ferret flea issue
Hi there,
We’re having a ridiculous flea issue. My son and I get bitten by them in bed- my husband and daughter don’t. We run the blankets, pillows and sheets in the dryer every night befor bed, vaccuum the bed, etc, etc. We’re covered with bites. We’ve made homemade light traps and have caught a fair amount this way. We keep the animals out of the bedrooms almost completely at this point. We give them Capstar and Program. And we have diatomateous earth, etc.
We have only 1 large rug and one small carpeted room- the rest of the house is linoleum or wood.
We have 2 cats, a dog and 2 ferrets. Boric acid is fatal to ferret.
What do you reccomend? We’re being driven crazy! Not to mention losing sleep. :(
If you take some time to read our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, one of sections of the article goes over the “do’s and don’ts” of flea control. One of the most important points we make is that by removing your pet or pets from rooms where fleas are active will cause the fleas present to start biting any people still there. So until the problem is resolved, if you don’t let the animals have free roam throughout the house, I’m afraid you and your son will continue getting bit. But if you return the pets and allow them to be active in these rooms, the fleas will assuredly choose the pets over the people 99% of the time.
Second, since you have mostly linoleum and wood floors in your home, the best course of action will be threefold. First, vacuum everything really, really well. Without carpeting it will be easy to remove most all flea debris, eggs, pupae and adults with a solid, well working vacuum. This is very important. Second, since some flea pupae will most certainly get into the cracks and crevices of the wood floor, treating with PRECOR 2000 would be needed. This aerosol contains a growth regulator and therefore will stop the flea cycle. It can be used throughout the entire house and you must make sure you get all the furniture the pets have access too. Third, set out 3-4 FLEA TRAPS around the home to help collect any rogue fleas. The traps will also help break the cycle by causing the flea pupae to hatch sooner rather than later.
Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:
Flea Control Article: www.flea.net/flea-control
Precor 2000: www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page246.html
Flea Traps: www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page22.html