That's good to know ~about the Frontline Plus not working as well as it used to, I mean. We couldn't figure out whether we were applying it wrong or what the heck was going on. I think our little guy is picking them up outside, too. It makes sense that the fresh fleas would need some time to be effected by the medication. Those ready to lay eggs before hitching rides on our animals would have viable offspring. (One of the ingredients in Frontline Plus prevents sexual maturity in the fleas ~ but those picked up outside would be fertile. So that could explain why we are all experiencing hatchings in the house. I think the flea breeding cycle is something like two weeks.) It was cat flea powder we found at WalMart. Sprinkling that under the sofa and chair cushions and under the pillow on the dog's bed seems to have cut down on the flea population in the house. Using just a tiny bit around his tail (the cat would not sit still for more than a tiny bit, the little stinker) along with sprinkling the powder beneath the cushions on the places either animal sits seems to have helped, alot.
Be very careful with that flea powder, though. Highly toxic, and not good to overload the animals with it, especially when they have been treated with another product already.
Another thing we learned is that the cat box is the perfect harbor for fleas carried in from outside.
Think about it.
The dog is walked outside. He carries fleas in. A fertile one gets on the cat and lays her eggs in the litter. Once they hatch, they can feast on the cat every time she enters the litter box.
And new, untreated fleas are being carried in by the dog every time we walk him.
So the key must be to kill the untreated fleas before they can get into the house to breed.
We had them so badly here (Florida) that the dog had scratched most of the long, beautiful hair right off his hindquarters ~ and even the cat has two bare patches on her haunches,
Little clumps of cat hair everywhere, and a balding cat.
Cheesh.
Barbara
P.S. We discovered the perfect way to bring about the untimely demise of the fleas we DO catch on the dog. (The cat will not sit still long enough for us to find hers, let alone pick them off.)
A pint jelly jar with water in it.
If you can catch the flea, keep your fingers tightly clasped and stick them in the water. The water prevents the flea from escaping and he drowns.
We used the jelly jar so no one would mistake a glass of water with dead fleas in it for something they were drinking.
Ahem.
Works for us.
