kitten@hao.UUCP (11/13/85)
> > > > Our friends own a Bedlington Terrier. She's basically an > >inside dog, but she does go out to play for about an hour a day. > >And she picks up fleas. Lots of the little buggers. They've tried > >flea baths, flea powder and flea collars. So far, no luck. As my > >friend says "It seems that the little scumbags have no respect for > >the products we're using." Is there a solution? Had anyone found a > >way to keep fleas from sucking our doggies dry? And what's worse, > >I've got flea bites from the fleas that she left in my apartment > >after dog-sitting her for a week! Talk about itch. > > > >Sharon Badian > >ihnp4!mtgzz!seb > > I just had a horrible bout of fleas with my three felines (outdoors for > play). They infested my carpet, my bed, and I could see them hopping > about the house, merrily chowing down on my lower legs and burrowing > into my cats. Nothing from the pet stores seemed to work - I tried > flea powders, flea sprays, foam flea baths. I was vacuuming every > other day and combing the cats every day. I finally went to my vet. > He sold me some flea bombs (continuous aerosols) which must be used > carefully... ...flea bombs killed > egg, larval, and adult phase; the vet said I may have some more hatching > out of the pupa stage in a couple of weeks. I did. Then he gave me > another bomb, designed to kill adult fleas only. > The flea bomb's active > ingedient was called an IGR (insect growth regulator) which caused > the egg & larval fleas to grow up sterile, as well as a chemical to > kill the adults. > > Debby Axness > -- ** When I was renting a room in a house, the owner's daughter befriended a disposed-of pregnant cat. She kept three kittens, all of which were being eaten alive by fleas. One evening I made the mistake of sitting on the carpet in the livingroom. I was apauled at the number of bites, and had to go into the bathroom to pluck the suckers off. When she went out of town my other roomie and I decided to take action for all our sakes and dipped the pooor skinny things in flea bath, put on flea collars, and I went out and bought something called "Strike" (I think). It also has growth inhibitors and regulators. Certain phases of developement were killed, others stopped, others altered. Granted, it *is* expensive, but when I moved, I was flea-free. I recommend it. {ucbvax!hplabs | allegra!nbires | decvax!noao | harpo!seismo | ihnp4!noao} !hao!kitten CSNET: kitten@NCAR ARPA: kitten%ncar@CSNET-RELAY
chris@leadsv.UUCP (Chris Salander) (11/14/85)
> I went out and bought something called "Strike" (I think). It also has > > when I moved, I was flea-free. I recommend it. > I had a small war with fleas just in the last month. Stray cats living under my patio were apparently the source. I also used Strike and it has worked quite well. I only used it outside, however. Inside I used a powder in the carpet and followed that with a regular carpet cleaner and a thorough vacuuming, since I do not want to put my face into flea powder while doing exercises on the floor. There is a non-chemical way to get rid of fleas that also allows you to keep track of their "presence" or population density. Turn off all the lights in the "test room", and, if you can, turn down sources of heat. Leave things that way a long while (say overnight) with doors and windows closed (no other light or heat). Leave just one light on, on or next to a wall and only part way up from the floor. "Nightlights" are good for this. The next morning almost every flea in the room will have gathered on the wall (and the floor) around the light. You should then have ready large sticky pieces of masking tape. Lay these down on the wall and you will pull away strips full of fleas. Then use your favorite method for killing them directly. Don't take too long, though, since they eventually free themselves from the adhesive. Repeat this every night until they are all gone. The number of fleas that show up each morning are a good measure of the total number that may be lurking around. - Christopher Salander, Lockheed Space Systems Division
vsh@pixdoc.UUCP (Steve Harris) (11/20/85)
Vets sell expensive chemical flea powders and dips which, if you read the
label, usually consist of 5% carbyrl and 95% inert ingredients.
That is the formula for SEVIN, which you can buy at the garden store for much
less than the vet charges.
Whether or not you want to mess with the stuff is up to you.
--
Steve Harris | {allegra|ihnp4|cbosgd|ima|genrad|amd|harvard}\
Pixel Systems Inc. | !wjh12!pixel!pixdoc!vsh
300 Wildwood Street |
Woburn, MA 01801 | 617-933-7735 x2314