Eggers brought some fleas to my house. Even though Chloe & Eggers are indoor-only cats, I can't seem to get rid of the fleas. I treated the floors with Orange Guard (contains orange peel extract and works great on ants & bugs in general but safe to use around animals and kids) and put Advantage on the cats and laundered and vacuumed everything like crazy (and got rid of vacuum bag outside of the house immediately after vacuuming!), but the fleas came back after about six weeks! (I didn't give the cats a bath though).

This is what the vet recommended: Give the cats a bath with a mild soap (leaving soap on for 5 minutes) and do laundry and vacuum and then wait 48 hours after the bath (to get rid of flea eggs) and then apply the Revolution. She said that if you do it before 48 hours the cat could still be wet and Revolution is not as effective as if the cat is completely dry. To me, 48 hours seems a bit extreme, plus, by then, couldn't the fleas have hatched more eggs?

What's your protocol for fleas (I need one that works--the fleas are driving the cats crazy)?

I'm surprised the fleas are out already - we had frost just yesterday! It would probably help you to get rid of the fleas if you vacuum every day - those eggs can hatch daily and that's probably what's going on since they are still there....you can put some moth balls in your vac bag (will make your house smell like moth balls though....) and that will help kill them in the bag in case you don't want to be throwing out new bags every day. Open the windows though when you vacuum to dissipate the smell for your cats.

If you can find a flea spray then spray it on your fabric furniture as well.... I imagine that you will have to repeat the rest of the stuff you've already done.

As for waiting 48 hours to apply Revolution after a bath - I would think 24 hours would be quite long enough - but then, I don't bathe my cats. My dogs are dry within 24 hours though so I imagine cats would be too.

Good luck!!!

Michelle, it's been plenty warm here for fleas. They start hatching in my area around the end of March. I haven't noticed any on my cats, though.

Jen, Orange Guard isn't going to kill fleas. Nothing really kills flea eggs. Nature made then extremely hardy! So after the adult fleas get vacuumed up, poisoned, there will still be eggs in the carpet and cracks waiting to hatch. That is why after a few weeks you see more fleas when you thought they were all gone.

Here is info on dealing with fleas, including the life cycle of the flea, that you need to know about:

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You might want to get Fleabusters for the carpet:

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I don't have a big flea problem here. I haven't hardly put any flea meds on my cats in years. They go out in our enclosure, that has a grassy part, but fleas just aren't a problem at our house. We do have lots of those little ants outside, and ants eat flea eggs. Also, during the heavy spring rains, part of the pen on the grassy side gets flooded for a few hours, so that wouldn't do fleas any good.

You don't need to give your cats a bath, unless they are crawling with lots of fleas and you want to wash off and drown a bunch right away.

Geez.... I guess it would be warmer where you are since you are further south.... Thankfully, I haven't seen any fleas yet....and I sure hope it stays that way!!!!! It is starting to get warmer up here though - today it's about 70 but the nights are still cold.

Michelle- I live in California and we have fleas almost year round. But he brought them with him when he moved in, so they've been living comfortably in my apartment since then.

Margaret--thank you for those links. I hadn't heard of fleabusters, but I really like it because it's not a nasty pesticide---sounds pretty safe to use. The only thing is, I don't have carpets, I have hardwood floors. I think I'll call the fleabusters company and ask them how I would apply the product given that fact. I think the fleas must be laying eggs in my couch or something, but I did wash (and dry for 20 minutes) the slipcover. But sounds like I need to wash it about 3 times in one week (plus vacuum the same amount), considering the flea life cycle? (Oh boy, will have to figure out how to fit that in). Chloe never had a problem, but Eggers came with them (plus ear mites and ringworm---thankfully those are both gone!).

Thanks again for the info!

Jen, put a pretty sheet or a blanket on the couch as a sort of slipcover. Then it is easily dumped in the washer and can be dried in the dryer with no worry. That's what I have on my couch.

Be sure to wrap up the corners to meet in the middle and not let the part where the cats sit tip towards the floor, as that will make flea eggs and any larvae slide onto the floor.

Don't forget to vacuum under the couch and other furniture. You don't need to do that 3 times a week, but if you haven't moved the couch to vacuum under it in a long while, it needs to be done. Under the beds too.

Since we live where we get winter weather with below freezing temps, we don't have fleas outside for a good 3 months, so that helps my cats not develop an ongoing flea problem. I complain about the cold weather, but it has some good points since the adult fleas out there die.

There is no need to bathe the cats unless they are infested with fleas and you want to quickly drown the fleas on the cats at that moment. That is the only way a bath helps regarding fleas. Once the cat is out of the water, any fleas on the floor will then just hop on the cat.

If you treat them with one of the safe spot on treatments, such as Frontline, Advantage, or Revolution, no need to bathe them due to fleas.

Doing the cleaning and vacuuming will then get rid of adult fleas in the environment- to a point. If your home is infested with fleas, even vacuuming daily won't get them all. A few fleas here and there is not an infestation.

Hi Jen - hey, I lived in Florida from 1990 to 2004 and I used Fleabusters....they were great. I also had carpets though....they put down a powder and they will also put it into your couch and chairs and stuff (remove the cushions and put it into the creases). I had them treat the house once a year (about $130 for my 2 bedroom house down there - 1300 sq feet) and if you still have fleas after a month or two - they'll come and redo it for free. Since I had the house treated, I never had a problem with fleas except on a very rare occasion here and there and then Revolution and Capstar (Capstar is a pill you give that kills all living fleas within 24 hours and is NOT prescription - I used 2 for each animal, one on day one and one on day two to kill the new hatchlings) took care of it without having to give anybody baths.