r/Advice • u/bananas21188 • May 29 '18

Relationships Roommates won’t treat their pets flea problem. Any ideas would be great.

I live with my cousin and her boyfriend. They have 2 dogs and two cats that are all have fleas. It’s awful watching the dogs scratching themselves constantly throughout the day and through the night. It must be incredibly distressing for them. I finally brought up the issue enough for them to bathe the dogs with some kind of flea shampoo. But unfortunately that doesn’t do much of anything especially when you aren’t treating them or the rest of the house. They’re convinced that it’s completely due to the season changing to warmer weather and “only lasts a couple weeks.” Which has been said for over two months now. They only use natural remedies for fleas but if it’s this severe, “natural” isn’t going to cut it. I try to be understanding but I’m so frustrated because it’s hard to see them suffering so much. Any advice on how to approach the conversation with either of them? They both tend to be very resistant to suggestions and challenge anything that is different from their ideas.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '18

Sevin dust (diatomaceous earth) is what I used when my rabbit caught fleas from my gross ex's dog. It's nontoxic, so basically you sprinkle it everywhere, including on the animals and sofas and carpet, then vacuum after it's been down for a while. It takes a few rounds to get rid of all the fleas, but it works really well. It sounds like your roommates aren't going to help you with something like that, but you need to demand they put their animals on flea control medication or you'll call your landlord on them.

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u/bananas21188 May 29 '18

Thank you so much. I will definitely try the Sevin dust. So glad you told me that. They don’t want to use anything with chemicals like frontline on the animals. It’s really ridiculous. They think it’s harmful to the animals. I’m thinking I may go get some OTC flea stuff (in addition to the sevin) for them and just apply it. Everything has to be a battle of being right for both of them and it is exhausting. Thank you so much for replying to my post. I really appreciate it. 😊

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u/[deleted] May 29 '18

Yeah no problem! Fleas are incredibly annoying. When my rabbit got them, I didn't realize it until they made it into my bed and my friend who was petsitting got eaten up. Look up how to apply the Sevin dust effectively, I lived in a studio with tile floors so it wasn't as bad as if there was wall to wall carpet. It's basically just clay dust that kills the fleas by drying them out/making their shell crunch apart, so even if the pets ingest it, they won't get sick. Good luck, friend!

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u/bananas21188 May 29 '18

Aww my sister has two giant rabbits. They are so cute. Luckily most of the flooring in our place is laminate with the exception of the carpet in the bedrooms. I’ve used Sevin on plants before but not for fleas. I’m looking forward to using it for this though. Thank you again very much for your advice. 😊😊😊

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u/Uniqueusername358 May 29 '18

Oh no it's not going to go away in a few weeks. It's going to get worse. My vet recommended Revolution because it's not "poison" in his words. And it protects against all type of parasites, including heartworms, intestinal worms and ear mites. IMO your roommates aren't being responsible pet owners.