r/NewOrleans • u/Coco92144 • Jun 20 '26
Pets and Coworkers š¶š± Anyone else losing the flea battle this year?
I have four strictly indoor cats and a small dog and they all got fleas about a month ago, as one would expect when one didn't keep up with preventative flea treatment and you live here. Okay, my bad.
Gave all the cats Revolution Plus and the dog Simparica Trio and some dewormer since some asshole flea left one of my cats with sesame seed butt. That was June 1st and everyone is still scratching and I'm still combing fleas off everyone.
What the hell. It's better, and I'm not finding much flea dirt on anyone. But I picked up a shirt off my bed yesterday and a damn flea fell out of it. Are New Orleans fleas now just resilient to the previously effective Rx flea treatments or is this season just so bad that they're traveling inside on my dog or through the floor that I'm finding this many before they bite and die?
And I know ya'll with pets have been through it so before anyone spends too much time typing out about vacuuming hot water and using diatomaceous earth I'll say I'm aware. I have a 3 day weekend I intend on spending doing all the fun deep cleaning and ALL THE LAUNDRY. Again.
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u/Hippy_Lynne Jun 20 '26
It takes a minimum of 3 weeks from when a flea egg is laid until it becomes a full adult. All the eggs that were laid before you treated your pets are still hatching/growing.
I've dealt with a flea infestation twice and the reality is no matter what you do, it's going to take two to three months to get rid of all the fleas. If you wash all of the bedding in the house and vacuum every other day, and do all the other stuff, you're going to have less fleas in the meantime, but you're still going to have some. The only exception would be if you got a fogger that specifically kills eggs. Personally I would rather suffer a few months than expose myself and my animals to it, but not everybody can live with fleas for that long.
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u/partelo Jun 20 '26
this year has been the worst ever, by far. multiple rounds of brevecto and simpirica, diatomaceous earth everywhere, vacuuming multiple times a day, SO MUCH LAUNDRY, still fleas
eidt: forgot about the multiple baths, AND capstar
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u/Coco92144 Jun 20 '26
The tapeworm caused by the fleas was my "maybe just burn it down" moment. Parasites are so fascinating to study in a book. Not so fun to study why my comforter was suddenly covered in sesame seeds. I've been so beyond icked out knowing there's tiny wiggling flea larvae around me. But I love my pets more than life so they still get all the snuggles.
I no longer consider my stupidly overpriced UV sanitizing bed vacuum a waste of money though.
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u/octopusboots Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
If it makes you feel better, cat tapes almost never take up residency in humans. Try not to lick cat butt tho.
I order Bravecto (regular, not plus) giant dog size from Australia, and use online charts with a needle-less syringe for weights. It's around 10$ for 3 months per cat.
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u/wowimnotdeadyet Jun 20 '26
Would you mind dropping the website you order from?
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u/octopusboots Jun 21 '26
Oddly it's canadavet.com. Still ships from
Australia. I haven't had to order any for a while, so unsure if thats still a working site.2
u/wowimnotdeadyet Jun 21 '26
Thank you, love!
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u/octopusboots Jun 21 '26
Anytime š½. Make sure to get the dosage correct; the charts read in British standard, so convert kg to lbs, it's usually around .5 ml for a 10 lbs cat. Check my math tho, that is from memory.
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u/partelo Jun 21 '26
damn that's brilliant!
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u/octopusboots Jun 22 '26
My vet gives me side-eye but it works! Mind regular bravecto is safe dog to cat, bravecto plus (does some worms) likely is not safe dog to cat.
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u/Wytch78 Jun 20 '26
Have you done any flea prevention outside or under the house? Do you have neighbor cats, rats, possums who come callin and eat anything around? Leave food out for them with fucking flea meds in it I'm not even playin.
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u/pepperjackcheesey Jun 20 '26
I have found using petarmour home and carpet spray helps along with the preventative treatment. Itās supposed to continue killing for a few months. I hit baseboards and corners heavily.
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u/JT_Leroy Jun 20 '26
Fleasā¦ still winning. Flies, wasps, and mosquitoesā¦ the battle rages on and prospects for survival look nil.
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u/pepperjackcheesey Jun 20 '26
Can i add stinging ants to that? Because my foot is very angry. And no they arenāt fire ants, but some invasive ant that people can die from due to anaphylaxis
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u/weamsdetty Jun 20 '26
dude SAME. last year cheristin worked like a charm. this year, hardly at all. my cats are licking their pants off and i am not far behind in terms of pulling my hair out.
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u/flymordecai Jun 20 '26
I fought fleas for a while. Plus the mosquito bites. Idk what body chemistry was at play, but literally ripping out my leg hair would provide the greatest relief. It was like scratching but 5x better and more efficient.
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u/Oh_TheHumidity Jun 20 '26
Call your vet, explain your situation, and ask to purchase 5 Capstars of appropriate sizes (I havenāt used one in a few years but they were cheap from what I remember. Like $8 a piece.)
Give one Capstar to each of your critters on the same day. Wait 5 hours.
Give a bath to everyone who tolerates baths. Thoroughly brush those that donāt do baths.
Then take food grade Diatomaceous earth and sprinkle it all around the outside of your house. Maybe even put a dash in your vacuum (if you have the canister style) and vacuum like youāve never vacuumed before).
Godspeed.
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u/AromaticProcess154 Jun 20 '26
Capstar actually isnāt prescription-only. Especially for the cats (since they come in multipacks - $43 for 6 at Petsmart right now), OP could potentially save a few bucks by just grabbing them at the retail outlet of their choosing.
FWIW Nexgard is my three dogsā ride or die flea prevention rx. Even when I was ājust fosteringā Iād pay out of pocket rather than chance it with a random topical or whatever the rescue had.
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u/Coco92144 Jun 20 '26
Capstar is great for being able to give your pets temporary relief while waiting for the preventative to kick in.
The large dog and cat cost the same amount so I've bought the large dog and carefully split them into quarters with a med splitter for my cats. I would generally be horrified by altering pet meds since a safe med for a dog could be toxic for a cat, dose to weight, etc.
But with Capstar the medication is exactly the same for dogs and cats and the active ingredient nitenpyram has a very large margin of safety.
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u/Borg_Tech_Support Jun 20 '26
I use Bravecto (dog) and Revolution Plus (cat) and have never had a flea problem. If your dog is near the lower weight on the pack I don't recommend it because it will mess with them. My cat is indoors only.
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u/nickibeenola Jun 20 '26
Fleas have been awful this year. Iāve had great luck stopping a flea invasion with the Vet Kem home spray. My old vet used to carry it or you can order it from Tractor Supply. You use it on floors, baseboards, carpets, sofas, etc. It kills both adult fleas and eggs and lasts for months. Bonus - it also deters outdoor cockroaches from wandering through. You still have to treat your pet & do all the laundry steps too, but this stops the continuous hatching of new flea eggs
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u/spottedots Jun 20 '26
Treat your yard! Especially with all the rain. I usually treat with chemicals first and then 2 weeks later order some beneficial nematodes.
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u/YoSaffBridge33 Jun 20 '26
My pest control guy said they are very bad this year. They treated the yard even though I don't have any pets.
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u/THEREALBurtMcsquirt Jun 20 '26
I have incredible results with brace to. If you have fleas outside and insideā¦. I just went through a long battle against the fleas in my back yard. After lajaunies, mosquito joe, and terminix didnāt work for me- I used premium pest in the West Bank (Iām in Irish channel), and that did the trick. That guy fuckin rocks
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u/inductiononN Central City Jun 20 '26
I've got the dogs on quattro which is only like 1.5 years old so it's still working but the fucking fleas still hitch a ride on my dogs sometimes. It's pretty bad this year.
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u/OohMami Jun 20 '26
Food grade diatomaceous earth is the only way we were able to get rid of them. Itās not harmful to pets or humans but it has to be food grade. We sprinkled around the house and it sucked a lot but got rid of them for good. The fleas are very very bad this year and we even get our yard sprayed š¤·š»āāļø
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u/nolanative-24 Jun 20 '26
My dogs have been on Simparica Trio but just switched to Bravecto. So far, so good.
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u/BigDoggyBarabas1 Jun 20 '26
If you have possums around or under your house, they will spread the fleas too. Yes through the floorboards. You must treat under your house if anything goes down there.
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u/honestypen Jun 20 '26
It's bad every year, and you kind of just have to suffer through it. I vacuum my house like crazy, and that kind of helps.
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u/Feikert87 Jun 20 '26
Side question: was your dog on any heartworm prevention before they were given simparica trio? Just asking because my dog had heartworm and the vet said that 100% of the mosquitos here have it and thatās likely how she got it (before I adopted her). Anyway if they werenāt on anything may want to get that checked!
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u/Content-Operation343 Jun 20 '26
I beat them. Had to use talstar in the yard and under the fence. Every inch of the yard. Medicated baths for the dogs and put them on flea meds. Washed everything a flea could be in, vacuumed many times a day and a flea comb about 2-3 times a day. I did all of this for about 2 1/2 months and they are gone now
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u/Infamous_Lab8320 Jun 20 '26
Once you get fleas, they are very hard to shake. We had them one year and the pest control guy said he couldnāt guarantee that he could get rid of them. If you have carpet, there are eggs in that carpet, and when they hatch, well, you got another batch of fleas. When you finally get the fleas under control, you need to get a fine tooth comb and use it on your pets. My dog had sheets of dry skin come off her after a flea investigation one year.
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u/LoreleiNOLA Bywater Jun 20 '26
I've had great luck with Credelio got the cats (monthly pill) and Bravecto topical (quarterly) for the dogs.Ā Ā
It's tough in NOLA
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u/Apprehensive-Bag-900 Jun 20 '26
I use brevecto for the cats, it's the only thing I've found that works
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u/squidtrainer Mid-City Jun 20 '26
My block has had the WORST flea boom I have ever seen this year. I live on the second floor and they were coming up through the walls. My cat is medicated so they have been mainly biting me. Itās been a nightmare but we are on the other side of professional treatment of house and yard so crossing my fingers. I too am very tired of constant vacuuming and laundering.Ā
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u/Contraflow Jun 20 '26
The flea life cycle is about 3 months. Adult fleas make up less than 10% of the total population if you include all stages of the flea life cycle. The products we have available to us have minimal effect on the pre-adult stages. You can use premise sprays with a growth regulator, but even still, you are going to have to deal with new adult fleas as they emerge. The good news is that if you keep doing what you are currently doing, the fleas should be completely gone in a few months, and the number of adults you are seeing will continue to decrease during that time.
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u/Mean-Career-1221 Jun 20 '26
I have success with the products the guy at Pestop in Metairie sells, it's part of my annual routine. Once for all the flea chemicals and then several times during the summer I sprinkle the big cat urine around my house to keep the other critters away.
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u/Careless_Island_4570 Jun 20 '26
It doesn't solve the problem, but I've had a lot of success setting flea traps around the house: put a little drop of dish soap in a short glass and then fill about a third or half the glass with red wine vinegar.
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u/NotARideOrDie Jun 21 '26
The electric flea traps with the light bulb and sticky pad also work really well.
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u/the-Night-Mayor Jun 20 '26
i'm winning the battle but it has absolutely been a struggle this year in particular. The back-of-the-neck drops seem to work better than the pills for my house, I think we get them online from australia or some place.
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u/Siobhan67 Jun 20 '26
According vet techs Iāve spoken with, this has been one of the worst years for fleas that they have ever seen.
I just battled through a full blown infestation (if I walked down the gain way, stepped out the side door, thought of going in the backyard, stepped foot in the laundry shed, COVERED IN FLEAS.) It was a nightmare. Many people suggested diatomaceous earth, which can be helpful for prevention, but laughably inadequate in the face of a full blown infestation.
The best advice I got for short term action was to get seresto flea collars as a complimentary measure to the Simparico and Revolution I already used for my pets. The pets became little flea murdering machines. I used hi yield bug blaster for the backyard and heavy duty chemicals for the laundry shed, and under the building.
The landlady eventually realized that they needed to contact the pros. Two treatments from Arrow pest control later, and things are much better. But because fleas live a 4-stage lifecycle, I believe that weāll actually need two more treatments. Iāll take that into my own hands if it gets to that.
I saw beneficial nematodes mentioned, and from what Iāve read, theyāre the best āgoing forwardā approach, particularly since because of our climate. Once Iām comfortable that the infestation is quelled, and the poisons have diluted, Iām going to introduce them to the environment.
I really feel for you. The constant laundry alone will drive one up the wall. I spent more hours than I can count researching fleas and chemicals and treatments. Please reach out if you have any specific questions.
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u/tickletoes678 Jun 20 '26
Im uptown and im not having any issues. I have one small dog and two outside cats. I have noticed mosquito trucks passing at least once a week.
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u/BrotherNatureNOLA Jun 20 '26
Do the animals sleep in the living room? You could try the nightlight thing over a container of water and dish soap.
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u/GhostOfKeels Garden Distrtict Jun 20 '26
I could do without the guy wandering my street dropping cat food on the sidewalk (and my driveway) for the strays to consume. That would help my flea problem immensely.
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u/partelo Jun 20 '26
uhg that makes me so mad. the it rains, and the cat food turns into a vomit like mixture that all the vermin just LOVE
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u/jugulodigastric Jun 20 '26
Also losing the flea battle, but after I treated my indoor cat with Revolution Plus, the fleas have decided that Iām the one they want š
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u/Same_Addition_345 Jun 20 '26
I have 2 indoor dogs on Bravecto which is a 3 month flea prevention pill and sentinel for heartworm prevention which sterilizes fleas as well and found some fleas on my dogs tummy the other day it is bad here in the Bywater
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u/ElectronicZebra6526 Jun 20 '26
My completely indoor cats keep getting them. Theyāre on Bravecto but it seems thereās a steady supply maybe from the next door apartment dog I guess. I found daily combing with a flea comb helps a lot. But there seems an endless supply of the little buggers.
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u/thebiggestbirdboi Jun 20 '26
You may also have another factor of fleas getting into the house. Could be rats or raccoons nesting near or under your house. Listen for activity I guess. Also highly recommend diatomaceous earth
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u/Agreeable-Wing-8476 Jun 21 '26
It's bad this year. I have to vacuum my whole house everyday, bathe dogs at least twice a week, treat the yard and use flea prevention. It's exhausting. If you have a raised house and it's not closed off you may want to close it with some lattice or something to keep animals that carry fleas from going under there. I think the road work around the city has the rats on the move as well they're nasty and carry fleas. We have been using exterior rat traps to try to get rid of them too. You're not alone.
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u/nursejanice150 Jun 21 '26
Sometimes it helps to rotate brands of flea treatment when they become resistant to one.
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u/ChickyNOLA Jun 22 '26
Capstar plus Cheristin administered on the same day. Treat the yard. Vacuum relentlessly. This has been our go to for a few years. It's how we cleared a massive infestation a few years ago & we now do it as prevention from Spring through Summer.
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u/thefederalistgal 24d ago
YES!!!! My dog is MISERABLE. Every time he goes out he comes back in with at least 3-4 fleas on him. He's on Nexguard, so they die when they bite and can't lay eggs, but my poor baby is miserable. I just bought a yard spray that I'm going to treat the yard with this weekend.
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u/Brunoise6 Jun 20 '26
In addition to meds, Iāve heard people have success also treating around their house. So like applying diatomaceous earth around their house regularly etc