It's official, I found a FLEA this morning, I want them out now, how do I make them die?

[bohemianbint]

Eurgh...I've been getting bites on my ankles but I thought maybe it was mosquitos or something as DH is unaffected. Anyway, yesterday I thought I saw something that could have been a flea - and this morning I caught one in my magazine and it is, officially, a flea.

We do have two furry pest carrying bastards cats but we stopped letting them roam the house freely when one of them shat on the floor in the front room where our toddler plays. (We are looking to re-home them as they now just cause us trouble, and expense that we can't cope with with two young children, and this just reaffirms my wish to get them gone.) But anyway, the fleas are still in the house, living merrily on me, and my babies and I need them out of the house right now.

Are floorboards worse for keeping them alive? Is there any sort of repellent (natural) we can put on us while we get rid of them? Is it going to be really harmful to have insectisides in a house with small children?

Eurgh, I feel so twitchy. Tell me what to do!

[twoluvlykids]

To kill a flea - catch it, don't let go! Half fill glass of water, squirt some washing up liquid in it, place flea in it, don't just open finger and thumb as it will jump away.

It drowns quickly in the water with the squirty stuff in it.

Make sure the glass is well out of reach of thirsty people!!!! And wash it after the flea's dead.

I don't mind spiders, but fleas.....

[ilovesprouts]

redsock thats a bit ott !!!!

[bohemianbint]

Hi redsock - no, I didn't take them on unconditionally. We got them 5 years ago when we had no kids and some money. things change. I didn't realise I should let my kids go blind due to (potentially) toxoplasmosis on the living room floor, or let my toddler step in mouse guts each morning because, hey, the cats were here first. It's nothing like re-homing a toddler, don't be so silly.

Have bought some raid spray but not sure it's enturely suitable, will unvestigate bombs and talk to rentokil I think. Thanks for all the advice.

As for the cats, burlap sack and a brick time methinks.

[Mandragore]

BB you need to treat it ongoingly 9is that a word?)

Cats will pick up fleas from elsewhere regularly

You have to give them a monthly dose of something, honestly. Although my eco friends just comb theirs every night,

It's a bit like nits but you KNOW they will have them frequently

It's about 35-40 quid for 6 months program.

A can of raid is how much/ £18? Keep the poison ON the CAT is my advice. Thoguh two is more pricey obv...

[bohemianbint]

Cheers M - yes, should have said will be treating them and monitoring them with a fine tooth comb! I'm not wild about poison in the house but also not wild about fleas on my baby's head either, so might have to do something other than just treat the cats. They haven't been in the main part of the house for about 4 weeks, so either the fleas are migrating from the utility room or they are managing to live on my blood.

Do you think they make their way all over the house or am I nourishment enough? God, this whole thing is hideous...

[Mandragore]

Exactly dear. no, they are not living off you.

What happens is this.
Flea lays eggs on mog.

Mog wanders around shaking herself and thus flea eggs, just about everywhere.

Mog leaves main part of house for period of four weeks.

Flea eggs hatch, fleas would normally jump right onto mog but mog is absent, therefore they jump onto you/baby/ nearest warm thing.

Flea finds it doesn't like human blood and eventually dies.

You see, BB, if your cats were still in the house you would not have seen the fleas at all. Seriously, google it, they can't live on you.

[Mandragore]

I should add I was strangely comforted knowing they hated my blood. Little bastards/ Gave me a sense of power I suppose

I also found one on ds's ear, it was a moment (well not quite as we grew up with a flea ridden mog) but I do like the fact they are not actually our fleas, as such, they belong exclusively to the feline species. iyswim

[bohemianbint]

Ahaaaaaaa, gotcha.

So they're on their way out anyway. (The fleas.) But, I read that the eggs can last up to a year before hatching, is that true?

[bluebump]

We used a steam cleaner as we got infested by our neighbours cat at about the time we brought our newborn DS home from hospital and didn't want to use anything chemicaly (is that a word??) You can then steam carpets, curtains, bedding etc etc. It took us a day to do our tiny house but that was in August and we've not had any of them returning...YET!

[Mandragore]

Yup they can last a year, but honestly not many of them are likely to - that usually only happens if the house isn't occupied.

If you are there all the time, they will hatch in response to movement, warmth etc and that should mean most of them are gorn within weeks.

I really wouldn't worry. It's not insurmountable at all

[Mandragore]

(though the meds companies want to scare you so you buy more poison! Obviously)

[Mandragore]

Top tip, let the cats in - and treat them - that will see off the fleas quickest. You shoudln't see too many once they have actual CAT blood to eat

[bohemianbint]

Thanks M, I feel a bit better about it now. Have spent the day dreading getting into my bed (which is the place I like best in the world at the mo, and I dont' see much of it as it is) because I've been envisaging the little bastards bouncing around on my sheets and gnawing me in the night. Like the steam cleaning idea too, bluebump, did you hire one?

[bluebump]

We have one at home bohemianbint but it's only a cheap one. I seem to remember there being a thread on here recently where someone had bought one from Wilkinsons for about 17 quid and that's just the sort of one we have.

[rachw1]

Another vote for treating the cats and letting them in - we had a flea problem when moving into this house and it was suggested that we borrow a treated cat as the best way to kill them off!

Also they seem to hate lavender - I got a spray from the health food store that was a natural bug repellent and that seemed to help keep them off me.

[acebaby]

Poor you - we had fleas when we first moved in to our current house. The landlord got a company to come in and spray. DS2 was just 2 weeks old at the time at the time so it was very stressful, but we were assured that the sprays would do him no harm as long as we stayed out for the afternoon.

We then tumble dried all bedding and clothes. We weren't allowed to mop the floors for 6 weeks while the spray was down. After two weeks the fleas came back but died quickly because of the spray that was still down. We have been flea-free every since

[Technofairy]

I've got two cats, had four until recently, and I haven't seen a flea in years! If you treat your cats regularly with something like Frontline then you won't have a problem.

However we have had flea problems in the past, hot weather seemed to be the trigger when we'd forgotten to re-dose the moggies. I would suggest that you buy flea spray from the vet, it's much more potent that the stuff you can buy in the shops. You just need to spray your carpets and any areas where the cats sleep.

Don't waste your money calling in Rentokill, it's just not necessary nor is leaving the house for a couple of days after spraying. Spray, open your windows and spend a couple of hours with the kids in the garden.

And while I think Redsocks went for the jugular a bit, I agree with her sentiments. If you are a responsible and informed cat owner then having a child is no excuse for re-homing an animal. I managed. It just takes a little work.

And I did say informed. Toxoplasmosis does not cause blindness in children. Yes, it is dangerous to pregnant women and people with serious immuno-deficiency problems but not to anyone else. The majority of people who get it have no symptoms and are then immune for life. You are confusing it with toxocariasis which is found in dog shit and is much, much nastier and can cause blindness. That is a much greater risk than anything your cats could ever pass on. Please check your facts before you dump your cats at the RSPCA or Cats Protection League shelter.

[bohemianbint]

Blimey - ever heard of walking a mile in someone else's shoes before criticising? You don't really know why we've come to that decision so it's not fair to comment.

DH tells me we have frontline in the cupboard already.

[SueW]

We got rid of fleas last year by simple use of Raid fly spray.

They were attacking me as soon I I walked downstairs in the morning so I slept with a can of raid next to the bedand sprayed it in front of me as I walked downstairs when I got up.

We also treated our cats and I sprayed any places where the cats tended to sleep with the raid too.

I tried Bob Martin's Flea Powder but it was messy and useless.

[EustaciaVye]

sorry havent read whole thread but we got rid of fleas by using acclaim flea spray (get from vets) all over house, hoovering every day for 2 weeks, spraying again and hoovering for another week. And treat any pets.

Honestly, they are resilient little buggers and you need to keep at it. It can be disheartening to see them a few weeks after your treatment but they do go.

[bohemianbint]

Thank you for all the tips! I thought something in my bed was biting me but I wondered why they only got me on the ankles. Makes sense know I know the little bleeders were jumping up from the floor and grabbing on.

[MANATEEequineOHARA]

Even though fleas cannot live on humans their eggs can be dormant for ages, so vacuum every square cm of our house.

If you are looking at avoiding harsh chemicals, you could try essential oils...you can make up a carpet powder by using bicarbonate of soda, and putting some oils in, leave it overnight for the oil to mix. Then shake over the carpets, and leave an hour before vacuuming off. Oils to repel fleas include:
Cederwood,
Euclyptus,
Lavender,
Tea Tree,
Geramium,
Rosemary,
Red Thyme,
Cypress,
(and can all be used on you pet, a few drops diluted in cider vingegar.)

Others that repel fleas but should not be used on the pet are:
Pine, bergamot and lemongrass.

Good luck!

[kiddiz]

Just to second what Mandragore said. Another vote for the Program treatment. We used to have horrendous problems with fleas before I discovered this. Now our cat goes to the vet about every six months, (I have left it longer with no sign of fleas) has the injection and I haven't seen a flea for years. I'm speaking as the only person in our house who reacted to the bites too...either that or the little buggers only bit me which would be very discrimatory imo!!!

[shibsy]

HELLLP! I think the pest control guy is taking me for a ride! I just moved into a new property and am getting bitten everywhere. The landlord says the last tenants had a cat so I assumed it was fleas! Pest control guy says because my 11 week old twins are not being bitten and nor is my toddler (Im a single mum) I must have bed-bugs! He says bed bugs only bite one host with one blood type!? He told me I had to move out of the house for 3 days to do a massive treatment but this is not possible! Yesterday I found a flea on my bed! I thought hallelujah (you know things have hit rock bottom when you are glad to find a flea in your bed). I told the pest control guy, he STILL insists it cant be the fleas because my kids are not being bitten! I spoke to another professional company and they said that the kids may well be being bitten but arent reacting as violently to the bites. He has now agreed to treat the house for fleas but will only use this organic powder cause of the babies. He says he cant use chemical treaments unless I move out for 3 days!!!!! AAARGH! I'm about to tell me landlord to dump this guy so I can hire someone else. I have been so stressed that I have lost 1/2 stone in 5 days and can't sleep for more than a couple of hours a night because this guy has made me so afraid of bed bugs! I am a single mum trying to cope with caring for 2 new babies and a toddler on my own and I feel close to breaking point. Please tell me, did you have your homes treated when your kids were babies? Is this guy taking me for a ride cause I don't have a man to scare him off!?

[bohemianbint]

shibsy - that sounds shit. Call the council - I ended up getting someone in for £20. Took 5 mins and we had to go out for an hour afterwards. We have two little ones and they said it was fine once the stuff was dry. If you've seen a flea then that's what you've got! I thought we had bed bugs, but I seem to remember they bite in little lines all over the place.

Sympathies, it's absolutely shit dealing with this kind of aggro when you have babies.