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Fleas are rampant this year! Any suggestions on how to keep them at bay?

Practically every dog that I sit nowadays has fleas (I am a travel sitter, not at-home), and so do all of mine. We've used Frontline Plus, flea shampoos, garden sprays, contact sprays, sulfur in the yard, diatomaceous earth -- nothing seems to get rid of them!

I hear that fleas have been a problem for a lot of folks this year, especially in my area of Dallas/Fort Worth. They've developed immunities to most of the flea products you can buy so I'm wondering if anyone has had success with any that I haven't heard of. It would be nice to be able to share this information with clients and even offer to try and help fight the flea infestation.

For most dogs it's just an inconvenience having a few fleas, but my littlest dog has sensitive skin and ends up with huge welts and open sores from scratching. We've been doing the best we can to treat it but when we finally get one spot healed another one pops up somewhere else. Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated!!

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Hi, I'm from the Houston area and I know all too well what you're dealing with. My vet recommended Bravecto and K9 Advantix II and they have been the best products that I've used down here so far. They been a lifesaver! Hope it works!

Thank you, I'll try those! :)

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Hi Kayla, the product I would personally recommend is Frontline. I never had any kind of problems with this product whatsoever. After doing some research online, I read some reviews about Bravecto, which is vet recommended, however, there were a lot of negative reviews. There were a number of cases where dogs suffered from seizures and in worst case scenarios, death. I mean all medications will have its side effects, and each dog is different but just putting it out there :)

Additionally, my 7 month old dog had fleas at one point but there were a couple of home remedies that seemed to work. After taking your dog for a walk outside, spray a solution of vinegar and water (50-50 ratio) all over the dog's body and rub it in. You have to do this every time. Additionally make sure to focus near the neck, armpits, and stomach area. Another option is to give your dog a bath in Dawn dishwashing soap with a lemon scent or the one one that's blue in color. You will be able to see the dead fleas all over the tub.

Sorry for the long response, but hope it helps at least a little.

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Food grade Diatomaceous Earth works brilliantly to help get rid of fleas and many other bugs. Must be food grade only, not chemical grade! And, bugs cannot build immunity to it. Just take care to avoid animal's face if you are applying this topically because it is a powder and can be inhaled. If sprinkling it around, you can just vacuum it up after a period of time.

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I've had really good success with CedarCide (also available on Amazon). It works indoors, outdoors, people and for dog. I spray my dogs down occasionally and I spray myself (mosquitos love me and this keeps them away). I also bought one of their soaps for use on the dogs. Be aware the stuff smells very strong but you get used to it (or we did) and it's worth it. It smells like a woodshop.

I'd highly recommend. I'm trying to go without using Frontline and so far so good.

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I've had success using essential oils and repellent plants: https://verminkill.com/

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Hi, Kayla. I am also from the DFW area and I know what you mean! I have a dog with insect sensitivities as well. I use monthly Sentinel. The only downside to Sentinel is that it does't kill fleas, it just prevents them from breeding. Recently, I discovered a flea on my sensitive dog and her belly area had several irritated flea bites. I used Oster Flea and Tick shampoo and most of the bites had healed over by the next day. It's made with oatmeal, so perfect for sensitive skin! https://www.amazon.com/Oster-Oatmeal-...

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Thank you, I will look into those! :)

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Daily vacuuming helps a lot too. You will actually hear the little buggers going up into the vacuum. Put down a little bit of flea powder and vacuum that up as well so that it kills the fleas that are sucked up into the vacuum.

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Remember, fleas hatch every 3 weeks, so you will need to bomb or spray every 3 weeks until they are gone. Pay particular attention to cracks and crevices and baseboards. Don't forget to wash the doggie beds too.

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If you know for sure your dog has fleas treating him/her is just the start. You'll have to flea bomb your house too. At least that was my experience the one time I had to deal with fleas. My roommate brought a cat home while I was out of town and the darn thing had fleas which then spread to my dog. I wasted a lot of time treating my dog but they just kept coming back... until I bombed the house.