Fleas!

[Herbert1]

We are unfortunately encountering fleas for the first time.

We use Advocate on our dog which was due on Saturday and on Sunday we noticed a flea. He'd been itching for a few days prior but we put it down to his normal summer allergies. I then spotted a flea in the living room on Monday and nothing since.

I feel so overwhelmed with dealing with the issue. I know it can get out of hand really quickly so we've been washing everything, hoovering, steam cleaning. I've got some Indorex coming today. I've spent so many hours already dealing with it but it doesn't feel like enough.

We have a toddler and a baby so the logistics of trying to spray the house is difficult. Realistically we won't be able to spray the house on one day, it'll have to be in stages. It's going to take over our lives for the next few weeks and I just don't think I can do it.

I'm really struggling with PND and this feels like the straw that broke the camels.

I am happy to throw money at it but even that isn't easy. I called a pest controller and we'd need to vacate for 24 hours which we can't do.

I know I'm catastrophising but I haven't had a single moment to sit down since Sunday between all the cleaning and looking after the children.

I know we won't have a serious infestation just yet but surely, 2 fleas can't be that bad, right?

I got some flea bombs off Amazon - one in every room, set them off, left the house for the stated time - only 3-4 hours.

Did they work? Thinking of doing this before we go on hols. Can the cats stay in the house after or do you need to keep them out?

If you’ve been using the advocate regularly I’d suspect it’s no longer working for your animal. So I’d get to the vet and get something else.

You’ve only seen a couple of fleas. I’ve had this before when I’ve forgotten flea treatment and noticed my cat scratching and a flea or two. It was very easily remedied by treating the animal, and then the rest took care of itself within a short while.

I’ve also had a proper flea infestation in the past. This is a different ballgame altogether and you see loads of fleas and you get lots of bites. Then we did have to do the spraying, vacuuming etc. But honestly I don’t think you are there yet.

Id get to the vet, get a new treatment asap and then maybe do a bit more hoovering than normal (focus on any cracks and skirtings). I suspect that this will resolve the issue.

Thanks for the reassurance. I really hope we're not there yet!

I called the vet as soon as I could who said it's not possible for treatment to become ineffective 🙄and I should wait a month before treating again (although can try a different brand next time). This is my biggest concern! Clearly the treatment didn't work... because he managed to get fleas!

Is your dog a swimmer Advantage/advocate are only effective for two immersions in water after that it is ineffective so if a swimmer or had more than 2 baths then you will need another product. There are several prescription only products that can be used immediately after another product which your vet should be aware of.

The fleas were on our puppy (came from the breeder with them 🙄), so we didn’t have a full blown infestation, but I flea-bombed and he was also Prinocate’d, and I never saw another one on him!

I would think the cat can’t be in whilst they’re going off. I took the dog out at the time. But there was no weird smoke in the air when I got home, nor any filmy residue on any surfaces.

Thanks, this is helpful! I'm pretty sure he'll have had more than 2 baths in the past month.

I've called the vet three times and they're being really unhelpful. They don't want me to treat him again for a month. I've had to be pushy so I'm waiting for them to call back with some proper advice!

He's really itchy today, I can't see any fleas on him but he won't let me get a proper look. I'm hoping it's just old bites bothering him as he got a bit scabby!

Do you know which bombs you used please? And did you do any spraying etc.? How quickly did you bomb after noticing the fleas?

I'm wondering if we just bomb the house. Get the dog and kids out for half a day (which will be painful) but hopefully it'll be worth it.

I've recently had flea infestation. I have got on top of it quite quickly with indoset but was very anxious about and took a couple of weeks to totally clear them (fingers crossed!)
My vet prescribed bravecto which lasts for 3 months and said I could use this straight away despite having used frontline in last couple of weeks.
Good luck 🤞

This is the Amazon display name of the flea bombs I used. Knowing me, I did it a day or two after I noticed the fleas. I didn’t spray anything else

6 PACK JOHNSONS 4FLEAS HOUSE FLEA FOGGER KILLER BOMB SPRAY ROOM TREATMENT

I use Indorex for spider season but it’s apparently for fleas. It gets 5* reviews, is safe after it dries and lasts for a few months.

Thank you!

I literally had a talk last week from the manufacturer about all presentations of Bravecto and even the 1 year injection can be given a week after another product. If the dog was on a monthly tablet which was working, but the owner would like to switch to the injection we were advised to do it 2 weeks after the working tablet so when the tablets stops working the cover is in place from the injection.