My best friend has fleas, help!

[Joe13]

Remember DE is like asbestos - that stuff is so small it'll get into your lungs if your not careful.

 

[2506]

In addition to all of the above, get a flea comb and comb them whenever you get a chance. The little buggers get stuck in the comb and are easy to kill.

 

[ikemay]

1. First get them off your dog by bathing:
   Wash them in dish soap. (vet staff told me to do this, I said "WHAT ?!" - and NFS, it works!) Breaks the surface tension of water better than any other soap, drowns the fleas on the dog. Then final rinse with hot water (as hot as your dog can stand), kills what fleas remain (or gets them to release, sending them down the drain).
2. Vacuum the house frequently, every other day, at least. I can't stand carpet so all my floors are hardwood or fir.
3. If your infestation is so bad in the house, where you walk across a room and >20 fleas (especially juveniles) jump on you, the only way I know to stop that in it's tracks is flea bomb. Struggled with it for weeks - tried eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, peppermint oil, diatomaceous earth, and borax, and it still sucked. Bombed it and we were GTG. Personally, I hate introducing poisons in my house. Yes, supposedly pyrethrins are natural, but they are also toxic to humans in sufficient quantities.
4. I refuse to use insecticide or other yard chemicals in my yards. I noticed decades ago, putting stuff like that on my yard noticeably lessened visits by bees.
   
5. My dogs have been interacting with a ton of other dogs this year, and consequently NONE of the topical oils (Advantage, Frontline, etc) work for shizzle. My guess, they picked up resistant fleas elsewhere.
6. For over a year, I've been using Bravecto, administered quarterly, and it is a systemic that kills the fleas when they bite your pet. I haven't had a flea problem since using that.

Good luck - this is something where you have to be diligent and persistent until you find what works for you.

Agreed, a bath first..... also got the same advice from a vet. Best thing is, that advice worked really well for us. Fleas are not very durable, hot water and soap kills them. Only difference is, we use shampoo then use conditioner on them. Keeps from stripping all the natural oils too badly from their skin and hair. They can get a bit itchy with harsher soaps or detergents. Wash all the bedding, yours included, and your clothing, coats. Vacuum floors, furniture, anything you can't wash. You will be surprised at your progress just doing this first step.

 

[Garg]

I use the brush them a lot treatment. It builds up a lot of static electricity, and kills them. My little baby has not needed any "flea treatment" since. Must be done once a day. At least. Sometimes twice a day. Plus is they love getting brushed.