Flea's In Trailer?

[thomcat]

While working in my friends salon on Friday, a new client brought in an Australian that was so infested with fleas's that I simply wanted to cry. Instead of crying I got to work shaving him down and getting him into a nice warm bath with a couple of dips and some soothing medicated after that.

At the end of the day, my partner and I were seeing the result of our efforts "hopping" around the wood floor of our grooming area. We purchased a pretty expensive flea bomb and he set it off as he left for the day.

To the point, if I had this dog in my trailer (that I'm building now) what would be the protocol for a dog so flea infested? I wouldn't want to infest my trailer with flea's but would be concerned about turning down the client/dog as well.

What would you have done?

[hairdevil]

you could request to the clients to apply frontline at least 2 days before you arrive. If they are infested with fleas what about the capstar? There's no easy answer for this one..either you do it and spray or you don't do it at all. Same as in shop. I spray the cage before they go in to keep the fleas on them!! then to the tub..dawn it...shampoo it..condition it..charge it! lol respray...thats about all we can do? I'll watch this post for some ideas though!( I try to take the "flea" ones straight to the tub, but thats not always possible)

[Dawn125]

Immediately into the flea bath, then wet shave after.

[Peaster]

depending on the weather you could begin the flea tx outside and then bring them in.

[bow_wow_wheels]

I have a strict no flea policy for my van. Clients pay for the personal service but IMO that doesn't include giving them fleas LOL!! I will ask if their pet has fleas as part of my initial interview. If they say they don't know or they're not sure I offer to come by before their appointment and do a Frontline application or ask that they treat for fleas before I get there. If I'm not sure when I get there if a pet has fleas I'll pick them up and hold them and talk to the owner for a minute or two. If the pet has fleas I'll start itching and then I can advise about the no flea policy. My regular clients are all on preventative and I don't feel it fair to them to drag hitchhikers all over with me. Additionally I use an IGR that sterilizes adult fleas and prevents their various life stages from completion-IOW it kills the suckers! If you'd like the info please check my profile and e me and I'll get it to you. This stuff is DA BOM!! I use it in my yard and in the van; you can bathe in it, drink it, spray it all over and the only thing it harms are fleas, flies, cockroaches, silverfish, Palmetto bugs and, at 2 oz/gal, ants, some spiders and some ticks and a few other bugs. I LOVE this stuff!! And it isn't photosensitive-you can put it on your yard and it stays for 6-9 months! Cheaper and better than using preventative on all your pets IMO and it is safe for the environment being an insect growth regulator

[hairdevil]

what is the product that you use patty?

[PoodlePal]

I lost an entire day's business one day because a new customer had a flea infested Eng. Spr. Spaniel and I was unaware until I got the dog on the table. To late, my van was very flea infested at that point. Had I known, I would have instructed the customer to apply Frontline and set up a new appt. in a few days. That way when I did the flea bath, hopefully all fleas would have been dead.

I cancelled the rest of the day (Friday). Took my van out back of the Wal-Mart (where there was no grass), removed all clean towels (the wet ones with the fleas were immediately put in tall kitchen can plastic bags), opened all doors to the salon and took the HV dryer and blew the fleas out of the van. I then parked the van in the hot sun for 2 days. Clear of fleas by the time Monday am rolled around. I did not want to set off a bomb in my van -- toxic to me and the dogs. Also, I was concerned that the spray would be all over everything.

I was really angry at this customer and let them know that in the future they should always let the groomer know ahead of time if their dog has fleas.

[bow_wow_wheels]

what is the product that you use patty?

Archer IGR. I actually need to order more since it is one of the very few products that I retail. You can order a bunch of it and save money; anybody want to throw in with me? I'm not sure if I can put the web site up here or not... I spray my yard in April and don't worry about critters all summer long. And it even sterilizes and kills fire ants! Killed off every mound in my yard. I had them thanks to my landscaper next door neighbor dragging them home; never had them out here until he moved in! (He also lets his unaltered male dog run loose all over the neighborhood FWIW LOL!!) I do live in the Country and have all sorts of strays running around and the wild animals, too, and I don't have bugs or spiders-I really dislike spiders and moved out of Florida to escape them. I'd wake up at night with them staring at me over my head and it freaked me out...No, I don't use drugs LOL!! I have a lot of birds out here as well and I carefully researched this product to make sure that it wouldn't kill any beneficial insects because I am also a somewhat avid gardener. (I'm both a South Carolina Certified Master Gardener and Privately Licensed Pesticide Applicator---nothing like being an over-achiever.)

[mskittylitter]

Do you know if it can be used safely (indoors) in a salon?
Thanks!

[barknpurr]

Change your bathing routine

Just like Patty, I require all of my clients to have their pets on flea preventative. With that said, some flea preventatives stop working. Is it because the fleas are immune, or is it because the client forgot to put it on Fido for a couple of days? I am not sure. All I know is that sometimes, especially in the summer, some of my regulars may have one or two fleas on them. they also could have just been hitchhikers. Remember, the fleas don't die on contact. It may take a bit. So, after getting totally freaked out about finding one or two, I now bathe all of my clients first. Shampoo on a dry dog - left on for a good 10 minutes. Smother those little suckers! Even nails are done in the tub. If there is anything crawling, it will be killed through the bath. I have nightmares of fleas. I DO NOT want them hopping all over my van.

[diamienono]

BATH first. If you run a flea comb on the dog before you put them in the trailer then you will know what you are in for. just keep one in your pocket and as soon as you get the dog, check them.

[hairdevil]

Archer IGR. I actually need to order more since it is one of the very few products that I retail. You can order a bunch of it and save money; anybody want to throw in with me? I'm not sure if I can put the web site up here or not... I spray my yard in April and don't worry about critters all summer long. And it even sterilizes and kills fire ants! Killed off every mound in my yard. I had them thanks to my landscaper next door neighbor dragging them home; never had them out here until he moved in! (He also lets his unaltered male dog run loose all over the neighborhood FWIW LOL!!) I do live in the Country and have all sorts of strays running around and the wild animals, too, and I don't have bugs or spiders-I really dislike spiders and moved out of Florida to escape them. I'd wake up at night with them staring at me over my head and it freaked me out...No, I don't use drugs LOL!! I have a lot of birds out here as well and I carefully researched this product to make sure that it wouldn't kill any beneficial insects because I am also a somewhat avid gardener. (I'm both a South Carolina Certified Master Gardener and Privately Licensed Pesticide Applicator---nothing like being an over-achiever.)

sure patty! you can email me with the details! sounds like a winner to me!

[pawsforthought]

Tutut!

I tell my potential customers that I don't do dogs infested with fleas also. It usually takes two or three weeks to get booked the first time so they have time to take care of the situation.
There is one neighborhood that has a stubborn flea problem in Feb. and March. I am talking about three or four fleas per dog usually but still euakkk!!I bath first with 50/50 Dawn. Do not prerinse!!!! I then do a soothing Eqyss Micro Tek bath.
I would hate to have to bomb my van. The wipe down would take forever!!

[bow_wow_wheels]

Yes, the product is safe to use indoors, too; however, it does mix with water which is why I also use the carpet spray on the hardwood floors. This stuff is amazing! It is only effective on certain insects and is very safe around kids, pets, fish and immuno-depressed persons. It also does away with spiders and OMG I despise spiders in the house! I do spray it in my van weekly after the Saturday afternoon clean out just to be sure. I've not had a problem with critters in a LONG time and I want to keep it that way LOL!!

[PetsRus]

I use a floor treatment if I have a dog with fleas. There is a product called Knockout and then raid makes one that is sold at Walmart for half the price.