Flea Bath Remedies?

[hallieworthington]

I'm a college student and live with 3 roommates. One of my roommates had a cat this past year, who was apparently never kept on flea medicine. I keep Lulu on flea medicine religiously, because I'm allergic to fleas (and it's just miserable for the poor dog!). We never had a huge issue with it before this summer, as the cat mostly stayed in her room. During the week between when Spring semester ended and summer term started, none of us were at the house for the week AND she put the cat's scratching post into our living room. Came home to a flea infested house. We can't even walk into her room without being covered in less than 10 seconds. We've bombed the house twice and still can't manage to get rid of them, although the number has significantly dropped. However, I noticed that Lulu and my roommate's dog have a growing number of fleas on them. She's due for her next dose of flea meds on Monday, but I want to go ahead and give her a bath before to try to help. Any suggestions on what formula to use? I've heard Dawn dish soap, I've heard specific brands from the pet store, I've heard oatmeal. She's thankfully not super itchy or scratching a lot, meaning that the flea medicine is working, but I still don't want her to have to deal with fleas at all. Also what else can I do to the house? According to the boxes of flea bomb we got, we have to wait another 2 weeks before bombing again, but I'm not sure I can take it! I'm scratching more than the dogs are and my feet are covered in scabs and hives from the allergies.

*SN: We've got a Petco down the road from my house and I got online to read some flea shampoo reviews and do some research about what I could get to treat her with today and found this. It has great reviews and says it doesnt leave them with the chemical smell (my roommate's flea shampoo for her dog makes her dog smell like a walking manufacturers plant). Any thoughts on this product?
Access Denied

[Labradorks]

I haven't used flea shampoo since I was in my teens before Advantage came out. You can ask your vet though. In the meantime, unless all animals in the home are on a monthly flea preventative, nothing you do is going to work 100%, just temporarily. Time for a house meeting to address the fleas and I would seriously think about asking her to leave if she can't care for the cat properly and is inviting pests into your shared home. That's just inconsiderate. If it's about money, honestly it would be cheaper for you to provide the cat with flea meds than to continue with the bombing, spraying, and bathing. There are lots of inexpensive options out there nowadays. It does not have to be a premium brand like Frontline or Advantage. Another idea would be to have an agreement that, like utility bills, everyone pitches in monthly for flea preventative. Figure out the cost and whoever does the house financials can also manage this.

[hallieworthington]

Unfortunately the flea problem came about because she took the cat home during that week we were all gone and is at home all summer. She is insistent that the fleas are not from her cat, but since they're stemming from her room and we havent had an issue until the cat wasn't in her room, we're positive its from her cat. She also says her cat doesn't have fleas, but he's a long hair black cat, so I'm not convinced on that. Our dogs are on Frontline, so I know that they're covered but I just hate that theyre having to deal with it. Also, I'm (thankfully) moving out at the end of July, so I've only got another month to deal with it, but I just wish I didn't have to deal with it at all. My roommate and I are the only 2 out of the 4 who are here and we're at our wits end trying to find an end to the fleas. Our landlord will come spray, but she charges and our roommate with the cat refuses to pay any portion and it's rather costly.

[shellbell]

Fleas drown super easy, don't really need a fancy shampoo....just go with Dawn. The challenge will be getting them out of the house

[Georgia]

A couple years ago, I had fleas in my house. They're tough to get rid of. We found the fleas on a Sunday night when most stores are closed. My husband just went to a 24 hour grocery store and bought a bunch of products from the pet care aisle. We bathed our dog in flea shampoo then washed all bedding, throw blankets on the sofas, etc. We sprayed the sofa with a flea spray and vacuumed all the carpets and furniture. We had to vacuum every day for about 2 weeks. It was a real PITA. I now have this product on hand just in case. Access Denied Sam is on K9 Advantix II and he's never had a problem with fleas.

[Maxx&Emma]

To be perfectly honest Frontline stopped working for me and so many othes I know a couple of years ago. My vet does not even carry it anymore. We started using Vectra 3D and I have not seen one flea or tick since. I don't think you are supposed to use other flea products, like a shampoo, with a topical. If you can get the Vectra 3D from your vet I think your flea issue would be gone quickly. Best thing about it, it dries extremely quickly and no "grease" spot!

[Labradorks]

Unfortunately the flea problem came about because she took the cat home during that week we were all gone and is at home all summer. She is insistent that the fleas are not from her cat, but since they're stemming from her room and we havent had an issue until the cat wasn't in her room, we're positive its from her cat. She also says her cat doesn't have fleas, but he's a long hair black cat, so I'm not convinced on that. Our dogs are on Frontline, so I know that they're covered but I just hate that theyre having to deal with it. Also, I'm (thankfully) moving out at the end of July, so I've only got another month to deal with it, but I just wish I didn't have to deal with it at all. My roommate and I are the only 2 out of the 4 who are here and we're at our wits end trying to find an end to the fleas. Our landlord will come spray, but she charges and our roommate with the cat refuses to pay any portion and it's rather costly.

If there are fleas they are also on the cat. The reason why most cats don't itch or have reactions to fleas is because the cat is the flea's natural host. Dogs are not a natural host nor are humans, which is why we often react adversely. Put the cat in a sink or tub and comb it. Then spray the black flecks that come off the cat with water. They will dissolve into blood. That is flea excrement aka digested blood. That cat probably also has tape worms from ingesting flea eggs (your dogs might, too).

Since you you just have one more month I'd let it go. Wear socks, don't Lay on the floor, and wash and dry everything before it goes into a box. Then I would inform the landlord of what's going on with the roommate and absolve yourself of any fees that might be incurred from a pest control company.

[POPTOP]

Only had fleas once here with two dogs and two cats. Sent them all to the vet for treatment for the day. While they were gone I vacuumed like a devil. I used a product named Zodiak, house spray and yard spray. It not only kills fleas, it kills the eggs. You need to vacuum daily, all cracks and crevices, around baseboards, wash all bedding. Keep it up as the eggs will hatch and you're back at square one. Change out the bag every time.

After the treatment we did, never saw another flea. Granted, we are in an area where most dogs and cats and well cared for. Although, we do have a few feral cats, rabbits and skunks, all flea carriers.

[hallieworthington]

We keep trying to convince her to take her cat in to the vet to get treatment or even just check him, because he HAS to be infested, but shes insistent that he is completely flea free, so she refuses. I feel bad for the cat, because it's not his fault the house is infested and it's also not his fault he can't get proper flea meds.

I did go to Petco and buy their brand of natural flea and tick shampoo-WOW. It's got several oils as ingredients, such as cinnamon, clover, and lemongrass and it works SO well. Directions said to rinse her, lather her, and let her sit for 7-10 minutes. Within about 3 minutes, I started noticing blood spots all over her, specifically in the "fluffy" fur under her butt and around her back legs. I panicked, thinking she was reacting adversely to it, but every spot of blood was a flea. By the time the 10 minutes were up, I had picked off 20+ fleas out of the blood spots and every single one of them was DEAD. I don't think I've ever been such a happy lab mama haha! While rinsing her, more dead fleas came off. I got her out of the tub and took her outside, where I took a comb and a pair of tweezers to go through her fur. Picked off about 15 more dead fleas (a few were still squirming somewhat, but they weren't jumping or crawling). As far as I can tell now, Lulu is flea-free! And she smells amazing to boot!

However, I'll definitely be speaking with the landlord and bringing her in to show her my roommate's bedroom if necessary. We have to keep a towel under my roommate's door to prevent any fleas from trying to escape her room and that's just ridiculous. I'll keep treating Lulu with the flea shampoo probably 1-2 more times before move-out and keep her on her regular dose of flea meds since she's due for a refill in August. Thanks for all the tips! And I'll be checking into switching her off of Frontline. We used to use K-9 Advantix II and it seemed to work...would that be a good brand to switch her back to? We've had her on frontline the last 6 months because I found a deal that made the 6 month Rx cheaper than the Advantix II and it worked well until the cat left. Also, for the tapeworm issue, are there any signs the dogs would be showing that would be indicative of a tapeworm? Both dogs are still behaving/eating/sleeping/playing normally. No weight loss or gain, change in the consistency/color of the stool (that I can tell when she goes on our walks) or anything like that, but I'm not familiar with tapeworms, so I'm not sure if those would be signs.

[Taylor]

Diatomaceous Earth - food grade, I use a brand called JM Organics - I will never use anything else for fleas.

put it on the dog and cat (avoiding eyes), under couch cushions, under bedding, brush it into the rugs, you really need to get something into the carpeting and all the fabric - as the fleas are only on the dog to reproduce