Fleas!

[badger]

Thank dog this is not my problem. Yet.
My neighbour downstairs has a young cat that picked up a bad case of fleas. He treated him with an OTC remedy. Predictably, the problem didn't go away (apparently this product makes their eggs sterile but doesn't kill the adult fleas).
So after checking with the vet that there was no contraindication, we applied a tube of Revolution. Cat stayed outside (and has been outside since :sad and the apartment was vacuumed and steam-cleaned, all bedding washed and dried at the highest temperatures.
One of the biggest issues is that the fleas like my neighbour almost as much as the cat; his ankles and calves are covered with bites. He is still being bitten alive.
He called a pet store and they told him that the fleas would die off naturally, since the cat - for the moment anyway - is not a friendly host. Is this true?
What does he do next? I have a feeling this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back, he never had much feeling for the cat and bought it for his daughter, who doesn't even live with him full-time. Plus unfortunately he has a drinking problem which makes it hard for him to set the money aside for a snip.

[coppperbelle]

I think he should be spraying his apartment with a flea spray as well. The fleas will continue to live as long as they can eat and they are doing that by biting him. He msut spray areas where the cat slept as well as baseboards.

[Love4himies]

krdahmer is very knowledgeable on getting rid of fleas, maybe give her a quick PM.

[Purpledomino]

I know how frustrating fleas can be, when I lived on the west coast they were a huge problem...and they always seemed to bite me! I was covered in bites on my lower legs almost all the time when we had pets there.

Having moved to Alberta ten or so years ago solved my problem. I haven't seen a single flea since living in this province, and have totally forgotten that this is an issue for alot of pet owners. I suppose our climate is inhospitable to them....harsh winters especially. Also, no tick problems, or rats.

I'm wondering if any posters here in Alberta have actually had a flea problem, or have I just been really lucky?

[aslan]

Badger i'm going to suggest for your own safety, treat your place and your fuzzkids. All it takes is the neighbour to come to your place once with a flea on him, and uhoh....

[want4rain]

vacuuming with a reasonable vacuum also helps a great deal. badger, treat your cats with the usual frontline-ish stuff. i doubt you will ever have much of a problem. i would not go so far as to putting chemicals into your floor or carpeting. often times that does more harm to your kitties than the fleas you dont have yet. yes, the fleas will die off eventually... they may be able to lay some eggs off of what they eat from your neighbor but most of them will bite the cat if she is there and become sterile.

we get them down here so bad sometimes that you have to leave your home for 3 days, jack the heat up past 100f and let the heat dry them out.

-ash

[aslan]

you can sprinkle baking soda along the baseboards, fleas are 90% water and the baking soda being a crystal can prick their skin, pop....

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Purpledomino

I'm wondering if any posters here in Alberta have actually had a flea problem, or have I just been really lucky?

Nope, not much of an issue with fleas here. I've never so much as seen one, and nobody I know has ever had a problem. There are advantages to living in this cold dry climate!

As for those who do have to deal with them, sprinkling boric acid or diatomaceous earth on carpets (then vacuuming it up) is a much less toxic way to deal with fleas than using sprays. http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/1314.htm

[Love4himies]

The 8 years I lived in AB, I never had a flea problem, never treated my cats, got back to ON, within 2 weeks they had fleas.

[Frenchy]

That's why I always used Advantage. I treats your pets AND your house

[t.pettet]

This seems to be an especially bad year for fleas. Just this past week had 2 dogs come in for grooming that were crawling with them so I also use Advantage because its very easy for me to transport them from the grooming room into the main house.

[aslan]

aaaw man i used to hate that when i was a groomer. Do you keep all the dogs for the day in the same room? We'd end up having to clean all the kennels and treat all the dogs just incase.

[t.pettet]

After the 1st. flea ridden pooch went home I had to javex the whole room, some of the fleas (counted atleast 50) were even still semi-alive in the bath tub and immediately put their trimmed hair in the garbage outside and sprayed the garbage can with carpet flea spray. I try to schedule the dog's arrival at their appointment time so unless am doing 2 from the same owner they are never caged. The towels for drying that pooch were covered in dead flea corpses - ugh!.