Help! Need flea killing advice!

[redwitch]

My kitties have fleas and before we become infested I am seeking your input on what to use to kill them. The fleas, not the kitties! Have always used Advantage but it isn't working.

[mackerel]

1. My sister told me the Advantage wasn't working well for her this year either.

I got her some flea powder to at least help until she could talk to her vet. I told her to sprinkle on the carpet too and vacuum it up so it could get in the vacuum bag. Somebody once told me that Citronella Oil around the house helps a lot.

[gvstn]

2. I was going to suggest Advantage. But you have tried that.

It has always worked instantly for me. Not really sure of other cures.

My cat didn't get fleas this year, so can't say if Advantage has changed its formula or fleas are more resilient to the old formula.

[CBGLuthier]

3. We used to set out bowls of water with a tiny drop of dish soap in them.

Usually near somewhere lighted and/or use white bowls. Every morning the bowls would contain more than a few dead fleas. Put them in corners and under couches and such.

[redwitch]

4. Hoping to stop the critters before it gets to that point.

I am tempted to try the Seresta collar which I have heard is very effective but neither kitty has ever worn a collar and I am afraid of them being pulled off at every opportunity. I wish my cats liked to be vacuumed!

[TuxedoKat]

5. Flea bomb

preferably the kind that works for 7-9 months. Or if you want to go the natural route, vacuum thoroughly, sprinkle 20 Mule Team Borax around on floors, carpets, furniture, wait an hour or so, then vacuum thoroughly again. Vacuuming stimulates unhatched flea eggs to hatch. Also, I get a flea comb and a cup of very hot water and comb for fleas, dipping comb in cup after finding one on cat. They especially seem to like the head and neck area.

[mithnanthy]

6. 20 Mule Team Borax works great.

We ended the flea problem years ago by one application of sprinkling it around the house as you have described, and then vacuuming. It's completely safe for pets and people. Never had a problem since.

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. Seconded.

Fleas were/are a huge problem in S. Florida. We had Boston Terriers when I was young and mom used Borax on the floors also.

It's my understanding that it doesn't kill them, they just don't like it and bugger off (!), those that aren't picked up by the vacuum, that is..

[mithnanthy]

8. I think that it also kills the eggs.

Borax is even safe on the pets eyes, if they are exposed to it. At least that was my understanding.

[TuxedoKat]

12. Actually

it kills by adhering to a bug's exterior (it's exoskeleton) when the bug walks the powder wears away at the exoskeleton and it dies. This is how Roachproof works -- it's basically the same thing (boric acid) but it's electrostatically charged so that it adheres to the roaches' bodies even better. The roaches get the powder on themselves and carry it back to their colonies and it wipes them out. My first condo had a huge roach problem. Put this stuff down and never saw another one after a few days.

[mak3cats]

9. A pill called Comfortis was approved for use in cats last year (or the year before)...

...it's much less toxic than the chemicals in collars or drops. We used it on our three when we had a bad flea season summer of 2014, and it worked like a charm!!

https://www.comfortis.com/

(I'm not affiliated to the company in any way. I researched and researched because I hate putting anything "cide" around my animals. This was the best option I found.)

[RebelOne]

15. I give Comfortis to my Chihuahua who is the size of a small cat,

and it works just fine.

[hamsterjill]

10. Food grade Diatomaceous Earth

You can get this at feed stores and at some garden centers. This stuff only kills things that have an exoskeleton. If kitties lick it, it won't harm them. Stress the "food grade" when buying.

[meow2u3]

14. You can actually dust your kitty with DE

The fleas hate it. You also have to make sure it's 100% food grade DE. Only problem is that if kitty--or we, for that matter--breathe the DE, it can do damage to the lungs, so be careful using it.

[Hatchling]

21. Yes!

This stuff is awesome. It kills all sorts of bugs:fleas, roaches, ants and bed bugs. And since it's food grade it won't hurt you or your kittehs. The crystalline structure tears their exoskeletons to shreds so they die off before they can breed.

[LiberalEsto]

11. Give them a bath with a little blue Dawn dish detergent

Make sure it's the blue kind.

[redwitch]

13. I would love to bathe them!

But also want to keep my limbs.

[ailsagirl]

17. Or at least reduce the number of scratches you get!!

I'm dying to bathe one of mine but she'd go berserk. Oh well...

[ailsagirl]

16. I gave mine Advantage

and it worked overnight. It was amazing!

Good luck!

[frogmarch]

18. Vinegar

http://www.maine-coon-cat-nation.com/vinegar-kills-fleas.html

Maine Coon Cat Nation

Vinegar Kills Fleas - 3 Ways To Use This Effective Homemade Flea Killer!

One way is to bathe your cat in vinegar and another way is to apply it to the coat in between baths to ward off fleas. The third way isn't recommended for cats (only dogs): add vinegar to their drinking water. Lots of info at the link on how to use the vinegar to rid your cats of fleas.

[hunter]

19. Frontline Plus occasionally, ripping out the carpets, and using no other insecticides at all.

The ants and other predatory invertebrates in our house and garden think of fleas in every stage or their life cycle as tasty treats.

We put Frontline Plus on our dogs whenever we all visit relatives in tick country.

Ticks are not so dangerous here out West because their juvenile forms often spend time on lizards and lizard blood kills Lyme disease.

But ticks are fucking annoying. I have many amusing (some NSFW) tick stories.

[redwitch]

20. Here in the Northeast ticks are a serious problem.

I just want the fleas off my kitties. Going to try the borax for around the house and seresta collars for kitties since advantage isn't doing it's normal excellent job. Son's kitty has been using the seresta collar and son swears by it.

[redwitch]

22. Just went over Mr. Turbo with a flea comb.

Got only 6 baby fleas. I think the Advantage is working, just taking a little while to get the new ones. So we will repeat with the comb over the week, do a serious vacuuming, borax the floors, rinse and repeat. Thanks for the help!

[TexasBushwhacker]

23. Just an FYI - be careful with "natural" products

We used a "natural" topical flea drop on our cat. It contained essential oils including peppermint oil. It turns out peppermint oil (and other EOs) are toxic to cats. She almost died.

One thing you can use, more for maintenance than actual flea killing, is brewers yeast. You can get it in powder form at the health food store. Fleas don't like it and as the cat grooms itself, it ingests the yeast and gives off a scent that repels fleas. You can also get little tablets.

[redwitch]

24. we have yeast for making bread. Same thing?

Thanks for the heads up on essential oils. I love our little furry ones so much. I would be devastated to lose them to something I did.

[TexasBushwhacker]

25. Brewers yeast is all I've used

But baking yeast may work too. It's not quite as powdery as brewers yeast though.

[Aerows]

26. Borax around the perimeter

Make a line of borax around the house to keep them out, and it will stop the flow of ants inside.

Borax is cheap. You can get it at any feed or hardware store.

[redwitch]

27. 2nd floor apt. Ants not an issue.

But I will share that with others when we are approaching ant season.

[Aerows]

29. Snow falls

which pretty much happens 1 day out of decade here in the Deep South, so we contend with pests like mosquitoes, ants and other undesirables like raccoons. It is not uncommon to see a deer mosey on by like they are a honey badger not caring.

Frankly, I am so tired of the heat that I would gladly hand it all over to you so that I could gripe about snow. I can put things on to stay warm, but there is a limit to what I can take off. It was so hot down here I contemplated a potato peeler (not really, but still, it was hotter than hell).

Satan won't come here because he doesn't have fireproof boots. God won't come here either, because the holy water is steam.

[redwitch]

30. Another hotter than hell day today here too.

But tomorrow we are starting a week of 70 degree weather and I cannot wait!

[Aerows]

33. May I please get a breeze and relief from humidity here, too?

I would run outside in a hat and thank Jesus, Mohammed or whatever deity is around if it was -5F, because that would mean that I could open a window if it got too hot. Which it is pretty much all the time except February. February is the only month where you can actually do things outside without getting heatstroke.

[Lilyhoney]

28. Revolution.

Kills fleas and mites and does heartworm prevention. The vet will want to do heartworm test prior to application. I had cat and dog that only responded to the Revolution product.

Advantage did not work at all for our problem.

Hope you get it worked out. Your buddies will be happier.

[pinboy3niner]

31. If I were you I'd flee

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[redwitch]

32. Never!

We shall fight in the couch cushions and in the rugs, we shall fight in the hallway; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this apartment or a large part of it were subjugated and flea bitten, then our apartment on the 2nd floor, armed and guarded by Advantage and borax, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, this cat momma, with all my power and might, will step forth to the rescue and the defleaing and general health and comfort of Turbo and Trouble.