Came back from Spain and the dog had fleas. This same thing happened last year, and we had taken steps to prevent it before we left this time, including bathing with flea soap and a fresh flea collar. But a day after we got back he was itching and I saw bugs crawling on him. And this time I can't get rid of them.

I've bathed him with four different brands of flea soap that all claim to kill the fleas and the eggs. I can see the dead ones coming off, especially around his feet and ankles, so it's doing something, but a day later they're back. I've brushed him religiously with a flea comb, tried topical anti-flea stuff, flea sprays, new collars...to the point that I'm concerned that it's really not good for him (one brand of shampoo in particular dried his skin out to the point that it was flaking off everywhere), and yet the fleas persist.

We've moved all the furniture, vacuumed, steam cleaned, and sprayed the house, and have been doing that daily. We also sprayed the back yard. It's getting really old. He's miserable, I'm grossed out, and this can't continue. He normally sleeps in our bed but he's been banished to the living room since we got back in an attempt to limit the spread of the bugs.

I've done my research on other options to deal with it, and they range from placebo/ineffective to outright dangerous for the dog and the family. I've considered an oral flea preventative (which we've never tried before), but there are a ton of reviews about them causing seizures or death and I don't want that. Seresto brand flea collars seem to be effective, but there's also a lot of reviews of them causing skin burns and seizures in pets, so I'm hesitant to try those, either.

It looks like TSC has diomataceous earth, so I may buy a couple of bags of that and spread it around the yard and possibly in the carpet. Does anybody else have suggestions of products or techniques that you've found safe and effective for getting rid of fleas?

Bravecto worked for my cat (dog prescription but dosed for my cat's weight)every 3 months. (going on 3 years now)

This was after trying various "cat" flea treatments that either did not work, or burned the back of his neck where applied (and did nothing to help with fleas).

Revolution, Frontline and one other I do not recall the name.

May or may not work, but at least worth asking your vet about it.

Our mutts popped positive for fleas a few months ago after not having any problems for a long time. Mrs.'Hook used Adams Plus Flea & Tick shampoo to get rid of them on the dogs. She also used an Adams laundry additive to wash their bedding which seemed to have worked.

Our vet highly recommended beginning the flea bath at the head and working back along the body. His claim was that if you bathe back to front, the fleas would run forward and congregate where you're not supposed to get the shampoo (like around the eyes). I don't know if that's really true or not, but Mrs. 'Hook did all the above and got rid of them on the first try.

Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
Our mutts popped positive for fleas a few months ago after not having any problems for a long time. Mrs.'Hook used Adams Plus Flea & Tick shampoo to get rid of them on the dogs. She also used an Adams laundry additive to wash their bedding which seemed to have worked.

Our vet highly recommended beginning the flea bath at the head and working back along the body. His claim was that if you bathe back to front, the fleas would run forward and congregate where you're not supposed to get the shampoo (like around the eyes). I don't know if that's really true or not, but Mrs. 'Hook did all the above and got rid of them on the first try.

Good luck.

That's the same stuff we used (and the same technique) that dried his skin out and made him flakey, but it did indeed seem to kill the bugs. Unfortunately, they came back a day or two later.

I bought a 20lb bag of diomataceous earth today...when the back yard dries out I'm going to spread it around and see if that helps.

quote:

Unfortunately, they came back a day or two later.

You might get rid of all the fleas on the dog, but those fleas have been laying eggs in your carpet and if you don't deal with them, the dog will be infested again very quickly.

Sprinkle the carpet with diomataceous earth to prevent the eggs from hatching and / or kill the larvae as soon as they hatch.

Be sure to use a mask while doing this, until the dust settles. The dust can really irritate your lungs.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Unfortunately, they came back a day or two later.

You might get rid of all the fleas on the dog, but those fleas have been laying eggs in your carpet and if you don't deal with them, the dog will be infested again very quickly.

Sprinkle the carpet with diomataceous earth to prevent the eggs from hatching and / or kill the larvae as soon as they hatch.

Be sure to use a mask while doing this, until the dust settles. The dust can really irritate your lungs.

That is the plan. We've vacuumed daily and steam cleaned a few times as well...I really thought that would deal with the eggs but apparently not. He's also wearing a flea collar that's supposed to kill anything that gets on him, but apparently that doesn't work either .

[QUOTE]Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Bravecto worked for my cat (dog prescription but dosed for my cat's weight)every 3 months. (going on 3 [QUOTE]

Bravecto is our “go to” Medication. Both corgis get it one is 10, the other is 7 and we’ve had no problems. My rescue made it to 15.5 and again no issues. My daughter’s Pack also is on it.

Rub food grade Diatomaceous Earth into the dog's coat. Repeat in a week.

put Diatomaceous Earth on upholstery, bedding, and carpets, vacuum in three days, and reapply. Make sure to have an application down seven days from the original application as this will kill any fleas that hatch.

This kills ticks, fleas, ants, roaches and any other insect that gets a good coating. It won't harm people or pets

You can also apply this to your yard to kill any fleas outside.

Diomataceous earth applied to the house and yard today. Dog got another bath with the adams soap. Used less, skin didn't seem to react so badly this time. He's still itching but I don't see any live bugs on him. I've notice fewer in the house, too. I think we're winning...gradually.