Conference misery::feline_v1

    You should flea bomb your house.
    
    Our fleas have never been as bad as your's appear, yet we flea bomb
    on a regular basis since mom is very allergic to fleas.  I don't
    recall what brand of flea bomb we use, but we pick it up at the
    feed store.
    
    Warning though.  If you have a pet lizard, the flea bomb will kill
    the lizard.  (Oman RIP)

    I suspect what you have are "sand fleas", not "animal fleas".
    
    Flea collars are not sucessful in getting rid of them. Definately
    bomb the house. Give cat a bath with lots of shampoo, (these fleas
    hate soap and water), rinse it well. After you get cat out of the
    bathroom use Lysol tub and tile cleaner on the tub, and leave it
    for several hours, before rinsing it down.
    
    The fleas come in on people who have been outside, so watch your
    legs, and pant legs before you come into the house. If cat is in
    door-out door a quick coming does the job too.
    
    We tried everything for months on our animals before we found out
    that these were sand fleas. They are really pesty. They thrive on
    the kind of weather we have had.
    
    Keep being persistant and they WILL go away.
    
    Barbara

    Has anyone used one of these successfully?
    

    RE .1
    
    How much does a flea bomb cost?  What is a good brand to purchase?
    and do you have to leave the house for a few hours or is it safe
    for kitty to stay home?
    
    Sorry to hear about Oman.
    
    RE .2
    
    Could you explain the difference between "sand fleas" and "aminal
    fleas"?   I have seen sand fleas at the ocean.  They come out when
    the sand become a little cooler -- at night.  Are those the same
    ones?
    
    One more question.  If I bomb my apt what is stopping them from
    coming back and multiplying again??
    
    Thanks for all the suggestion!
    Linda

    Animal fleas will stay on the animals, sand fleas will get on you,
    and jump all over the place. They are in the carpet, on the
    furniture, etc. That's what makes them so hard to get rid of.
    
    Call your vet, pet store or feed store or hardware store and ask
    what kind they would recommend for the kind of fleas you have.
    Yes, EVERYONE should leave the house when you "bomb". 
    
    take care.
    
    Barbara
    

    About flea bombs:
    
    I get them from my vet, as he knows which kinds are safe.  (Of course,
    any individual animals can be allergic to anything, what I mean
    is some of the bombs are too harsh really to be recommended.)
    
    What I do is corral the cats in the kitchen, set a bomb off in the
    rest of the house and then beat it back into the kitchen, close
    the door and stuff newspapers around the bottom of the door where
    there is a large crack.  The kitchen has ventilation to the outside.
    Then after waiting the 2 hours or so for the bomb to work, I air
    out that part of the house for half an hour and only then let the cats
    return.  Then I do the kitchen.  I have also combed the cats thoroughly
    for fleas at the same time.  I believe the directions with the bombs
    say to remove all pets (including goldfish, etc.), wash dishes before
    use, etc.  All this has to be redone periodically;  there seems
    to be no way to prevent fleas from getting in from the outside even
    though S&H are indoor kitties.
    

re: flea bombs

If you have many rooms in your home, you will probably find it more
economical to hire professionals to treat your house and yard....flea
bombs don't work too well in a heavily infested house unless you use
one in each room....a three bedroom, 2 bath, living, dining, and family
room dwelling can get REAL expensive for the bombs - the last time we
had to treat out house it was cheaper to remove the cats to the
groomers for 4 hours (baths included) and have the pros come in and
treat the house - they guarentee and will return to do it again if
need be.

Our preventative maintenance is to treat the yard, front and back, once
a month during warm weather.  I do that with a yard spray attached to
the hose.  Even though our cats are indoor-only, the dogs go out and
can bring in fleas (just as people can) so this is the best method of
control we have.

    more on flea bombs:
    
    I find that two bombs do my two bedroom, one bath, dining room, living
    room, kitchen house.  I  suspect I could get away with one bomb
    if it weren't for the kitchen/rest of house split I described in
    a previous reply, since the kitchen is right next to the room I
    set the first bomb in.  I prefer doing it myself with the vet-supplied
    bombs, because I don't trust professional exterminators to use safe
    chemicals, either in the house or in the yard.
                                                  

    We have also been having a horrible time with fleas this year. 
    All of our cats are indoor only and we don't have a dog.  We just
    bought the house last November and have been battling fleas since
    the day we moved in.  Previous owners had a dog.
    
    We have tried the bombs.  We bombed the house every weekend for
    a month and bathed all 12 cats on re-entry.  About a month later
    they were back.  The next time we bombed, we bought the vet's super
    expensive bombs and did it six weekends in a row.  They came back.
    Then we had an exterminator come out and do the house and the yard.
    They came back.
    
    Last weekend we bought a five gallon jug of Ortho Home Pest Control,
    boarded all of the cats at the vets, moved all the furniture, vacummed
    every inch of the house, burned the vacumm bag and then sprayed
    the entire house, window sills, linoleum, everything, and then brought
    the freshly flea bathed cats back to the house.  
    
    Hopefully, that will do it.
    
    Jo

    To kill the eggs you need to repeat applications every three weeks
    for a total of three times.
    
    The worst flea infestation I ever had was in Chicago and the vet
    said that was the only way to ensure you got all the little devils.
    

    Last summer we seem to be infested with fleas.  I tried powders,
    sprays, Zodiac flea collars, etc. still to no effect.  I finally
    bought (2) flea bombs from my vet and a good flea shampoo.
    
    1. You should cover ALL food stuffs as well as possible.  Even those
    in the cabinents.
    
    2. Close all windows and cover door jams.
    
    I then washed both kitties.  Esco was great but Brandy was a terror
    (it took two of us to hold him down).  I dried them well and put
    them in my truck.  I cleaned out the tub and proceeded to set off
    the bombs.  We had an apartment with two floors (2 finished bedrooms
    in the attic and 4 rooms, walk-in pantry, kitchen, enclosed porch
    and bathroom on the lower level).  I really didn't think two would
    be enough but they did the trick.  I closed off the door leading
    up to the bedrooms for full effect and placed the second bomb in
    the middle room downstairs.  Then we all headed out to my parents
    house for the afternoon.
    
    When we returned, I opened all windows and thoroughly vaccumed the
    place before bringing the kitties back in.  I took all clothing
    and bedding to the laundry/dry cleaners.  Then I washed every dish,
    pot, pan, etc. I owned. Yikes, what fun!  We lucked out because
    the next day we got a cool spell and the little buggers didn't come
    back.  Though I did follow up with another bombing a month later.
    
    Good luck!
    
    Roslyn, Esco and Brandy
    
    P.S. To help take the itch out of flea bites (for humans) I found
    that first washing the area with soap and water, PAT dry, apply
    witch hazel and allow to air dry.  Then apply either hydrocortisone
    or benydryl cream to the affected area. DO NOT SCRATCH as it seems
    to reactivate the poison from the bites and make you want to scratch
    all the more. It's a vicious circle.
    
    P.S.S. Beware those of you who work near stored paper (ie computer
    paper, boxes of literature, etc.).  Paper fleas can get you!  It
    happened in an office I used to work in and we stored a few boxes
    of computer paper.  I didn't own house pets at the time and neither
    did the woman who shared the office with me.  She was so severly
    bitten that her legs got all swollen and she couldn't wear her shoes.
    We eventually had to have the whole building exterminated.
    
    FYI 

    Re: .11
    
    The whole building exterminated?  I can just see it, on it's back,
    waving its feet in the air....
    
    I second the Witch Hazel suggestion.  I tried it after someone
    suggested it here recently.  It takes a minute or two to take effect,
    then the itching is gone for several hours.  Like you, I have also
    observed that scratching seems to cause _more_ itching.
             
    

>    I second the Witch Hazel suggestion.  I tried it after someone
>    suggested it here recently.  It takes a minute or two to take effect,
>    then the itching is gone for several hours.  Like you, I have also
>    observed that scratching seems to cause _more_ itching.
             
In an emergency when witch hazel is not available, use Listerine Mouth
Wash....that stuff is wonderful at stopping the itch immediately.

	D_who_is_ALLERGIC_to_flea_bites    

                      -<Oh no, they got me!!>-
    
    Re.11-13 
    
      Thanks for all of your suggestions, I was severely bitten by fleas
    at my boyfriends house, but his dog was infested, but anyways, my
    poor legs are a complete disaster now, and I'm going to Florida
    in 2 and a half weeks, so it's too late for me, I think!?!?
    
      Does anyone have any scar lightening methods they could share
    with me, I would be ever so greatful for any suggestion.  
    
      Another hint for the itchies, the new Benadryl spray, you don't
    even have to touch the affected area.  It forms a waterproof bandage
    where ever you apply it.  thanks for any advice.
    
            - Jeanine and C.C. (that's my cat!)

    In 2 and a half weeks, I'd think they'd be healed (no scratching!).
    Mine have totally faded away in less than a month.
    If the redness is still noticeable, you might use a cosmetic coverup.
    Try one of the random things sold in drugstores for under eye circles.
    I expect once you get a bit of a tan they won't be noticeable, however.
    I wouldn't use the coverup too long, or you'll have little white
    spots when you tan :-)