Plan of action for flea infestation.

[KB2651]

Little rascals have fleas - vet appt on Monday to get them treated. Also getting nitty gritty type combs to groom eggs etc out after treatment.
Hoovering everywhere, flea spray washing everything.. Is there anything else I need to know?

Do you not treat regularly anyway? We do a monthly treating with Advocate. Avoid Frontline. Many are resistant to it.

Ive found the most effective way of treating the house is with salt. Rid a room of all soft furnishings, pull all the furniture into the middle and pour good old table salt across the whole floor, with particular attention to the edges and any cracks. Shut the door and dont go back in for a few hours. Vac it all up as soon as you do and most importantly put the hoover bag outside straight after. Keep that room cat free.

Work through the rest of the rooms. De flea the catbed. Then hoover every single day thproughly for the week. Then salt again.

People on here are really against flea collars, not entirely sure why, theyve been the only way of keeping one of ours flea free.

We did, ran out and forgot to get more - lesson well and truly learnt now!
Advocate - got it. I'm looking at Indorex spray for rooms on Amazon, is it any good?

I would recommend Advocate for the cats (used monthly)and Indorex for the house (done properly one treatment will last a year).
Vacuum everywhere, especially at skirting boards and corners then empty the vacuum bag outside straight away. Wash bedding etc.

You don't need flea spray. You just get some spot on (proper, from the vet) and treat the animals. That way the flea eggs will hatch out, jump on and be annihilated.

Your house should be fine. You might notice the odd flea for a month or two after your pets have departed, but there won't be hundreds. They can't live on human blood anyway.

98% of the problem tends to be in the house. No product for your cats kills live fleas instantly the fastest kill in the market with a residual action ( more than 15mins) is two hours so unless you treat the house you will never break the cycle.
Good spot owns
Activyl
Advocate
Prinovox
Broadline

Good household sprays
Acclaim
Indorexx

If the cats have fleas they will have worms as the flea arrays the tapeworm larvae so you would be advised to give them a tapeworm treatment as well. Broadline does this, advocate and prinovox do not they only do roundworm.

Fleas do not live on the host animal but spend most of their lives in the environment, hence why you treat the house as well as the cats.

Indorex.
My Mum's house was infested by the neighbour's lovely moggy who had been in a cattery for a while. DD was bitten alive. Sprayed her with deet and the house with Indorex. The supermarket spray stuff was useless.

We have never needed to treat the house, ever. Once the cat goes the fleas go soon after.

Once a month spot on is fine.

If you don't, you'll get them reinfested from hedgehogsother cats so unless you have an indoor pet treating the house is pointless.

That's not true, fleas can live dormant in carpets for a LONG time. Treat the house, for the sake of a can of indorex. Otherwise you will get them back.

Pop a flea collar in your Hoover bag before vacuuming up after treating the house - keeps your vacuum cleaner from providing anywhere for the bastards to live too!

I've found the same, Pipi, although I have wooden floors. The cats are brilliant once treated because fleas jump on them and die!

Weirdly, my long haired cats don't seem to get fleas (I still treat them of course) but just the shorthair.

I've had cats all my life and have never had a problem with fleas since I was about 7 years old - method is always the same, spot on for the cat, don't bother treating the house.

I think a lot of people are concerned about using strong chemicals in their homes expecially if they have small children.

I've never found it necessary - and yes, you may find that you get the odd flea if you have lost a cat - we unpacked some bedding from a few years ago, and there was a flea in it because I got bitten - but it was once. A flea egg that's a few years old isn't likely to be in the best state

Plus it'll have nothing to eat if there is no cat.

Your animal will get reinfested by random other animals in the garden, so you have to keep treating it unless it stays indoors.

If you do that, then any eggs that do hatch will hop onto your pet and die.

Of course if you want to reat the house too you can. I just think it's a waste of money.

Pip I you have been very lucky. The single biggest reason why people struggle to control a flea problem is failure to treat the house correctly.

Can I be really ignorant and ask how you know if there are fleas? DH, DS2 and me all have a few insect bites, especially DH but Dd and Ds1 have none! I can't see any in the carpets or on the cat - can you always see them?

Check the cat for flea dirt - you won't always see the adults. Ruffle cat's coat to dislodge any debris onto a white surface, the bath works well if yours is white, or onto kitchen paper. Look for dark comma shape specks, if you wet them they'll dissolve to leave red marks ( flea poo= digested blood)