Help, my dog has fleas!!!

[StarSong]

I forgot about apple cider vinegar. That does work good and can be applied to the entire dog as well as carpets and furniture.

I once didn’t own a cat but the strays had fleas so bad they hitched a ride into apt and BAM I was infested. I mixed dawn, apple cider and water and sprayed the carpets 3 days straight and no more fleas.

I'll see how our current strategy works, if I'm still seeing fleas I'll try the apple cider vinegar & water mixture, but leave out the Dawn soap, because soap residue on carpet is no bueno...

 

[Ronni]

I'll see how our current strategy works, if I'm still seeing fleas I'll try the apple cider vinegar & water mixture, but leave out the Dawn soap, because soap residue on carpet is no bueno...

Keep in mind that if you haven’t thoroughly vacuumed up the diatomaceous earth, and then moisten the carpet……well, all I can say is wet diatomaceous earth is no fun.

 

[Fritz]

I forgot about apple cider vinegar. That does work good and can be applied to the entire dog as well as carpets and furniture.

You can put dawn dishsoap on a dog?

 

[Fritz]

I'll see how our current strategy works, if I'm still seeing fleas I'll try the apple cider vinegar & water mixture, but leave out the Dawn soap, because soap residue on carpet is no bueno...

just an fyi, i didn't spray more than a light coat. i didn't notice any harm to the carpet. without the dawn it won't work the same. it's the three together in equal parts that kills them. i tested it out on an one of those big black ants. i sprayed him just a little and he ran a little then flipped over and died. i doubt without the dawn it will do any good.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

You can put dawn dishsoap on a dog?

I’d change that to liquid Castile soap!


Yes, liquid Castile soap, like Dr. Bronner's, can be used to help kill fleas on pets. Castile soap is a gentle, plant-oil based soap that works by trapping and drowning fleas in the soapy water. It's effective at removing fleas on contact, but it doesn't offer long-term flea prevention.

 

[Fritz]

I’d change that to liquid Castile soap!

i had to look that up. it has the same effect as the diatomaceous earth except in liquid form.

 

[StarSong]

I'm back with an update:

We rinsed Ozzy-dog well yet again, then generously sprinkled spread diatomaceous earth in all the areas he spends a lot of time. Brushed it in so it would get deep into the carpet. We shop-vacced most of it the next day (oy what a mess) but left some residue because we were leaving for a week's vacation and wanted to let it continue doing its magic on any remaining fleas, larvae or eggs.

Ozzy dog went to DD's house where there are 2 dogs who tolerate their oral flea meds well, so no fleas there. When we returned from our trip we vacuumed thoroughly before picking him up from DD's. In the two weeks since we've been home we haven't found any fleas on Ozzy or in our house. He was groomed last week and she found no fleas.

We bought a flea collar during the height of this, but didn't want to put it on him immediately before sending him to DD's, in case he had a bad reaction to it. We've postponed using it unless/until fleas return.

Thanks to all who offered commiseration, support, anecdotes about your own experiences, and excellent advice. With your help we eradicated them when it was still a minor annoyance rather than a major infestation. Whew!

 

[Nathan]

We got ours at the groomers. Of course, they sharply denied it.

Years back our Schnauzer -Poms picked up a half dozen Tics from the groomers. Went nuts with inspecting every nook and cranny in the house for months.

 

[GoodEnuff]

we eradicated them when it was still a minor annoyance rather than a major infestation. Whew!

Hooray! So glad to hear that.