Coping With Fleas, Ticks and Mites

My experience: the first three months were miserable, as a few times my partner and I thought we’d beat it (for a few days) and then they would return. I was highly allergic and very motivated to have them gone! Effectively breaking our bad cycle of scabies between me, cat and partner was really drawn out, *expensive(!)* and tough (10 months in all before recurring outbreaks stopped), but after a lot of experimentation with the advice of others, here is what seemed to work best and what seemed least effective for us ( I have sensed that it has sometimes attempted to return (telltale tingling and intense itching at key spots, and the cat scratching at which time I take some extra measures to fight the possible return.)

Bedding:
Change frequently.

Laundry:
Bleach whites, add Clorox and/or Borax to rest.
Apply VERY high heat of bedding and underwear in the dryer.

Carpeting, chairs/car seats
Spray vinegar and Borax combination every day for a few days.
Cover mattress, seats with plastic (create a barrier) and cover with something pristine i.e. bleached or otherwise de-mited, to lie, sit on.

Clothing:
Quarantine dark clothing in plastic bags and stick them in a freezer (or in the snow or in cold car) for two nights
Scabies mites particularly prefer dark things.

Cat:
Ivermectin injection, and Revolution for followup every month until they stop scratching obsessively. Don’t allow pet on same seats as you and definitely not where you sleep. Give them a small blanket or cushion that you can wash and dry on high heat regularly. They *will* adjust, albeit reluctantly, maybe slowly.

Self:
One or two treatments of Kwellada (5% permethrin). If that doesn’t quite get rid of it all, Neem oil for spot itching, Betamethasone for swelling/hives (apply “liberally” the dermatologist said!).

Anytime the telltale warning sensations return, I take two caps of turmeric, and the sensations seem to abate.

Marginally helpful: physicians, vets, Eurax, Nix, Advantage, …

not helpful:
soap, showering often, believing people who say “one treatment of this will kill, guaranteed”, listening to experts who insist “your pet is not part of the cycle because…”, or indulging pets who may be used to a lot of cuddling and lying on beds, sofas, chairs.

Some final tips:
Surviving at work:
If you can, put some plastic on your chair (perhaps explaining that you find the material “scratchy” if you need to to provide a reason). Or put a book under and say it feels more comfortable. Wear pants/skirt or something with a barrier material (leather, vinyl, high-density thread count) etc.) Keep a small bottle or tube or Eurax in your purse and apply it in the washroom…

Make no mistake that if they persist, it will be a battle, maybe a very tough one. It’s been dubbed “the 7-yr itch”. Hang in.

Good luck!

J.B.