Cleaning Fleas! HELP!

[KirbyFan8910]

TL;DR: How do I get rid of fleas? And can you recommend me some flea medicine/repellent?

Hey everybody! Long time no see! Sorry I haven't been active lately. I guess I haven't needed that much help lately lol. And WOW did this forum layout change. I like it! Anyways, with that out of the way, it's time to actually get into the topic of this post. Fleas! I'm not sure HOW exactly we got them. But that's not really important. What IS important is getting rid of them. For the last 2-4 days they have been plaguing me and Cupcake! It's weird though. They don't seem to go after anybody else BUT us! I've been cleaning my room, her cage, and bathing her with Dawn dish soap (because I don't have any flea medicine atm) like crazy but their numbers still don't seem to be going down and I am running out of bedding (which costs around 30$ because I talked myself out of buying fleece bedding for whatever reason. Speaking of which) I even ended up throwing away her little hideaway ! No worries about that though! I bought her a new wooden house! And she's sleeping in it already! Does anybody know how to get rid of them? Oh, and recommend me some flea medicine/repellent for her? I tried going to two separate petstores today and they both told me to buy them online, but when I tried looking them up, I literally couldn't find any at all. Just flea medicine for dogs, cats, and ferrets. The closest I could find was something from Lowes called "Black Flag Flea & Tick Aerosol for Upholstery and Pet Bedding". But I don't really feel safe spraying that on her aspen bedding considering how much she likes to nibble on it.. Anyways, yeah. Please help! I'm also planning on taking her to the vet too as soon as I get enough money lol. Sorry if I forget to respond to you guys! Rest assured though, I'll definitely read your answers and take them to heart! Thanks in advance <3! I really appreciate you guys helping me out throughout the years lol!

 

[4boipigs]

You can use Revolution on guinea pigs. It is prescription only, so if you haven't used it before, you need to make a vet visit. I don't know the exact dosage. Our vet can split one vial between two pigs.

I would not recommend using anything else for fleas on guinea pigs. Some people say that guinea pigs are not a preferred meal guinea pigs so they won't infest gpigs - I don't know how true that is.

Start by making sure all animals are on flea prevention. Vacuuming twice a day to suck up eggs, larvae, and adults living in the carpet (see next note about learning about flea lifecycle).

Fleas don't go away overnight. You will be battling them for several weeks. Get to know and understand the flea lifestyle - that's a big part in tackling the issue.

 

[bpatters]

Ditto @4boipigs.

It won't do to just treat the guinea pig. You'll have to treat every animal in the house, the house itself, and if the other animals go outside, you'll have to treat the yard too.

After you vacuum, take the vacuum outside, spray the tank or bag with an insecticide, let it sit for several minutes, then empty it into a bag, tie it up, and throw it away.

If you've got carpet in the house, you can work diatomaceous earth into the carpet, leave overnight, and then vacuum well. But you'll have to mask up while doing it, and move any animals/people out of the area that you're treating.

 

[KirbyFan8910]

You can use Revolution on guinea pigs. It is prescription only, so if you haven't used it before, you need to make a vet visit. I don't know the exact dosage. Our vet can split one vial between two pigs.

I would not recommend using anything else for fleas on guinea pigs. Some people say that guinea pigs are not a preferred meal guinea pigs so they won't infest gpigs - I don't know how true that is.

Start by making sure all animals are on flea prevention. Vacuuming twice a day to suck up eggs, larvae, and adults living in the carpet (see next note about learning about flea lifecycle).

Fleas don't go away overnight. You will be battling them for several weeks. Get to know and understand the flea lifestyle - that's a big part in tackling the issue.

Thank you so much! I'll make an appointment tomorrow! I was going to do it today but I overslept from me staying up until 5 something washing all my bed sheets and clothes because of them. I'll try to vacuum more too but I'm pretty sure they're mostly laying eggs in her aspen bedding (and hay) so I'm going to have to buy some more before I can actually do her cage...

 

[KirbyFan8910]

Ditto @4boipigs.

It won't do to just treat the guinea pig. You'll have to treat every animal in the house, the house itself, and if the other animals go outside, you'll have to treat the yard too.

After you vacuum, take the vacuum outside, spray the tank or bag with an insecticide, let it sit for several minutes, then empty it into a bag, tie it up, and throw it away.

If you've got carpet in the house, you can work diatomaceous earth into the carpet, leave overnight, and then vacuum well. But you'll have to mask up while doing it, and move any animals/people out of the area that you're treating.

Okay, thank you too! Luckily, cupcake is currently my only pet atm! Though my sister did bring a rescue dog over a few days before we started noticing them. And we also don't have carpets either besides all the way at the other end of the house that almost nobody uses lol. While treating Cupcake won't stop them completely, at the very least she'll be safe from them..

Well, thank you both very much lol! I'll try to follow your suggestions ASAP! Along with whatever the vet tells me lol. If only there was a way to get rid of them easier though.. Because rn I'm not sure how I'm going to afford all this stuff.. Especially her medicine and bedding (Considering how much I'm going to have to clean her cage now)