I just discovered (just my luck) that my cats have fleas. I ran out and bought Advantage and all three cats have been medicated. I kept them in the basement for the first 24 hours, but when I let em out I noticed three fleas - one on Mason, one in Alexis' hair, and one on my arm. At this point I FREAKED. The cats were confined once again to the basement and I have vacuumed my carpets three times with my brand new Bissell vacuum... I also put flea powder on the carpet, let it soak, and vacuumed that out. All linens have been cleaned and my furniture has been vacuumed thoroughly as well. We still have to clean the basement, but other than that is there anything I'm missing, short of flea bombing the house? I also bought replacement sand for the sandbox in the backyard just in case the fleas are being brought in by the kids. Please note my cats don't go outside nor are they in contact with other animals. If you have any suggestions, do share. Thanks.
I don't know how you kill fleas, but probably get rid of them on stuff like pillows, stuffed animals, blankets, etc. I hope you can get rid of them soon!
At least you know the cats are good now, they CANNOT live on cats now, can't reattatch for at least 30 days now.
I keep worrying that I have fleas cause I volunteer at a cat shelter, are fleas big enough to see?
if you had fleas you;d know!
my cat used to get them and we ended up bombing th house. YUCK i know but it did nip the problem in the but and we're allergic so we had to handle it fast. good luck.
what's the weather like where you are? it's a seasonal thing here and sometimes there in the yard and when the season changes they move inside.
You are doing all you can.....
One method of prevention is garlic....
In your pets food and yours.... they'll stay away.
My Mom puts uses it in her dogs food all the time, because Taggy is allergic to conventional medicines.... and well, my Mom's a granola head, so if she can find a natural method, she does.
If you are eating it too, say one is on some bedding, it won't come onto you.
The weather where I am has been colder than usual. We had some humidity and then suddenly the days became cooler.
Yeah, fleas are big enough to see. They like to hang around the back of the neck... they will usually move when you push back the fur.
Thanks for the tip yabinti. :)
I forgot to mention diatomaceous earth. You may have to order it online.... www.onlynaturalpet.com
This is what we keep on hand, when we've had visiting dogs. I guess flea powder can be really hard on a dogs (kids, humans) nervous system. I didn't know that.... My Mom filled me in. She also recommended that instead of flea powder, you can use borax on your carpets... especially since you have small children and are pregnant. It works on the eggs. Vacuum everyday.... and then send some more borax and diatomaceous earth UP the vacuum, after you are done. It's safer. And it will do the job. But diatomaceous earth will work better ON the dog.
Diatomaceous earth is powdered fossilized algae.... You sprinkle it on the carpets, furniture, the dog, everywhere fabric or soft.... it's pierces the fleas protective layer, then they dehydrate and die.
You'll have to keep all this up for a month or so, but then they'll be gone for good... the big thing is, once you think they are gone, keep going for a few more weeks.
i had a really horrible, persistent flea problem which was one of the reasons i left my last apartment (which, btw was on the 3rd floor and hardwood- very uncommon places for fleas).
i bombed it twice, had to wash everything upholstered or clothlike in hot water while we were out of the house waiting for the bombing to be over. vaccum like it's your job and then remove the bag, put it in plastic, and take it outside to the trash.
we eventually also had to have an exterminator come... twice. i cannot tell you why these fleas were so persistant, but i am a flea expert by now! :) we tried garlic, etc, and it didn't work out so well. you may notice that one person had more bites than the other? they usually pick one host as their favorite. for us, it was sophia. i was so upset, and the people at her school actually asked me if she had chicken pox, the poor thing had so many bites.
i'd just wash everything, vaccuum, and keep the cats treated and inside. you should be fine.