Since our fur babies have come up in conversation, what do you ladies use for flea control on them? Frontline has just quit working for me and I think I've tried just about everything else except the tablets. I have a difficult time wrapping my mind around giving them flea poison they ingest. Just feels like I'm feeding my pets poison and it's GOT to build up in their systems at some point and hurt them.

comfortis is what i use....and flea shampoo and the neck drops....all of them! I'm scared of fleas....i hate them!!! lol
i know what you are saying creesy. i hate the poisons too. i hate giving fooey the heartworm tabs, but what can you do? you have to! i guess.
i wouldn't even give foo foo the comfortis, but he is allergic to everything. one flea on him will send him into chewing his entire leg off. trust me. He is a high maintenance pup compared to what i'm used to. the labs never had allergies or anything. I had to get him something.

Hogie get some drops from the vet. a couple on his shoulders, back and near his tail. We tried everything we could purchase over the counter but the poor guy was suffering. He's in the river, the lake, walking through the neighbours horse pasture,etc. AND who knows what else he comes across on his daily tour. He gets drops in the spring and then again in the fall. I'm not even sure if I can purchase it from the vet, we've started taken him there twice a year, since nothing seems to work. I know he's exposed to much more than a dog in the city would come across, maybe contact your vet.

Unless we have a bitter cold winter MP, I'm thinking comfortis is my next step.
I don't know if I told you, but our first names rhyme. ... I know... my mind goes down goat paths especially when I'm hopped up on Godiva chocolates.

olldcan, I'm in the middle of 170 acres of woods and creeks. No city dog here, though my fur baby is a pomeranian and doesn't wander around like a lab does. I asked my vet what he recommended and he uses Frontline, but said if that didn't work to try the Comfortis. I thought once we got moved and started with the regular extermination treatments of the house, that might help, but it hasn't.

Hogie gets eczema every year. Guess it's cause he's wet from May to the end of Sept and It's common for his breed. The guys loves the water. Anyway, year 1 of Eczema cost just over 200 to clear up. We changed vets, the current one told us he can clear it up for about 250 or we can go buy 9% Iodine and some cotton balls for under 10 bucks and have a 5 year supply. Well, off to the pharmacy I went, 10 bucks, I'm all over that!!!! The stuff is amazing, works better and faster than the first vets remedy!!! Hogie was so embarrassed wearing a lampshade :(

Well short of chasing him with a can of Raid, call the vet back. So have you tried Comfortis?

Does your fur baby sleep wherever or does he/she have a kennel or bedding.

olldcan, I am going to have to pass that along to my parents. They have a cat and one of their dogs that gets something like that and they have tried all kinds of creams and pills and nothing works. Now this may sound dumb, but it's a 'what would it hurt to try' kind of thing... Wonder if the peroxide would kill fleas? I've tried the Dawn dish detergent bath and it helps some, but my cats have fleas also and bathing a cat is kind of like sticking your hand in a working garbage disposal. You just can't come out of it with all your body parts in tact.

I haven't tried the Comfortis. My parents use it and Mom said they would always throw up about 30 minutes after they took it, but it does work. The throwing up bothered me, but it's better than seeing him itch. Fur baby sleeps at the foot of the bed. I have a blanket folded up down there and he sleeps on that and it's washed every day. He doesn't have a lot of fleas, he's just one that if he gets even one, it itches him like crazy.

Fleas have never been a problem in my neck of the woods although we protect our pups from ticks with Frontline.

olldcan and Mendi - it's amazing what you can learn when you read the BACK of the ticket! He can protest the ticket AND have his trial, all in writing! I guess the courts are so hopelessly bogged down here they had to come up with an alternate to appearing. He has to send a certified letter, by Friday, saying he is protesting the ticket and requests a trial by mail. They will send him a 'court date' and by that date he has to present all his evidence by mail. The courts then send the 'court date' to the ticketing officer, and he has to send all his evidence by mail. Then a judge (I guess!) will review all the evidence and make a determination. That's pretty cool since it's hard for R to get any time off work!

Fleas? We just use a flea collar. Rocky is confined to the back yard and in the house, and so far, so good. Fleas love to bite me so I'm hoping that won't change. Once I was interviewing a potential salesman and a flea got in my bra. I was a full cup size bigger before the guy left.

Greetings all--just popping in for a minute or two.
Knock on wood, we have always been extremely lucky not to have flea problems with our dogs. I wonder if it is similar to MM's situation--fleas die out in cold winter climates. I use Frontline on our two babies, but only every two to three months (obviously, if I ever caught sight of a flea I'd use it monthly) and as much against ticks as fleas. I'm afraid both our pups sleep on the bed with us, using legs as pillows and chin props. We just put a white sheet over our duvet and wash it frequently. It's one of their jobs in the household--keeping feet warm on cold winter nights--and they take their jobs very seriously.

So who wears the collar bobbi?

creeser, I think bobbi's on to something. Maybe the addition of collars in numerous places would help fend off the fleas. Places where the cats and the dog go regularly including there bedding. Bobbi, a flea infested house, OMG, I'd wear collars too if I were in that situation. Collars as earrings, anklets, bracelets, chokers, pony tail holders. I'm getting itchy just thinking about it and now a 1800PETMEDS commercial comes on. craazeee!!!

Good morning ladies.

Michi, you have sure put us all to shame, but I'm claiming immunity on the grounds of the renovations.
No idea what that TV show is - we haven't picked up on it here.

Vanity arrived at 4.20pm yesterday and is presently being installed.

D-Day today here, everything has to be finished for the carpet tomorrow. So I was up early ready to attack, everything is all about vacuuming and washing/scrubbing. Plumber arrived at 7am ................so what do plumbers do? Turn water off of course. DUH!!!! Told you my brain was in overload.

BH has a medical appointment this afternoon then has grandpa duties so he is going to be no help at all - although not having him underfoot is a bonus.

Bobbi - hope all goes well for R. Here it is pretty much machine -v- man and machine wins every time. Doesn't matter about who is travelling in what direction, the radar is geared to cope with that. Sometimes a judge will make allowances for good driving records. I worked in the courts for 20 years and saw a lot of things people did including having 'experts' produce all sorts of reports on the calibration of radars, weather can throw them out and all sorts of amazing claims. Maybe things are different over there.

i had a flea experience once before i was about to move into a rental house years ago. it was unreal! the people moved out and i wanted to paint the place and sand the wood floors before me and mal moved in....i went into the house after work one night to paint and got attacked! went straight to the store and set off 5 million bombs in that house. it worked, but i was paranoid for weeks. If i had a slight itch, i immediately thought 'it's a flea!!!!!' it wasn't thank God!

the most awful christmas song just came on the radio....have no idea what it is, but yikes.....

bob, glad you got the info off the back of the ticket! ;)
and flea collars as anklets. jewelry of the stars! i like it. i hope you had a little tag with your name on it! ha! good idea though, seriously.

well, i didn't tell you guys, but sat morn before boo came over i was forced to finish the backsplash in kitchen. J had been ragging me for a month. but i didn't want to do it until i was in the moody. It was the rest of the mosaic part. It was all his fault anyway. I hadn't planned on this. After we got the stove (i didn't want), and opened up the wall where the wall oven was, I had to keep going with the backsplash. I don't like it when I have a plan and it gets changed! I think it will be okie though. J is grouting it as we speak. I hope it doesn't look like crap. The coffee maker lives over there so part of it will be blocked and I incorporated a fairly large stainless steel magnetic bar for knives etc. going through the middle of it. we shall see!!!!

creesy, speaking of mild winters and insects.....yesterday, i went outside in the backyard and saw some bulbs coming up. If we have a winter like we did last year, my daffodils are going to be a bust again. I was so sad last year when they started coming up and blooming in the middle of winter. and then nothing this spring.

creeser, the flea collars around my ankles worked great! And I agree it's a good idea to put them in flea infested areas, and vacuum regularly, and since they can live in vacuum bags/canisters it's important to empty them every time you vacuum. What I couldn't figure out is why the fleas bothered me when they had THIRTEEN mice they could have eaten! That house was a nightmare.

roo, I'm glad your vanity finally made it!!! Whew! I hope you know we are expecting lots and lots of pics when you're done, no excuses!

I finished painting my little thrift store dresser with my beloved red ochre today, it is fabulous, I'm so, so happy! I bought some clear faceted glass knobs at the Church of the Homey Depot last night but I'll wait impatiently to put them on til tomorrow.

We had a winter once that was so crazy, temperatures up and down like a yo-yo that my magnolia tree dropped its leaves, flowered and grew new leaves 6 times over 3 months. Lovely having all the flowers but constantly cleaning up the leaves wasn't funny.

Oh my goodness mp, I have no hopes of seeing a daffodil until June! Olldroo, so glad your vanity made it. Can't wait to see a grand unveiling.

I can't wait to see it either roo!
well michi, we are not supposed to see them either until spring.... I was so unhappy last year. I have a built in brick planter that runs along the carport wall that is filled with them and they are gorgeous. Big disappointment last year!
someone on here lives in a house that was used for some Pulp Fiction scenes. They want to remodel it. I had to leave that discussion. I don't know if I could do it...change it that is.
bob, let us see your dresser!!!! I know it's got to be cute! heck, i show you my stuff! lol!

I promise you guys will get photos when I get my camera battery/charger fixed. Still have to do my ensuite too. Actually BH has a cheap camera that might work ok.

The only things flea infested are the animals. I might stick a flea collar on them and see if it helps. We have the house exterminated quarterly so I don't have bugs. The only time a flea gets on me is if the cat is laying on my lap. I know they drop 'stuff', but between having my floors cleaned regularly and the exterminator, the house is in good shape.
I sure hope we have a really cold winter, but so far, it's not looking good. Our mosquitos are going to have to file flight plans if they get any bigger... A good cold winter will cut down on all the problem insects and keep our spring bulbs blooming in the spring.

creeser, big mosquitos? You need to see our carpenter bees! I cannot believe it is areodynamically possible for them to fly. They are the biggest flying bug I've ever seen, even the birds are afraid of them.

Just watching the fundraising concert in N.Y on the tube. My god it's my lucky day, Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen..... same stage same time, same song OXOXOXO doesn't get any better than that!!!!

Oh, creeser, mossies filing flight plans - too funny. Do you know with fleas, they lay eggs in carpets or rugs and the eggs can lie dormant for ages but vibration such a people walking across the floor causes the eggs to hatch. I always felt when I had the cats and we never had a flea problem in the house, it was because I vacuumed heaps to keep sucking up the eggs. Being in the bush here, there is no stopping the fleas but flea collars helped until we got the Frontline. I could always tell when the month was up and they needed more treatment, it was amazing how quickly the fleas would come back.

Funny moggie story - when our second moggy reached 6 months I got him a flea collar, and put it on him. He had really soft fluffy fur that the fleas really loved. Went to walk away and he started meowing like crazy. Turned around and there he was with his head on the floor and was trying to walk pushing his head along in front of him. Anyone would think I had put a lead weight around his neck. He kept it up for 3 days before he decided to accept it and walk properly. Of course we all kept laughing at him so he wouldn't speak to any of us for ages, me especially.

Thanks olldcan, now you are going to have me singing all afternoon ............ born in the USA.

Hey if you ever hear of an Aussie rock group called Strange Karma, check them out, they are getting great reviews at the moment. I think they are currently touring the States or they may have just finished. Drummer is a good friend of mine. He usually sends fantastic newletters when he is on tour but hasn't this time. Have to chase him up on that.

My pleasure, check out this image.Just a bit better than the six white boomer image you gave me. BTW I finally just got that out of my head :)
Going to check out Strange Karma, LOL just had a laugh at Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones, seriously looks like he cut his own bangs.....

Actually Bruce Springstein was on TV here the other night being interviewed, which set me off so you only just revived it.

Talking about 6 white boomers, this song came back to me the other night - who is going to admit to being old enough to remember it.



I remember my friends and I were just soooooooo in love with Gene.

Looks like Strange Karma has released a few singles lately been touring and there's a album coming out. Honestly, don't remember that Gene Autry Carol, kinda cute though. I have to figure out how to attach video, I'm going to try tomorrow when I'm more with it, It's almost bedtime here 11:15pm

They cut the album earlier this year in the States. I'm surprised it isn't out yet, don't know what the hold up is. I didn't realise they had put anything out as a single. Jason gets a bit slack keeping me up at times.

Your're too young to remember Gene Autry. I never forgot that song with the names of the 8 reindeer and many times people have been trying to come up with the 8 names or it comes up in trivia I can still rattle them off (well I sing them usually) which really impresses.

We saw parts of the NY Concert on your news tonight. Sounded good.

roo, actually, I DID know that! When hubby and I first got married, we had 2 cats that had never been outside. After 3 years, we suddenly had a flea infestation. I called the exterminator and after he sprayed, I asked how on earth we got fleas when the cats never went outside. He said WE brought them in from walking across the yard. Same thing.. they lay dormant having fallen off other animals and when we walked by, the vibration caused them to hatch and they hopped on our legs and WE gave the cats fleas. That just bothered me no end.

bobbi, we have bugs on top of bugs. The biggest biting one is the horse fly, I think. You need a baseball bat to beat them off. I don't do cold well, but again, I wish for a bitter cold winter this year just to cut down on the insect population.

Well that is a claim to fame, isn't it. All life is supposed to have a purpose on this earth - wonder what the purpose of a flea is - other than to annoy the heck out of everyone.

Same thing with mosquitoes roo. I haven 't figured out their purpose yet either... Or these biting flies.. or roaches.... the list keeps growing!

Well while I have everyone's attention I have great pleasure in announcing

THE PAINTING IS FINISHED!!!!!!

And the oiling,
and the floors are all scrubbed for the carpet layers in the morning
and the builder has gone as far as he can with the bathroom
and my new lounge and ottoman are ready and waiting for delivery on Saturday!!!

YEEHAH!!!!!

Just waiting on the 3 extra tiles which we should get about Wednesday and the shower screen which unfortunately won't be done till about the 3rd week in January.

Do manufacturers close down over there over Christmas/January? We just missed out, the orders for the glass closed last Friday for pre Christmas installation and then the place closes down.

Frogs eat mossies - so I guess they are here to keep the frogs alive ............ but then what use is a frog? Oh yeah to keep the mossie population down.

Bobbi - Not a speeding ticket, but the New York City Traffic Court System. I'm not sure they're all court systems are the same, but my experience there was that if your record is clean, you have a very good chance of appearing & having your ticket excused! There are so many people there who are habitual offenders, that I think the judges like being able to go easy on the people who may just have had a bad day! Another thing I learned there, is that the issuing police officers often don't show up to testify. The first time that happens, they'll reschedule the hearing, but if the officer doesn't show up a 2nd time (which is what happened to me), the judge just dismissed the charge, because I had a clean record. And I came prepared with a whole "dog & pony show" as a defense! (LOL) Another thing I learned is not to be cocky with the judge; one man whose police officer didn't show up, practically told the judge he could dismiss the charge if he wanted to .. but the judge looked as his record and said, "But in your case, I'm not going to do that!"

Congratulations roo! What a nice Christmas gift!

Ha ha - reminds me of Judge Judy.

roo, CONGRATULATIONS! The majority of the struggle is OVER! You need to find a way to celebrate!

astraea, sounds like all court systems are the same. I was just thinking, of all the people I've known who've gotten a speeding ticket, not one has been able to beat it. But we'll see, right? And his driving record is spotless except for one distracted driving charge. He wasn't talking or texting, he was plugging his phone into the charger. Are we still allowed to breathe when we drive????

Thanks creeser, trying to work out what I am going to do with myself tomorrow. Can't even sleep in!! Just got to get my back together now, feels like it is broken in 6 places.

I know of only one person who beat a speading ticket; a coworker whose specialty was instrumentation. He asked the police officer a bunch of questions, regarding when his radar gun was last tested & calibrated, and if he could swear the radar gun hadn't experienced any severe temperature changes, or been bounced around in the patrol car, which might have knocked it out of calibration. This guy knew his stuff, and made mince meat out of the police officer, who really couldn't answer. The judge had to dismiss the charge! I got a speeding ticket once; I was lucky the officer wrote down the speed after I'd seen him & slowed down (LOL). I took my lumps & paid the ticket; with computers now, even though that was out-of-state, my insurance company knew & I was hit with a penalty for 3 years!

Right now a celebration would be a long lazy sleep in.

My goodness your insurance companies are strict. We only have demerit points here, maybe we need the insurance companies to jump in and make people think more, we have some real idiots here.

Signing off guys, I am so tired, I'm too tired to even go to bed. Know that feeling? At least I can get up in the morning to the cleanest floors I've had in months. Even hosed down the courtyard this afternoon, the builders were cutting tiles in the rain the other day, right at the front door and there was fine dust everywhere.

Here is another "do you know" I learned this week. Glass is actually porous and with the clear glass shower screens, unless you dry them after every shower the action of soap and water over time causes the glass to go cloudy. I always hose the whole shower recess down at the end of each shower to reduce any soap scum but it isn't enough, it is leaving the water on the glass that is the problem. The bottom corners of my old shower screen were like that, I was constantly scrubbing them but it had no effect. Have to go and buy some of those window cleaner blades, apparently we can get mini ones with suction caps to keep in the shower ready to use.

Don't get up to too much mischief today.

Roo, when I got out of the shower I said to myself, ask the girls how they keep the glass clean. A while ago, bobbi and I bought Fabuloso, a product someone suggested for removing soap scum. It didn't do it. It helped, but I think the spots are there permanently. Anyone have tips?

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, works every time. Needs to be rinsed, tho.