Have you tried a bug zapper lamp? Over the summer I used a couple of them in the house because flies get in every time the door is opened. They work really well if you leave them on overnight. Every morning there would be a pile of dead flies and moths under the lamp and I'd sweep them up. Not sure how this would work with fleas but I'd try a bug zapper before messing with illegal chemicals.

Ok, I have fought the flea battle for a long time. Here might be a couple of solutions:
When I get desparate (for the basement), I get some of those flea bombs. Set them off, shut the cellar door (run fast!!), you have to do it in weather when it's nice so you can open your upstairs windows. That'll kill anything that moves down there!!
Secondly, try a flea trap: you can rig a homemade one up. Get a flood lamp, desk lamp, something with a light that'll give off some heat. Place it over a pan of water in which you place some soap or detergent. Leave it. The fleas will be attracted to the heat from the bulb, jump up to it, fall in the water and drown.
Here's an important thing!! I was using lemon dish detergent, my son found on the Internet that fleas don't like lemon/citrus stuff. So we dumped in some GREEN cat shampoo. By morning, we had hundreds in there.
I've tried the Frontline (3 dogs, 2 cats), with poor results. I personnaly don't feel it's worth the money. You could try bathing the kitten with a safe cat shampoo, keep him warm and dry.
Also!!! vacuum! and vacuum and vacuum. You'll not only get up the fleas but also the eggs. Get into all the corners, around the baseboards. Do it about every 2 days for weeks. Then make sure you empty the vacuum bag regularly or the fleas will crawl out of your vacuum and reinfest the house. I understand if you put a few mothballs in the vacuum cleaner bag, it'll kill the fleas but I tried that years ago and my closet smelled of mothballs for months! Yuk!!
Good luck, just remember, YOU are higher on the food chain that a bunch of dumb fleas - LOL -- Ellen

I use Advantage from the Vet. From my experience the store brands don't seem to be as strong as the Vet's brand.

You have a serious infestation that needs a very aggressive approach. Get a few a flea bombs for the house, hire an exterminator for the basement. Exterminators are really not that expensive. I had my house done inside and out for $150.00. They sprayed for fleas, ants, spiders and a preventative for termites under my house.

Once the fleas are exterminated, lay Eucalyptus leaves/branches around the house or basement as a deterrent.

Try advantage, we used to use frontline on our dogs and it was almost like the fleas grew some kind of armor. We switched to advantage and it took care of the problem.

Are you using the right kind of DE? Pool grade won't work. (Just a thought.)

I hate to see people use flea bombs. They really don't work very well and are so dangerous. If you do use them, be sure to read and follow all directions. Turn off ALL pilot lights, too.

Do not use an unsafe pesticide in your home. Not only will you be putting a sensitive kitten at risk, but yourself as well. Precor is not harmful to you or your pets. Mothballs should never be used in the manner described above. Talk about toxic fumes!

If you call an exterminator, tell the company that you have a kitten.

Just adding to Ellen's advice. You can put a flea collar in the vacuum bag to kill the fleas. Then you won't have to smell mothballs.
I WOULD NOT put a flea collar on the kitten though.

There's alot of info on the web about how toxic flea products are: "The Cancer Prevention Coalition and California Department of Health say many flea products contain carcinogens, neurotoxins, or both. The Washington Toxics Coalition says these nerve poisons can cause long-term health problems.(1) The Illinois Poison Control Center, a national authority on toxins, receives thousands of calls each summer reporting flea pesticide poisonings of cats and dogs. In her book The Nontoxic Home, author Debra Lynn Dadd writes, "[M]ost pet poisonings are the result of the organophosphate and carbamate compounds used to control fleas." She warns, "Whatever you do, do not use chemical sprays, powders, or collars on your animals. Cats and dogs (and their owners) are frequently poisoned by these pesticides. ... Flea collars create a toxic cloud around your animal 24 hours a day."(2)

The active ingredient in most commercial flea products is a form of nerve gas. Labels warn not to get it on your skin, to wash your hands after applying it, and to keep it away from children. But they go on to tell you to work it thoroughly into the animalÂs coatÂas if his or her skin would not absorb the chemical poisons, too!(3)
Immediate effects of pesticide overdoses include vomiting, diarrhea, trembling, seizures, and respiratory problems. If your dog or cat shows any of these symptoms, immediately wash the product off and seek veterinary care."

I think vacuuming daily is important until it's under control. Mowing often (and bagging) the yard is very important too. And laundering anything that could have flea eggs in HOT water.

Call exterminator poste haste and get rid of the problem once and for all.

Use Advantage. Frontline does NOT work. Call vet and ask if you can use flea powder with the Advantage, I am not sure so I would ask before doing it. If you can, use both.

Put flea collars (2) - new in new clean vacuum bag.

The bombs work, but are alot of trouble and are highly toxic. Get a professional and that way if the problem persists, they are on the hook to get rid of it.

turtle_haven_farm, I think I may have inedvertantly made one of those 'flea traps'. I keep my kitty's water dish on the floor in front of a little night light in an outlet. Maybe that is why there are so may fleas in the water dish in the morning?

If anyone remembers my previous posts, I have washed EVERYTHING in my house all drapes, bedspreads, pillows, everything in my closets, I even emptied my drawers and washed everything. I sprayed the mattress with flea spray and put all newly washed items back on the bed and stood back and saw fleas jumping on the white bedspread within seconds.

I bought a Hoover Floormate Spin Scrub to go around and wash the floors on a regular basis and even bought a better vacuum. I have a shop vac for the basement.

The problem in the upstairs is now managable, not gone completely but manageable The basement is overrun with them. I am afraid to go down there and bring them upstairs. I no longer store my 'to do' laundry down there so fleas don't have a home to hang out and I no longer hang anything on a clothes line down there. Everything goes in the dryer or is hung upstairs.

I was thinking that I was bringing them in from outside. We have two feet of snow right now so I'll see if the problem lessens.

Flea bombs have the exact same chemicals as the sprays and looked rather dangerous and explosive. I sent them back.

And yes, I did by the right kind of DE. My basement floor now has a thin white coating of it and the fleas still are jumping on my ankles when I go down there. DE might be good for spiders or centipedes and other things with soft bodies. Fleas have hard shelled bodies and DE won't work. It didn't work for my ant problem when I tried it either. Ants just walked right through it.

Thanks for listening and thanks for all who gave advice.

I did the 15 watt bug zapper on the floor back in the 80-90's to keep my house flea free, it worked amazing for me, I kept it in the corner away from foot traffic, I think the fleas were drawn to the light at night. I swear by it, keep carpet vaccumed for sure to keep any eggs from hatching!!! GOOD LUCK

DE works amazing! The only thing is it takes about 2 months for it to be fully effective. It is a bit of a pain and a dusty mess. The end result is Definitely worth though. For myself the best results came from dusting generously inside and out. Down the fence line, around bushes etc. Making sure to get anywhere your pet or other animals may be. Applying it directly to your pets is a must too. Try and leave the powder for as long as possible. You have to be consistent! And have to rid the yard as well or they will just simply keep multiplying. Best of luck!