Fleas!

Seakay

http://www.amazon.com/Flea-Trap/dp/B0002PS7O4

My sister had a gizmo similar to this; she said that it was very effective in limited areas but didn't have much of a range ( and will not affect eggs, of course)

Rachel021967

I know it's not very green but I only found that flea spray from the vet and a very thorough vacuum (discard bag afterwards) was the only way to get rid of them. I now only use Frontline on my cat to prevent further infestations. It's more expensive but it's the only thing that I have found that works.

Moggles_2

Didn't know fleas flew

Right. All adult fleas are wingless so, strictly speaking, they jump.

I had the thing you put on the cats neck- got from Sainsburys, though. Hope its the same thing.

The biological treatment is only available from your vet, but well worth having as it's extremely effective and completely harmless to everything else in the environment except fleas. Safer for your cat and very Green!

We got back from 2 months away and found we had plenty of them last year. There were no warm bodies around for the majority of the time. What were they eating...?

Flea larvae can remain dormant and unharmed in their cocoons for many months, hence the frequent reports of houses, empty for some time, coming alive with fleas once they are occupied.

Adult fleas emerge from their cocoons when warmth or vibration is detected. This is a neat arrangement which ensures the fleas don't come out to find no warm-blooded animal about, on which to feed. It's also the reason why your bowl-of-hot-water trick should work.

Very best
M

Jo138

The problem is in the flea's life cycle. To learn all about that, and how to break the cycle: http://www.fleasmart.com/life.htm (not suggesting you buy the product, but it's good to learn as much as you can about how fleas breed)

HTH

purplemoon

Not comfortable reading... Adults can stay suspended in cocoon and hop out as soon as someone is near! Going to take up my remaining carpets (hall and stairs mostly). Not sure what this will do for moneysaving or ethical living... Think I'll get cheap thin carpet for the stairs that runs up the middle so easy to hoover, fill in the gaps of the floorboards, lay more rugs.
Nobody come across this then:
http://www.sales-services.co.uk/html/pest_magic.html
Cheaper on ebay, but still pricey without recommendations. Apparently its been advertised tv, for whatever that is worth..!

beetrootjuicer

Argos do (did?) a 'flea zapper'. It's a comb that electrocutes the little b*****s, the fleas, that is, not the cats. We found that, used every day, plus Program, from the vet and careful hoovering, effective. Fleas like to lay their eggs in all the 'dark', undisturbed places so pay attention to them when hoovering (you do anyway, don't you?). I mean places like under the sofa, behind heavy furniture, etc. Program works well, cats are injected with it and it's like a contraceptive pill for fleas - the only problem comes when the cats go out to play and bring home a few new 'friends' from presumably other cats, foxes etc. hence the need for the zapper.

Moggles: what's the name of the biological control? Am interested as though we've been happy with Program it is a hormone so would obviously rather use something more natural

Moggles_2

Originally posted by beetrootjuicer
what's the name of the biological control?

We cannot remember the proprietary name, but I suspect Program is another brand name for the same treatment, which contains an insect growth regulator. This is harmless to warm-blooded animals, plants and insects other than blood-sucking fleas. The treatment interferes with the chitin formation of the flea's exoskeleton killing fleas as they hatch. Larvae die during moults.

Dee140157

The first thing I do if there appears a flea infestation, (which happens occasionally with cat) is to get the steam cleaner out and clean the carpets and run it across matresses too. This usually does the trick for me. Even eggs do not like steam! The carpets are cleaner too. Its laborious but a good way of tackling them. And no chemicals.

purplemoon

Thanks for the steam cleaner idea, that could be worth a go. We got a flea treatment called 'Spot On' to put on the cat's neck, that says "newly available without a prescription and sold under another name", so may it be the same thing? The rest of the details have been chucked.

Moggles_2

Originally posted by beetrootjuicer
what's the name of the biological control?

I contacted our vet today. She couldn't call the tradename to mind either, but the active ingredient - the insect growth regulator - is lufenuron.

Toxic powders and sprays are a pretty blunt instrument that could harm honey bees and butterflies, not to mention people and pets. This targeted treatment - a sort of contraceptive for fleas - certainly looks like a giant leap in the right direction.