Pets & Fleas !

[Holiday Park]

I have a cat and a small dog . They have always been on frontline or advantix . They were about a month behind in flea control (a month ago) and so I went and got them up to date. It didn't seem like a big deal because we have never been bit (to the extent we were aware of it) OR had a flea problem .

Last week I started getting bit up . My kids started seeing a lot of fleas within the past couple days. The animals are due for another aplication but I can't beleive it would get out of had so fast. I looked up online how to treat for fleas and found s good article. It sad to vaccum really good everywhere , wash everything really good , and treat both the home and animals at the same time.

I started wondering if one of the dck's brought something (or fleas) in my home because of this . Because I started seeing bites on this one child for many months now. Dcm even told me at drop off once that the relative who babysits her has animals and her bites were from their fleas. Well I have animals too and they have had fleas on&off but it has never been an issue and we don't get bit (until now) .

Well we went out and bought some spray with the IGR stuff in it to spray on everything after vaccuming . And I will be buying some more spot on treatment like frontline plus , for the animals tomorrow evening. (After kids go home/picked up ) .
Well dcm texted me this evening to say they noticed bites on dcg and if I had noticed any on my child (my youngest is the same age) . Dck has only been at my house the last couple weeks I think. I have no problem being honest about the situation because I'm taking care of it . I will also be calling pest control out to come trwat the house, but I have to wait for a time I can be out of the house for 3 hours. Its too cold to take anyone out for that long and I am keeping my pt child FT temporarily on top of my ft ers. So I can't take three kiddos in my vehicle anyway (no room) . I have to wait until they go home at 5:30 (and pest control stops coming out at 4/closes . Or tell two families they have to pick up early so a pest cntrol guy can come out to treat the house and then I'll have just the 1 left whos mom should nt mind if I took him to the mall or park with my little one while the house was being treated/fumigated .
I don't want to scare this mom or incriminate myself in any way . So if I just tell her yes we juwt discovered fleas despite treating the animals and that we are&will be treating the home . This is SO ambarrasing as this has never happened in all the 9 yrs we've had our cat and 5 yrs we've had our dog. I think its just a series of bad timing and maybe not treating the right way between the flea life cycles or something and it being winter now.
If we ever had a problem I wasn't aware until now. But we do have them. I caught 2 on me today . I used to always just get the spot on stuff and never thought about it after that. I just looked up info online and now I know about the flea life cycle and what to do .
I get the feeling she is trying to blame me for her kids bites. But their family has animals too , so it could be only me or both of us .

[countrymom]

first off, I just had this problem in sept. DON'T spray your house, it doesn't work. Vacuming works great. I was told that fleas can come in your house like any bug. Never in 14 yrs had we seen fleas on our cat till this year.

we renovated a bedroom and when dh ripped out the ceiling a huge birds nest fell and the cat was in the room so we are almost postive it was from the nest.

now, this is how we got rid of them. Apply advantix, wait 2 weeks apply again, wait 2 weeks and apply again. This will get rid of them. I shampoo'd my floor too, this is why we never got bit because we had it under control. I would not allow the animals in the bedrooms.

if the child is getting bit, then mom needs to do something, because she is bringing them in and passing them around. Its not that bad, but it can get nasty if not taken care off.

[MamaG]

There is no need for 'pest control' there's not really a safe poison that would work. I suggest vacuum vacuum all the time and keep pets treated. In spring time you can treat the yard as well. I've honestly never seen a pest place that treats for fleas. Where do you live? I never use hazardous chemicals, I have two dogs, we did get tons of fleas once about 3 years ago. Between vacuuming, the spray made by Adams, sold at Walmart, we got rid of them. Spray the furniture and mattresses every couple days, change and immediately wash bedding on same scedule.

I hope you're embarrassed enough to not make the same mistake ever again, it gives providers with pets a bad name.

[JEM]

I hope you're embarrassed enough to not make the same mistake ever again, it gives providers with pets a bad name.

Not sure how to quote but really?? Isn't that a little harsh?

[MissAnn]

"I hope you're embarrassed enough to not make the same mistake ever again, it gives providers with pets a bad name."

That was a little harsh! I had the same problem with fleas. Tried to keep ahead of it but it became a problem. It happens. We are not perfect.

[Angelsj]

You may have an issue with the fleas being resistant to the type of control you are using.
I would suggest a switch to Advantage Multi. It has the extra advantage of killing several types of worms as well. It also seems to work well in the area around the animals.

I run an animal rescue center, and we only use advantage multi on our animals. They have both an indoor and an outdoor run and we only use flea control about four times a year...no fleas, no worms and NO ticks (the big one here, as we had a HUGE tick problem)
You do need a prescription (ask your vet.) I don't know how many animals you have, but you can buy the largest type and break it up into appropriate doses if needed.

[Msdunny]

Try sprinkling Diatamateous (sp?) Earth on your yard during a dry spell. This is a non-toxic mix - completely safe for humans and animals - but it will kill off any fleas in the yard. You can use it in the house, too, but it does make a dusty mess! Only do it indoors when you have enough time to sweep it into the floors well, then vacuum up the excess.

[Holiday Park]

You may have an issue with the fleas being resistant to the type of control you are using.
I would suggest a switch to Advantage Multi. It has the extra advantage of killing several types of worms as well. It also seems to work well in the area around the animals.

I run an animal rescue center, and we only use advantage multi on our animals. They have both an indoor and an outdoor run and we only use flea control about four times a year...no fleas, no worms and NO ticks (the big one here, as we had a HUGE tick problem)
You do need a prescription (ask your vet.) I don't know how many animals you have, but you can buy the largest type and break it up into appropriate doses if needed.

My chi has only ever had that. Its the little white container that goes on the back like frontline right? And my cat has been on frontline. I dont know if last time it was the frontline or frontline plus. But I just read that the plus has the IGR in it.
Well I ended up just texting her back and told her my son saw some fleas and we already treated with the spray stuff (from petco) , and that I plan to have pest control come out. Its basically a more potent bug killer and strong IGR that they would use to help speed up the process , like a "birth control" to use on any energing larva , new adults etc... We already pay for pest control (something I wanted to have since moving to this house in April and getting back into childcare) so treating for fleas is not going to be an additional cost.

I will remember to vaccum at least 1-2x each day. At our other house we steam cleaned often and just haven't as often since moving here. Thats crazy you can get fleas just from a bird . I remember having a parakeet I rescued . A pet store owner I worked for ( as a teenager) told me to get rid of it because it had a goopy eye and mites real bad on his feet&legs. I asked if I could have him. And nursed him back to health . But I learned with parasites like that on a bird it is tricky trying to treat stuff like that eith a pet bird.
The medicine has to be the right dose as to not over do it and you have to be consistent with applying it.
Fyi , my clients are aways fully aware that we have an indoor dog , 3lb chihuahua that isnt allowed in the play room or on carpet. And a indoor/outdoor 13lb cat . I have it in my handbook and that they are kept up to date on parasites control&shots. But I would think most people would understand that with having animals , sometimes stuff happens. It's a risk I take getting a pet and a risk the client takes for using a pet owner as a provider. I had them both for 2&7yrs before ever starting my childcare services. Now would I get another now? Nope. But they are a part of my family and were here first. Im determined to get rid of the fleas. Like I said, I've had my cat 9 years. Since he was a kitten when my second baby (now 9) was 3months old. I just had my fourth baby last year ;-) And this is the first time I think we have a flea problem to the point where people are getting bitten.

[Angelsj]

Advantage is not the same as Advantix...just so you are aware, but I was just suggesting a switch in meds. Any pest can become resistant to a pesticide. You may not have had this issue before because your pets fleas were being killed and you now have only resistant ones left.

[Kaddidle Care]

I've found the Advantage works better than the Frontline. Since it's winter and you don't have to worry about ticks, try switching over to something in the Advantage line. My critters are on Advantage II and I do go overtime with it and nobody is getting bitten here.

I don't like to use the chemicals so I don't treat unless I actually see a flea. If the dog starts scratching the first thing I do is give him a bath and watch closely when rinsing him to see if there are any fleas. Or.. give them a good brushing on the back and roll them over to see if you see any fleas on their belly. Also look for flea dirt.

Obviously if you're getting bites, you've got something and being there's a child that's been coming in with bites, I hope it's only fleas.

Humans can get lice (scabies) that will produce bites too. EEK!

[countrymom]

thats right, check the kid for head lice too. I use advantage and follow what I posted. this is what the vet told me to do.

MamaG, I hope it wasn't ment like that. I have my cat for 14 yrs and never had a problem till this year and it was a fluke, how was I suppose to know that a birds nest carries fleas.

if the child comes in with more bites, I would ask for a dr's note. Maybe then the mom will do something, just think, everytime they go somewhere they are spreading fleas to people and other homes.

[momofboys]

There is no need for 'pest control' there's not really a safe poison that would work. I suggest vacuum vacuum all the time and keep pets treated. In spring time you can treat the yard as well. I've honestly never seen a pest place that treats for fleas. Where do you live? I never use hazardous chemicals, I have two dogs, we did get tons of fleas once about 3 years ago. Between vacuuming, the spray made by Adams, sold at Walmart, we got rid of them. Spray the furniture and mattresses every couple days, change and immediately wash bedding on same scedule.

I hope you're embarrassed enough to not make the same mistake ever again, it gives providers with pets a bad name.

The above comment is a little over the top!! But that aside could it be possible you have had a problem but it wasn't that bad? That has happened with us - I get eaten alive when we have issues & our pet (1 cat) does not even go outdoors ever, like another poster said they can get in your home even if you don't have pets. Don't be so hard on yourself - & I second the vacuuming a lot & cleaning out the vacuum bag or spraying it with the spray but not spraying your whole home unless it gets really bad. Good luck!

[VTMom]

I'm not sure if this is a regional or time sensitive deal, but we treat our indoor cat with Frontline Plus from the vet. They (frontline) had the guarantee that if you use the product properly for three consecutive months and still have fleas, they will come into your house and treat your house. I've read that the stuff from the vet is different from the stuff in stores, so make sure you're getting the medication from your vet. You'll also need to vacuum daily (throw out the bag each time), as well as wash any blankets/pillows/etc that your pet sleeps on in hot water.

My cat had fleas last fall and I was shocked. He's an indoor cat and we've never had a problem before (he's 15 years old). Our vet said all it takes is a hitchhiker to come in on a pant leg! Sure enough, one of my DC families mentioned that they'll have to bomb their house "again" because of continual problems. My guess is they shared with us!

Good luck. It's a pain, but if you're diligent, you'll get rid of them.

[countrymom]

oh yes, as soon as you vacum clean the bag out. I have a bagless one so it was easy. I would then tie the bag and throw it out right away. After a couple of days I didn't have to vacum as much.

[Nickel]

You got a lot of really good advice. It is extremely hard to get rid of fleas. We watched a friends dog once and our house was infested for what seemed like forever.

Anyway, I would also try Revolution. It's safe for dogs and cats. I got the flea powder, put that down, swept it into the carpet with a broom and then vaccummed the floor. As SOON as you are done vacuuming, empty the bag or canister into a plastic bag and take it outside immediately. Also, be sure to wash all of your bedding, towels, stuffed animals, and any other clothes or soft fabric items that have been out. I put all of my stuff in trash bags and tied them shut and then only opened them to throw the stuff into the wash machine.

Before you apply the flea medicine wash your pets really well in a tub of water with flea shampoo. Make sure you get their heads too because the fleas will run to that area. Do not get water in the eyes or ears though.

Good luck. It stinks having fleas and it takes a lot of work to get rid of them.