Maggie said that she hopes the flea problem in Missouri is not as bad as
Houston and that she finds regular shampoo as effective as flea shampoo for
killing fleas.
 
I just wanted to say first of all, the flea problem in Missouri (or was that
Minnesota?) is indeed probably not as bad as Houston.  We get a bit of a
respite from outdoor fleas here in the north where the winters are cold.
It's a good time to regroup and plan strategy.
 
On the shampoo question, I can't believe an unmedicated shampoo kills fleas
as well as flea shampoo.  Without the insecticide component, you are merely
drowning the fleas.  I have been experimenting with killing fleas for 15 or
20 years (mostly on cats) and those little guys are tough.  I have caught
them with my bare hands, squished them with my fingernails, drowned them,
caught them on combs and squirted them with flea spray, etc.  etc.  and
every experience taught me that fleas are very hard to kill.  With 19
ferrets in the house, I think the only way to rid yourself of them is a
surgical application of vile chemicals.  I hate the toxic stuff, too, but
you don't have to use very much to get them out of the house.  In the summer
of 1995, I struggled with a flea problem for weeks and weeks before I
finally gave in and bombed the house.  We have had no fleas since then.
 
While I completely understand objections to the exposure of people and pets
to chemicals, flea infestation is a health issue, too.  If you do decide to
go toxic, I recommend a flea bomb, simply because bombing twice, two weeks
apart, will annihilate your fleas and you will not have to use any more
poisons at least until the next flea season.  The key is not to be
squeamish, because if you leave any of the little devils alive, you might as
well not have done anything.  Good luck!
 
I have also heard that Program works for ferrets, but it might be
prohibitively expensive for 19 of them.  (You are a braver woman than I!)
 
To all, thanks for the comments on Mithril's anal glands.  Our vet did
mention the possibility that she was only partially descented.  I was
enchanted by the exciting possibility that she might not be spayed.  I am
still hoping that we can excise her nippiness along with her ovaries, but
perhaps we will have to do a simple nippectomy.  I'll let you all know in the
spring.  (She was indeed too young to go into heat last breeding season).
 
-Catherine
-Sebastian "Fleas?  Cool, can we have some?"
-Mortimer "What do you think of my new winter coat?"
-Mithril "I will be one year old next month!"
[Posted in FML issue 1765]