Fleas - advice please

anonocakey · 07/04/2026 19:31

You need to get some fumigating bombs to set off and do the whole house. It might take more than one attempt. We had similar issues a few summers back and we did it twice and kept spraying indorex on problem areas. Good luck

NannyR · 07/04/2026 19:38

From what I've read about fleas, after suffering a similar infestation, they are very species specific. So, dog fleas, whilst they will bite you, actually need to bite a dog to complete their life cycle - with a treated dog or no dog in the household, they will die off. Same with cat fleas
I would do a good spray of indorex and vacuum often for a few days, but they will die off after a couple of weeks.

TalulahJP · 07/04/2026 20:07

it’s awful.

id vacuum and steam clean everything. including down the sides of the couch etc.
wash clothes at 60
you'll get fleas hanging around for a couple of weeks but then they will go.

i threw out my headboard as i feared theyd crawled inside and laid eggs. i bagged good clothes that i didn’t want to wash at 60 and will wash in extra water for longer at 40 degrees and hope for the best!

it’s a nightmare. the dog needs spot on from the vet on the back of its neck.

Original poster

canichange · 07/04/2026 21:08

Thank you for your suggestions - hoping that @NannyRis right about needing a dog host as sadly the dog was actually put to sleep (not due to fleas of course! she had cancer) on Good Friday, so whilst we are all sad about that we don’t need to worry about her continuing to be a host.

OP posts:

flatpack1 · 07/04/2026 21:10

Yes as previously advised Indorex everywhere and vacuum as much as possible for the next 6-8 weeks

pawsedforthought · 07/04/2026 21:24

having 2 cats we always have some johnsons flea foggers on hand, think the last lot came from amazon x

SandAndSea · 07/04/2026 21:27

If you'd like to try something natural, look into diatomaceous earth.

KatMansfield6 · 07/04/2026 21:44

NannyR · 07/04/2026 19:38

From what I've read about fleas, after suffering a similar infestation, they are very species specific. So, dog fleas, whilst they will bite you, actually need to bite a dog to complete their life cycle - with a treated dog or no dog in the household, they will die off. Same with cat fleas
I would do a good spray of indorex and vacuum often for a few days, but they will die off after a couple of weeks.

This! We've had some problems with fleas on our cat. He's treated regularly but the normal brand stopped working and I didn't notice straightaway. Once I got him treated again, the few fleas in the house died off as they had nothing to feed off. The same will happen for you I'm sure so wouldn't worry too much.

Myfridgeiscool · 07/04/2026 21:56

Indorex.
Hoover your house and spray everywhere.
Leave the house then ventilate well.
You need to treat the whole house. Should work straight away.

Original poster

canichange · 08/04/2026 12:56

Great, I’ve got Indorex and am working my way through the house spraying carpets, mattresses, headboards, blinds and curtains. Basically anything fabric/soft that can’t go in the washing machine!

Swept and mopped all hard floors with bleach this morning.

Soooo many loads of washing done this week. God bless this lovely weather!

I did go on a bit of a spring cleaning spree a couple weeks back. Deep cleaned most rooms and shampooed some carpets so hopefully that will have helped a bit.

I’m keeping a record of ‘activity’ so that I can try to establish where the worst of it is. So far, I think we only have a real problem in our bedroom and my youngest son’s bedroom. Obviously have treated the whole house, but good to know where I should focus on the most.

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Disco2022 · 08/04/2026 13:05

I had this a few years ago and to be honest the indorex didn't do it for me. I ended up getting Rentokil in and getting it done professionally

ImDoneOnceAndForAll2 · 08/04/2026 13:15

If you havent got small children... Then Salt
The only thing that worked for us was salt.
Loads of it over the carpets. It will kill the fleas and dry out the eggs
And leave it for a week atleast

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 08/04/2026 13:24

I feel your pain, @canichange

Indorex saved my sanity, and I don’t say that lightly.
I was close to snapping.

placemats · 08/04/2026 13:31

canichange · 07/04/2026 19:12

Does anyone have experience of dealing with fleas in their home please?

We took care of PIL’s dog for ten days over February half term. Unbeknown to us, they discovered shortly afterwards that she had fleas. They didn’t tell us and we only realised we have them in our house yesterday. So we’ve had them for about 6 weeks completely untreated.

The dog was allowed to go everywhere, so upstairs and downstairs carpets will need to be treated. Fortunately, she didn’t jump up onto sofas/beds. However we did find a few fleas on our headboard, so they’ve travelled there by whatever means.

I’m feeling really overwhelmed by this - where do I even begin??? I sprayed a can of Indorex on the upstairs carpets and our bed yesterday, but I’ve found more fleas this evening. Is it just a case of keep treating and hoovering until we don’t see anymore? I feel like I almost need to pack up the house as much as I can so that I can hoover under beds etc.

I’ve set up ‘flea traps’ using bowls of warm water and fairy liquid which have caught a few.

Literally don’t know where to start!

Have your PILs treated the dog? And most importantly have you told them?

Indorex and daily vacuum is the only way to get rid of them.

Blooming pain to have to deal with. My sympathies.

placemats · 08/04/2026 13:33

canichange · 08/04/2026 12:56

Great, I’ve got Indorex and am working my way through the house spraying carpets, mattresses, headboards, blinds and curtains. Basically anything fabric/soft that can’t go in the washing machine!

Swept and mopped all hard floors with bleach this morning.

Soooo many loads of washing done this week. God bless this lovely weather!

I did go on a bit of a spring cleaning spree a couple weeks back. Deep cleaned most rooms and shampooed some carpets so hopefully that will have helped a bit.

I’m keeping a record of ‘activity’ so that I can try to establish where the worst of it is. So far, I think we only have a real problem in our bedroom and my youngest son’s bedroom. Obviously have treated the whole house, but good to know where I should focus on the most.

Yes the fleas tend to cluster in specific areas. You're doing a great job and thank goodness for this fine weather.

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 08/04/2026 13:34

Disco2022 · 08/04/2026 13:05

I had this a few years ago and to be honest the indorex didn't do it for me. I ended up getting Rentokil in and getting it done professionally

Same. I spent 3 months in our new house trying to get rid of them myself and we had no pets. Inherited them from the previous owners.

Rentokil made two visits 10 days apart and it was sorted. Horrible stuff but I wish I'd done it earlier. I was trying to avoid the sorts of chemicals that are used and washing all soft furnishings and hoovering everywhere twice a day. Could see them leaping onto my toddlers neck 😱

The dog was only there for a short time so you might be lucky but my advice is to not let it go too long if you can't get rid. Life is too short.

Original poster

canichange · 08/04/2026 15:18

Scrap my previous message about thinking it was mainly contained in two rooms. I sprayed the blind in my older son’s room (where I didn’t think there was a problem) and this is what I collected from his windowsill!!!

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Original poster

canichange · 08/04/2026 15:22

placemats · 08/04/2026 13:31

Have your PILs treated the dog? And most importantly have you told them?

Indorex and daily vacuum is the only way to get rid of them.

Blooming pain to have to deal with. My sympathies.

Show quote history

Sadly the dog was put to sleep on Good Friday anyway. She had cancer - we weren’t that cross about the fleas! The fleas were obviously her parting gift to me….

PIL took the dog to the groomers after we had her at Feb half term and the groomer discovered she had fleas. PIL treated the dog and their house, but didn’t tell us. I’ve been scratching for weeks and weeks, couldn’t work out what was causing it and was a bit embarrassed to mention it to anyone to be honest. Then I had the idea of doing a google image search of the marks on my ankles and google suggested fleas. Tried the white sock test, also suggested by Google, and there they were!

OP posts:

placemats · 08/04/2026 15:35

canichange · 08/04/2026 15:22

Sadly the dog was put to sleep on Good Friday anyway. She had cancer - we weren’t that cross about the fleas! The fleas were obviously her parting gift to me….

PIL took the dog to the groomers after we had her at Feb half term and the groomer discovered she had fleas. PIL treated the dog and their house, but didn’t tell us. I’ve been scratching for weeks and weeks, couldn’t work out what was causing it and was a bit embarrassed to mention it to anyone to be honest. Then I had the idea of doing a google image search of the marks on my ankles and google suggested fleas. Tried the white sock test, also suggested by Google, and there they were!

Show quote history

That's so sad and I'm sorry for the loss of your family pet.