Anyone have any experience with fleas?  I have been on a 3mos battle with them in my house, and I feel like it's an endless cycle of frustration!  Molly (dog) and Sophie (cat) have been getting topical treatment every 2-3 weeks, and Molly also has a flea collar on.. and still has fleas.  Molly has been on Effitix, and Sophie was on the Effipro topicals.  I felt like it wasn't working on Sophie and she was switched to Frontline.  

Molly gets baths, I've used Oster and Adam's brand flea and tick shampoos.  Sophie it's a battle to get her to the sink for a bath, but I do my best. 

I've also sprayed every surface in my house with flea stuff.  Washed clothes and bedding in a hot water cycle, And I still have fleas.  They are starting to turn into members of my house.

Anyone have any tips and tricks, or recommended products?

https://www.amazon.com/Seresto-flea-collar-8-month-prevention

i swear by these for my dogs. I actually no longer even put flea meds on the cats really

https://www.amazon.com/Adams-Flea-Tick-Home-Spray

i want to say this is what i used for the house, at least amazon said i bought it 3/1/19

i also use advantage II when I needed to for the cat

also you need to vacuum like crazy

So from what i've done and my understanding on a Vet Only Comment group on FB. Topical flea and tick medications are not very effective anymore, espcially frontline. It has lost its touch. You need to get an oral one, which would mean taking them to the vet. You can buy the soresto collars, they are the only over the counter flea  medication/previtive that they recommend.  (Their expensive, like 50-60$ a collar, but they work for about 8 months)

Trust me, I tried everything under the sun as well. I also sprayed my house with tempo, which is safe for animals once it dries. But it still didn't help. So my friend who works as a vet tech gave me a sample of bravecto,  i split it between my 4 dogs and within a couple days to a week my fleas have all gone away. We might have a stray one here or there, but we have cats in our feed/tack room and they have them. 

Please stay away from all Hartz products as they will make your animals sick and do not let your cat get near your dog if they have on a topical medication as it can make them seriously sick.  I can give you the name of the vet group on FB if you wish to join and ask the vets yourself love.

Let me know! 

At our clinic we use Bravecto which is a 3 month chewable for fleas and ticks, and if there is a current infestation (which sounds like you have) we also use a Capstar pill. A lot of the flea/tick preventatives kill the flea larvae but do not kill the adult fleas. So we use the Capstar to kill off the adults and the Bravecto prevents future infestations. 

Your house is the tricky part. We typically recommend people have a pest control person come in and handle it, but a lot of people use a flea bomb. However, you would have to remove all animals and people from the house for a set amount of time. And sometimes it takes a couple of rounds of the flea bombs.

**This is just my opinion, not veterinary advice. I am just a tech, but this is what our hospital would recommend.**

Thank you for the information!  

I've been getting all my flea stuff from my vet, she has not said a word about an oral form of treatment! But, my cat is also special needs, so that could be the reason, idk. 

I luckily don't have any carpet in my house, just vinyl flooring but I do vaccum like crazy.  I've sprayed/wiped leather couch cushions, etc.  Molly has a "all natural collar" it worked for a bit, but even with that collar on there would be a flea.   It seems like the seresto collars fly off the shelves in my area; so I'll check if Chewy and Amazon has them.

This is the flea spray she gave me to use around the house:

https://www.chewy.com/virbac-knockout-es-area-treatment/dp/53856?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Virbac&utm_term={keyword}

It was pretty bad on my cat for awhile, Frontline nipped it in the butt for a bit, but today I saw a flea.  My parents recommended treating my yard as well?  

Yes you can treat your yard  as well. I would get a pest control company out to handle the yard and your house. That way its a wide spread coverage. I would ask you vet about the oral forms of the medication for your fur babies!

be careful using the seresto collars, as there is currently an issue with them having killed over 1,500 pets and has about 75,000 injury reports. our vets cant even sell them in our area because of this, and you dont really find them in stores here for that reason. idk what its like where you are but its becoming more of a problem wherever they are sold, which is why at least here they are disapearing off the shelves because they are starting to be recognized as being dangerous. they've even advertised on the news not to buy them because its so bad here, and its just doing its damage left and right. 

like i said idk what its like for you there but this is just a heads up. they could have already been recalled in your area (could be why they are scarce) and replaced but i know here thay havent yet and it worries me whenever i hear about them so i try to let people know whenever i can.

i hope you can get the problem solved, i hate fleas >_< my mom had a flee issue once, and she had some people come out to do some yard work. fleas vanished. all they did was mow the lawn and move a pile of twigs/branches and the fleas stopped showing up like, day after. it was so weird, but yea i would suggest the flea bombs if possible or possibly putting down some flea traps, and making sure your furbabies get fleabaths regularly.

good luck!

I hope you manage to get this little infestation under control Amber!

Berlioz is an indoor cat so I can't really comment (as any insects/parasites/fleas would need to come in via me!) but I use Advocate flea and worm spot-on and it seems to work well.

Keep us updated!

So I was gone for a few days, but my mom had came to visit while I was away, and she magically was able to wash the cat, and was also able to wash the dog;  and flea bomb my room, and the guest bedroom.  So far I haven't visually seen any fleas on them, but they are still itchy, which I find is super irritating!  So I'm guessing there was a few survivors.  So I'll be doing another round of everything.  

I finally saw Capstar on the shelves at Tractor Supply, but I'm going to ask my vet about Bravecto

OH and I treated the yard, which was not fun at all, because I also treated myself in the process -.-

So, dealt with this myself in the past and my wife is a vet tech now. 

1. Topical just doesn't do it anymore. Really need to get an oral medication. 
2. VACCUUM! That is going to be your best friend. Vaccuum many many times. Like go over each room twice. 
3. Treat your yard if you haven't already. 
4. Itch from the bites can linger - using an oatmeal or medicated shampoo can help to soothe their skin. 

It's a pain and it's a battle! But you got this!! 

Capstar will kill thr adults off of your pets within 24 hours, then all you have to do is wish and take care of the babies you can do bravecto also from your vet.