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#1
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Super Fleas
The night before we became Pepper's family,s he was given a bath by the
people who rescued her to get rid of most of her fleas. She certainly didn't have very many when we picked her up, but to be certain, we stopped on the way home and picked up some flea drops (for the back of the neck) from the supermarket to finish them off. A week later, she was covered in fleas. But as I'd already treated her, I couldn't give her any more treatments for another 3 weeks. We gave her a flea bath every week. By the end of each week, she was crawling with fleas again. As soon as the month was up, I got her some Frontline from the pet shop (knowing that its a good brand) and treated her. It seemed to work. But within a week, she was covered with fleas again. So, the bathing continued on a weekly basis, each time decimating the incredible flea population, and each time, within a week, the flea population would be back. after the month was up, I hit them with Advantix from the vet. Advantix is the most expensive variety, but is supposed to be the most effective. And indeed, within 12 hours of application, I couldn't see a flea on her. But within a week, she had fleas again. Not so many as previously, but still, fleas were there. And so the poor dog had to endure weekly baths to get rid of the fleas. This time around, I decided that the spot-on treatments weren't working and I went with Combatran, a pill that is supposed to kill all fleas within 24 hours. And so it did! And I was most pleased. But within a week, she had fleas again. The cats get their monthly dose of Advantage, and are not afflicted by the little black horrors. Unlike previous times where we've had a flea problem, I am also not being bitten by them (they generally seem to prefer me over the other two-legs in the house). These are not normal fleas. Its nearly winter here, so its not the usual time of year to be inundated with fleas (thats late spring). And I would suspect that its not re-infection from the outside, because Pickle goes out far more often that Pepper, but Pickle is flea-free. Methinks that these are the descendants of her original flea load. And I fear that by treating them with such an array of flea killing materials, instead of wiping the population out, all I've done is bred super fleas, fleas that can withstand anything I throw at them. Thankfully Pepper seems totally unbothered by fleas (unlike Fluffy who would literally chew her hair out and make herself red-raw if she got fleas). But boy am I sick of plucking fleas off her. And she's sick of flea baths. And I don't really know what else to do. Yowie |
#2
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Super Fleas
Yowie wrote
But boy am I sick of plucking fleas off her. And she's sick of flea baths. And I don't really know what else to do. Ivomec is known to work well. Why not give it a try? |
#3
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Super Fleas
What you write doesn't make sense, unless you have external
re-infection. Do you clean up/vacuum/spray wherever the bitch sleeps/lies? There may be eggs/larvae both in her hair and in the places she lies. Otherwise, she wouldn't be re-infected within a week. Make sure to vacuum/cleanse with chlorine bleach the places where she lies, *and* bathe her after she has had the killing medicine. Note that the larvae don't drink blood, so they wouldn't be affected by the medicine, if it is ingested by the dog. The simplest and harmlesest, if impossible solution would be DDT, of course. Yowie wrote: The night before we became Pepper's family,s he was given a bath by the people who rescued her to get rid of most of her fleas. She certainly didn't have very many when we picked her up, but to be certain, we stopped on the way home and picked up some flea drops (for the back of the neck) from the supermarket to finish them off. A week later, she was covered in fleas. But as I'd already treated her, I couldn't give her any more treatments for another 3 weeks. We gave her a flea bath every week. By the end of each week, she was crawling with fleas again. As soon as the month was up, I got her some Frontline from the pet shop (knowing that its a good brand) and treated her. It seemed to work. But within a week, she was covered with fleas again. So, the bathing continued on a weekly basis, each time decimating the incredible flea population, and each time, within a week, the flea population would be back. after the month was up, I hit them with Advantix from the vet. Advantix is the most expensive variety, but is supposed to be the most effective. And indeed, within 12 hours of application, I couldn't see a flea on her. But within a week, she had fleas again. Not so many as previously, but still, fleas were there. And so the poor dog had to endure weekly baths to get rid of the fleas. This time around, I decided that the spot-on treatments weren't working and I went with Combatran, a pill that is supposed to kill all fleas within 24 hours. And so it did! And I was most pleased. But within a week, she had fleas again. The cats get their monthly dose of Advantage, and are not afflicted by the little black horrors. Unlike previous times where we've had a flea problem, I am also not being bitten by them (they generally seem to prefer me over the other two-legs in the house). These are not normal fleas. Its nearly winter here, so its not the usual time of year to be inundated with fleas (thats late spring). And I would suspect that its not re-infection from the outside, because Pickle goes out far more often that Pepper, but Pickle is flea-free. Methinks that these are the descendants of her original flea load. And I fear that by treating them with such an array of flea killing materials, instead of wiping the population out, all I've done is bred super fleas, fleas that can withstand anything I throw at them. Thankfully Pepper seems totally unbothered by fleas (unlike Fluffy who would literally chew her hair out and make herself red-raw if she got fleas). But boy am I sick of plucking fleas off her. And she's sick of flea baths. And I don't really know what else to do. -- You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone. * Whoever bans a book, shall be banished. Whoever burns a book, shall burn. |
#4
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Super Fleas
It certainly sounds as though you have a resistant population.
Insecticide resistance in fleas is a growing problem. Look up the active ingredient and see if there is anything on insecticide resistance in fleas. You may have to resort to something that smothers the fleas rather than poisons them - similar to using hair conditioner to smother head lice (FWIW, insecticide resistance is already a major problem in head lice). Alternately, flea-bombing the house and vacuuming every day (*groan*!) might be the way to go - get rid of the off-dog breeding sites. It sucks. It really sucks. It really, literally sucks. Tish |
#5
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Super Fleas
"Yowie" wrote in message
... The night before we became Pepper's family,s he was given a bath by the people who rescued her to get rid of most of her fleas. She certainly didn't have very many when we picked her up, but to be certain, we stopped on the way home and picked up some flea drops (for the back of the neck) from the supermarket to finish them off. A week later, she was covered in fleas. But as I'd already treated her, I couldn't give her any more treatments for another 3 weeks. We gave her a flea bath every week. By the end of each week, she was crawling with fleas again. As soon as the month was up, I got her some Frontline from the pet shop (knowing that its a good brand) and treated her. It seemed to work. But within a week, she was covered with fleas again. So, the bathing continued on a weekly basis, each time decimating the incredible flea population, and each time, within a week, the flea population would be back. after the month was up, I hit them with Advantix from the vet. Advantix is the most expensive variety, but is supposed to be the most effective. And indeed, within 12 hours of application, I couldn't see a flea on her. But within a week, she had fleas again. Not so many as previously, but still, fleas were there. And so the poor dog had to endure weekly baths to get rid of the fleas. This time around, I decided that the spot-on treatments weren't working and I went with Combatran, a pill that is supposed to kill all fleas within 24 hours. And so it did! And I was most pleased. But within a week, she had fleas again. The cats get their monthly dose of Advantage, and are not afflicted by the little black horrors. Unlike previous times where we've had a flea problem, I am also not being bitten by them (they generally seem to prefer me over the other two-legs in the house). These are not normal fleas. Its nearly winter here, so its not the usual time of year to be inundated with fleas (thats late spring). And I would suspect that its not re-infection from the outside, because Pickle goes out far more often that Pepper, but Pickle is flea-free. Methinks that these are the descendants of her original flea load. And I fear that by treating them with such an array of flea killing materials, instead of wiping the population out, all I've done is bred super fleas, fleas that can withstand anything I throw at them. Thankfully Pepper seems totally unbothered by fleas (unlike Fluffy who would literally chew her hair out and make herself red-raw if she got fleas). But boy am I sick of plucking fleas off her. And she's sick of flea baths. And I don't really know what else to do. Yowie What a mess! When I had indoor-outdoor cats, we had a real flea problem for a while, and they bit me too. Periodically I'd have the house and yard sprayed while the cats were at the vet for a flea dip. Periodically the fleas came back. However, once I started using Advantage, I had no problem, and never have had since. Sorry, I wish I had a solution to suggest. Joy |
#6
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Super Fleas
Purrs that your eugenics program don't succeed.
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#7
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Super Fleas
On May 28, 12:40*am, Yowie wrote:
The night before we became Pepper's family,s he was given a bath by the people who rescued her to get rid of most of her fleas. She certainly didn't have very many when we picked her up, but to be certain, we stopped on the way home and picked up some flea drops (for the back of the neck) from the supermarket to finish them off. A week later, she was covered in fleas. But as I'd already treated her, I couldn't give her any more treatments for another 3 weeks. We gave her a flea bath every week. By the end of each week, she was crawling with fleas again. As soon as the month was up, I got her some Frontline from the pet shop (knowing that its a good brand) and treated her. It seemed to work. But within a week, she was covered with fleas again. So, the bathing continued on a weekly basis, each time decimating the incredible flea population, and each time, within a week, the flea population would be back. after the month was up, I hit them with Advantix from the vet. Advantix is the most expensive variety, but is supposed to be the most effective. And indeed, within 12 hours of application, I couldn't see a flea on her. But within a week, she had fleas again. Not so many as previously, but still, fleas were there. And so the poor dog had to endure weekly baths to get rid of the fleas. This time around, I decided that the spot-on treatments weren't working and I went with Combatran, a pill that is supposed to kill all fleas within 24 hours. And so it did! And I was most pleased. But within a week, she had fleas again. The cats get their monthly dose of Advantage, and are not afflicted by the little black horrors. Unlike previous times where we've had a flea problem, I am also not being bitten by them (they generally seem to prefer me over the other two-legs in the house). These are not normal fleas. Its nearly winter here, so its not the usual time of year to be inundated with fleas (thats late spring). And I would suspect that its not re-infection from the outside, because Pickle goes out far more often that Pepper, but Pickle is flea-free. Methinks that these are the descendants of her original flea load. And I fear that by treating them with such an array of flea killing materials, instead of wiping the population out, all I've done is bred super fleas, fleas that can withstand anything I throw at them. Thankfully Pepper seems totally unbothered by fleas (unlike Fluffy who would literally chew her hair out and make herself red-raw if she got fleas). But boy am I sick of plucking fleas off her. And she's sick of flea baths.. And I don't really know what else to do. Yowie Is Program licensed in Australia? It's a monthly spot on or six monthly injection which damages the chitin development process, so the larvae can't develop into adults. As mammals don't have any chitin, it's supposed to be harmless to cats and dogs. I've been using it for years on my cats, and haven't seen more than half a dozen fleas since I started using it, which probably were imported from outside. You need to kill the eggs and larvae, as well as the adults. We moved into our current house with three flealess cats. The previouis owners had had three flea-ridden cats. We used Frontline on the cats to kill any that were feeding at the time, and a spray from the vets to spray the house, especially nooks and crannies. Indorex is what the vet recommends now. Together with the Program, it dealt with the problem at the start. You have my sympathies, I lived in a student house that was infested with fleas after a housemate and his kittens moved out. Good luck! Jeanette |
#8
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Super Fleas
On 28/05/2011 3:49 PM, NettieCat wrote:
On May 28, 12:40 am, wrote: The night before we became Pepper's family,s he was given a bath by the people who rescued her to get rid of most of her fleas. She certainly didn't have very many when we picked her up, but to be certain, we stopped on the way home and picked up some flea drops (for the back of the neck) from the supermarket to finish them off. A week later, she was covered in fleas. But as I'd already treated her, I couldn't give her any more treatments for another 3 weeks. We gave her a flea bath every week. By the end of each week, she was crawling with fleas again. As soon as the month was up, I got her some Frontline from the pet shop (knowing that its a good brand) and treated her. It seemed to work. But within a week, she was covered with fleas again. So, the bathing continued on a weekly basis, each time decimating the incredible flea population, and each time, within a week, the flea population would be back. after the month was up, I hit them with Advantix from the vet. Advantix is the most expensive variety, but is supposed to be the most effective. And indeed, within 12 hours of application, I couldn't see a flea on her. But within a week, she had fleas again. Not so many as previously, but still, fleas were there. And so the poor dog had to endure weekly baths to get rid of the fleas. This time around, I decided that the spot-on treatments weren't working and I went with Combatran, a pill that is supposed to kill all fleas within 24 hours. And so it did! And I was most pleased. But within a week, she had fleas again. The cats get their monthly dose of Advantage, and are not afflicted by the little black horrors. Unlike previous times where we've had a flea problem, I am also not being bitten by them (they generally seem to prefer me over the other two-legs in the house). These are not normal fleas. Its nearly winter here, so its not the usual time of year to be inundated with fleas (thats late spring). And I would suspect that its not re-infection from the outside, because Pickle goes out far more often that Pepper, but Pickle is flea-free. Methinks that these are the descendants of her original flea load. And I fear that by treating them with such an array of flea killing materials, instead of wiping the population out, all I've done is bred super fleas, fleas that can withstand anything I throw at them. Thankfully Pepper seems totally unbothered by fleas (unlike Fluffy who would literally chew her hair out and make herself red-raw if she got fleas). But boy am I sick of plucking fleas off her. And she's sick of flea baths. And I don't really know what else to do. Yowie Is Program licensed in Australia? It looks like it is indeed available! Thanks for the tip. It's a monthly spot on or six monthly injection which damages the chitin development process, so the larvae can't develop into adults. As mammals don't have any chitin, it's supposed to be harmless to cats and dogs. I've been using it for years on my cats, and haven't seen more than half a dozen fleas since I started using it, which probably were imported from outside. I was mistaken when I said Combatran (thats worming medicine for humans!). The pill we used was Comfortis (Spinosad). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosad You need to kill the eggs and larvae, as well as the adults. We moved into our current house with three flealess cats. The previouis owners had had three flea-ridden cats. We used Frontline on the cats to kill any that were feeding at the time, and a spray from the vets to spray the house, especially nooks and crannies. Indorex is what the vet recommends now. Together with the Program, it dealt with the problem at the start. The weird thing is that the cats and I are flea free. Since Pepper insists on sleeping *in* my bed, under the covers, snuggled up next to me (wish she was a cat!) If her and thereby my bedding had flea larvae, I would have thought I'd be absolutely covered in flea bites, but I'm fine. Its weird. You have my sympathies, I lived in a student house that was infested with fleas after a housemate and his kittens moved out. Good luck! If only the roaches ate fleas! Yowie |
#9
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Super Fleas
Yowie wrote
The weird thing is that the cats and I are flea free. Since Pepper insists on sleeping *in* my bed, under the covers, snuggled up next to me (wish she was a cat!) If her and thereby my bedding had flea larvae, I would have thought I'd be absolutely covered in flea bites, but I'm fine. Its weird. If I'm not mistaken I think there are different species of flea, some that go exclusively for dogs. |
#10
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Super Fleas
Pat wrote: Yowie wrote The weird thing is that the cats and I are flea free. Since Pepper insists on sleeping *in* my bed, under the covers, snuggled up next to me (wish she was a cat!) If her and thereby my bedding had flea larvae, I would have thought I'd be absolutely covered in flea bites, but I'm fine. Its weird. If I'm not mistaken I think there are different species of flea, some that go exclusively for dogs. I though fleas were pretty non-discriminating. They may be associated with a particular animal. but they'll bite anything that has blood! I worked for a nightclub once, where I discovered a couple of mice in a cupboard eating packages of saltines. We got rid of the mice with a quick visit from the exterminator, but it took a little more concentrated effort to get rid of the fleas that switched to our customers when there were no longer mice to bite! |
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