After losing many battles to the fleas, Wolf and I think (pray) we’ve won the war. Let me tell you of the journey.
After putting our cat Harley down in March I asked my cousin if she’d give us one of her cats, as she has an abundance of them and was looking to re-home a few. She agreed. PJ came to us on Memorial Day. She gave him some Frontline the day he came to live with us.
After a couple weeks we noticed PJ was biting and scratching. We waited the required amount of time and gave both him and Francesca (our other cat) Revolution. One must alternate between the two because the fleas become resistant to the chemicals, much like how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Yet thirty days later PJ was still biting and scratching and his gums seemed pretty pale to me. We took him to the groomers and they said the was covered in fleas indicating the Frontline and Revolution were not working.
In the meantime I posted on my facebook asking for ways to control the flea population naturally. I got the usual responses: clean your house. Since Wolf and I keep the house pretty clean by vacuuming and dusting I looked for other solutions. Debbie, my totally reliable and wickedly awesome pet sitter suggested using Diatomaceous Earth. We did this a couple times and it seemed to lessen the fleas but poor PJ was still biting and scratching.
We vacuumed and dusted constantly and we diatomaceous earthed the house twice. Finally we broke down and bought a fogger. And you know what? It didn’t work. Oh, it killed the spiders, ants, and all the other insects but not the fleas. On the day Wolf fogged, he took the day off from work set the fogger up, brought ALL the laundry down to the laundromat, and took both cats to the groomer.
And still the fleas kept coming.
Wolf and I were at wits end. The third time PJ went to the groomer, earlier this week, he came home WITH fleas. We called and complained and they agreed to groom him for free. He went in a fourth time and that was yesterday. So, poor PJ had been constantly groomed and dipped, and biting, and scratching since at least Memorial Day. The poor kitty has been so totally miserable he hasn’t been able to settle into our home.
In the meantime Wolf started doing research on fleas. He determined the best way to get rid of them was for the temperatures to drop well below 70* (WikiPedia). Here in central New Hampshire it’s been warm and humid, weather fleas love. The hurricanes, the rain in general, the warm air, all this was perfect weather for fleas. As much as we hated to pray for cold, we started to.
The last two nights central NH has had frost warnings. We haven’t gotten a frost but the temps have dipped pretty low at night. This morning when I got up it was 46* in the house. Since we knew the best way to get rid of the fleas was to freeze them we left all the doors and windows open during the night. Let’s hope that it worked.
So all those chemicals we exposed ourselves and our cats to did no good. Certainly the chemical companies (ie: pharmaceutical companies) got our money. Going the chemical route was not an easy decision. Now I know, and I knew at the time I was making the decision, it was the wrong one.
So we’ve (hopefully) won the war but because the cold came. It’s a war we never, ever wanted to engage in. We will be more deliberate in keeping the house flea free by doing maintenance cleaning with diatomaceous earth and borax (the other suggestion we got as it’s non-toxic). We will continue to brush the cats with the flea comb. And if you have any suggestions, please, comment. Never in all the years I’ve had pets have I had a flea infestation like this. Talking to neighbors they said the same thing: this was the worst year in recent memory of such a bad flea problem.
I leave the diatomaceous earth down when I’m worried. I put thick lines on the floor to cordon off anywhere I think they are. I put it in the couches. I get the food-grade variety so I don’t have to worry about where it gets into. If they have to go through it to get to a host, they either desiccate or starve. It looks trashy, but it seems to work. Once I haven’t seen any for 3-4 weeks, then I sweep it up. I sure hope the cold weather did the trick for you. Good luck!
It helps to treat the yard. I know you want to go non-chemical but it really does help. Also a dehumidifier might help if it can keep the humidity low enough.
5th paragraph, 3rd line – I’m thinkin’ that should be insect not incest?
Try adding garlic and brewer’s yeast to his diet. When I lived in NH, I used G&BY for years and NEVER had a flea. And that’s in a household that included 5 dogs and 2 cats. [I don't have do that down here in AZ. No fleas.
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Tosha: great idea! Thank you.
Woodwife: yes, treating the yard is on the list. And thanks for picking up on the typo. Both Wolf and I missed it!
Prill: we tried Brewers Yeast a long time ago but it didn’t work. Maybe another try is in order!
My dog got fleas 2 years ago for the first time ever (he was 7yrs old at the time). After trying several non-medicinal “cures”, I broke down and got the Comfortis chewable tabs from the vet. The first dose begins killing all fleas on the body within a few hours. Within 24 hours, they are all dead. After that point, all future fleas die immediately once they bite. The pill is taken once a month, and the cost was about $17 a pill from my vet.
The dosage is based on the dog’s weight, and the pills for him were huge (he’s about 70lbs). I got these things called “pill pockets” from the vet for dog medicine that literally envelopes the pill and makes it impossible for the dog to spit out. I used to wrap his medicine in bread or slices of deli meat, but he would eat that and leave the pill, lol.
I don’t know if there are any lasting side effects to this medicine (he’s doing fine as I type this). He was on it for several months as I live in the South and it’s perpetually humid and warm here. He was cured within a day after the first dose, but I worried about eggs that went undetected that may have hatched later. So I kept him on it until I was sure they were totally gone from my home.
Treating him was the easiest part with this medicine. Getting the fleas out of my house was a nightmare. There were a few trouble spots that remained for a while (like his favorite lounging areas on the rug). But at least I had the comfort of knowing that he wouldn’t get re-infested again while on this medicine.
We, too, tried several different flea bombs until I read an article somewhere that stated the only effective bomber had to include the ingredients for insect growth regulator that killed all flea stages (larvae, pupae and eggs).
And we also kept the a/c set to about 68 to keep the humidity out of the air inside the house. He got the fleas in November, and it was still mild outside but cold at night. We didn’t treat the yard (we should have), but we had a colder than usual winter that year so I was confident that anything out there died during the winter. He hasn’t had fleas since. (knock on wood, lol).
And, after the foggers, once a week I would sprinkle a salt and borax mixture on the carpets, let it sit for a day, then vacuum it up.
Be careful with the garlic–it can be toxic to cats. ASPCA info here:
http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-pet-nutrition/how-bad-is-garlic-for-cats.aspx
And just a thought, but are you picking up the Revolution/Frontline at the vet’s? I’ve read articles about counterfeit flea meds being sold online–the EPA has info here:
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/factsheets/petproduct.htm
All I can think of to recommend is a combination of Advantage, daily vacuuming/reapplying diatomaceous earth/throwing out the vacuum bag each time, and flea combing several times a day until the problem gets under control. Good luck!
Have you tried Rotenone shampoo? Organic, but usually effective. You can add it to the carpet cleaner and shampoo the carpets (or rugs) too. I also use Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) You can even mix that in their food to take care of worms. One other thing you might try is Neem Oil (stinky, but effective) I’ve used a combination of all 3, and haven’t had a problem with fleas for a long time. Granted, the kiddens don’t go outside, but still no problems.
In 2008 I got fleas in a rental house near the beach. I put the can flea bombs under the house twice (about 5 cans each time) & that did help. My cat did get a tapeworm from the fleas & she had to be medicated for it until it died. She got a change in her coat/fur & scratched all of a sudden every day. I bombed the whole house interior also w/cans & that did seem 2 help. We moved, but I think when conditions R good, if fleas are dormant 4 long periods, they take advantage of good times of the year.
I agree w/Carolyn, r u sure u got the authentic Revolution? That stuff is supposed to be the #1 best though I’ve never tried it.
Too bad you’re so far from the ocean, regular trips to swim in sea water can be a big help.
Thanks for all the comments.
Juniper: cats don’t like to swim so I don’t think dipping them in the ocean is an option even if we leaved near the sea.
Marlon: yes, it was Revolution not a substitute.
Laurie: thanks for the suggestions. I will keep them in mind for next time (though lets hope there is no next time).
Melissa: We don’t have a/c here. It’s something I refuse to have in my home.
Melissa: You describe the medication as one for dogs. Is there something similar for cats?
Sounds like my year, tried revolution and it did nothing. Worked like a charm last year. So, did the flea comb and vinegar and water rub downs. Seemed to help a lot. And threw bedding into the dryer, high heat kills the fleas. It’s been getting colder so the problem should be over soon.
It takes up to a full year to a year and half to win the battle of fleas. Even if you live in cold weather states. However if your treating the cats and the house monthly with flea powder or spray (pet department) on carpet, hard wood floors, and fabrics. Also all fabrics need to be washed in hot water like lice infections. All because one flea can lay over a million eggs. Also as a country girl, I can tell you that cattle dip found at any farm store works the best! Mix it in a spray bottle or fill your tub and dip the cats. Then you can get away with not treating the cats for about three months. Then you can concentrate on your house and yards.
sorry to hear about your Flea War; we’ve been fighting our own here in the mtns of NC. temps have finally dropped below 70 here as well, with the house getting down to the upper 50s at night. make certain neither cat has tapeworms, as they often accompany flea infestations (which was my favorite phrase when i was five). feeding freshly ground pumpkin seeds will help with intestinal parasites. thanks for your story and good luck!