Getting Rid of Fleas - Tips and Resourceful Information

I’ll never forget the day I met “John’s” cat “Baba”.  John brought Baba to our clinic one Spring day, and we thought it was just one cat.  It turned out John had several hundred ‘pets’.  Baba had fleas.  In fact, he had such a severe infestation, that no matter what we did, it was just too late for the poor kitty.  John trusted Dr. Singh to do whatever was necessary to save Baba’s life.  Unfortunately fleas are a difficult creature to exterminate and at this point Baba was so drained of blood that the fleas killed him.  The reason I’ll never forget this case, is that I couldn’t help thinking if John had been using flea prevention, Baba would still be with him.

The process of getting rid of these unwanted beasts is both time consuming and expensive.  It is difficult because of  the flea’s life cycle.  There are 4 stages;  egg,  larvae, pupae and adult.   When you are trying to stop the infestation, it is important to simultaneously attack as many stages as possible.  Each stage has its own unique strengths and weaknesses.  The most difficult stage is the pupae stage, when the larvae cocoon themselves before they emerge as an adult. 

To stop a flea infestation properly, you must attack on 2 fronts.  You must attack them on the host (your pet) and the host’ habitat (your house).  Destroying the fleas on your pet is our job.  First, we check to see how bad the infestation is.  For the sake of argument, let’s assume it is a moderately severe case, and the patient is an adult feline in otherwise good health.  We give the cat a pill which begins to immediately kill the adult fleas only.  Then, we remove his collar.  Roughly 50% of the pets we flea bathe have flea collars on when presented.  This proves that not only are flea collars ugly and smelly, they don’t work.  Next, we give the cat his flea bath.  This is a process of bathing, waiting, rinsing, drying, checking and repeating.  Bathing can be very taxing if the cat doesn’t like water.  Let’s assume this cat loves water.  We’ll wet the cat down thoroughly, and then we’ll start working in the shampoo.  It is important to start at the face, ears, neck and avoid the eyes.  Working through the body, chest, back and then the tail, with the limbs and feet last, getting in between pads and especially under the tail.  We put the kitty in a cage, fully lathered, with an Elizabethan collar on to make sure he doesn’t consume any of the soap.  After about 5 or 10 minutes, we rinse off all the soap and place him back in a new cage with an air dryer.  After he’s dry (about 4-5 hours) we use a flea comb over his entire body and pull out all dead ones and look for any that are still moving.  The infestation is moderately severe, so we’ll assume that there was still an adult flea which survived.  The entire process is repeated again, and this time we don’t see any moving.  Now we reward our water loving feline with some food.  The next morning we check again and find no adults and no flea poop (dried blood).  We apply a transdermal flea prevention such as ‘Revolution’ or ‘Advantage Multi’ directly to the skin in between the shoulder blades so the cat can’t remove it.  While this poor pet is away from home and missing his owner, the owner himself is doing his part to clear the infestation.

An easy, but expensive way, is to have a professional come out and spray the house for you.  This is not always an option due to finances, so the do it yourself method may be right for you.  Be warned, though, you are in for a day of a lot of work.  Drop your cat off at the vet and pick up some high quality flea bombs.  You’ll have to know all three dimensions of your house, as the bombs are designed for a specific cubic footage.  For example, Adam’s Room Fogger is made for a space of 6000 cubic feet.  Before you begin fogging, it is very important to read the directions on the can.  You’ll have to remove all your food, even from your fridge.  You need to turn off all pilot lights such as your stove and water heater.  You’ll also need to turn off all appliances that run on a cycling energy source, such as the refrigerator and thermostat, as they may ignite the fog.  Leave all your clothes and bedding, and your pet’s bedding.  Thoroughly mop the all floors and slowly vacuum the carpets (the pupae thrive in carpets).  Open all your doors, closets and drawers to allow the fog to enter.  Set up each can about 2-3 feet from the ground and lay lots of newspapers under them so the floor doesn’t get marred.  Close all the windows and discharge the bombs.  You need to leave immediately and stay out for 2-3 hours.  When you come back, you’ll need to open all windows and air out your house.  You can turn everything back on, and replace your food once the shelves are cleaned.  Start doing your laundry, and use the warmest setting possible.  Clean all your dishes, and your pet’s dishes.  You’ll probably have to clean your floors again, as the bombs are a little messy when they are pittering out. 

These methods to solve a preventable problem can easily cost hundreds of dollars.  If one thing is missed, and eggs are allowed to hatch, the cycle starts again, and the cycle is very tough to break.  I’ve met clients who have had to go through this process several times because something in the environment is missed.  The flea can stay dormant for up to 6 months, and I believe that is what happens to a lot of people with recurring problems.  If a client ever has a problem with fleas, we always recommend giving the prevention year round.  If a client doesn’t follow our directions and recommendations, they can expect problems year after year.  Fleas are hard enough to get rid of, and impossible when you don’t follow the expert’s advice.

I have many more success stories, and they all are the clients who use the flea prevention regularly.  Prevention is cheaper and more humane.  As you can see, spending between 10 and 50 cents a day keeps you happy, your house clean, and your pet healthy.  That is a better investment than going to war with insects.

~Perry 

Manager of Bayshore Veterinary Clinic