Household flea spray

paddypaws101

Ok, I will come right out and admit it, shameful as it is....
We have fleas
Please don't tell my mother or another row will ensue
With 4 cats in the house I suppose it is not such a shock, but I don't think I have ever had a problem in winter before. My policy is only to use chemicals/drugs when necessary, so do not use spot on flea treatments all year round...but then again one cat has flea allergy dermatitis so I do have to keep things under control and gave them all a dose around a month ago.
Obviously this years 'super fleas' are not so easily killed off so here we all are itching and scratching.
Anyway....I have spent the best part of today moving all the furniture, hoovering and spraying every nook and cranny with RIP flea spray.
I hate the stuff and the noxious fumes are making ME feel sick...but now I am panicking about the poor cats!
Has anyone ever had a cat show an adverse reaction to these sprays? It contains Permethrin which I know can be toxic if applied directly to a cat....I have followed the instructions and the cats were not in the rooms when I was spraying but now they are all inside for the night.
Oh...and is anyone else going to admit to the same problem??

Becles

We had fleas once and I used the RIP Flea spray. When I sprayed it, I opened all the windows and left the front door open until the smell went. It was in the warmer weather though - be a bit chilly doing that now!

It did work though and I've done regular Fronline treatments since and the fleas haven't been back.

paddypaws101

Well the cats are lucky in that they have fur coats on...I am making do with 2 fleeces as all possible windows and doors are open!

KVet

If you dont like chemicals you can buy "Skoosh" non-insecticidal flea spray

tandraig

I always used frontline from the vets - including the house treatment - cost a rudddy fortune - but it did work.
I dont have pets right now - but have heard that tea trea oil is effective at preventing fleas?

paddypaws101

KVET, thanks for that link, it is on order as I write!
Tandraig...opinion seems to be that many fleas have become resistant to Frontline...maybe Kvet can confirm this? Anyway I have been using Advocate from the vet recently as it seems to be more effective.
I will be very interested yo see how the Skoosh performs. Funnily enough I seem to have more problems now I have got mainly wooden floors rather than carpets...although maybe the the gang are getting old and the immune systems are not so active..

emlou2009

When my nans house had fleas I used Skoosh and Indorex, the skoosh is more for spraying on concentrated areas like pets bedding. There was only enough in the can to be able to spray upstairs in her house, I'd run out by the time I got downstairs.

paddypaws101

emlou2009 wrote: »

When my nans house had fleas I used Skoosh and Indorex, the skoosh is more for spraying on concentrated areas like pets bedding. There was only enough in the can to be able to spray upstairs in her house, I'd run out by the time I got downstairs.

Thanks emlou, that is interesting. I suppose I can only add it to the mix! I wash all bedding frequently, and all my sofas have throws on which go in a hot wash, even my rugs are washable! So I do what I can.

emlou2009

From what I remember, the directions on the can said to spray it where the animals spend most of their time, and in dark places like under beds/sofas, corners and cracks in hard flooring, as these are the places that the pests tend to breed
I sprayed it first, as it coats the fleas in a silicone coating that renders them unable to breathe, then a few hours later I went over the whole house with the Indorex. I then shut all the windows and went out for the day, then opened the windows when we got home. We didnt hoover for a week to try and keep the chemicals there. Havent seen one since :T

beks

Hate to admit it but we had a massive flea problem a few months ago. Tried everything!!
First tried supermarket brand (BM) which was of course a waste of money, then went to Indorex from the vets which although had a good effect, did not seem to kill all the fleas (we too have laminate and I reckon they were hiding down tiny cracks - it is impossible to treat every inch). We also used skoosh on cat bedding. Finally I bought flea bombs and they worked a treat, no problems after that. We did have to leave the house for the whole afternoon though and blocked the cat flap too! Oh and turned the smoke alarms off!! Incidently, I always know if our cat has fleas as I end up covered in bites (they love me), I covered myself in tea trea oil but they still bite so on humans, this doesn't work!!!

Fire_Fox

Dysons are on offer for £100 in Asda (store not online), which might help keep the population down. Steam cleaning is supposed to be highly effective, if you can borrow one?