Anyone having flea problems?
Thanks to a springtime with frequent rain, my dog, cat, and home became heavily flea-infested.
Sadie-dog and Martin-cat had professional baths today, while I vacuumed and washed every surface at home and did about 10 loads of laundry.
I’ve read that daily, vigilant vacuuming will get rid of all the fleas, larva, and eggs. I certainly hope so. I don’t want to use any poisons.
Well, things do seem to be better now. Both Sadie and Martin are resting peacefully—no more continual scratching, biting, squirming, or whimpering.
How about you? Any similarly bad stories out there?
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10 Answers
No, I haven’t been scratching at all.
@marinelife Good to know. We won’t be giving you a flea-bath anytime soon.
No fleas in my house. Dogs all have meds and no itches or scratches.
I have had a bi-monthly pest control service ever since I moved into this house, and all our pets are on Advantage
Years ago when I lived in San Diego the fleas were awful! Now, the last 22 years I am in the high Sierra foothills where it is too cold and they die off in winter. The occasional tick but little flea issues. Gotta be a mountain person, fleas do not like snow. lol
I had a damp rag dipped in vinegar and before I would go out, I would pass it over my dogs fur. The smell goes away and it’s harmless to the dog. I would see fleas jump on him and then jump away. They don’t care for the smell. He didn’t get a single tick or even a flea bite all last summer.
No. Our animals are given flea and tick prevention monthly for this very reason.
@Pandora I’ve never heard of that. Thank you so much for the tip, which I’d like to try tomorrow. Did you use straight vinegar or a water-and-vinegar mixture?
I’ve read that fleas are also repelled by cedar. There must be something about strong, distinctive odors that they don’t like.
Eucalyptus leaves work too. A dog bed stuffed with the leaves will repel fleas.
@SadieMartinPaul I would mix vinegar with water and dip a rag in it and wring it out. Then wipe his fur all over. Especially his paws. You don’t have to soak his fur. Just enough to make sure the smell is present. After a while the smell will go away and the good thing is the dog won’t smell like the outdoors either. If we walked though some tall wild grass (he is a maltese), then I would make doubly sure by wiping him a second time when we got home.
Cedar can cause health issues for your dog.
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