Fleas!! Should it really take this long?!

Retro82

In the 15 minutes our indoor cat was an outdoor cat she managed to get fleas(!) and, being naive, we just used the supermarket spot-on stuff and gave the place a bit of a vacuum and thought we'd be fine.

Three weeks and counting and we still had a big problem (I don't think our gappy floorboards help) and decided to take the nuclear option of paying a pest control guy. He charged £100 and said it was guaranteed to work.

We also took the cat to the vet for all the trimmings and the only fleas we find on her now are dead ones.

The guy said it might take up to a week for the stuff to work. It's been three days and there are still as many as ever. As per his guarantee, he has agreed to come back for free if the problem persists but should it really take that long? Should I be trying other things in the meantime? Are the Pets at Home Sprays safe around pets? I know they're more a pest than dangerous but we've had guests staying over leaving with bites all over their ankles so it's a bit embarrassing to say the least!

Any advise would be most welcome!

Jamie_Carter

Use Front Line. It is expensive, but does work.

Retro82

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

Use Front Line. It is expensive, but does work.

I'm not so fussed on the cost but thought I should leave the pest-control guys stuff to work first though, provided he's being honest about it taking up to a week! If the consensus is it should have worked by now then I need to get him back and possibly try a range of other things!

Jamie_Carter

We took our cat to the vet, after loads of other treatments for both the cat and the house didn't work.

The vet gave the cat a tablet, and within a week or two all the fleas had gone. I'm told that this is because they didn't have a host any more.

Then we have used front line ever since, with no problems at all.

Retro82

I don't think they can use her as a host anymore (and she's had an injection that means even if they do, they wont be able to lay anymore eggs) so I suppose its a case of seeing how long it takes for the ones living in the flat to die out - just be nicer if it was sooner rather than later.

Does anyone know if a week is a normal amount of time for a professional treatment on the flat to work though?

skintandscared_2

I would be very wary of putting another lot of chemicals on top of different chemicals which are still doing their "thing".

spacey2012

Go round the edges of the skirting board with a steamer, then put the attachment on and do the floorboards.

Fluff15

In future, I would use Indorex for fleas around the house. Our two kittens had fleas when we got them, but a dose of Indorex around the house, plus Advantage spot on each and they were all dead or dying within 24 hours. They were completely dead within the three days.

IMO I would wait for a while until you try treating the house with extra chemicals. If you see no improvement within seven days of the pest control man, demand he comes back. I think it's crazy that you've spent all that money and it's not working as well as what I've used!

foolofbeans

Surprisingly I found one of the most effective flea killers was shake n vac.
We spent a fortune on fumiagting the house and weeks later we were still getting bitten.
We liberally doesed the carpets with shake n vac and that seemed to do the trick.
I think it's partly because carpet people don't actually recommend using it on carpets as it sinks into the pile and doesn't totally hoover out. So I think it suffocated the fleas. Might be worth a harmless try before you consider more chemicals.

Retro82

Thanks guys. To be fair to the guy, he's said it can take up to a week and we're only three days in. I'll avoid using other chemicals in the meantime!

Desperado99

We had to have the house done (ooh going on ten years ago now) and we actually rang the council and they sent someone out to spray for a tenner (private household not council house). I daresay it would cost more these days, but worth a thought in the future. Hope the little blighters start kicking the bucket soon