We have fleas!

I have the same problem right now; tons of fleas. It is very irritating. I had some Advantage and put it on some of my kids but others are feral and I cannot touch them. If you have a flea comb and your cats will tolerate that, use the comb and dip it in dish soapy water. I think that will kill the fleas. This will at least cut down on some of the fleas. I think they are especially bad this season. I have never seen it this bad. I am not even sure the Advantage will kill this strain of fleas.

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/980716c.cfm http://www.instructables.com/id/Control-Fleas-Naturally-with-Common-Household-Item/ http://greenerpastures.responsiblepersonalfinance.com/2008/06/01/frugal-ways-to-protect-you-your-yard-and-your-trash-from-summer-pest my mom used SSS from avon Skin-so-soft and it helped alot in repelling fleas off people...

I have 30 cats and BEFORE I ever heard about (Advantage),we all suffered from flea infestation every year and it was awful! One year my grandma who lived in England at the time came for a visit and gave me a very expensive flea comb and I use to fill an old butter tub with hot water with a drop of dish liquid added and comb the cats and drop the fleas in the water to drown, (the dish liquid prevents the fleas from climbing up out of the water). I did this several times a day for weeks. I also put butter tubs filled with water and drops of dish liquid all over the floors, here and there especially near night lights to catch fleas and that worked out great! Every day I would empty the bowls down the toilet and refill them. Thousands and thousands of fleas were caught that way. To prevent the cats from drinking out of those bowls, I taped some screening over them, that way the fleas could still get in but the cats could not drink from them. Also I would sprinkle baking soda or borax on my carpets and suck it all up with a sweeper every day, that would also pull up any flea eggs before they had time to hatch. Every year we would have to go through this for about a month till every flea was caught and killed! All this stopped the year I bought some Advantage. It is very expensive but I found a way to make each little tube stretch for 6 cats instead of just one as the package says, and it works! Just smear a little on your thumb and the next two fingers and go around and pinch it into each cat's back of their necks instead of doing an entire tube there like the package says, one tube will do around 6 cats and it will work, don't believe them when they say it will not work cause it will, I know, I am always broke and have had to do this for several years now and we have been completely free of fleas, no more bowls of water or using any flea combs! Reguardless of what the Vet says, only buy the (orange) tubes of Advantage because the purple ones are often too strong. My Vet sells individual tubes of the stuff and they are only $8.00 a tube, that's about the only way I can ever buy any and they only need some during the hottest part of the summer. I also discovered not all of the cats need to have Advantage to prevent flea problems. One year I was so broke I could only afford two tubes of the stuff and only was able to do 12 cats out of 30 but it still worked, in about two weeks, we were free of all fleas, I know because I went over my cats with the flea comb and couldn't find a single flea! Well hope some of my tips helped and good luck!

Malathon is not a home remedy, and it is poison, but it does take care of the fleas. If you are looking for something a little less expensive, and can find it in your area, get some TNT, it's usually found at the Family Dollar Store, and it does work very well.

We get our Advantage at the vet's office, and she does allow us to buy individual tubes at a time, instead of a package of six or more. That helps because I can't afford the entire package at once. (We have two dogs and a cat.) However, it used to cost $10 per tube, now it is $12 per tube! Thursday evening I saw one flea on one dog, so Friday morning I went straight to the vet's office and bought Advantage ($36). I hated to do it, but it is worth it. I have tried many home remedies with no luck. Garlic is helpful, but too much garlic, if ingested, can be harmful to the pets' kidneys. I have read (online) many different amounts to use, so how do you know how much if they aren't experts -- and how much is too much for your particular size or breed of dog? ZEMA is a house spray that I get from Rural King and it is the best over-the-counter spray I have ever found. It isn't terribly expensive. I have tried many others, but it is the best. It helps to kill what is in the carpets and in the pets beds. I can't afford the Advantage and sprays either -- but the infestation is not a good thing either. So, have a garage sale, then take your money and go get Advantage and ZEMA. They are the best things -- otherwise, you'll end up having to pay a professional to come spray two or three times to get rid of infestation -- and that is way more expensive!

This is easy. I have three cats and have not had fleas for over twenty years. Long about 22 years ago while doing day care and having one cat, we got fleas. That was a year when the little varmints were thriving all around and the day care kids were carrying them in on the cuffs of their pants, their socks, the top part of their shoes. It is a good thing that the other cats won't let you wash them. There is a much easier and less invasive way to keep your cats flea free. There is a product put out by a company called "PetGuard." It is called "Yeast & Garlic Powder." This combination repels fleas. It may take a little time to build up the B vitamins in your cats so that they can be flea free but once they have this in their diet, you will not have problems with the fleas. Many times our animals are deficient in these nutrients and it invites infestations because of the poor quality of the cat foods available. Go to: http://www.petguard.com/cat-products/supplements/yeast-and-garlic I use the powder and mix it in with the dry cat food. It coats the cat food and our cats love it. I just use a scoopful with 2-3 cups of dry cat food. Mix it around so it coats most of the food. The cats will love it. Fleas hate to jump on an animal that has this combo in their system. It can also be mixed with wet food. All that you are doing to the cats is causing them trauma which further burns the B vitamins out of their system. It may take a few weeks to build your cats up so that they are resistant. In the meantime you may still get fleas in the house as they can come in with people, so I checked pant hems, cuffs, socks and shoes before anyone entered and had my yard sprayed to kill what was growing outside. I hope this helps.

You can pick up fleas anywhere. A trip to the vet's office with your pet is a great place to pick them up. I never set my pet's cage on the floor, and I make sure my dogs are up to date on their flea meds if they need to go in. Also, just a trip to the grocery store can pick up a flea someone else brought with them. I used to work at an airport, and we had a major flea outbreak at one of the screening points once. Was awful! Even just you walking outside in your yard can bring them in. Might be worth it to check into getting a spreader and putting some granules or spraying your yard when you get some extra cash. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, then vacuum some more lol. That removes a lot of them, but it won't take care of all of them. Dawn dish soap will kill/suffocate any live fleas on the cat, but once the cat is back on the ground, the fleas will be back on the cat. You can pick up some Borax laundry booster(in the detergent aisle at the store) for a few bucks. Sprinkle that on the floors, let it sit overnight, then vacuum in the morning. That is supposed to either suffocate the fleas and eggs or absorb the eggs...not sure which. But, I do believe it contains boric acid which is known to kill insects, and it's ok for the pets as well. I've tried this in conjunction with Advantage/Frontline and it worked great. I don't like using chemicals because of all my animals and I have a young child. I've also heard but never tried this, put a nightlight out, and underneath it put a small shallow dish of water with some soap in it. Supposedly the fleas are attracted to the light, will jump into the bowl and drown. Sounds far fetched, but can't hurt to try it. And, I've recently been reading a lot about diatomaceous earth. You sprinkle a little bit on the pet's fur, and after a few days it kills the fleas by dehydrating them. It's all natural, won't hurt the pet. You can lightly sprinkle it on the floors as well. It's also used as a dewormer for pets and good for people to eat as well. If you use this, you must use PermaGuard brand that says it's food safe. I bought it from this company, http://www.earthworkshealth.com/ bought mine on ebay through the company for I think about 28.00 for a 10 lb. bag. Something to think about when you get some extra cash, and I like that it's natural and safe. Another thought, you can usually buy a single tube of Advantage at the vets for about 10-15.00. Figure out how much your cats weigh, then buy the Advantage for dogs in a single dose. I have a lot of cats, and I buy the large dog size, then divide up the tube amongst the cats-a few drops for a smaller cat, etc. The amount of pesticide in each one is the exact same regardless if it's for cats, dogs, large dog, etc., the only difference is the amount of liquid in each tube-a larger dog gets more....get it lol? Most vets will not tell you this, because they want to make the $$$ off selling you 3 tubes for your cats of Advantage or whatever at 30.00, as opposed to one large dog tube for 10.00. My current vet told me this when I asked about it, and another vet I took another pet to said the same thing. And, I've heard that and done it with my pets for years now. You can even look it up online, and ebay even had people selling special "syringes" to more easily measure out the proper dose. Just another thought. Of all the readings I've done over the years, the methods I mentioned are the ones that have proven the most reliable, and ones I've seen consistently. Vinegar or spraying soap/water won't help. Good luck!

okay, do not use garlic, its bad for cats, very bad And I'd guess that the fleas came in with you, since that's how my friend, Elaine used to get fleas, and she had several serious cases of fleas at her place and her cats never went outside either. I haven't had much luck except by treating them with Frontline or another flea treatment, treating my yard (the dogs bring them in) and bombing the house (I lock the cats out on the porches.)

http://www.fleatreat.com/ All natural solution. In the mean time you can control fleas in your home with boric acid powder worked into the carpets. Boraxo soup works well too. Both work by drying out the fleas and they die. Work it in well and wait a week before you vacuum. The little buggers probably hitch-hiked home on your clothing when you walked through grass that is infested. If you have outdoor animals in your area it is likely that there are fleas. You can use boric acid on your yard too to help control fleas and ants. BTW if you do have a problem with ants invading the house you can make cheep easy ant bait with pancake syrup & boric acid mixed into a paste. Put the mixture in a container with a tight fitting lid with holes punched in it. This keeps the animals from getting into it. And just place near one of the main pathways the ants use.

check out ehow.com. lots of writers there provide helpful natural tips to help you get rid of fleas. i think one is lemon peels. fleas hate citrus.

I can't say that we've tried any home remedies for getting rid of fleas, because we haven't. However, if none of these things work you may want to take yourself, your family and you cats out of the house for a bit, and set off a flea bomb. I wish I could remember the name of these, but I got distracted and now can't remember their technical name. However, it's a product in which you have to leave the home for three hours, clean the house before and probably after, and open windows an hour or two hours before you come home.

I've heard Borax works well, spread on the carpet before vacuuming, and vacuum daily everywhere. Also, bath the animals in dawn and then in their normal shampoo. I use cedar scented fly repelant and spray it on my pooch before walks. Fleas hate it. Frequent baths and frequent vacuuming cannot be overstated. Good luck, happy independence day!

Kelp helps you have to order it online and you get this tub of powder. It also helps with skin. I would say no to garlic because people say that it can be really dangerous to cats. They also say Joy is supposed to be really good for it.

At my old apartment we used to get fleas every October, I have no idea WHERE they came from as all of my kitties are inside kitties. I tried everything; flea collars, flea soaps, even hartz brand knockoff advantage/frontline. No effect. I did, however, find something that helped considerably. It didn't totally rid them of the fleas but kept them at at least a reasonable level (if there is such a thing). Fleas like clean skin/fur, so being clean is actually a bad thing. I poured baby oil all over my kitties and let it soak deep into their fur. I also gave them a hot 10 minute bath, suffocating or drowning many of the fleas. I understand that two of your cats don't appreciate that, but maybe just the oil itself would help. Another thing that helps, and is inexpensive, is to look in the gardening section for a certain kind of pesticide. It's a powder and made from a plant in africa, the bag should have instructions for dusting your cats and carpet for fleas. Put on the floor and vacuum daily to help suck them out. I hate fleas with a passion.

watered down hydrogen peroxide helps. i usually keep some around to treat wounds as it also kills microbes

I lived in an area that had a lot of stray cats and I had fleas and didn't even have animals. I had to bomb my house twice a week for a month to get rid of them. It was so freakin bad the school called me because my children had bites on them. I didn't even bother with home remedies since they were so bad. Good luck

You must take to shower your cats everyday, in summer will have more fleas.Fleas like to stay on lawn.My cousin are very save money, she will hard work with her dog, she will shower her dog everyday and wipe it like her baby. I am not sure, it's right.