The Only Way to Get Rid of Fleas

After Cheryl’s home was infested with fleas, she tried many different
treatments. This is the only one that worked.

Read about my experience with a flea infestation and how I got rid of them.

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When Fleas Attack and Infest Your Home

There are a million articles on the internet on how to get rid of fleas. How
do I know this? Because my house was a flea nightmare, and so were all the
treatments that were posted online.

My husband and I have lots of fur children: two dogs and six cats. We thought
the dogs were protected because we treat the yard twice a year, and they are
bathed regularly. In fact, I have never seen one flea on them. But suddenly,
every animal in our house had them. They were everywhere! It turns out our
cat, Charley, who is an escape artist, got out when no one was paying
attention and brought back fleas when he came home.

I researched every website that existed to learn more about fleas. We treated
the yard and bombed the house, and we treated each animal with Frontline,
Capstar, and flea shampoos—all to no avail. My fur babies were infested. Those
fleas must have had armor of steel to live through such poisoning!

The culprit: Charlie the escape artist.

Cheryls Photos

How Fleas Proliferate

Let’s face it, fleas make your animal’s life miserable and your life tiring. I
know from experience, and it has made me that much wiser.

Because they cannot lay eggs until they have eaten, the adult flea will live
on your pet and feast on its blood. The bug is flat, and the bristles on its
legs help penetrate the host’s fur. They can run a marathon on their host, and
you will never be able to catch them.

The female can lay up to 50 eggs a day, but these eggs do not stay on the
host. They drop off on the carpet, on furniture, or outside. In order to keep
the female from completing its life cycle, you must use something to sterilize
it.

Flea Life Cycle

Once you understand the flea life cycle, you will understand why they are so
hard to get rid of.

Flea Eggs: These eggs are round, white, and almost microscopic They can’t
stay on the host because they have nothing to help attach them to fur or skin.
At this stage in the cycle, it is important to vacuum every day, sometimes
twice a day. Flea eggs can lay dormant for a year before hatching. It might
even be a good idea to get rid of carpet and lay down another type of flooring
that they cannot live on.

Larvae: Flea larvae have three stages of growth. They are transparent and
feast on flea feces and other organic debris found in carpets, bedding, and
soil. The larval stage lasts about 5 to 18 days (longer in some cases). After
this time, the larva spins a silken cocoon and pupates.

Pupa: The pupa is the final stage of the adult flea. After this, they
will emerge within 3 to 5 days. They love warm climates and such conditions
help restart the cycle.

You have to stop the cycle to get rid of the fleas.

Are Flea Products Effective?

Fleas have evolved and become resistant to almost all over-the-counter
treatments. I’ve listed below products that we have tried that didn’t work.
Some worked temporarily and some didn’t work at all. It will depend on the
severity. Some of these treatments may work for you, but in our case, they
just couldn’t kill the fleas.

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When we gave up, the vets put our dogs on Trifexis and gave Cheristin to our
cats. In less than 24 hours, the fleas were gone.

Flea Products and Their Performance

Flea Product/Remedy| Personal Results
—|—

Frontline

It’s suppose to kill the flea life cycle by making the flea sterile, but
didn’t work for us.

Capstar

This kills fleas that are on your dog or cat, but doesn’t break the life
cycle.

Boric Acid

Put this on your carpets to kill fleas by dehydrating their bodies. Again, it
does not stop the flea cycle.

Flea Shampoos

It only worked for a short time but did not kill every flea.

Flea Collar

Did nothing.

Flea Comb

This worked great at getting the fleas off the dogs and cats, but didn’t help
kill them.

Lemon Juice

It’s suppose to repel fleas, but didn’t.

Flea Spray

Did nothing.

Trifexis

Fleas were gone in less than 24 hours.

Cheristin

Fleas were gone in less than 24 hours.

The ugliest female I have ever seen.

Diseases That Fleas Carry

Fleas can be detrimental to your beloved pets’ health. They are not simply
little itchy creatures that make you and your pets irritated; they’re also
vectors for diseases.

Tapeworms: If a dog eats a flea that is carrying tapeworm eggs, then that
dog could soon become infected. Once inside your dog, the tapeworm hatches and
attaches itself to the intestines. This can cause weight loss, vomiting, and
irritation.

The Plague: This is the same plague that caused the death of over a third
of the European population back in the Middle Ages. It is no longer common for
people to die from it, but your pets can get it if a flea has bitten a wild
animal with the plague and transferred it. The outcome can be devastating.

Cat-Scratch Disease: While this does nothing to your cat, it can have a
great impact on you as the owner. Cat-scratch disease is carried in the feces
of a cat that has been bitten by an infected flea. Humans can contract the
disease if they are scratched by a cat whose claws have traces of infected
feces.

Flea Allergy Dermatitis: Both of my dogs are allergic to fleas. The
allergy causes hot spots and can lead dogs to over-groom themselves to the
point of hair loss.

What You Should Do if Your Pets Encounter a Flea Infestation

With all the money we spent on flea products, I could have taken my dogs to
their vets three times. Why did we wait? We were stubborn and thought that we
could solve the problem ourselves. After all, it can’t be that hard to kill
fleas.

Go to the Vet!

If your animals get infested, please take them to the vet. Fleas have become
so immune to most products. Year after year, like bacteria and antibiotics,
fleas become stronger, and the medications over the counter just don’t work.

After a trip to the vets, the fleas were gone in 24 hours. No more scratching,
biting, or keeping me up all night. All it took was a pill and cat liquid
treatment. This was income tax money well spent.

Keeping Your Pets Healthy and Happy on a Budget

Owning pets can be very expensive, especially when you have a lot of them. But
it’s not impossible to keep them healthy and free of fleas, ticks, and
heartworms.

There are clinics that have cheap but effective medications. You don’t have to
break your bank to get them. We chose to buy three months’ worth at a time so
that we have three months to save for the next time. If you have indoor cats,
treating them with medication for three consecutive months should break the
flea cycle.

If all else fails, just do your best to keep your pet healthy, happy, and
itch-free. That was all I wanted for my babies.

My Babies

Baby!

1 / 7

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It
is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription,
or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional.
Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a
veterinarian immediately.

Questions & Answers

Question: What do you do when the fleas are biting you and you can’t put
dog medicine on yourself or your toddler?

Answer: You have to vacuum every day. Buy a flea collar and put it in
your vacuum cleaner. If you have rugs get them cleaned. Or for last resort you
can buy some foggers and fogg your house.

Question: What did the vet do for you to make them disappear?

Answer: He gave me Cheristan for the cats and Simparica for the dogs.

Question: My dad’s house is infested with fleas. We have removed the dog
from the house but still can’t kill the fleas. I have have set off 18 foggers
so far, put cedar on the floor, sweep regularly, used viper flea spay, put
diatomaceous earth on the floor, sprayed peppermint, and yet I do see dead
fleas but they are still many jumping on me and the house is still infested
without a feeding host in the house what is next?

Answer: You have to vacuum every day. The host is now you. You are going
to have to probably at this point call an exterminator because they are too
far gone. The eggs are hatching and you are not using products to kill the
larva and the eggs. They will just keep laying eggs if you don’t get rid of
them. I hope you get rid of them soon.

Question: What do you do with the stuff you’ve vacuumed up? Also in your
article you said trifexis was put on your dog, and yet here in your answered
question you said simparica, which was it?

Answer: My dogs were Trifexus a tablet they ingest but I switched them
over to Simparica because they now get the proheart injection for heart worms.

Question: What brand bug bombs were effective for your house?

Answer: You have to get the foggers not bombs. They come in a tin can and
once you light them you have to leave the house for 4 hours.

Question: What product did you use to get rid of fleas out of your house?

Answer: We set off bombs not foggers. You can get them at home depot but
honestly, once the pets were treated they will not be able to live in your
house.

Question: Where can i find Trifexis?

Answer: From your vet

Question: Does Simparica work just as well as Trifexus?

Answer: Yes it does

Comments

Cheryl A Whitsett (author) from Jacksonville, Fl on September 09, 2020:

I would definitely treat the dogs first then fog your house. No fleas only
live in carpet but they can still be on the laminate flooring.

Makresh on September 08, 2020:

If we get Trifexus for dogs, will we have to decontaminate house first? Also,
do fleas live under laminate flooring? Thanks in advance

Cheryl A Whitsett (author) from Jacksonville, Fl on September 07, 2020:

Yes you will have to take the cat out

Dennis Nelson on August 18, 2020:

Do you have to take a cat out of the house when you go to bom it

Dennis Nelson on August 18, 2020:

When I go to bomb my house or fog it do I have to take the cat out

Cheryl A Whitsett (author) from Jacksonville, Fl on June 22, 2020:

Trifexus is a flea treatment

Jordan D Dick on June 22, 2020:

Trifexus is a dewormer not a flea treatment….?

Mina Mohareb on April 03, 2020:

Hi guys, greetings from Egypt. I have been suffering from flea infestation for
more than a year now. I dont have pets but i used to feed stray dogs. It seems
that some fleas jumped into my clothes and went home with me. A flea bit my
ear while asleep and my ear drum was perforated which took a month to heal. I
tried malathion 57 but didnt work i tried phenic acid but did not work i tried
kerosene but did not work as well. The only thing that seems to work is
mosquito trap it electrecuted 50 to 80 fleas daily after 2 months they were
gone. But after 1 month they were back again, i guess pupaes were hibernating
because of the winter cold, i placed traps in each room hoping to eradicate
them before the next winter. Wish me luck i am in a great misery.

CaroleFraser on January 03, 2020:

I have been battling this for one whole year I have had two treatment in my
house Foggers tins of spray you name it I have done it ,I have three cats whom
are treated with frontline pluse and Dronspot worming ,and i hover my house
every day I am exhausted nothing seems to work has any one got any information
how to get rid of these horrible insects .they are in my Lamanate flooring to
. Thank you .

Olivia on September 26, 2019:

Thank you! I’m going nuts trying to kill them! So many treatments and dip
baths… does nothing!! Getting trifexus!!

Cheryl A Whitsett (author) from Jacksonville, Fl on April 06, 2019:

Lisa if your dogs are getting sick from their flea meds change it.

Lisa on April 06, 2019:

What did you use inside your home and in your yard? I have an exterminator,
but he doesn’t believe me when I tell him fleas are in our clothes, food every
inch of my house. Both my dogs are on bravecto but they are still getting
sick. Has anyone else gone through this?

Shawndelle Hestenes on September 08, 2018:

My vet told me all they do is put on frontline gold and give out frontline
carpet spray

Cheryl A Whitsett (author) from Jacksonville, Fl on July 31, 2018:

Christin us around 65 dollars for a six months supply

Valaree harris on July 30, 2018:

Are the cheristin treatments expensive

Alisha on May 26, 2018:

I am having a heck of a time with this flea infest…. I’ll try my vet cause
everything else isn’t doing anything. Really hope this works. And thank you
for your advice

Gwen on March 10, 2017:

I love all of your articles. This one is perfectly written as usual.