Archives for July, 2011

Anyone have any good flea remedies for human flea bites?

My legs are totally bit up from fleas!! My roomates dog is the culprit. They told me that they took the dog to the vet and already put it on a flea medicine but the darn thing still has fleas. My legs have little mosquito bite looking things all over them!! When I took a shower tonight I saw two fleas in the water. UGH!!! Does anyone have any cheap ideas for what I can do to get these fleas out of my bed and out of my rug in my room??? PLEASE???

I had a very bad infestation of fleas You should wash all your bedding,curtains, and all clothing in very hot water, then dry it completely. While it is being laundered, vacuum your bed, and carpet thoroughly and take the bag outside to the trash can immediately since the fleas can escape and you’ll be right backw where you started. There is a spray that you can purchase at any pet store for your carpet, which only costs about six dollars for a can. Use it right after you’re all done vacuuming. And finally, take a good hot shower, and apply noxema liberally on your skin, this will immediately relieve the itching and the fleas won’t bite you because they don’t like the taste of it. You can also use ice packs if the swelling is particularly bad or calamine if the itching gets bad between showers. Your roommate needs to follow through with the flea treatment for the dog too, one of the best things for this is to buy a dog bed stuffed with cedar shaving, fleas hate cedar. And you should also clean the rest of your home in a similar fashion, vacuuming, washing everything possible in hot water, to be sure you’ve gotten rid of them. I had a bad infestation from my mother’s cat, and it took me a while to get rid of them – I even had to spread Sevin around the perimeter of the house to kill them off, because most flea treatments kill either the eggs of the adults but not both. Good luck with this very common, and annoying problem!

Jul 21, 2011 | Comments are off | flea remedies

Pet Flea Control – Summer Dog Tips

For more please visit: http://www.DogExplorer.com – comments are moderated! Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/dogexplorer – Every year pet owners suffer the same frustrations. Warmer weather means more parasites, especially fleas! And, despite good, veterinary approved products, some pets are still subjected to these nasty bugs! What can we do to stop the infestation?

Fleas are truly a pet owner’s curse and worst nightmare. Designed to survive and efficient at reproducing, these blood-sucking pests can quickly overrun house and home! In addition to causing misery for our pets, fleas have the potential to carry serious, even deadly diseases. In order to defeat this enemy, we need to understand their life cycle and dispel persistent myths that lead to ineffective flea control.

For every adult flea seen on a dog or cat, there are about 95 other fleas in various life stages (eggs, larvae and pupae) around the pet’s environment. The failure to address the juvenile life stages is a primary reason why owners never seem to win any battles against fleas. People also misunderstand how adult fleas interact with pets.

Once an adult flea finds your pet, there is very little short of death that will remove that flea from your dog or cat. People want to believe that fleas jump from pet to pet, like it is often depicted in cartoons. The fact is once a flea starts taking a blood meal from an animal, the flea will die within two hours if removed from the pet. Pets acquire fleas by picking them up from the environment, not from playing with their canine and feline friends.

Many owners want to blame the neighbors for their flea problems. Even if the dog next door is covered with fleas, it is unlikely for your pet to get fleas from that dog unless they share a common environment. Adult fleas simply do not “migrate” across lawns looking for their next meal.

Once on a pet, the flea will start drinking blood immediately and about eight hours later will start to mate with other fleas on the pet. Within about 24 hours, eggs are laid by the female fleas which roll off the pet and into the home/bed/yard. Females can lay 40-50 eggs per day over their lifetime, resulting in more than 2000 eggs added to the environment. Thirty adult fleas can explode into more than 250,000 fleas in less than one month!

Given these huge numbers, it is entirely possible to see live fleas on your pets that have been treated with flea medications. None of the flea treatments kill fleas immediately nor do they repel fleas. Most topical medications will kill fleas within 1-2 hours after the flea jumps onto the pet and oral products only work when the flea actually settles down and bites the pet.

Likewise, the life cycle of the flea means that new adults are continually present in the environment. Flea eggs are constantly hatching into flea larvae which then spin cocoons. Adult fleas hatch from the cocoons in as little as seven days but some can delay hatching for almost 180 days! Therefore, a single application of a flea medicine will not stop an existing infestation. In order to account for eggs, larva and pupae in the environment, your flea control needs to extend for at least 2 months and it could be as long as 7 months in some severe cases.

So, when you are faced with a flea problem in your home, what steps can help resolve it? First, talk with your veterinary staff about effective flea control medications. Products like Frontline Plus® or Advantage® are safe and have proven track records!

Next, make sure that all pets in the household are treated. Even the “indoor only” cat will need protection from adult fleas hatching in the home environment. Use the products as directed and don’t split doses among your pets.

Continue the treatment until the infestation is gone from the home. If your pet is picking up adult fleas in the yard or at the park, you may need to consider using a flea product all year long.

A home area treatment spray can help eliminate flea colonies more quickly, but be sure to use one that contains an insect growth regulator (IGR). IGRs prevent flea eggs from hatching and flea larva from molting.

Understanding the flea life cycle can help you defeat this unrelenting annual pest. Your veterinarian and staff will guide you towards the best flea product for your needs and can even answer concerns you have about treating the environment.

Disclaimer:
This article and video are produced by and published with permission of the Veterinary News Network. The opinions expressed are exclusively those of Dr. Humphries and may not reflect the views of DogExplorer.com – readers are cautioned not to consider this article or video as Veterinary advice and encouraged to always seek the guidance of their local Veterinarian in matters of their pet’s health.

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Jul 20, 2011 | Comments are off | cat flea treatment

What are some quick effective home flea remedies for flea bites?

I have heaps of flea bites and they can itch at times. I need effective home flea remedies for at least easing the pain and itchiness.

First, get your pet checked at the vet to prevent anymore fleas.
Second try some fo that calmine (sp) lotion or soak in the bathtub with milk in it

Jul 09, 2011 | Comments are off | flea remedies