Flea panic :(

RainbowLaura

I was wondering please if anyone has any advice or experience they could share regarding flea infestations?

We have two cats, and have recently found out the hard way that pet-shop bought flea preventatives are not as effective as we thought they were.

Two weeks ago we found a single flea on my husband's leg when we were sitting on the bed. We took the cats to the vets and they confirmed that there was evidence of flea dirt in their fur, but no live fleas. We purchased some prescription treatment (which now know to use instead of Bob Martins) and sprayed the house with Indorex spray.

No more evidence of fleas for a week.

We then went on holiday for a week and put the cats in a cattery. We got back about six hours ago and within 10 minutes of entering our bedroom we had several fleas on us. We have spent the last four hours Indorexing and hoovering the house. Seen no more since starting the process. I am wondering if we are doing enough though. I collect Steiff bears, some of which are boxed up under our bed... these have been taken out individually and sprayed, and then put in the bath as frankly I don't know what else to do with them. I have no idea what to do about our clothes - we opened the wardrobes and just sprayed over everything but took nothing out. I'm scared of spreading the fleas into areas that are currently safe. I just don't know what to do. I'm having visions of throwing out all our belongings and furniture and having to start all over again.

If things get worse and we have to call in an exterminator, what is the process in terms of personal belongings?

Oh gosh I am so upset, I naively thought that by using monthly spot-on and keeping the house clean this sort of thing would never happen

missbiggles1

That doesn't really sound like an infestation, I think you're overeacting a bit, I'm afraid.

RainbowLaura

I would love to think so... I just feel that now they're here, we could end up with a big problem on our hands and want to nip it in the bud

missbiggles1

I have 4 cats (used to be 7) and 3 dogs, you get a bit blase about fleas after a while.

elsien

Stick a cheap flea collar in the Hoover bag - should stop anything in there from hatching out.
Keep hoovering. Make sure you get close to the skirting boards. If you're not sure about clothes etc, shove the ones that'll stand it in a 60 degree wash. Get some proper flea treatments for the cats You've already sprayed, try not to overthink it. Happens to the best of us, just takes a little time sometimes.

Contains_Mild_Peril

Remember to empty the hoover and when you're done, just in case it may contain surviving eggs and larvae. If you still find fleas continuing to appear, you may need to fumigate to get rid of them all. A friend of mine got sort of candles from a pet shop for this and it solved the problem when other treatments had failed to do so. The fumes get into all the little crevices where they can hide, without harming textiles or other belongings. I can't remember what the product was called, but I can ask him if you want.

Davesnave

RainbowLaura wrote: »

. I collect Steiff bears, some of which are boxed up under our bed... these have been taken out individually and sprayed, and then put in the bath as frankly I don't know what else to do with them.

I thought for a horrible moment that you'd bathed them, then realised that this was just a dry isolation technique.....

Fleas need proper sustenance, and if your cats are properly protected by the latest product supplied by your vet, not something from a shop, they will eventually die out.

I recommend giving the cats a comb every night. That way you will be able to monitor how many live/dead fleas there still are around.

You can skip doing this with the bears.

RainbowLaura

Thank you for the advice and reassurance everyone, feeling a little bit better now. although I didn't get much sleep as I felt so disgusting and have woken up with 10+ bites :S

The cats will be returning this morning, so hopefully any fleas hanging about will go for them rather than us - particularly as they're properly treated now so the fleas will die. I'm convinced that every speck of fluff is a flea

Sicard

Davesnave wrote: »

I thought for a horrible moment that you'd bathed them, then realised that this was just a dry isolation technique.....

Fleas need proper sustenance, and if your cats are properly protected by the latest product supplied by your vet, not something from a shop, they will eventually die out.

I recommend giving the cats a comb every night. That way you will be able to monitor how many live/dead fleas there still are around.

You can skip doing this with the bears.

^^^ to this, plus:

Frontline is the best treatment IMHO. You apply it to the back of the neck so they can't lick it off and it'll kill any live fleas. You can only get it from vets. When eggs hatch it'll kill those too until they're all gone. It'll take about a week or so. You apply it every three months as a preventative measure. Unless you're brave enough to do it I used to walk about in bare feet and shorts and at one stage I had so many of the blighters they would bite my ankles so I'd swiftly catch them in sellotape. I could catch ten or more at a time.

GwylimT

You can buy frontline from pet shops, it isn't effective in many areas now and you apply it every four weeks.

The fleas were hungry as they couldn't eat while you were away, you got home and you were a nice tasty meal.

The only thing that works for us is a combination of indorex and advantage spot on, we have found stronghold is just as good, but more expensive.

missbiggles1

GwylimT wrote: »

You can buy frontline from pet shops, it isn't effective in many areas now and you apply it every four weeks.

The fleas were hungry as they couldn't eat while you were away, you got home and you were a nice tasty meal.

The only thing that works for us is a combination of indorex and advantage spot on, we have found stronghold is just as good, but more expensive.

I've also given up on Frontline now and use Advantage/Advantix.