Fleas ...in the middle of winter!

faysie · 01-07-2007, 06:45 PM

My houndies have fleas! It's so hot here in Florida that we are having a round of fleas in JANUARY! None hopping around the house at t his time but the babies are scratching and I've found several on them. Dixie HATES fleas.

We've had the yard and house sprayed, even though I don't like to do that. I couldn't see any alternative ...I wanted to nip it in the bud. I'm open for suggestions. Especially organic ones.

Frontline Plus drops. Baths. Checking and picking. What else can I do?

Rubydoo · 01-07-2007, 07:26 PM

Do you do the frontline year round? That is helpful.

When we lived in FL we had to have our yard sprayed for bugs monthly (kept Ruby off the grass the entire day). I've never had them in the house but we had a different bug guy come out and do the house whenever necessary. I took Ruby in to get her manicure and pedicure during those times (nails cut). What also helped is that all of the neighbors did it too.

Janice

Maggie's Mommy · 01-07-2007, 08:53 PM

Oh NO!!

We live in Valrico, Fl about 30 minutes from Tampa. I've noticed that my kids are scratching alot lately too but haven't seen any fleas on them or in the house. I just thought it was the time of year or something?? I use Revolution year round. I'll keep any eye on things. Hope your babies are flea free soon!

Elmer-n-Button · 01-07-2007, 09:11 PM

The day we got Button, he had so many fleas that we took him to the vet before we ever brought him home. (To be checked over as well, because the poor little guy had been OD'd on Ivermectin. ) Anyway, the vet gave him a pill that caused all the fleas to die and drop off of him within 30 minutes. Now . . . I don't know what was in that pill, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't organic. But it worked. We have had no fleas since, because we use Frontline year round. Good luck. One of the drawbacks of unseasonal weather!

Mikey T · 01-07-2007, 09:50 PM

Quote:

We've had the yard and house sprayed, even though I don't like to do that. I couldn't see any alternative ...I wanted to nip it in the bud. I'm open for suggestions. Especially organic ones.[/b]

Borax though it is not necessarily safer than pesticides.
Fleas, Ticks, and Your Pet FAQ

Quote:

Conventional wisdom and older studies that studied rat fleas suggest
that fleas spend only part of their time on your pet; this is not
true. There are different varieties of fleas, and the primary flea
infesting dogs and cats in North America and large areas of Europeis
the cat flea (yes on dogs, too). This flee, not as well studied as the
rat flea actually spends all of its adult life on the host under
normal conditions. Eggs are laid on the host and drop off into the
environment. Thus you can often find eggs wherever your pets spend
time: on their bedding, through the house, in the backyard.

A good preventive method is to put down towels everywhere your pet
normally lies and then wash those towels once a week. Deposited flea
eggs are therefore cleaned out regularly. Regular vacuuming and
emptying of the vacuum bag also helps, independently of any method or
methods you choose to do, since that eliminates or reduces food
sources for the larvae.
...
Borax and salt

Also known as sodium polyborate, sodium tetraborate, sodium borate.
The chemical is related to boric acid. This is present in a variety of
household products. Sprinkling 20 Mule Team Borax, the kind you use in
laundry (*not* the hand soap Boraxo; the soap added to can be toxic to
your pet) on the carpet and upholstery will dry out the deposited flea
larvae. The procedure is to vacuum the house, sprinkle borax or salt
using a sieve on carpet and upholstery (and under the pillows, under
the furniture); sweep with a broom to settle the borax into the carpet
and then vacuum again. Some people leave it on for a few days before
vacuuming, but this runs the risk of abrading the surface of the
carpet. Don't let your animals eat the stuff. If you use borax, you
may need to adjust for this when cleaning your carpets by using less
soap. The effects of a borax treatment seem to last about a year or
so.

Drawbacks: The chemical borax is abrasive, and 20 Mule Team Borax may
abrade your carpets. In addition, there are documented cases of
long-term low-level exposure to sodium polyborate resulting in
conjunctivitus, weight loss, vomiting, mild diarrhea, skin rash,
convulsions and anemia and other similar allergic reactions in humans.
If you're using borax as flea control, and your pets (or family) are
showing loss of appetite, eye or skin problems, anemia or kidney
problems, you may want to switch to another flea control method and
see if their health improves. Do not apply it to damp carpets as it
can take the color out.

Borax is NOT advisable where you have pets which groom themselves,
e.g., cats and ferrets. They can ingest enough to harm them if the
borax is not settled deeply enough into the carpet (October 1992 of
Dog Fancy). Symptoms of acute poisoning include diarrhea, rapid
prostration and perhaps convulsions [these occurred when borax was
scattered openly for cockroach control].[/b]

bold added for emphysis

biscuit · 01-07-2007, 10:15 PM

Mike is absolutely right about Borax.

Same is true for boric acid. Don't put this stuff out where they can walk in it, roll in it, swallow it or anything like that.

You need to be careful with both of them not only for dogs, but kids. We adults are a little better off just because we're bigger.

01-07-2007, 07:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
Rubydoo Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 1,681	Do you do the frontline year round? That is helpful. When we lived in FL we had to have our yard sprayed for bugs monthly (kept Ruby off the grass the entire day). I've never had them in the house but we had a different bug guy come out and do the house whenever necessary. I took Ruby in to get her manicure and pedicure during those times (nails cut). What also helped is that all of the neighbors did it too. Janice __________________ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...w/IMG_1340.jpg Take a basset hound to lunch today! --Bassets rule....and drool!

01-07-2007, 09:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
Elmer-n-Button Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 465	The day we got Button, he had so many fleas that we took him to the vet before we ever brought him home. (To be checked over as well, because the poor little guy had been OD'd on Ivermectin. ) Anyway, the vet gave him a pill that caused all the fleas to die and drop off of him within 30 minutes. Now . . . I don't know what was in that pill, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't organic. But it worked. We have had no fleas since, because we use Frontline year round. Good luck. One of the drawbacks of unseasonal weather! __________________ Arrrooooos from Bubby Boo, Dee Dee and Elmee Too!

01-07-2007, 06:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
faysie Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 360	My houndies have fleas! It's so hot here in Florida that we are having a round of fleas in JANUARY! None hopping around the house at t his time but the babies are scratching and I've found several on them. Dixie HATES fleas. We've had the yard and house sprayed, even though I don't like to do that. I couldn't see any alternative ...I wanted to nip it in the bud. I'm open for suggestions. Especially organic ones. Frontline Plus drops. Baths. Checking and picking. What else can I do?

01-07-2007, 08:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
Maggie's Mommy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 775	Oh NO!! We live in Valrico, Fl about 30 minutes from Tampa. I've noticed that my kids are scratching alot lately too but haven't seen any fleas on them or in the house. I just thought it was the time of year or something?? I use Revolution year round. I'll keep any eye on things. Hope your babies are flea free soon!

01-07-2007, 10:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
biscuit Senior Member Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: oklahoma Posts: 5,234	Mike is absolutely right about Borax. Same is true for boric acid. Don't put this stuff out where they can walk in it, roll in it, swallow it or anything like that. You need to be careful with both of them not only for dogs, but kids. We adults are a little better off just because we're bigger.

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