Shit shit shot. House covered in fleas!

[Rockbird]

Just come back from holiday, cats must have had them because house is infested. What the hell do i do tonight??

The cat's possibly had them a while but they've not been so noticeable.

Flea eggs lay dormant if there are no cats / humans around to feast on. So when you came back, loads of the previously dormant fleas hatched at once and came to feast on you. It's the movement that wakes them up.

The same thing happened when I'd been away for a while.

We got the council in to deal with them. Had to be out of the house for a while, I forget how long. And this was years ago, now I can't remember how long it took to get them in.

The only way to deal with this is proper pest control experts.

I had a house I rented out, which was left empty for two weeks. I was on holiday, so went to check on it when I came home. And it was just like yours, absolutely infested with fleas from the previous occupants' kittens.

I was covered but had to drive home, so they got in my car, on all my clothes etc.

I stayed outside when I got home, stripped off and DH brought me two towels to wrap myself and my hair in so I could run straight to the shower. I was paranoid about infesting our house too.

The pest control man said it was one of the worst infestations he'd dealt with and it had to be done twice before they were completely gone.

Cat sitter has treated the cats already and she's dropping off some spray that they use (she a vet nurse as well as a cats protection volunteer). She said the spray will work but I'm tempted just to get people in.

Of all the weeks. DD1 starts high school and I start a new job this week. This is the icing on the crappy cake!

It's likely you've had them before you went away and the absence of any warm blood the house for a couple of weeks has starved them so they've ambushed you.

Get a dude in before the cats come home. Spray the house and you're done and maybe change the cats treatment.

We came back from a fortnight away a couple of weeks ago to an infestation (cat was in the cattery). We spent the following day hoovering & spraying the downstairs of our house but gave up the fight when discovering them in the upstairs bedrooms.

The council do offer a pest control service but there was a 10 day wait, so we ended up getting a private firm in which has cost a lot. There is also a huge amount of preparation required to make the treatment successful.

The treatment was about 10 days ago now & I saw a flea yesterday so I am getting nervous again, but the company did say that we might still see them up to 14 days after the treatment. If they continue past that they will come & respray.

It has been really awful !

Removing the cat from the environment is what has allowed the fleas to take over. A treated cat will keep the fleas at bay as they will die as they bite the cat.

@Rockbird I’m gutted for you. DD also starts high school this week and it’s her birthday tomorrow. She was supposed to have friends around on Friday night and we were having family round today all for her birthday and it’s had to be cancelled. Honestly. Just get professionals in. The washing, drying everything in sight is exhausting enough as it is without being unsure whether you have sprayed correctly.

@Rockbird how are you getting on?

OK I think. Cat lady came round yesterday with a can of RIP Flea, said it's fab and what they always use and she said it was no big deal. She's bringing cats back this evening.

DH has been amazing, spraying and hoovering like crazy over the last two days while I keep the kids out of the way. We slept at home last night and it was fine. This stuff seems to be working. Only saw two half dead ones last night and nothing today but we're still spraying etc. Have brought all uniforms round to my parents' to sort out just in case! Am not getting too confident though, we're totally jinxed so this probably isn't the end of it.

Unfortunately you may need to spray parents house too. Them little fuckers like to travel.