Oh shite, the dog's got fleas!

[Floellabumbags]

I've just discovered the dog's got critters. We frontlined him in spring but the buggers have appeared anyway. I've sent DH to the pet shop for shampoo, treatment and worming tabs. I'm washing cushions , bed linen, sofa covers...

Do I need to spray rugs and carpets? I'm considering getting the Bissell out to wash them or possibly a flame thrower. Has anyone got any advice or gin?

I use advocate on my cats, works a treat and it prevents most worms too.

Once, however, I was late treating them, and the pesky boy cat got fleas. Treated and brushed him til there was enough fur out to make another cat, sprayed the carpets, furniture, mattress, threw everything in the wash at the launderette. You need to spray your sheets and things first before you wash them though, as washing doesn't kill the eggs :(

Good luck!

The vets do a one-dose tablet that tastes nice (to dogs!) to stop fleas now. It gives a few months protection. It's pricey but I just use that now as found Frontline hard work. I too got caught out when I took the dog to vet with skin problems and they found flea dirt. I treated the house with the spray from the vets and the dog had the tablet. I never actually saw a flea and had no bites on us, but it freaked me out.

I can;t get worked up about fleas.

I live surrounded by woodland. This morning I have woken up to two dead pigeons in my conservatory brought in by my cats.
I regularly treat them ( frontline works well) but re infestation is inevitable.
I wash bedding when I treat but "fumigation by the council" sounds extreme.
I don't get worked up about the odd flea.

But then I have lived in SE Asia when I had to check my shoes for scorpions and chase off cobras under the sofa.

i couldnt really leave my 2 year old being bitten 10 times a day though

There is always one poster on these threads at comes on and makes out everyone else is over reacting.

Cali each flea bite i get swells to the size of a pound coin. This last about an hour. Can you imagine the pain I am in if I get bitten just twice in a night? My in laws are not at all find of cats and should they and up getting a flea bite while visiting that would find it very distressing. Finally, and most importantly out pay rely on us to look after them, leaving them with an infestation is plain cruel. Their moods were low and that were off their good untill we finally got rid of the fleas.

Fleas are a diffrent ball game to checking your shoes for a scorpion. I too have lived in exotic places and I would gladly deal with a locust swarm over a flea infestation.

Oh OP, you have my sympathies. We had an infestation last year and it was awful, the fuckers just wouldn't die. We fog bombed every room twice, sprayed every surface daily, flea treatment etc. It was a nightmare. Took us all summer to get rid of them, poor dd's legs are scarred from all the bites (she's 15 before anyone panics I let them loose on a toddler and did nothing - the scars came from her scratching the bites).

We've had dogs for years and never had a problem until we also got a cat.

i recommend buying foggers for the rooms affected (not sure what the proper name is, we got ours from pets at home) and spray sofas and carpets every day. Pets at home do a subscription service which sends out monthly flea treatments by post, reasonable value too.

I'm itchy now 😖

frontline works well

It is generally accepted that this is no longer effective. If it were, infestation would not be inevitable at all. I've had no infestations since we ditched the useless Frontline in favour of Advocate about 5 years ago.

I just had to get my home fumigated by the council thanks to cat fleas.. shitty thing was it wasnt my sodding cat it was the untreated next door neighbours who kept coming in or sitting on my doorstep if he couldnt get in

Years ago I moved into a flat that had been lying empty. The previous tenant had a cat whose flea eggs had been lying dormant for months until I moved in and the little fuckers hatched and jumped all over me.

The bath has cleared the eggs up, gave the dog another comb last night, poor bugger has a few bites but they at least don't look raised or angry.

The steamer is a really good idea, I've even got a carpet attachment so I think steaming the place is the next step and less work than the Bissell, which is ridiculously heavy.

I use nexgard spectra as well, one tablet once a month for worms, fleas and tick prevention. Much easier than dealing with outbreaks. Moved into a house once that had fleas from previous owners cats and was bloody horrible and expensive to get rid of.

leaving them with an infestation is plain cruel.

Who leaves their cats untreated?

Not me if that's what you are suggesting.

Yes, Frontline is less effective. You need to get a scrip for Advocate but you'll need to treat the whole house - where the dog goes. Especially carpets and soft furnishings. Dog fleas don't live on humans but eggs do remain on carpets and bedding, not just the dog. We treat our dog with Advocate every two months - monthly is recommended but we seem to be ok so far as he's never had fleas. Wash bedding every time you treat the dog as a precaution. We've never had to treat the house so Advocate definitely works.

Had an infestation a few years ago and got rid after a couple of months and what felt like a million cans of RIP Fleas and Indorex combined with Frontline Plus (which apparently stopped the eggs from hatching), vacuuming vacuuming vacuuming, hot washing everything I could and brushing the poor cat a few times a day with a flea comb.

I use Advantage on her monthly now and (touch wood) they haven't been back... but I feel your pain

I swear by coconut oil. Just a teaspoon in dogs food each day. Fleas hate it. Neither dog has had them in a couple of years and their coats look lovely. Vet said it was harmless to dogs too, of course, I did check first.

How on earth does feeding them coconut oil stop fleas?

Wolfiefan I think it is a natural repellent but not something I would trust to fully do the job hence using medication from the vet.

We had fleas this year despite cats being up-to-date with their stuff from the vets.It was lots of hoovering and spraying got them under control ansd cats excluded from rooms.It all stopped quite quickly as the generation of active fleas went nothing else emerged.
We go over the cats with a flea comb everyday now,they are silky and our ankles are again unblemished.
I did get as far as buying bombs but haven't needed to use them

We spent 6 months battling fleas. We bombed the house cleaner the carpets and the poor dog was bathed and front lined within an inch of his life.
Then I asked for advice at pets at home and was signed up to advantage. It's £4.50 per month but from the first treatment we haven't seen a single flea. It's been over a year now and his coat is looking great and no signs of fleas. Would definitely recommend. It gets delivered by postman once a month and is paid on dd so you never forget.

Nobody on here has mentioned Bravecto. I know it has had some bad publicity but ddog has always been fine. One tablet every 3 months. Also kills ear mites though they weren't mentioned on pack. No fleas here

Having had them with cats I found only way to get rid of them was to get the boys in. Round here council used to spray for free. Now they don't. They recommend Rentakill. £50 but will return if still survivors.

I found anything over counter useless.

There is a lot of misunderstanding out there about fleas and their treatment.

You only need three things to clear them:

1. A decent flea product, whether that's spot-on or tablet. I wouldn't recommend shampoo; none of them work that well as far as I'm aware.

1. A can of spray for the house, of a decent brand - I'd advise Indorex, RIP Fleas or Acclaim. All are available without prescription online. Don't bother with fogs and bombs.

1. A vacuum cleaner, deployed daily.

With regards to animal treatment, not all products are equal and it's true that there are now resistance concerns over Frontline and its ilk. Others have mentioned Advocate and (for dogs only) Advantix. Either is fine, but if you need to you can get Advantage, which contains the same active ingredient as these, without prescription.

Use spot-on treatments properly. They need to be given every four weeks - be religious about it - and ensure you place them onto the skin. Avoid getting it all over the coat. If your pet is hard to treat, consider a tablet treatment such as Comfortis or Bravecto (vet only products). Don't leave any cat or dog in the house untreated. It doesn't matter if you've not seen fleas on all of them - treat anyway.

95% of fleas are in the house, not on the pet.

With regards to the house, apply the spray properly. As it lasts 6-12 months you shouldn't need to do it more than once, but you must use it to its full effect. This can be a faff, as it involves moving furniture etc and vacuuming thoroughly beforehand - do it anyway, or it won't work as well. The RIP Fleas website has instructions on how to use the spray properly, which also applies to the other brands I mentioned. www.ripfleas.co.uk/r-i-p-fleas-extra/

Treat the entire house. Leave no stone unturned. Don't forget to treat the car or any outside buildings if your pet enters these. Bedding etc can be cleaned on a hot wash. Water temperatures above 60 degrees kill fleas.

Vacuum daily. Not only can this remove some of the eggs and larvae in the house, but the vibrations stimulate pupating fleas to emerge from their cocoons. As long as they are in their cocoons, they are resistant to household sprays. You need to encourage them to come out, so that they jump on your (treated) pets and die. Be sure to concentrate most on areas where lots of eggs will have fallen off your pet - favourite sleeping areas, for example.

If they need to, fleas can remain in their cocoons for up to 5-6 months. This is why you must keep up with flea treatment and regular vacuuming long past the point you think it's all clear. It takes usually months to clear a flea infestation, not days. That's normal, just keep up with it.

Some common misconceptions about fleas I've come across:

• they don't jump between animals. They jump from the environment onto a passing dog/cat/human. If your pet has fleas, they didn't get them from contact with another animal. They got them from being in a building or outdoor space that was infested with flea cocoons - OR someone inadvertently brought flea eggs/larvae/cocoons into your home in their bag, clothing, bedding etc. Be careful buying second-hand rugs, furniture etc for this reason!

• fleas can bite humans, but cannot live on us (well, the human flea can but we don't tend to see as many of those any more - the fleas we're dealing with are generally cat fleas, even on dogs).

• seeing fleas on a treated animal doesn't mean the treatment didn't work. Most of the flea products we use do NOT repel fleas. If you have an infestation in your home, you don't want the dog/cat to repel fleas anyway. You want the fleas to jump on, bite and die. If they don't jump on, they can lurk in their cocoons for months, remember. It's normal to find dying fleas in the coat of treated animals - point is, they won't have a chance to reproduce.

• fleas don't die off in winter. They might breed more slowly, but in centrally heated houses they can exist all year round.

• shutting your pet out of rooms they previously had access to is one of the worst things you can do. By the time you find fleas on your pet, they will be in all the rooms your pet enters (and possibly rooms they didn't, if some flea eggs/larvae/cocoons got carried in on your clothes or possessions). If you shut out your pets, the fleas will lurk in their cocoons for up to 5-6 months. If you let your treated pet in, the fleas will emerge from their cocoons, jump onto your pet and die.

A treated cat/dog is a walking flea killer. Let them loose!

I really really wouldn't risk Bravecto. I believe there are effective and safer options.

Wow, thank you juicebitch that's great advice.

I like the idea of setting up a monthly account for flea treatment so that its arrival serves as a reminder to treat the dog.

Oh my God I feel your pain!!!! We found out that our new kitten had bought fricking fleas into our house. I hate creatures and went totally bat shit crazy!
I bought countless cans of Indorex and sprayed everything that didn't move (countless times) and hoovered more times in a month than I did in a whole year!
Washed everything time and time again and started religiously treating kitty with Advocate.
Those dark days make me shudder and I was on the brink of moving out.

Indorex and Advocate did the job though thankfully