Severe fleas: can I safely apply Frontline 2 weeks apart?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Maharlika - 26 Sep 2004 01:54 GMT

We got 2 new kittens a couple months ago. They are 4 months old now.
A few weeks ago, we suddenly realized we had severe fleas. We had the
vet flea bath them and he sold us Frontline. Right at the same time,
we flea bombed the house but it was only partially effective. So, we
applied the Frontline 2 weeks ago. We thought it was helping some as
we would periodically see sick and dead fleas drop off the kitties.
But it is just 2 weeks later and today we noticed that the kitties are
dropping flea dirt with eggs, and the house is suddenly full of fleas
much worse than the first time. I picked off over 100 fleas from my
socks in the last 1.5 hours.

Anyway, I think I may not have done a good job putting the Frontline
on... it sorta ran around their fur and made a blotchy mess, much of
it may not have contacted the skin. Would it be safe to apply it
again (hopefully correctly) after just 2 weeks? And just how do I
apply correctly? "Parting the hair" is what I thought I did the first
time but ended up with a mess.

Also, this stuff is expensive. I see much cheaper stuff called
"Frontline" on eBay... any reason to avoid this, or is this legit?

Thanks!

Reply to this Message

Jayde - 26 Sep 2004 04:11 GMT

<snip>

> Anyway, I think I may not have done a good job putting the Frontline
> on... it sorta ran around their fur and made a blotchy mess, much of
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> "Frontline" on eBay... any reason to avoid this, or is this legit?
> Thanks!

Frontline should spread onto skin no matter how you applied it by the
natural movement of your kittens. I would completely avoid
re-application if the label says to wait a certain length of time.

If your flea bomb or fogger didn't contain an insect growth regulator
such as methoprene or pyriproxyfen, it won't always kill the larvae that
burrow "deep" into carpets. Maybe what you're experiencing are the
hatching of these eggs. Sometimes fleas build a resistance to
insecticides also.

Because you have kittens, the only thing I can suggest right at this
moment is to vacuum voraciously on a daily basis. Though vacuuming will
pick up adults, it will also stimulate emerging fleas which you can get
to eventually.

Vacuum for about 2 weeks every day making sure you get under the
furniture, crevices, upholstery, etc., and especially areas where you
can see dried blood, and feces, then tightly seal, and promptly throw
away the flea filled vacuum bags each time. You'll want to ask your vet
for kitten-safe hand sprayers (avoid permethrin), that you can use in
conjunction with vacuuming if the condition is severe.

Whenever you spot treat with sprayers, be sure it dries before
vacuuming. Hopefully the flea situation will come under control in time.
We used to live in Hawaii where it was a perfect climate for fleas, but
in time, with diligence, it's possible to control the flea situation.
Good luck! :) ~Jayde

Reply to this Message