Fleas - anything more I can do?

KJX

Apologies if this would be better placed on the Pets section.

My ever loving cat has brought us fleas as a gift. It's our own fault as we lapsed with the flea treatment (now up to date - and not Frontline which we have been told is less effective as fleas have become resistant). So far we have

• Used flea powder throughout the house (twice)
• Washed all possible soft furnishing / cushions / bedding etc.
• Sprayed all non washable items (the sofa, curtains, mattresses)
• Washed all soft toys that are washable
• Stuck all non washable soft toys in the freezer
• Will be shampooing all our carpets tomorrow

Am now at the point where I don't think there is anything else we can do - but still the little beasts are being spotted by my OH - and my youngest has dozens of bites. We only spotted the issue on Saturday so is it too soon for them to have been beaten? Has anyone got any recommendations for additional treatments we could use? (Have resisted the idea of Immacing the cat.... so far).

(and apologies if I've got you all itching).

Thanks in advance.

suki1964

Go to the vets or to Boots and buy a tin of indorex

Do not wash carpets after treating. You wash the treatment straight out

You will find fleas for a while after as the fleas will all be in different life stages. You have to wait till all hatch

I use indorex twice a year and have never seen a flea since. I never treat my dog, just the house. If you are treating the cat, don't buy over the counter treatments, pure waste of money, they rarely work and in some cases have been known to kill cats

KJX

Thanks Suki - all the treatment we apply to the cat is prescribed by the vet rather than over the counter. He might be a flea bag (and thicker than lichen), but we are rather attached to him.

We are due a carpet shampoo - so what I will do is shampoo and then retreat. Think some of the itching is now in our heads (iyswim!) so I will look out the Indorex - thanks for the recommendation.

HappyMJ

Another vote for Indorex...remember don't even vacuum the floor for a few days. It's warm anyway so fleas should emerge and die off. In winter you need to put the central heating on 24/7 for a few days to get them to emerge.

tyllwyd

I like the sticky discs that you can buy which trap them - at least once they have hopped on there you know they won't be hopping off again! We have a visiting cat, and it's amazing how much biting even one or two fleas can do.

MX5huggy

See if your council pest control offer treatment, mine did my house after we moved in to a flea infested house this was after trying alsorts of expensive potions for about £35. they sprayed no vacuuming was allowed for 2 weeks so vacuum before. Fleas gone forever, but we don't have any 4 legged beasts to reintroduce them.

maninthestreet

Vacuum very thoroughly before starting treatment

CathA

If possible, put a flea collar or part of one in your hoover bag/cylinder. If you hoover any eggs or live fleas up that will kill them hopefully. I always did this when I had dogs; we never had fleas. Hth x

iammumtoone

Don't get rid of the cat (not that you would) that would be the worse thing you can do. After the cat has been treated keep it in for as long periods as possible and make sure it walks all over the house. The fleas will bite the cat and die.

Next step is indorex as others have suggested. Personally I would not wash the carpets, washing them will not rid them of fleas.

Good luck

pendragon_arther

KJX wrote: »

Thanks Suki - all the treatment we apply to the cat is prescribed by the vet rather than over the counter. He might be a flea bag (and thicker than lichen), but we are rather attached to him.

We are due a carpet shampoo - so what I will do is shampoo and then retreat. Think some of the itching is now in our heads (iyswim!) so I will look out the Indorex - thanks for the recommendation.

As are the fleas to him.

When I was a lot younger I used to have 2 cats who for various reasons I kept downstairs and they weren't allowed upstairs. I lapsed with flea treatment and the carpets were teeming with fleas. So every morning for a week I'd walk around bare-footed and in shorts holding some cellotape and ten or so used to hop onto my each of ankles. I'd simply wrap round them and catch them with the sticky tape. In a perverse kind of way it was quite satisfying to see the end result. After a week they'd all gone.

VoucherMan

Just as an alternative to Indorex, I've used Acclaim in the past with good results.