Fleas

Femme456

Wondering if someone has any words of wisdom...

I saw a little black bug on my daughter yesterday and thought nothing of it, just flicked it off. Tonight I saw another one and upon closer inspection found it to be a flea.

Have checked my cat and she hasnt got any, the only thing I can think is that my childminder has two dogs but how on earth do I go about asking my chilldminder if her dogs have fleas??

And also, do fleas only come from animals or is there somewhere else it might have come from?

Help appreciated

Rachel83

You can pick up fleas from pretty much anywhere animals can, your childminders house if they have them maybe even another child at school whos pet has them, or even just the grass as they like to lie in wait for someone to walk past then they jump.

Most fleas live in your furniture and carpets so even though you may not see them on your cat they still maybe in your house.

Morgan_Ree

fleas can lay dormant in your carpets and furniture for months
Especially when its cold. It could be that your animals had fleas in the past but some were left in the house.

Has your DD got any visable bites? Especially round the legs and ankles?

It treat your whole house first. I think it takes a few weeks to actually get rid of the fleas, but if by then you still notice them it's defo time to ask the childminder!

Femme456

Thanks for your replies!

She had several little red dots on her shoulder yesterday (didnt know if it was the start of chicken pox lol) but they had gone by this morning, they werent raised or anything.

As it happens Im moving house this weekend so a good opportunity to treat everything

Thanks

deedee71

I would advise getting the strong stuff from the vet ...... it cost me about £23.

The cheaper stuff from Pets at Home etc did nothing at all.

Also, you will need to treat your sofas,beds and any rugs, and wash all your bedding too. Otherwise you risk taking the little !!!!!!s with you!

I was horrified to find my office chair at work had them, as they had transferred from my house, to me, to it IFYSWIM. Luckily I have my own office and could treat it surrepticiously!(sp)

By the way, I'm sure they came from my cat though she didn't have any. She refused to come in the house for weeks. I had them for a while, and thought I had had an allergic reaction to the elastic on my new socks from Primark :rotfl: before noticing the little blighters, by which time they were everywhere!

joeblack066

Second the use of only the decent stuf, you'll waste a fortune on the cheap stuff!! Firstly vacuum vacuum vacuum, wash anything that your cat sits or sleeps on, then spray everywhere, especially nooks and crannies. Good test is a piece of white paper left on the floor, the blighters'll soon appear on there! Fleas appeared in my house 6 months after I moved in, they had been dormant since the previous owners!!

ixwood

Dog fleas can't live on humans, but cat fleas can..

Mupette

Are you sure it's fleas and not headlice?

BitterAndTwisted

ixwood wrote: »

Dog fleas can't live on humans, but cat fleas can..

Not strictly true. The majority of dogs which become infested actually have cat-fleas, they're not that fussy. Cat-fleas will bite humans but they can't live on human blood.

What the OP needs to buy is a flea-spray containing Insect Growth Regulator which renders the fleas unable to reproduce thus breaking the life-cycle. Sprays bought from the vet are pretty much guaranteed to contain IGR but they can be bought elsewhere more cheaply. The ingredient to look out for on the container is METHOPRENE. It goes without saying that the cat needs to be treated as well or the fleas will just move with you. For every flea on an animal there could be hundreds or even thousands lurking in the pet's bedding or anywhere else it sleeps. Use the spray on carpets, soft-furnishings, edges on long curtains and don't forget to spray the underneath of sofas and chairs. Pet bedding needs to be laundered in a hot wash to kill off the eggs.

Femme456

Mupette wrote: »

Are you sure it's fleas and not headlice?

Yep, have checked her little head thoroughly, along with my own and OH's

TurnaroundSue

My DD can find a flea in a haystack. She is constantly coming to me with a flea in her hand saying she found it on one of the cats, but when I check them ...... they are nowhere to be seen - I can't see them anyway, not for love nor money!!!!! Am constantly de-fleaing the cats and spraying the house, but somehow she still manages to find them - urgh!!!!:mad: