How long to get rid of fleas? :(

[lljkk]

A year ago we got 2 kittens who I am now very fond of.
2 months ago we took in another cat whose owner was otherwise planning to take to CPL.
Christmas day I discovered new cat had fleas :(.
Frontline on all, lots of vacuuming, Sainsbury's anti-flea spray, salt in the carpets... Grooming when tolerated.

I have always been prone to mysterious insect bites but I am pretty sure I've more bites than usual the last few days, and they look & feel just like flea bites and last about as long as I expect flea bites to. I noticed same sort of bite on DS3 just now. I grew up in flea-infested houses and tend to find the bites quite unpleasant. Although I haven't felt or seen fleas on me, that part makes me hesitate.

I am quite scared I'll have to get rid of the cats. :(.

If you've had fleas but got entirely rid, how long did it take to get rid of them? Have you tried calling in a pest control service? What actually worked?!

I think CPL solution is to put them in pens for long spells with heavy treatment for cats and the environment.

[Jayne266]

You need to get proper sprays for your house (Hoover everywhere) then spray and put flea treatment on the cats (get one that covers all the life stages of the flea) and you may have to do this once a month (depending on your flea product) for a few months. It's a bit annoying at the min as central heating causes the eggs to hatch an start again. Good luck

[pickledparsnip]

Indorex spray is AMAZING

[lljkk]

Sorry, Jayne, what do you mean by "proper sprays"; could you give brand names?
I have Bob Martin spray which is supposed to be a bit like Hedrin, coats rather than kills & harmless to cats & people.
Some folk swear by salt but I couldn't grind it to a proper powder, so probably not effective.
OTC Frontline is Fipronil.
I am unsure what pesticide powder or spray I should use, otherwise, if any. Am afraid of overdosing the cats or small people.

[lljkk]

ps: thanks for replies.

[cozietoesie]

I had this mighty effective carpet etc spray which I used when Seniorboy got a flea some years ago - and I just went to check what it was. (Kept a part can.) Turns out to be .......Indorex! (I had just said to the vet assistant - give me that big one over there'. I hate fleas.)

As I remember it, it needs to be used carefully with lots of ventilation. You might also check with your vet about the cat applications. I seem to recall that Frontline isn't proving effective any more in some parts of the country.

[Jayne266]

Sorry lljkk I have dealt with indorex and RIP flea is a good one.

[lljkk]

Gawd, what a minefield. I never expected the cats to be quite so expensive.

[BikeRunSki]

Don't waste money on sprays! Get a pest control man in. Brilliant, and cost £65 for a three bedroomed house. Wish I'd rung him before I spent £40 on ineffective sprays (including Indorex) .

[showtunesgirl]

We had fleas in the carpets left by the previous tennant's cat in our flat. I tried everything and in the end I sprinkled diatomaceous earth everywhere, left it for three days and then vacummed it up and it bloody worked.

Diatomaceous earth basically dries fleas out and kills them but it's not a chemical but rather a physical method of killing them so fleas can't get immune to it. It's quite cheap to buy and the only thing to bear in mind is that you need to wear a face mask when sprinkling it as it does puff everywhere at first before it settles.

It only took one application and the fleas all died.

[lljkk]

£65 sounds okay, I read £200 elsewhere! At least 130 m^2 house to cover, sorry to say.
Thanks for other suggestions, but don't you kick up dust of the diatomaceous earth stuff yourself, and is that a hazard? Do you have to keep animals away from it until vacuumed up?

[sashh]

If your house is infested you need the spray from the vets, and you need to spray all hard surfaces including things like wardrobe tops.

[lljkk]

Would the vet normally want to give each cat a checkup before issuing the spray?

I think I am going to try one thing at a time starting with cheapest. So next step is Indorex (£23), then maybe diamatecous earth (£25), then the vet (but £26 just to talk to vet for each animal, so hence why I hesitate). And I guess another £25 for the actual spray, so somewhere between £25-£100 for the vet. (I will phone around to other vets first, if it comes to vet options). And then there's prescribed Combo Frontline which I guess is £3.50 per cat per month kind of price.

THEN rentokil, which could be anywhere from £70 to £250 I suppose.

Do you suppose should I allow 3 weeks between each thing I try, to see if it was effective enough or I should move to next step?

There are different sorts of D-Earth for flea control,
This is best value

But this says "Flea control!"

are there different grades, better types than others for flea control?

[TataClaire]

Go straight to the vet or failing that, you could always just call pest control from the council?

[VenusRising]

Give them all brewers yeast tablets, one per day.
And get pest control in!

[BikeRunSki]

Don't use Rentokill, v pricey, we've used local man (Google "pest control", much cheaper, and was there within a couple of hours.

[lljkk]

Oh Fig, just got a flea off my leg, it leapt up off the floor or a cushion.

I will ring around for Pest Control estimates. I don't know how that works, though, they can only spray the house, obviously the animals need to be treated separately, chicken and egg, what is most reliable procedure?

[lljkk]

I've just had 2 quotes of around £105 to spray the house.

[lljkk]

Bites are driving me batty today. :(

[StillWatersRunDeep]

I would advise you use a proper flea product on the cats and to treat the house with Indorex - starting with the cheapest products is often false economy as you will eventually need to use the stronger ones anyway. Also, the longer the cats have fleas, the bigger the risk of them getting skin infections and needing antibiotics as well.
Once established in a house, a flea problem can take months to correct as not all stages of the flea life cycle are susceptible to the chemicals. Only 5% of the fleas will be on the cats - the rest of the population (eggs, larvae etc) is in the house (floorboards, carpets, bedding etc)
Most vets don't charge for a flea/worming check. To dispense prescription only flea and worm medication, the vet must have seen the pet within the last 12mths. that is NOT something the vet has any control over - that is a legal requirement. hence most vets will provide this Flea/worm check free of charge (so long as there are no other concerns with the pet).
You can buy frontline from the pharmacy without seeing a vet - this only kills adult fleas.
Bear in mind that no flea product that you buy will stop fleas getting on to the cats - so you may still see fleas. What they do (depending on the product) is prevent the fleas reproducing, as well as killing the fleas that do bite the cat.
Please ensure you worm your cats as well due to the link between fleas and tapeworm!
hope this helps!