To think these are flea bites?

[Loonaandalf]

Three or four months ago our dogs had fleas, took two months of vet treatment to get rid of them, and we treat them monthly now, groomer confirmed she could not find any so we are sure they were gone. We also sprayed the house. Last week groomer said she spotted some dead fleas on one dog, but didn’t see any alive, I can’t see either but I am not great at detecting them as couldn’t see them last time either. Two days ago, I started coming out in bites like this(see photos). They are mostly on my legs, feet and lower back. I have about 7 altogether and new ones came up last night. DH would start all over again with the flea spray but we now have a three week old baby and it’s not easy to get out for long enough to do that, we’ve no family nearby.

I am tempted to pay for professionals to come out but how do I make sure they are flea bites and not just spider bites or something? DH and baby have no bites so far but DH never gets bitten by anything whereas I always do. I’m freaked out incase the baby could catch something if it is fleas or ticks.

would I see bed bugs if they were there?

My dog walker seens to think the fleas could be coming from our garden as there’s lots of cats in the area who come in as they please to do their business. Could this be possible? Is there a way to keep cats away? Any deterrents ?

Bedbugs are highly unlikely unless you've very recently travelled somewhere likely to have them, or are living in run down, packed in accomodation with a lot of people, shared laundry etc... Possible, but unlikely.

Fleas on the other hand, abound, particularly where there are cats and yes, picking them up either on your dog or yourself as you move through an area where cats spend time curled up, lurking, is very possible.

Keep grass short, avoid providing shelter for them to lurk in comfortably. Plant lavendar if you can, its toxic to fleas and cats are unlikely to want to sit in it either.

Cat fleas are often found on dogs. They should only travel into your house on your dog though so treating your dog with veterinary medication (not over the counter) will do the job as treatment will kill the fleas before they can reproduce and leave eggs in ghe house. A can of Indorex and regular flea treatment on your dog will sort this easily. Assuming your dog goes on walks beyond your garden means cats in your garden is no increased risk!

if you don’t want cats in your garden - use water pistols. We always offer super soakers to our neighbours when we move in. Cats are creatures of habit so they’ll have a daily routine. Supersoakers will stop them wanting to have your garden as part of that routine if their presence bothers you that much. It won’t reduce risk of fleas noticeably though!

I agree with the indorex and vet flea treatment. The over the counter stuff only partially worked for our cat.

with indorex, you need to hoover daily. The vibrations from the hoover stimulate any leftover eggs to hatch, then the indorex gets them.

The fleas could be coming from the garden, from cats, from walking in the woods, from you carrying them in to the house on your shoes. We had a problem with our new house where the previous owner had obviously had an infestation and when we moved in with the cat within a week he was being eaten alive. Took 4 cans of indorex over two months and two rounds of vet flea treatment.

It's so difficult and maybe even impossible to get rid of them fully if you have carpets and other places eggs can hide in.

Not uncommon to not easily find live fleas on an animal given the lifecycle. I wonder if in fact it was flea dirt rather than dead fleas the groomer found. If so what you have been using is not working. Talk to your vet. Over the counter products can be a false economy in the face of an active infestation. Indorex should be effective to treat the house though. Read label carefully and particular care if you have fish as it's very toxic to them.