VET found a FLEA!!!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I am just going crazy with this. It was the LAST thing I needed or expected. Took puppy to vet for routine shots and leave with list of instructions on what to get to fumigate the house, wash all bedding, vaccum everything, frontline for the puppy and itching just with the thought of fleas in my house. I have to admit, this is my worst nightmare. Murphy has been on frontline routinely so he is fine, but Bella has them for sure. I just looked for myself under a bright light, after DH sprayed the yard and I tore the house apart and have 5 loads of laundry waiting in line for the washer.  I can see some, they are quick and it seems futile to keep looking as I hope they will be dead in the next 24 hours.

Anyone have any suggestions? How do I stop this from becoming a worse nightmare than it already is? 

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

I'm sure you've been to Petco and gotten shampoo by now but wanted to recommend DAWN dish washing liquid (the blue kind). It's certainly less toxic as a shampoo and you can use it as often as you'd like. The fleas will just drop off. Our little one, Bindi, is a flea magnet because she's so low to the ground and despite using Frontline on her we'll spot the occassional flea and a bath with DAWN works perfectly. :)

[Jamie Petro]

My doodle has never had a flea problem, but a few years ago in a different house my dachshund got fleas and it drove me CRAZY. No matter how much I washed or vacuumed they kept coming back. The vet gave her Capstar pills like Amber mentioned, and they were dead almost immediately.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Capstar will kill everything on the dog immediately, but it has no lasting effect, and will not kill subsequent fleas or prevent them from reproducing. You still have to use a flea preventative.

[Frannie & Callie]

Sue - my sister has been going through this all summer. She's had to have the house and yard bombed/sprayed 5 times, has done more loads of laundry than she ever has before (and she has twin boys - she's no stranger to laundry!), and she's been covered in bites herself. They are in Memphis, and they've had a real problem there this summer. I'm happy to say that all the spraying, bombing, vacuuming, and laundry DID work. They are now flea free! (but are having an ant infestation now...this is very typical for my sister's life!!!).

I freaked out over the summer because I found a flea on Callie. Fortunately it was a one-off thing but it has made me HYPER vigilant. Poor Harvey Foster Doodle had to get a capstar and flea bath before we went into the house on his first night.

Hope all the fleas die quickly!!!! (I feel bad wishing for death, but they're parasites)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

In this case wishing for something to DIE is a good thing. Thank you

[Christi Cooksey]

You can get 20 Mule-Team Borax at Walmart. I am guessing that no one here lives in Florida. The fleas were so bad this year (even people that did not have pets had fleas) that none of the pest companies could find a product to kill them. If you have them in your carpet, the best thing to do is sprinkle the carpet with table salt and walk all over it to get it in the carpet. When it hits the fleas, it dries them out and kills them. BTW- The Comfortis pills are wonderful, especially for a dog that loves water.

[F, Calla & Luca]

You can also get Borax in the laundry section of your supermarket. It is supposed to help prevent mildew!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Well, it's been 5 days, and we have laundered,bombed, sprayed, bathed, combed, vacuumed, left the house for 2 days, then vacuumed amd laundered some more until my vacuum and washing machine are crying for mercy!!! We have not seen another flea anywhere, but I am not feeling very confident as yet, since the whole flea life-cycle thing is confusing and I have nightmares that a major "hatching" is going to happen while we sleep and attack us in our bed!!! Sounds like the making of a horror movie.
Thanks for all of your support and advice. I never did find the borax and I did use the dawn for one of the baths as I didn't want to put more chemicals on or near her. So I will keep you all posted. Maybe it will help someone else should a problem happen, although I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

[Amy & Bernie]

It is awful Sue but you've done all you can. Continue to vacuum every day, it will help you stay on top them in case some are still working through their life cycle and it will definitely make you feel better!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Have you done the white sock test? That might make you feel better. Put on white socks (I wore white scrubs, too, but I'm obsessive) and walk around right after you vacuum. If there are fleas, you should see them on your socks.