I knew it! :eek:

Danny,
And you still love her too much to take her off your avatar?

umm... I thought you used smoke and worked. If so, I would have to spend $$ to buy some more cartons of cigarette.

Yes, she was a good woman. Made the best damn cornbread and chitlins you ever had. I'll miss her. :(

Yes, please do..

It started with an misunderstanding (tricked by a buddy who still brakes out laughing as soon as he sees me) and should have ended if I had found the "delete the whole thread" button in time. :D

Okay, the rare bit of serious advice. Ask your veterinarian (Animal doctor) about a product called "Advantage". Do NOT buy the Hartz Mountain and other junks sold in chain stores. Treat your dog with this...

For non toxic and effective flea killing use Peppermint Soap. You can bath the animals in it frequently without stripping the oil from their skin.

Mix some up in a spray bottle and spray the house liberally. Repeat as often as necessary.

If you go the soap route, his would be the "best" peppermint soap, IMHO:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1215355470.jpg

Or...move to Denver. Crazy, but fleas don't survive above 5,000 feet...not enough oxygen for them at high altitude.

Go to www.petmedexpress.com and order Frontline for your dogs. Much cheaper than at your local vet.

As far as fleas in yard it is unlikely its from the possum. It has been a bad year for flea infestation. More likely source is neighborhood pets. Get malathion from Homedepot/Lowes and put in a sprayer and treat your yard every 7 days until problem has subsided for 2 weeks. Spray only the shaded areas of the yard...fleas avoid sunny areas. Its about $8/quart for concentrate which will make up to 48 gallons but mix it much stonger...like 1 quat/10 gallons. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=188464-316-188464

If your dog is going nuts scratching at night then give them a benadryl (1/2 tab per 25-50 lbs) at night.

Catch the possum in a box trap baited with a can of cat food. Or run up on it quickly and when it balls up pick it up by the tail and put it in a box and take it several miles in the country and release it. It may look fierce but they are not agreesive and probably won't try to bite you. Eliminate food sources it is scavenging.

From my brother the veterinarian.

Spray the yard with diazonon, and use front line plus on the dog.

rnln - you have to change the environment so the fleas cannot survive - that is the bottom line and it should be fairly easy in Calif, since it is so hot and dry there. It is the very dry air at altitude that kills them, Paul, not the O2 conc.

The advice above (and some of mine) re chemical treatments will TEMPORARILY kill fleas. The chemicals will also very clearly impact your health, and esp. that of any kids you have, not to mention your dogs' health. Pesticide use is a last resort, esp. spraying alrge areas outside.

I will bet you have carpet. It creates a moist micro-climate for them to live in. Can you get rid of it? Turns out carpet is not real healthy for humans either.

You have to kill all 3 crucial life stages of fleas, eggs, "juveniles" and adults. Or you at least must kill them right after they hatch and before they can breed. Then all you need to do is to prevent re-infection (= migration of fleas back to your dogs and/or house).

You can vacuum the carpet and treat it. At the same time, shampoo each dog with a flea killing shampoo & wash all bedding (maybe all your drapes/curtains and anything else fibrous too!) in hot water with detergent or take to a dry cleaners. You have to wash their heads to but watch out for the eyes.

Flea collars can help esp. on smaller dogs. But fleas often survive at the rear on larger dogs & the collars are not good for your health or that of your dogs.

some dietary supplements can help some dogs...

#1 issue - see your vet and discuss this. There are some very specific flea killing chemicals now that will not affect you or your family or dogs as much as some of the chemicals urged on you by some of the above posters. Frontline is one of them, but may not be best. A good vet. will be able to determine what to use.

BTW - possums have twice the # of teeth and half the brain size of a raccoon...

You can buy this stuff on-line or at e-bay without a note from the vet. I use frontline on my dog, no fleas ever. They won't even jump on him if they are in the yard which I haven't seen any evidence of even though we have opossums and raccoons get into the yard on occasion.

Just squeeze the stuff from the tube on the dog's skin between his shoulder blades once a month and you flea problem will go away.

Well, in this case I don't want to delete the thread, although I know it confused people, but it can be a good reminder lfor me ater on in the future if I forgot the term again :)

Thanks guys.

Alright, now I have several options, I will start with the easiest (and less cost) one first, I know Advantage is presciption required:

1- Look like malathion from Homedepot/Lowes on the yard and Frontline on the dog is the easiest way. Spray it every 7 days? Oh mine, I spray the stuff also from Home Depot, similar price, maybe 7 times a day for weeks already.

2- Peppermint Soap: where can I get it? Is it prescription required? What kind of percentages to mix it with (water?)?

Regarding the Benadryl, if the dog is only about 3 to 5 lbs, how much should I give them? 1/4 tab or need to be smaller?

Again, thanks everyone.

We simply shoot the nasty little varmints around here.

The dogs or the folsom?

Diazonon is no longer legal for homeowners to use in CA, and pretty much useless if you have a possum. I used to have a possum living under a deck in the back yard, and the fleas were incredibly bad, and I don't have any pets. I sprayed with Diazanon in the yard every week, and it just slowed them down a little. Once I got rid of the possum the fleas went away totally in a couple weeks.

If you go the capture route you can get a live catch trap (I bought one on Amazon), and bait it with avocado. Possums (and some other rodents) love avocados. I happen to have an avocado tree so keeping ahead of the possums and rats is an ongoing battle.

I shot them with bb gun once or twice but didn't help. They ran and still come another night... I probably not a good shooter :D

Thanks Ed,
You just gave me another idea of using my fruits as bait.

Just bring MULE by the house to rid yourself of fleas....they will all flock to him like Liberals to big government.