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I had a resonably flea-free dog, but she got out of the fence and came back full of fleas (no ticks). I've given her several baths with the flea shampoo and tried the flea collar and those flea drops on the back. Still can't get rid of the fleas! I've treated the dog house and all around the house (I don't want to start scratching behind the ears too!) but haven't had time to treat the yard. Anyone have some good tips to keep the yard and dog flea-free?
I read somewhere that bathing the dog in Dawn dish detergent is supposed to kill the fleas. I'm not sure if it works because my Lab goes berserk if you try to bathe her. It also said that a couple of drops of Wesson oil in the ears gets rid of ear mites. I've tried all those flea collars and that stuff on the back of the neck and none of it works.
Last edited by nightowl_52; Mar 18, 2005 at 06:19 PM.
The ONLY thing that works for me (well, us) is the flea pills they sell at the Vet. Once a month-it doesn't kill fleas, but it does keep them from breeding. I tried the shampoo's, dips, collars, area sprays- nothing kept them away much more than a week.
That's what I plan on getting, but first I need to treat the yard. What kind/brand works for you (well, your dog, not you). I've seen some on e-bay that are past expiration date for cheap. Not sure if they would still be as potent.
I use Frontline drops on my dog they work great but they will cost you. and I put some kind of powder that kills fleas ticks grubs ants and a bunch of other stuff on the yard I got it at Samsclub last year.
Front line drops work pretty good. The drops have to be used exactly per the instructions, and you have to keep applying the drops year round, and be very regular about it. It takes a long time for them to be effective also, if you started using the drops and two weeks later still had a major flea problem, that is OK, it takes a couple months before a good protection is established. The drops are expensive and that is a problem.
I forget the name of the pill, but that works too. My sister has got two mutts and they get some kind of pill, that does the job.
I wasn't using the frontline drops, I was using the hartz drops you can get at wal-mart for $6 for 3 months worth. I'd been using those for over a year and it was working pretty good, but when she got out I guess it was just too many fleas for the drops to work.
I use "Advantage" drops, similar to Frontline, from the vet. It really works, but is expensive...to me it's worth the cost. I know it kills fleas ASAP.
I get sentinel pills. Don't expect overnight results, but within a week or two you should be good to go. You'll probably want to give a couple more baths, I think fleas live a few months, and there are still eggs on the dog. Don't know on the exp. dates, but I wouldn't personally (it's also her heart/intestinal worm medicine). I didn't have good luck w/ the drops.
we have a black lab and six [count em six] cats and used advantage and then on to frontline plus havn't seen a flea in years get it on line and follow the directions to the tee and you will see results treating your yard cant hurt but I never treated mine and dont have a single flea in are home.
I would use something like Frontline or Advantage for the dog. I've used both and they worked for me. Now the real problem is the yard. this is where the fleas live. The absolute best thing I have ever used are Benificial Nematods. They are microscopic worms that live naturally in the soil. They eat the eggs and larve of the fleas. You can buy these little guys at most garden centers. They come in a box. It will look like you just bought a couple of scoops of dirt but the wprms are in there. Follow the directions as to application and watering. All you are doing is putting down millions more of these guys than would be found normally. They are hungry and the eggs don't stand a chance. When their job is done, they just die off from lack of food. The big trick is to get them fresh. They have about a 90day shelf life if NOT refrigerated. If kept cold they last about a year. If the place you get them keeps them on the shelf, I would look elswhere because you never know how old they are. I started using these about 15yrs ago and fleas have not been a problem. An application lasts about 2yrs for me then I use them again b4 I see a flea. Good luck.
I work at a vet and nearly everyone there use sentinel. Sentinel is a once a month reatment that works for fleas, ticks, and stuff like that AS WELL AS a heartworm proventitive. As was said above it won't kill the fleas, it will prevent tehm from breading. They will die off. The advantage topical stuff has a nuero toxin, this means a flea bites and is killed. They both work great. Sentinel is prefered for ease of use. You just drop the tablet in food. Also as said above it replaces the extra heartworm preventative. Fleas don't just live in the yard, fleas live near or on animals, they pretty much need a constatnt "feeding ground" Therefor they like to live in dog bedding and other places the dog frequents.
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