Fleas

[BeauticianNotMagician]

Hi I wonder if anyone can help. We have recently moved into a new house and my eldest ds is getting constantly bitten. I'm pretty sure it's flea bites. The previous owners had a cat.

How can I treat them. I presume they are in the carpet. I have 3 ds and my youngest is 9 months so I need something that's safe to use. We don't have the option of being able to stay somewhere else

[WetDogLovesHubert]

Hoover EVERY day. Into all the corners, skirting boards etc. Wash all bedding, cushion covers etc. Get a really strong flea killing spray (can't remember the name, apologies). There's a very good one sold by amazon. Spray the entire house, leave for the day, hoover, open windows, repeat until the gits are gone.

Consistency will get rid of them eventually. Hoover every day for at least 2 weeks to beat the life cycle.

[Franchini]

Flea bombs you can get the really good ones on line. Hope this helps.

[HerGraciousMajTheBeardedPotato]

We had this. Grim and foul.

I was pregnant, so I went to a local vet for advice. They checked what the best insecticide was for our situation and sold me several canisters. We fumigated the entire house with the stuff, including all the hidden nooks and crannies, several times. We would do it on a Saturday morning and then go out for the day.

This helped, but we only got rid of them for good when we ripped up and dumped most of the carpeting. After that we fumigated again, then once or twice more when we went on holiday.

[HerGraciousMajTheBeardedPotato]

Hoovering is good, because the vibration stimulates the buggers to come to the surface. Unfortunately, in a really severe, established infestation, they lurk in places which the hoover can't reach, like under the skirting board and low-bottomed furniture. We looked into bombs, but were not convinced that they would reach these areas. That's why we used the aerosols - dh could aim and spray directly into hidden areas.

[BeauticianNotMagician]

Thanks I've just ordered a spray called indrex from amazon that has good reviews. I have been hoovering every day especially right up around skirting boards. I don't see anything though I have noticed a few white bits on carpets which I thought may be eggs.

[BeCool]

You need to put a flea collar (that kills fleas not one that deters them) into your hoover bag. Otherwise you can hoover all you want but you will just be creating a lovely flea hotel in your hoover.

[BeauticianNotMagician]

I have a dyson can I just pop a collar into that ?

[HerGraciousMajTheBeardedPotato]

Idont think so. It would just whizz around bashing the fins. We emptied our dyson outside, putting the bag of dust and fleas straight into the outside bin, after every vaccing. Gave the cylinder a spritz of flea spray before putting it back together again.

[BeauticianNotMagician]

I've been emptying it outside so when the spray comes ill keep spraying it inside the Hoover as well then

[ShoeWhore]

The flea sprays you can get from the vet are much better than anything you can get online OP. worth bearing in mind if this first round of spraying isn't enough.

Hoover everywhere really thoroughly just before spraying, get into as many cracks and crevices as you can.

[ShoeWhore]

The council may offer a service too where they will come and do it for you. If it's a severe infestation this may be quite good value.

There is one stage of the flea lifecycle that is totally impervious to all insecticides though so I think you have to wait until that batch hatches out and then gets killed by the spray to know if it's worked, if that makes sense?

You could also put insect repellent on your ds to give him some respite while you're sorting this out.

[HotDAMNlifeisgood]

You can chop up a flea collar into smaller bits to put in your Dyson hoover.

[BeCool]

I just have visions of all the fleas hopping out when you open the Dyson to empty it - they will all still be alive.

[BeauticianNotMagician]

Hmm that's the thing I can't see any fleas. Maybe it's something else but what is causing his bites ?

[BeCool]

Flea test - next time you are out of the house for a period of time (few hours or so) when you come back in, leave DB in buggy, and bare your legs - roll jeans up to knees or even whip them off.

Then walk trough the house - fleas lie dormant and then wake up or hatch with vibrations and will jump. If there are fleas they will probably jump onto your legs. They can be very tiny if newly hatched. (I grew up somewhere where if you had carpets you had to get them treated every year). If they jump onto you you need to kill them between your nails. They are pretty hardy.

In fact if you had carpet/house fleas then I would think you would be getting bitten too?

What are his bites like - clustered together or random, regular/irregular shape? Very itchy?

[BeauticianNotMagician]

His bites are random some in his shoulder, neck and one leg. They are really itchy and scab over quickly they have a yellow looking centre like a pimple

[BeCool]

mosquito perhaps?

[Goldmandra]

Bed bug?

Sorry

[Goldmandra]

You can find out if it's fleas by putting a shallow bowl of warm water in the middle of the floor last thing at night. Apparently they are attracted to the heat, jump into the water and can't get out again.

[BeauticianNotMagician]

Would I see bed bugs I did think those too. His mattress and the bunk beds are only 3 months old

[BeCool]

If it were fleas I would expect others in the household to be getting bitten too.

[BeCool]

chicken pox?

[Goldmandra]

Could a bed bug have been left behind by the previous occupant?

[HerGraciousMajTheBeardedPotato]

That does not sound like flea bites. Are you sure it's not chickenpox?

[BeCool]

I've never seen bed bugs (fingers crossed) but I believe you can tell it's them as there will be blood staining on the sheets.