Fleas, Help!

[Squeak]

I've been very lucky in the past and not had a proper flea problem however last month I noticed my poor dog was infested with them. I rang the vets and got their flea treatment (I can't remember which one, it was a liquid that went on the back of the neck) and a wormer. I also sprayed the house with a spray that they said would be ok but wasn't indorex and washed all bedding, hoovered etc.

Fast forward to last week (3 weeks from treatment) and I noticed that the poor dog was crawling with fleas again. I spoke to the vets and they've said that it's a case of treating the house and breaking the cycle so I've re-treated it with Indorex but I'm a bit confused. I thought that the flea treatment I put on the dog was meant to work for three months and any fleas that tried to bite her would die so I don't understand why within three weeks there's adult fleas on her again.

What do I do from here? The Indorex is meant to last for I think a year and the flea treatment for three months but the poor dog is crawling with fleas.

 

[AmyMay]

Hoover the house every day, especially corners and edges. Plus all soft furnishings. Dog beds, blankets etc. And treat the dog with Nexgaurd (from the vet).

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would wash every piece of fabric in the house tbh and steam clean the carpets.

 

[Karran]

I and a few friends have been struggling terribly with fleas! I made the mistake of switching from advantage to frontline and they suddenly spread like wildfire!
I'm using the indorex stuff and hoovering and washing daily, I think i've broken the back of it but its took a good two months to get on top of it, now i'm just picking off the odd survivor.

 

[Parrotperson]

its the eggs. You treat the fleas but they've already laid eggs which then hatch and the cycle continues. This is quite good

https://www.ripfleas.co.uk/r-i-p-fleas-extra/

Then I'd repeat the process every 3 weeks until no fleas then once more after. And DO NOT leave any pets but especially birds in the rooms while you are spraying you'll kill them!

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Indorex is good but as mentioned, you need to continually treat rooms, close them up individually, get Bravecto which kills the fleas which bite the dog. My vet charges £50, Animed is charging £19 for medium or big dog this week. Makes it worthwhile to get a prescription from them.

 

[Squeak]

Thanks all for the help and information. I'm glad it's not just been me who's struggling. I'll up the hoovering and probably minimise dog beds around the place and remove any spare soft furnishings like the cushions and blankets until we're on top of it.

I have a feeling it might have been bravecto the vets gave me, I'll double check with them and then ask about the prescription for Animed, thank you, that's a huge help to not have to spend the £50 a go.

Do you know how often I can treat the dog and do the house with Indorex? The vets just gave me the answer about treating the house but it would be helpful to know at what point I should start pushing for a top up treatment for the dog.

I got an over the counter shampoo (johnsons I think) that is meant to kill the fleas as I hate to see the dog crawling with them. I wasn't expecting much but it did seem to kill a few of them off so I'm going to clip her before her bath next week and see if that helps.

 

[Gloi]

I got flea bombs and let them off in various rooms. They seemed to work well reducing the numbers but had to be repeated every couple of weeks for a while to get the ones that were eggs.
It was cat fleas I was trying to get rid of as I had developed an awful allergy to them.

 

[wren123]

Bravecto is a tablet that does fleas and ticks for the months, the back of the neck stuff could have been advocate? I didn't like the back of the neck stuff as swimming,even after the first couple of days reduces the effacacy and you have to get it mostly on the skin not just in the hair.

I prefer bravecto or nexgard spectra, both do fleas and ticks. A professor of dermatology at the royal vet college recommended bravecto to me and uses it on their own dogs.

 

[blackcob]

If it was a liquid on the back of the neck job then check the data sheet for re-treatment intervals and also bathing instructions - they’re usually fine for the odd exposure to water but repeated shampooing will render it ineffective.

ETA: Crosspost!

 

[Squeak]

Bravecto is a tablet that does fleas and ticks for the months, the back of the neck stuff could have been advocate? I didn't like the back of the neck stuff as swimming,even after the first couple of days reduces the effacacy and you have to get it mostly on the skin not just in the hair.

I prefer bravecto or nexgard spectra, both do fleas and ticks. A professor of dermatology at the royal vet college recommended bravecto to me and uses it on their own dogs.

Ahh thank you, it can't have been Bravecto I had then as it was on the coat. I'll ask about trying a pill instead. The vets put the pipette in an envelope so I didn't have the data sheet and it's also why I've forgotten which one it was. I'll give them a ring and ask and then google it.

Tbh I'd assumed that as the dog was crawling with fleas it wasn't working anyway so wasn't too worried about repeated shampooing at this point. She didn't get bathed or go for a swim etc. before I saw the fleas so I am a bit disappointed with it but I might just be out of touch with what the treatments can do.

 

[Squeak]

I got flea bombs and let them off in various rooms. They seemed to work well reducing the numbers but had to be repeated every couple of weeks for a while to get the ones that were eggs.
It was cat fleas I was trying to get rid of as I had developed an awful allergy to them.

I might try alternating between the bombs and the indorex for the house, got to be worth a go!!

Before this I'd naively thought that all you had to do was treat the dog, wash beds etc and spray the house once. Blissful ignorance!!

 

[Squeak]

Quick update - vets wouldn't give me anymore flea treatment until the end of three months so we sprayed the house every three weeks with Indorex (for a couple of months), did loads of hoovering and washed the dog weekly with Johnsons flea shampoo (really didn't expect it to work but you could see the fleas literally dropping off her and being washed away!) and *touches all wood frantically* the fleas seem to have disappeared.

Thanks again for all of your input. I was ready to start pulling my hair out and the dog was most confused why he wasn't welcome in the bed anymore!

 

[Mynstrel]

Hoover the house every day, especially corners and edges. Plus all soft furnishings. Dog beds, blankets etc. And treat the dog with Nexgaurd (from the vet).

And empty the hoover outside every time you've used it.

 

[[139672]]

I have an advocate type treatment. It is intended to be used once a month. I don’t use it that often but I am given enough on the payment plan for 1 a month. Obviously check with the vets though just in case it is a different product.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Fleas do not lay eggs on their host, they only feed there. Eggs are laid wherever the flea happens to hop off, and the eggs hatch in response to vibration (hoover, footsteps) and a certain level of humidity combined with optimum temperature. Eggs can survive for years until the conditions are right.
You are doing everything correctly, but be aware that your pooch may be collecting fleas from other dogs, the cat. and surrounding areas that he is exercised in. Plus, if you have just moved to a new house, the sudden activity combined with switching the heating on will bring the little critters out in droves.

 

[Squeak]

Fleas do not lay eggs on their host, they only feed there. Eggs are laid wherever the flea happens to hop off, and the eggs hatch in response to vibration (hoover, footsteps) and a certain level of humidity combined with optimum temperature. Eggs can survive for years until the conditions are right.
You are doing everything correctly, but be aware that your pooch may be collecting fleas from other dogs, the cat. and surrounding areas that he is exercised in. Plus, if you have just moved to a new house, the sudden activity combined with switching the heating on will bring the little critters out in droves.

We had just moved house but the other people had only left a couple of weeks beforehand but this may well have been what happened. If we ever have to move again I think I'll be indorexing the house top to bottom while it's still empty.

Really hoping we've got them under control now but I might put some more indorex around sooner rather than later.