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Original poster

Help! I think we've got fleas!

17 replies

wilbur · 19/08/2004 10:16

We moved into our new house last week and before we got here, I had the carpets deep steam cleaned and shampooed as the previous owners had cats and also they had a number of lodgers who smoked and the carpets were a bit smelly. teh cleaning worked well, I thought, and the smell has gone. However, since moving in, ds has been bitten in the night a few times by something that seems to bite 3 or 4 times at a time and leaves him with red lumps, a bit like mosquito bites but more even in shape, like almost perfect circles. I also had a couple on my ankle the first night we were here but none since. Are these flea bites? The beds are our own so I can't think it could be bed bugs as we never had a problem at the flat. What can I do if it is fleas? Is there a spray for carpets? Or do they live in curtains too (we have kept some of the previous owners' curtains) Anyone able to help? I know mumsnetters are a clean bunch but there must be someone who has dealt with this kind of thing.

OP posts:
hmb · 19/08/2004 10:22

Flea bites tend to be on the lower legs, or any bits in contact with the floor, for a younger child. The ankle would be a target site, it'm afraid.

You can buy a flea killer that is set off and then left in a closed and empty room. It will then 'zap' the whole room. These do contain powerful insecticides and you have to be careful how you use them.

Your local vet will stock btter ones than the supermarket.

sobernow · 19/08/2004 10:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

miggy · 19/08/2004 10:23

You need a can of spray from the vets or some chemist (NOT petshop one) called Acclaim or Vetkem. big can will do av. 4 bed house. Hoover first then spray EVERY room even bathrooms-spray carpets/floorboards/sofas/beds etc. leave shut up for hour or so and go out for walk etc. then open windows and air off-dont hoover for as long as pos afterwards (good excuse IMHO!)
hth-the carpet cleaning wont have killed the flea eggs-they hatch out with warmth and movement

mieow · 19/08/2004 10:24

You can buy a large can from the vets for £15 which is very good, what I recommend you do is spray each room and shut the door, make sure you spray the mattresses and curtains, finally do the hallway and go out for about a hour. Come home and air all the room as the stuff smells. Then hover! HTH

Original poster
wilbur · 19/08/2004 12:00

Cool, thank you! Glad I can do it myself and don't have to get someone in. We have a vet close by and I will stop in to se what they've got. I guess I will just have to do it a room at a time as we are still in that unloading boxes stage and I can just move things around bit by bit. Poor old ds - the bites are in various locations as he lies on the floor to play with his trains. Right, fleas, your days are numbered! Wilbur the terminator is on the case.

OP posts:
hoxtonchick · 19/08/2004 12:07

Hooray for all this fabulous advice. We've had fleas for a couple of weeks (), & I've used a lot of the Bob Martin spray that Sobernow mentions, & got the cat a flea collar, but ds & I are still getting bitten (but dp is untouched, irritatingly). You can even see the little wretches jumping around. I will buy the stuff Miggy recommends tonight.

hoxtonchick · 19/08/2004 12:08

Oh, & when my mum came to stay last week, the first thing ds said was "Grandma, there are FLEAS in your bed". She was delighted...

Avalon · 19/08/2004 12:15

Hoxtonchick- my vet recommends Imidacloprid for flea prevention and treatment for our kittens. You put one tube of it on the back of the cat's neck each month. It's sold as 'advantage'.

He just laughed when I asked him if flea collars would do the trick ...

Oh, and vacuum the carpets daily (!) till they're gone - particularly round the edges.

aloha · 19/08/2004 13:52

They are stubborn little buggers. We are finally winning the war after coming back from holiday to find the whole house hopping with them. Lots of flea spray, daily hoovering (which dh is doing - joy!) and picking the evil ones off and drowning them - he he he! Actually the latter is useless against infestation but strangely satisfying...
The hoovering in conjunction with Bob Martin spray seems to have been our most effective assault. And do all the floors, not just carpets. They can also live in crevices on wood floors and around the skirting board.

hoxtonchick · 19/08/2004 13:55

Ah, I think it's the hoovering where we're falling down... Thanks for the tip Avalon, I can definitely see a trip to the vet coming on.

Piffleoffagus · 19/08/2004 13:55

Best stuff I got was from the vets... room spray for infested areas, killed em
dead, you can also sprinkle salt and hoover up 24 hrs later but you need a good hoover and of course no kids climbing on it...

Titania · 19/08/2004 14:01

i used to work at a vets and we used to reccomend the acclaim or the frontline spray. The petshop ones arent usually good enough.

Titania · 19/08/2004 14:03

oh and flea collars are a TOTAL waste of time.....get either advantage or frontline drops. If you have pets then you will need to treat them with soemthing that kills the fleas first then put a prevention treatment on them

hoxtonchick · 19/08/2004 14:06

OK, just rung the vet & they have Staykill apparently. Is this any good?

Titania · 19/08/2004 14:08

yes staykill is good

Titania · 19/08/2004 14:08

we used to have that too but i couldnt remember the name!!!

Chandra · 19/08/2004 14:09

Vote for the vet's product as well, they are more expensive but they are more effective so at the end they cost the same but the vets' is quicker.

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