Can you SEE fleas??

[TarotCurious]

So my cat had fleas and I used effipro on him and bought indorex spray. Stripped the beds. Hot wash. Hoovered mattresses. Sprayed everywhere.

2 weeks later cat was still flecking and I found a flea in my bed!

Went to the vets who gave me Advantage instead so used that in him about 2 weeks ago.

I've woken up to find 3 bites on my stomach!

I've stripped the bed. Hot wash. Am spraying and hoovering mates but I can't see anything. Can you usually see them hopping about?

Am feeling seriously stressed.

I have a guest coming to stay in a week and we were having a conversation recently and she commented on how she stayed at a friends house once and got covered in flea bites! I'll be mortified if she gets bitten!

I don't know what else to do.

We have wooden floor throughout. So not carpet to be infested. The only carpet we have was ripped out and is being replaced next week.

Am so frustrated :(

[FuckyNell]

Yes you can see them! I think the ones you're seeing are on their last legs, after all the spraying and stuff.

They have a cycle so these ones were probably eggs when you sprayed first. I think.

[TarotCurious]

Ahhh right. So just keep repeating this and I should get all the little buggers?!

[TarotCurious]

Title is silly, I know you can see them but I just meant I'm getting bit but when I strip my bed I can't see any!

[cozietoesie]

I have old wooden floors - albeit with rugs on - and I make sure to vacuum and then spray all the cracks between floor boards very thoroughly indeed. It's a good Twofer as well because those are where moths go to lay eggs.

[cozietoesie]

PS - if you feel an itch, undress in the bath or shower stall and shake your clothes out there after turning them inside out. Any 'unwanted guests' should become apparent on the surface.

[FuckyNell]

No don't keep repeating it you'll gas yourself

[cozietoesie]

And there's some truth in that!

I Indorex'd most of the basement last week and I found myself doing an awful lot of breath holding. Make sure that you have good air circulation to aid you in your task.

[TheSilveryPussycat]

I used to just comb DCat out with an old nit comb I'd had for the kids. She loved it. You need some blu-tak or some soap to quickly stick to the fleas on the comb before they hop.

DCat spent much of her time down the allotments, and fleas wait in straw for a host to hop on, so this seemed the best way to go. I enjoyed it too but I am weird

[TheSilveryPussycat]

Any fleas loose in the house (or that escape off the comb if you aren't quick enough) will end up back on the cat, where you can catch them again. I got rid of an infestation of large yellow fleas (?dog fleas) this way, after that it was quite rare and the fleas were smaller and black - ?cat fleas.

[TheSilveryPussycat]

DCat was short-haired though, I imagine this wouldn't be feasible for a long-hair (never had one)?

[dodobookends]

Hoover everywhere as often as possible, particularly in cracks and crevices,and empty the vacuum cleaner in the bin outside every time.

Turn up the heating, the warmth will encourage all the remaining flea eggs in the house to hatch. Don't spray the cat with repellent, you want the fleas to jump on the cat, where the Advantage will take effect and eventually kill them all off.

The reproductive cycle is 7 days, so you have to kill all the live ones, then wait 7 days for the eggs to hatch. Then wait for them to jump on the cat and be killed off by the Advantage (some will lay eggs before they die), wait 7 days for next lot of eggs to hatch... eventually you will get rid of them all.

[Oldraver]

I think if you get to the stage where you can see the buggers then you have lots....

I had the embarrasment of one jumping out of DS's trouser leg afte rhe fell off his bike on the way to school...mortified