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Original poster

someone help me - please!!!!!!!!!

21 replies

rainbowstardrops · 15/08/2012 20:33

I know others have posted before about fleas but I am at the end of my tether! We have a 16wk kitten who was apparently treated for fleas the day she came to us and then (stupidly) we didn't treat her for another 7wks - so possibly aroundabout 3wks she would have been unprotected.

Well now we have the little blighters hopping around all over the house and i am FREAKING!!!!!!

I wake up thinking about fleas, go to bed thinking about fleas and I'm bloody dreaming about fleas.
I am hoovering at least twice a day downstairs and am almost through a second can of spray but still, we're seeing the fuckers awful things.

I am seriously at my wit's end because i have a strong dislike for creepie crawlies at the best of times and I just feel so dirty and ashamed!

I tried putting a bowl of soapy water with a nightlight in every main room last night and NOTHING and the ones coming off kitty were dozy and I felt mildly optimistic but dh moved around the house today with white socks on and we've seen loads. seriously loads. I am beside myself and wonder how on earth we will ever be able to rid ourselves of these critters bearing in mind they hatch out in the tiniest of places? I honestly can't convey how totally freaked out I am right now!

I am ready to spend whatever even though we're skint even if it means getting someone in to blitz the house - I JUST WANT RID!!!!!!

Please someone tell me what works - I've just hoovered and they're STILL jumping on dh's socks Sad and I've sprayed and sprayed. Do the fogger things work? Does constant hoovering work? Will bulldozing the house work? Am going to speak to the vet asap cos I just can't live like this Sad

Please help. While I wait, this Wine might help Wink

OP posts:
discrete · 15/08/2012 20:35

Yes, IME the fogger things work, and are the only thing that does. Constant hoovering helps, but will not get rid of an infestation of the magnitude of the one you are describing.

Original poster
rainbowstardrops · 15/08/2012 21:09

OF THE MAGNITUDE I'M DESCRIBING!!!! Eek that made me shudder!

I am now seriously considering doing the fogger thing. Do I need one for each room? Are they safe to use around us? I've never had a cat before and right now, I wish we'd never had one Sad

I can't believe friends of mine say their cats have had fleas but as soon as they see them, they treat their kitties but the fleas have never been a problem in their home. THEN WHY THE FUCK are they a problem in mine????????

Please someone, tell me you've been here and come out the other side flea free. Please Sad

OP posts:
discrete · 15/08/2012 21:20

I have been there, honestly, and it can be got rid of.

IME you do have to have a fogger for each room, and we go out for the day after putting it on. Leave for as long as you can, then ventilate really carefully.

Wash all sheets as hot as you can. When it was bad, I took out and washed all our everyday clothes as hot as they could take too. And then ironed them for good measure. Don't know if it made a difference but it made me feel better.

Can you tell I've been there? It's a salutary reminder to stay on top of the frontline...

unadulterateddad · 15/08/2012 21:21

get some of the smoke foggers - they work really well and will clear the house. Then if you cat is going to be a fleabag (as some cats are - one of mine would get fleas when none of the other cats did and they were all treated with the same stuff) get some stronghold flea treatment - it's the best i've seen at controlling fleas, you have to get it from the vet though as it's now apparently prescription only

discrete · 15/08/2012 21:21

The reason it has got to this stage is you do not have the experience to spot it early, so only noticed once it had got really bad. Your friends probably notice it before it gets to the house, so it does not get there.

unadulterateddad · 15/08/2012 21:22

and as discrete says you end up flea free :)

NaturalNature · 15/08/2012 21:28

I've had pets for 34 odd years and only had an outbreak from a new rental property.

I would speak to pest control and see what you can do financially.

They can live in hoovers, so unless you clean it after each vacuum, they'll come back.

I clean with vinegar and tea tree oil and that keeps most critters at bay.

I would definitely go for a serious chemical blast to get rid of the infestation then keep on top of it.

Wine
discobeads · 15/08/2012 21:35

use stronghold not frontline, as some fleas can be resistant to frontline, and you NEED to make sure they cannot live on your pet once you have defelad the house.

Go to the vets and buy their carpet spray, it is the only thing guaranteed to keep your carets clear for 6 months. Buy a couple of foggers too just to put in rooms with soft furnishings (sofa's beds etc) -if nothing else it will help ease your mind.

Hot wash cat's bed immediately (once sprayed/fogged) and make sure any other pets are deflead too.

We religiously treat fleas in this house as dog is severely allergic, but have had an infestation after frontline resistant fleas got in here

10 days after treatment/spraying we are now flea free!!!!! (they reduced dramatically the first few days after treatment, but now i cannot see a single one)

Original poster
rainbowstardrops · 15/08/2012 22:22

Thank you everyone! I am going to speak to the vet, use foggers around the house and then probably cry! Again. Right from the start, we said our kitty would be an indoor kitty cos lots of foxes and rough cats around here and yet this still happens!

Do the foggers seriously manage to kill all the critters and pupae etc????

OP posts:
Marne · 16/08/2012 17:44

We use Advocate (sp) from the vets and indorax

We had a similar problem after getting a kitten, we had already had the dog for 3 years and had no fleas at all and then little kitty comes along and they were everywhere, poor dd1 got bitten to pieces. We got rid of them withing a week using Advocate and Indorex, we now treat the cat every month or so and we havn't had a problem.

Original poster
rainbowstardrops · 16/08/2012 20:50

That's reassuring to hear. A friend of mine today said she also cleared them just from using sprays - although lots of cans! I just can't see how we can possibly get to all of them if they're all over the house? Especially in kid's rooms which have toys/stuff everywhere! Sad

OP posts:
BulletProofMum · 16/08/2012 20:53

I feel your pain. I have used fogger after fogger over the last few weeks and they are still bloody everywhere. I was just changing Dd's nappy on the mat on the floor and yet another bastard jumped on her leg. I have bites all round my waist from where I sit in the floor. My feet and ankles are covered and they itch for weeks. I am embarrassed by my ds's who have taken the worst of it. Ds1 looks as if he has spent I night in a jungle, he is covered in scabs.

BulletProofMum · 16/08/2012 20:54

I have just sprayed the carpets. We have a large house with lbug rooms which are covered in old carpets. Aaaaaaaah

Marne · 16/08/2012 21:04

I used 2 cans of Indorax to do my whole house (3 bed but no carpet down stairs), i sprayed dd1's bed and her teddies, all carpets, lightly sprayed the wood flooring, rugs, sofas and at the same time treated the cat and dog. We hav'nt had any fleas for months now. I think it helps that we dont have carpet down stairs (no no where for them to hide).

Original poster
rainbowstardrops · 16/08/2012 22:18

Bullet, I feel your pain too! My Dh spoke to vet today and he said foggers are useless Sad

We have an appt at vets tomoz and am hoping he'll treat kitty again - even though she's not due for another 10ish days + he'll sell me some magical cure.

Friends came round today - I had told them about the fleas - and fleas jumped on my friend AND her son. So embarrassing.

Kitty is now asleep on my settee throws/blankets, that I've just washed and dried. AGAIN!!!!!!! Washing, hoovering and spraying, is doing nothing here right now!!!!

OP posts:
Original poster
rainbowstardrops · 16/08/2012 22:25

Marne, did you spray kids toys and everything???? I've been spraying everything that doesn't move with Staykill but STILL seeing bloody fleas on kitty and over the house.

Alternate my time between laundry, hoovering, spraying, studying furniture and carpets and itching. I'm ready to leave Dh and move out with kids! no idea where to mind you

OP posts:
shockers · 16/08/2012 22:49

Indorex is a very effective house spray. If you buy Frontline, get the Combo version which also kills the larvae, the ordinary one is useless.

Good luck... we are just at the right end of an infestation that 'blossomed' while we were away.

Original poster
rainbowstardrops · 16/08/2012 23:38

We too have had this 'delight' to come back to after our hols. Worried vet won't re-treat kitty tomoz as she's only 16wks and not due another treatment until the end of the month but the fleas I combed off her tonight certainly weren't dying and neither are the frantic hopping ones around the house!!!! Seriously, I've spent my evening combing kitty, staring at the carpet, rug and furniture and washing and drying clothes. It is gone 11.30pm and I've just put another load of washing up. Had enough now Sad

OP posts:
Original poster
rainbowstardrops · 16/08/2012 23:39

Washing on. Obviously Blush

OP posts:
Marne · 17/08/2012 08:56

Yes, i sprayed the toys and beding, i did it first thing in the morning when dd1 had gone to school (same with the rest of the house).

Frontline no longer works (we tried this first and it did nothing), go toyour vets and get advocate, its expensive but works within a few days, you dont need to use it every month (although they tell you too) just use it as soon as you spot a flea. We havn't had to use the house spray sinse as we treat the cat as soon as we see a flea (chech him every week).

Original poster
rainbowstardrops · 17/08/2012 09:10

After this experience, I will be checking kitty regularly, spraying the house and treating her EVERY month!!!! IF we ever get rid of these bloody fleas, I never want them back again!!!!!!

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