Frontline is fine for kittens and pups over eight weeks of age, which is what we use for all newcomers. The flea collars and shampoos really don’t work so well, but I do use Frontline sparingly, as it is a pretty nasty chemical.
I agree with Magnolia (for once 
) that garlic is reputed to have great anti-flea and -tick properties, and has always worked for our animals.
Also, my vet yesterday recommended adding a tiny sprinkling of powdered sulphur to one of my dog’s food to help with his skin problems (it helps cool the blood). Just checked online and apparently fleas don’t like that either. A box of sulphur (c.250g) costs NT20 
Hi all.
My little guy (a Shiba Inu) just picked himself up some six legged friends of the jumping variety last weekend and has managed to spread them to our car. I was hoping some of you might be able to give some advice on getting the little buggers out. So far, I’ve vaccuumed the car (tossed the bad straight into the freezer after to save the bag), removed all floor mats and am soaking them in the tub (started yesterday and planning to soak over the weekend) and sprayed the bejesus out of the car with some anti-tick and flea spray. I’ve also tried spreading salt over the fabric surfaces and vacuuming it up (I read on-line that can work…). Anything else I can do to get rid of them? I’ve been giving some serious thought to hosing the interior down with a fire extinguisher since that should freeze them right quick, no?
Also, as for my dog, he’s been given a flea bath (last Saturday) and had some Frontline drops put on him (Monday this week), but his damn fur is so thick I don’t know if it got onto the skin or not. He still has some fleas on him, despite being checked everyday, his area being thoroughly cleaned with bleach and then sprayed with the same stuff I used in the car. I’m thinking of having him shaved today or tomorrow and then re-Frontlining him, but will that hurt him having the Frontline reapplied so soon? Or will it still work if it only got on his fur?
Thanks for any help!
quick response re. reapplying: we use frontline to treat mild cases of scabies 9as recommended by our vet), and that involves applying the spray every two days for two weeks. so I don’t think you need to worry too much about reapplication, but I wouldn’t make a habit of it.
You could also try feeding a natural diet - none of our 55 dogs has fleas. 
spreading salt around is probably not doing much, but the vacuuming part is going to help, albeit only a little. flea larvae are little wormy things that hide in the pile of the carpet eating flecks of dried blood sprayed out of the arse of the adult flea as it eats the dog. soaking may help to drown them. eggs OTOH can lie dormant for months if not years, so drowning will probably not kill them all unless you soak them for weeks… the eggs are prety waterproof, and the egg does not use much oxygen. the eggs are stimulated to hatch by vibration and increased warmth… so people moving into a new place will often notice a flea outbreak a few weeks after they move in or in spring if the house has been cold.
i heartily recommend Frontline or any product with fipronil. if you peel back the hair or spread it with your fingers so you can see the skin, youare in business. it spreads in the oil on the dog or cat’s skin especially as the animal moves, by diffusion in the skin’s oil layer. put it behind the head so they can’t lick it when in high concentration. it does not matter if they lick it at lower concentration. you MUST put it directly onto the skin: it spreads much better.
If you do happen to have carpet or rugs or similar fabrics where fleas hide e.g. couch/sofa, try using boric acid powder.
Just spread it around, wait a few hours, then vacuum. I went boric acid crazy after the cat brought in fleas and eggs started showing up, and fleas jumped onto my ankle and started biting me. I had to treat my ankle for a weak. drove me nuts. But the boric acid powder worked.
I did this in conjunction with treating the cat directly too with frontline stuff. gotta fight those buggers on all fronts.
Thanks for all the advice. My dog seems to be ok now, haven’t seen any on him since around Thursday last week and haven’t seen him scratching either. Also my wife and I haven’t been bitten in a few days either. I’m keeping up with vacuuming the car and the house for the next week though in case there are still some eggs about.
I found the cause of the infestation. Turns out that all three basement parking levels of my buildings have been invaded by the buggers. I have since stopped parking in my spot and haven’t seen a flea since. I told my building managers about it Sunday and they just laughed and said they already knew. They knew but didn’t put up a single notice about their being fleas all over the parking! When I asked if they were going to get an exterminator they said once all the extra building materials were removed from the parking, they’ll look into hiring one. When I asked when that would be, they said possibly mid April. And that was it. They won’t do anything more. Is there an equivalent of a Department of Health or something I call about this? Does this not violate some kind of a health code? I mean we’ve got rats, fleas and God-knows-what rampant in the parking.