Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Bastard fleas

64 replies

blubberball · 07/12/2020 21:54

Posting here for traffic. AIBU to please ask for recommendations to get rid of the twatting things? I called pest control, but they said that my animals would have to move out for 7 days. I have a cat, and I've defleaed her with Stronghold from the vet. I have some spray for the house, from the vet, and I've been hoovering and steaming. Washing bedding at 60. I have ordered some Indorex from Amazon. Anything else? It's not a massive infestation, but I see 2 to 3 jump on me a day, and my children have bites on them. It's freaking me out. Please help!

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 07/12/2020 21:56

Indorex is awesome stuff.
Do you treat monthly?

HugeAckmansWife · 07/12/2020 21:58

I'm afraid I'm in the same boat, 18 months in from the first infestation. I've tried every spray from cheap to £££, prescribed by the vet, washing, hoovering, room foggers. I feel like now is the time to really go for it whilst they are mostly dormant so I'm not letting up but its getting very wearing. Only my dd seems to get bitten more than very occasionally though. Cat gets treated with high powered vet stuff also.

blubberball · 07/12/2020 21:58

I have been slack with treating the cat every month, but will certainly keep on top of it from now on. These don't even seem the same as cat fleas. They seem more like house fleas that came to life when the heating came on. Driving me mental.

OP posts:
Lonecatwithkitten · 07/12/2020 21:59

Get your indorexx hover first then spray. Do not steam or shampoo for at least 14 days after Indorexx just hover. Otherwise you will steam the Indorexx of the floors.

Janaih · 07/12/2020 22:00

The most effective thing I have found is Johntones tablets, I buy from amazon but have seen in pet shop too. Read the amazon reviews, they are great.
Crush tablet up and mix in food. Half hour later cat will go a bit crazy and fleas will start dropping dead. That in conjunction with indoorex should sort you out.

Santaisironingwrappingpaper · 07/12/2020 22:01

Lots of shallow bowls filled with hot Fairy water. You will be shocked how many fleas love a bubble bath.
Right before they drown.
Under sofas and chairs. Behind curtains. Imagine you are a flea playing hide and seek!
Update us tomorrow op!

HP07 · 07/12/2020 22:09

I’ve had an issue lately as well. We moved into this house a year ago and I’m pretty sure we have had some laying dormant in the carpet from the previous occupants dog. I’ve changed flea treatment for my cats from advocate which has always worked well in the past to a tablet called credelio, I’ve sprayed the house twice, once with acclaim and once with indorex and I’ve most recently used some pesticide bombs/smokers as well just to make sure all bases are covered. I think we seem to be on top of it now but it has taken a couple of months of being very rigid with the tablets and lots of hoovering and reapplication of the household sprays etc. The live adult flea is just the tip of the iceberg so much more of the problem will be in the environment and in the carpets.

HP07 · 07/12/2020 22:10

Oh also forgot we did also do a capstar treatment on the cats too to knock down any of the fleas that were currently on the cats

Leannethom85 · 07/12/2020 22:10

When our dog used to escape the garden and come home with fleas and then pass them onto the cat who never went out, my mum used to comb them nightly... She'd sit them down.. And an old bowl with flea shampoo and warm water in it, she'd comb the pets and quickly put the comb into the water.. Every night this went on until they were gone...

blubberball · 07/12/2020 22:11

Thanks, will try again. We tried setting up some traps with lamps and a little dish of soapy water, but no luck with those. They seemed to work very well in the youtube tutorials.

OP posts:
OneTC · 07/12/2020 22:18

We washed our cat and moved it straight out then got on with sprays and water traps and put lime oil and bergamot oil around the bedroom where the cat isn't allowed to go anyway to keep them away from our bedding etc. Don't use any citrus oil like that in areas where the cat goes cos it's very toxic to them

Had a couple of false starts bringing him home, washed the poor bugger again and moved him back with family for longer. Can't remember how long it was but it was bloody ages, alot longer than a week

I would never normally advocate washing a cat btw but nor was I moving him to someone else's house with a full load of fleas

On reflection if it happened again I'd probably get pest control in, was horrible

blubberball · 07/12/2020 22:20

I wonder if there's a pest control which doesn't involve moving the cat out for a week?

OP posts:
OneTC · 07/12/2020 22:20

Thanks, will try again. We tried setting up some traps with lamps and a little dish of soapy water, but no luck with those. They seemed to work very well in the youtube tutorials.

A wide shallow tray is better

OneTC · 07/12/2020 22:22

Fleas are proof god doesn't exist imo Grin

Cakles2010 · 07/12/2020 22:28

Indorex is very good stuff I sprayed every room individually but i hoovered before this and then again the next day (also sprayed inside of the Hoover) kitten was heavily infested and not seen any since. Hes treat with advocate from the vets

dementedpixie · 07/12/2020 22:32

Getting rid of them isnt instant as the eggs will be in the carpets and will not all hatch at once. Treating the cat and spraying with indorex will speed up the process

Whycatspaint · 07/12/2020 22:34

You have my sympathy fleas are horrible! Key thing is patience. Lots of hoovering and spraying with indorex several times. Never skimping on a flea treatment ever again and spraying the Hoover bag also with inoted Make sure cat is out of the way until the area is ventilated after spraying. Unfortunately it takes months to break the back of it but they will go in the end.

Whycatspaint · 07/12/2020 22:35

Spraying Hoover bag with indorex sorry

Cherrysoup · 07/12/2020 22:35

Bravecto. Expensive, but omg, so worth it! I sprayed, hoovered, sprayed, followed the instructions, etc etc, nothing bloody worked. If the fleas bite the animal which has been treated with Bravecto, they die. I carried on treating the house/furniture/beds/soft furnishings but ensured the dogs went in every room so that the fleas would bite them and die. Worked a treat. I now have a LOT of Indorex!

I think my trouble is that we have multiple beds in all the downstairs rooms so despite thinking I’d treated them, taken off covers, hoovered them etc, I hadn’t done a good enough job.

You might need the place fumigated. I definitely considered it.

notangelinajolie · 07/12/2020 22:48

We go for the double whammy. Indorex and a flea jab at the vets.
The vet says we don't need to do both but it works for us and gets rid of the buggers.
Flea jab should be twice a year but we get away with once a year. Usually have it done Sept/Oct time when they start coming in from the cold and start hatching.

MereDintofPandiculation · 07/12/2020 23:44

These don't even seem the same as cat fleas. They seem more like house fleas that came to life when the heating came on. They'll be cat flea eggs that have been lying dormant and hatching with the warmth of the heating. It'll pass. The cat acts as an excellent flea remover - she'll go round the house collecting them, and the stronghold will kill them.

We once moved into a furnished house which presumably had had previous cats - there were hundreds of them. I walked slowly round the the edges of all the rooms every evening with bare legs and carrying a bowl of soapy water, then I'd pick them off as they landed on my legs and dropped them into the water. It solved the problem in a couple of weeks. So with Stronghold and Indorex, you'll overcome!

WilsonMilson · 07/12/2020 23:51

This thread is making me itchy. Sympathies, I have no advice as I’d probably have to sell the house and move far, far away!

Tootsietootie · 07/12/2020 23:56

Make sure your hoover if high powered some of the models just won't work. Especially robot Hoover's as they don't have a strong enough suck.

skippetyskoo · 07/12/2020 23:58

We had a flea problem on moving into our house. We don’t have a cat but previous tenants did. Pest control sorted it in one visit. Sprayed the house while we were out and we came back later that day. Was pet safe so try another pest control company.

VestaTilley · 08/12/2020 00:07

You need Advocate on your pets- on their skin, not just their hair, nothing else works. Buy it at the vet.

The spray for carpets, bedding, curtains. Hoover every day, along cracks and crevices. Boil wash everything you can.