Fleas!!!!

Question
Hi, I have recently purchased two cats (one female, one male, not fixed, female now pregnant).

I have found out from the vet that they both have fleas.

I have 3 other pets, a cat and two dogs.  The cats 90% of the time spend their time in the basement and the dogs are part of the rest of the house (until I get the male dog neutered, as he is a bit of a control freak!).

Anyhow, my question is this:  since I have purchased Advantage and applied to all five pets, what must I worry about in terms of taking care of the flea problem in the home especially if there are new kittens to arrive?

The basement is tiled in one section (cats regular place to reside) and the other section is the laundry/furnace room - which I must add usually has my clean laundry to still be put away).

Do I have to re-do all clean laundry?  And is it safe to spray flea killer in the furnace room?  How about the tiled area?  Is it infected?

Thanks for your response!

Answer
You are definitely on the right track with treating the environment and not just your pets - most of the flea's life cycle occurs off your pet so it is very important to take care of them their as well.  There is a wonderful product on the market called FleaMaxx.  It is boric acid, comes in a powder form and is safe for both you and your pets.  They even offer a one year guarantee I believe.  You would have to read the instructions for specifics but you apply it to carpets, tiles, hard woods - any kind of flooring and it will kill any larvae or eggs in the floor.  I would treat the whole house.  I would redo the laundry as well, just in case.  There aren't any products on the market that I'm aware of that are safe for very young kittens so you will definitely want to try and get the fleas under control before they are born.  If you do notice fleas on them once they are born you can give them a bath in warm water with a gentle shampoo to help get rid of them.  Be aware too that your pets (not you) can get tapeworms from ingesting a flea, so you will definitely want to keep an eye out for that.  They segments are about the size of a grain of rice and you will see them around the anus, or in the stool.  If you do see any segments call your vet and they should be able to give you some medication to take care of them.  It can take up to two weeks for you to see the segments in the stool once your pets become infected, so you will have to keep an eye out for tapes for quite awhile.  I hope that helps.

Amanda