Fleas !!!!!

[PHS]

I live in a rural area where there are lots of wild animals like foxes, badgers and hedgehogs, which is something I like to see. However, there are the unwelcome creatures like rats too as there is a river nearby.
As a result of this you imagine the constant battle I have trying to keep my two cats and one dog free from fleas and ticks. I spend countless amounts of money putting the frontline drops on the necks of my cats while spraying my dog with chemicals. Alas to no avail, they seem to be permanently infected. The vet just shakes his head and tells me there is obviously a infestation of fleas near the place where I live, which is something I can't do anything about because of the wild animals that roam the area.
Surely there must be something I can do to keep my pets free of these pests? I am sure there are other people in my position who have found better ways of dealing with this problem. It goes without saying that I'm disappointed with the drops I put on my cats as they don't seem to be effective at all. What's more, no sooner have I sprayed my dog than she's scratching again.
It's such a shame as I now don't allow my pets in the house for fear of the fleas getting into the carpets etc.. They do say that having both cats and dogs helps you to relax, well in my case through no fault of my pets, it has the opposite effect.
I would be very grateful for any forthcoming advice, for the sake of my poor pets who must feel they've done something wrong.

[OHenry]

Have you tried different brands of the drops? There are frontline, advantage, and others. They all have the same active ingredients so they should all be the same, but maybe there is some reason your cats are not responding to frontline?

[PHS]

I've just tried some new drops which are in a small tube and am keeping my fingers crossed they work.
The vet told me that the only way of keeping my pets free from fleas is to keep them indoors all the time; that's not much of a life for them so I won't take his advice.

[runlikethewind]

I find this intriguing - we live in a rural area with the same sort of wildlife and near rivers etc. I stopped dousing my dog with 'just in case' flea and tick treatments many months ago and I have never seen one flea on him.

I do get the ticks (NOTE before I get the gasp, you are not using a tick treatment!!, we are in the UK and we apparently and according to vets I have spoken to, are very lucky not to really have to worry about tick-borne diseases) including Lyme's.

With the ticks, I check him reguarly in the spring/summer/early autumn months. I just twist them off.

I used to feed the product Billy No Mates in double doses, but I don't any more, and there is garlic you can try (but you'd have to feed A LOT to make the blood taste funny to fleas and ticks, so I didn't try that. But honestly, you know what.. I'm wondering if you need to boost the immune system of your dogs rather than over load on flea treatements, on top of each other?

[Nettle]

Parasites are something we have to manage - we never get rid of them completely. Once we are clear on that, the pressure is off

A combination of flea comb, suitable diet, constant vigilance (tummy inspection every night) diatomaceous earth in bedding and sometimes combed through coats, and very occasional flea treatments with "stuff" from the vet keeps them under control.

Put a flea collar in the vaccuum cleaner (never on the dog) and then all fleas/larvae you vaccuum up will die