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Original poster

Fleas in the house

8 replies

Abubu · 03/07/2010 19:50

Hi,

We have just moved in to a new home and unfortunately there is a problem with fleas. The previous owners had a cat. We have no pets.
We have sprayed with the Bob Martin stuff twice this week but they are still here as we are still getting bitten. Will they eventually die off if they have no animal to live on or will biting us be enough to keep them alive if we don't get rid of them now?

Does anyone know the best way to get rid of them? Is it worth paying out for pest control?

Thanks.

OP posts:
em83 · 03/07/2010 20:40

hi, we had this problem when we moved in here 2 year ago, we spent a fortune buying various lotios/sprays from vets/diy etc
they were a waste of money and dont contain much of the actual ingrediet that kills the ants
we then paid £90 for someone to come out that day as council said 3 weeks and it worked first time round
good luck
needless to say i never have or never will own any type of pet !

froggy901 · 03/07/2010 21:06

You wanna get your hands on something like this: www.petsathome.com/shop/johnson-s-4fleas-household-spray-600ml-15394

It contains the Insect Growth Regulator you need to stop the fleas - lasts for at least 6 months (or forever if you don't have any pets). Some of the cheaper ones will just kill the adults, therefore a couple of weeks later the eggs will hatch, larvae will grow in to aduls and they'll bite you and lay more eggs. IGR stops them no matter what stage in their life cycle they are. Make sure you pay attention to skirting boards, curtains, under sofas, in the crevices of sofas - anywhere warm and dark!

Hope it helps!

ilovecake · 04/07/2010 20:31

We do have cats and despite regular defleaing had a terrible infestation last summer. I tried more gentle / natural treatments initially but ended up using serious chemical spray in the end as mentioned above that inhibits growth of eggs and larvae. Other advice i followed was to keep hoovering especially all dark corners around skirting etc.Also a desk lamp next to a bowl of water in a dark room got a few pretty quickly too - they are attracted to the heat and then drown!!

bluebump · 04/07/2010 20:33

We had fleas in our house from the neighbours cat a couple of years ago - just as DS had been born. We just steam cleaned absolutely everything in the house and hoovered up afterwards and we've never had any since.

minimammoth · 04/07/2010 20:37

This happened to me ages ago. My advice - go to a vet and get the product (spray) that they recommend. Then apply as directed, spraying all carpets and soft furnishing and leaving the house, windows open for a few hours. Much cheaper than pest control.

bibbitybobbityhat · 04/07/2010 20:41

There is an insecticide powder you can sprinkle on carpets before hoovering which works better than the spray, imvho.

We have had fleas in the house from time to time and always managed to get rid of them without needing the pest control people.

Daily hoovering with a hoover with good suction also does as much as anything.

bamboobutton · 04/07/2010 20:45

indorex. it's the only thing that works IME and i have tried everything the shops can offer.

it kills everything - spiders, wasps, ants and fleas.

Littlefish · 04/07/2010 20:49

We paid someone via the council to come and de-flea the house. We have no pets, and absolutely no idea how they came into the house.

I think it cost about £80.00.

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