The Sims 3: Pets introduced fleas to the game. Now our furry friends can become infested with these annoying bugs. And worst of all, they can spread the fleas to other pets and Sims!
Your pets can get fleas if they spend an extended period of time outdoors. To prevent them from becoming infested, limit their time spent outside and/or use the prevention methods discussed below.
So, how do you get rid of fleas in The Sims 3? Here’s the short answer. Become friends with your pet and give them a flea bath in any bathtub. There are other ways to handle the situation too, which I’ll cover in this post.
Flea Baths
The best way to get rid of fleas in The Sims 3 is to give your pet a flea bath.
I know what you’re thinking. You aren’t supposed to bathe cats! And you’re right, except when it comes to flea baths. This is the only game that allows you to bathe cats, but it won’t be easy – just like in real life.
First, you must be friends with the pet or they will likely reject your offer of bathing them. Even if you are friends with them, they still sometimes reject you – particularly if they have the Piggy trait. If your pet rejects you, give them a little love and try again.
The flea bath interaction is known to be buggy. Sometimes you have to try multiple times to complete it successfully. Here are some tips that might help:
- Click on your pet and choose “Give Flea Bath.” If that doesn’t work, try clicking on the bathtub and choose to give them a flea bath from there.
- Sell your current bathtub and buy a new one. Sometimes it just needs to be reset.
- Make sure your bathtub is either from the base game or Pets expansion. The option may not appear on custom content or other expansion tubs.
- Pick up your pet first, and then click on the bathtub to bathe them. (This usually works for me.)
- Make sure you have plenty of room in your bathroom. If it’s too small, temporarily move the tub outside.
After a successful flea bath, your pet will not get fleas outside for a short period of time. The medicine is still working and will protect them for up to 8 hours. Once the effects of the bath wears off, your pet is at risk again when outdoors.
Getting Rid of a Sim’s Fleas
If your Sim gets fleas from an infested pet, the only way to get rid of them is to take a shower (or bath). But make sure you take care of your pet first, or you risk getting infested again while handling them.
Sims can also spread fleas to other Sims and back to pets. Once a whole house is infested, it can be difficult to get rid of the little buggers.
If things get really bad, your best bet is to use the Pet Hygienator on your pets, then have all your Sims bathe or take showers. And if you’re really in a bind, you can use cheats (see below).
The Pet Hygienator
Another option is the reward object called “The Pet Hygienator.”
Landgraab Industries’ latest solution in high technology pet hygiene. Use it to keep your dogs and cats squeaky clean and free of fleas.
It costs 10,000 lifetime happiness points, and you can only purchase it with your pet’s points in the pet lifetime rewards menu. In my opinion, it’s the best pet reward!
All pets on the lot can use the hygienator. And best of all, they use it by themselves! No more trying to get your pet to consent to a flea bath. With your pet selected, just click the machine and choose “Wash.” If you can afford one of these, it’s worth it.
It’s a large item – taking up 2×3 tiles. Make sure you have room for it on your lot, or clear some space first.
Unicorn Power
That’s right. Unicorns can cure flea infestations on cats and dogs.
But this is probably the hardest method on this list, since it’s quite rare and difficult to actually find a unicorn in the game.
I wanted this guide to be complete, so I’m adding every possible method to get rid of fleas – even the hard ones.
If your household has a tamed Unicorn, use its “Cure Fauna” ability to cure fleas. If you haven’t tamed a Unicorn lately, it’s probably a lot easier to use a flea bath or the pet hygienator. But you’re your own person. I won’t tell you what to do.
Get Rid of Fleas with Cheats
If you’ve just had enough and want the fleas gone NOW, there’s a simple cheat to remove them.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + C to open the cheat console.
- Type in “testingcheatsneabled true” (without the quotes) and press enter.
- Hold down Ctrl + Left Click on the Fleas! moodlet to remove it.
Or, if you just want to cheat a little, use the buydebug cheat to purchase the Pet Hygienator from the catalog. Here’s how:
- Enable testing cheats using the instructions above.
- Open the cheat console again. Type in “buydebug on” (without the quotes) and press enter.
- Go to buy mode and sort by function. Click on the question mark next to the category tabs.
- Go to the Misc category and look for the pet Hygienator. It costs $400.
