bedding now, and I vacuumed the heck out of the couch with a flea collar in the bag.

Does sprinkling diatomaceous earth into the wood floors really help and if so how fast?

Be SURE to dispose of the vacuum bag in outdoor trash immediately after vacuuming. If you didn't, I would re-do.

Can you steam clean the carpets?

Can the dog be confined to a room that has no carpets or upholstery while you deal with the rest of the house?

What room are the fish in? Is it a carpeted room?

I just sent frontline an email letting them know one of the bottles smelled funny and wasn't effective and gave them the serial number, just so that they would know.

The fish are in the living room, kitchen and my son's room
I was thinking I could cover the tanks with tarps and then heavy quilts then use a non-aerosal spray.

I don't want any of the fish to die or be ill, but my main concern would be the 90 gallon showtank in the living room..there is a lot money invested in those fish!!


We have no carpet at all, only one rug in the bathroom.

I did dispose of the bag after double bagging it and took it straight out to the trash

I could put her in my son's room, or the kitchen for a while.

Ideally I would remove the fish. Get some new plastic garbage cans or large rubbermaids and take them to the garage or a friends house. The problem is the chemical coating the surface of the water, suffocating them, if the poison doesn't do it. If you leave them in the house, make sure the filters are covered as well.

Last time I bombed the house I simply shrunk wrapped the tanks fish and all and turned off the bubbler. Everyone came through just fine.

I would never ever suggest doing this with a sensitive salt water setup though. Fresh water aquarium fish are usually much much tougher.

Ditto what Melissa said. I have bombed in the past (aerosol) with a salt water tank; I covered the tank and filter unit and shut off the pump. My fish came through just fine...(crucial to shut off the pump/filtration system!)

I have gotten rid of a well established flea infestation without bombing my house. I do have a carpet in my basement and did use diatomaceous earth down there.

I bathed all the dogs with a flea shampoo that also has IGR (insect growth regulator). It kills adult fleas, and kills eggs for 4 weeks (well that's what is says on the bottle). The company is Zodiac.

I washed all the dog beds in hot water with some bleach and 20 Mule Team Borax. Vacuumed EVERYTHING and threw out the bag.

VERY IMPORTANT: purchased flea collars for the dogs that kill BOTH adult and EGG fleas. (You will know you got the right collar if it costs like 3 times more than a regular flea collar). I bought one collar more than I had dogs. and cut the extra collar into small pieces and put the pieces in places like under couch cushions, under people beds and under dog beds.

Takes a whole weekend but works every time.

The flea collars will make sure any eggs you miss will never hatch, and adult fleas will no longer torment your dog. They stink but they work.

ETA: Oh, and my fish were just fine.

Edited by Angela Burrell (11/06/2008 08:28 AM)
Edit reason: eta

Hi Jen,

you said she has a horrible allergy.
What type of allergy are you refering to?
Food? Pollen or Flea Hyper-sensitivity?

You could try giving her either Benadryl or chlorpheniramine to help with her itching after dealing with the actual fleas.
And also try adding Fish oil & vit E to her diet that would help with the itching too (thanks for that advice Connie!)
I thought Tucker had a pollen/inhallant allergy, but turns out he had a couple fleas (I looked for days on him for signs of fleas but couldn't find anything so I assumed it was a pollen allergy that was making him itch, then i found the little suckers!!! I only found a couple, but that was all it took)I treated him for the fleas, and washed his bedding and everywhere else he spent alot of time, and steam cleaned the carpet in the living room, but he was still itching. After discussing things with my vet he said he probably had flea hypersensitivity and that was why he was still itching even after the fleas were gone. I tried Benadryl and it eased the itching, but i found the chlorpheniramine helped much more. I bought it over the counter at my pharmacist 100 tablets for $10 Canadian.
Maybe try it to help her with the itching and letting her heal.