Monday, June 25, 2007

6/25 Fleas and snakes

Quincy has fleas. She's been keeping me up all night scratching, so I took her to the vet today. I was sure she didn't have fleas because she takes the preventative treatment. What I found out today was that fleas are so bad here that dogs have to take the preventative treatment, get baths with flea shampoo, and once fleas are present you have to get your house de-bugged. Crap. So I'm on the right track now, but have to get my house de-flead. This cute little (big) dog is sure costing me a lot of money. I bought some good flea shampoo at the vets (flea shampoo? sounds like we'll have clean fleas, huh?).

And snakes? I'm talking about the human kind. Even though I've been in this business for many years, I'm still a bit naive. I think everyone operates above board and in a trustworthy manner. Guess I'm wrong.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Human snakes are harder to get rid of than fleas, but it's best to give them a wide berth.
I hope drinking more water makes you less tired. Take good care of yourself Jer!

Jerilyn Dufresne, author said...

Thanks, Andrea. I am drinking tons of water but so far am still tired. I'm sure it'll get better.

Anonymous said...

I HIGHLY recommend Frontline PLUS (you have to get the plus) It is costly, but we have not had a single problem since I started using it with Sadie. Scooter had horrible fleas, and once in the carpets, we never could get rid of them, even with a professional exterminator. Good luck...fleas are miserable for pets and their owners.

Anonymous said...

I use Frontline Top Spot for Cats. Like Cindy, my cats haven't had any problems since.
I was hoping drinking water would perk you right up (like a plant that needs watering!) I hope you're better soon.

Jill and Todd said...

Sounds like you have your hands full. Love you.

Well Met said...

I order our pet medications (Frontline and Heartgard) from Australia. The medications are the same, just a whole heck of a lot cheaper than buying it from the vet. Here is the link: http://www.petsuppliesnet.com/shop.htm

There is a kind of flea down here called a "sand flea". It is much smaller than a normal flea and will eat the heck out of YOU. Quincy could have also picked those up from the beach. Maybe. Just something to consider. Try the link though. The meds come fast and the shipping fee is a flat $3.99.

How do you plan to de-flea your house? You could probably just set off some foggers one morning before work and that should take care of them.

Oh, and flea shampoo is great but if she is infested, buy a Capstar from the vet. They are about 4 bucks and will kill all the fleas within about 30 minutes. It only lasts about 24 hours though but at least it bangs them all at once.

And as far as the snakes go...

I was very naive and still am in some respects. I used to think working for a "faith based" organization meant all of the employees were God fearing and "faith based" themselves. Unfortunately I learned quickly the hard way that this is not always true. When I get frustrated, I just remember that God will deal in his own way with them.

He will deal with the snakes too.

Jerilyn Dufresne, author said...

Thanks everyone. Q did get the pill from the vet yesterday and was fine until this morning. Vet assistant gave me the name of the "bomb" to get for the home. Will get that at Lowe's today. Also, Q has been on Frontline Plus (and/or Advantix) for several months. I believe it's the sand fleas and told the vet about going to the beach lately. Once I get the house de-bugged I will always use this (expensive) shampoo on Quincy as soon as we get home from the beach. A
nd, Andrea, I realized my tiredness is also from not having a full night's sleep because of Q's bladder problem. Plus she gets me up at 5 AM most days. I need my 8 hours. Will have to figure out how to fix this.

Oh, I'll have to get my yard treated too, I guess. Damn, fleas are insidious creatures, aren't they?