I ordered your product and in conjunction with Ultracide for my house, I am hoping to be rid of those dastardly fleas. I have 5 cats. They have never been outside a day in their life, but I have probably brought fleas in and have had 5 cats in misery despite the fact that for the past 4 months, they have been on Frontline Plus. Another mystery to me.
My cats have long hair and I have found it nearly impossible to get the spray through the hair and to their skin in all instances. I also worry as they try to clean themselves after I have sprayed. I sprayed them a week ago, and have noticed them scratching. Today, in combing, I was able to get 1 or 2 fleas from 3 of my 5 cats.
I worry that I will not get rid of these fleas before the weather changes and it is time to put on the heat. My question is … once I have treated the house, if the cats still have a flea or 2, will I have to treat the house again? Should I worry that they may have ingested a bit of the spray in their incessant grooming after being treated? And finally, if after being treated twice, do I need to try another strategy?
First, as explained in great detail in our FLEA CONTROL article, pets can many times accumulate adult fleas whether they are on Frontline or some other treatment. An adult flea can withstand these materials for several days so if the cat is in an environment which is producing fleas, expect them to keep getting more on them until the “flea factory” is shut down. Remember, products like Frontline are really targeting the larvae stage of fleas and are not well suited for dealing with adults.
Second, as also explained in our Flea Control article, in virtually every case of indoor pets that have fleas, the fleas are usually reproducing somewhere in the home. Since it only takes one flea hitching a ride on someone that enters the home to get the home infested, failure to treat the home annually will eventually lead to an outbreak (flea infestation). It sounds like this is currently the situation at your house at this time. We always recommend treating homes at least once a year for fleas whether you have them or not. Following this routine insures you’ll never have to endure a flea problem; failure to treat is like rolling the dice at some game at Vegas: at some point your luck will run out. Take “luck” out of the equation and start doing some preventive treatments. This approach will hold off fleas effectively which in the long run will make it so much more comfortable for the people and pets of the household.
Third, as our article explains, the best product to use for such homes is the ONCE A YEAR FLEA GRANULES. This odorless, non spray approach is ideal when you have chemical sensitive pets active like cats. Since it only has to be applied once a year, it’s also the easiest to employ. I strongly recommend you get some of this product applied regardless of the fact that you are planning on using the Ultracide. In fact, we recommend using the Flea Granules for carpet and furniture and then some PRECOR 2000 for any hardwood or tiled floors in the home. Ultracide is like Precor 2000 so using it on hardwoods or tiled floors would be the best place to employ it. We haven’t seen it (or the Precor 2000) work that great on carpeted areas so we recommend the liquid or granules for these areas. If you wish to get the best results possible that will last the longest, follow this advice. If you stick to using just the Ultracide, expect to be doing several applications.
Additionally, you really need to employ some of the FLEA TRAPS we have listed in our article. Generally 2-3 are enough. Since they help collect the hatching pupae, complete control is obtained that much faster when you have some out. The flea traps will also spare your cats some discomfort since the traps will absorb some of the hatching fleas. This means less around to disturb the pets.
As for your concern about getting “rid of fleas before the weather changes”; your fear is unfounded. Fleas will thrive inside during any season if there are conditions conducive for their survival. And in cases where they have been breeding in the home from the start, like they have in your situation, the weather outside has no impact at all. Expect the present situation to continue until control measures are put in place.
As for your questions… Treating the house over and over will be needed if you only rely on the Ultracide. This is because it won’t do anything for the hatching adults (as explained in our article) so you are forced to let the problem run it’s course. This will take many weeks. Alternatively, if you apply the Once a Year Flea Granules, you’ll break their cycle that much faster since the granules causes the pupae to hatch out faster than normal. And with some Flea Traps installed, even faster yet.
Regarding the pets and ingesting of the treatment; for the most part it’s a non issue. You should only be applying a small amount to them and this amount should not have any impact. And as we explain in our article, it’s most important to get the product deep down to their skin, which is where all the flea action is happening, so do take the time to rub it or brush it in if need be. Dipping a FLEA COMB and lightly combing them where their hair meets their skin is usually a great way to get good coverage on the most important part of their anatomy. The point is if you get it there where it really matters, you’ll reduce the exposure to them (compared to just spraying their hair which they can lick pretty easily) and you’ll be having a much greater impact on the source of the problem.
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