Fleas in house?

Question

Hi,
We have 2 cats (indoor) and have somehow managed to pick up fleas, they both have collars and I applied the Hartz neck treatment on the 28th April. The cats are still scratching and the female has black bits in her white fur, I aren't even sure the flea stuff is working.

The carpets are now infested (the cars even managed to pick a couple up) I'm going to bomb the house on Monday or Wednesday but need advice on whats the best treatment before and after. Is there anything special I have to do other than cover food stuff & turn off pilot lights etc. Thanks for any help!!

Just as an additional question, can fleas survive without an animal in the house? Would they die off naturally?

Answer 1

Flea collars are worthless, it gives a place for fleas to hide, Hartz and many of the Over the counter treatments that are so cheap are worthless also, they often just burn the skin. First thing, go to the vet and spend the $10.00 or $12.00 for a treatment, get some good flea bombs, take the cats somewhere and give them a flea bath (there may be a place you can take them where they will do this and watch them while your house is being bombed). After the bath give them the treatment (Advantage is good as is Frontline). Advantage and Frontline are a little more expensive but so worth the money! It will keep the fleas off the animals and whatever fleas are left after bombing won't be able to feed. I volunteered at an animal shelter for awhile and learned these things.

Answer 2

Make sure to not have any pets in the house during the time you bomb also. The fleas will continue to breed even if there are not pets in the house. The best thing that I found for the cats is frontline most petstores sell it now too you don't have to get it thru a vet anymore. If you have Petland or Petsmart where you live you can get it there. The Hartz brand is not good it will not kill the fleas I tired using it years ago. I don't know if your cats would let you give them a bath or not but if they would use Dawn dishsoap (blue). Fleas have a like coating around the outside of them and when the Dawn hits it it makes the flea like explode and it dies. No other dish soap for some reason will work don't know why lol. You could also sit a bowl of water on the floor with Dawn in it and the ones that jump into will die.
Hope this helps.

Answer 3

You've just discovered what I'm always trying to tell people - flea treatments from petshops are useless. They're cheaper BECAUSE they're ineffective - shops aren't licensed to sell the necessary drugs. Flea collars, even veterinary ones are fairly pointless because the fleas need to walk over the collar to die.

You need to get some proper treatment from a vets, like Frontline. Most surgeries you can just walk in and get the stuff over the counter. You'll need to treat your house with a veterinary spray too (Indorex, Staykil, Acclaim). Fleas live and breed both on animals and in the environment, so both need to be treated to get rid of the infestation.

It's a complete myth that indoor cats don't get fleas. Fleas can enter houses as easily as and bug or animal or human - through the doors! They're attracted to the warmth of the house and the presence of animals.

Those black bits in your cat's fur are flea dirts (poos) - the first sign that fleas are present. They will be on the other cat too, but less visible if s/he doesn't have white fur. If you comb her you'll see them in the hair on the comb.

Treat the house and the animals, when all fleas are gone Frontline Plus is the best spot-on as it treats both the animal and the environment by killing the flea eggs.

If no animals OR people are present in a house, the fleas will eventually die off or leave as there is no food source, but it takes a loooong time. Just kill 'em!

Chalice

Answer 4

Try treating your cats with Frontline. As for your house, go ahead and make sure the cats are not home. You will need to let the bomb get into every room of the house because fleas can be anywhere.If there is anything that you don't want to come in contact with the bomb, just cover it with a sheet. After you bomb, make sure that you vacuum the floors all over the house. After you vacuum, change the vacuum bag and throw it OUTSIDE in the trash. Fleas can still be alive in it. Then after you do that you may even want to keep your vacuum in the garage or somewhere outside for a couple of days. I know it sounds a little extreme, but fleas can be very hard to get rid of and I used to work for a vet who would recommend this procedure to our clients.

Answer 5

Frontline is a great product to get rid of fleas. You might want to ask your vet about getting them a flea dip as well. As far as your house goes. I have had mine done for other things in the past. Make sure all dishes, Open food, pretty much anything that could bring the poison into your mouth is not in the house when you do this. Clean all surfaces afterwards. They men doing the bombing should give you a list of some sort of what to not have in the home. Your cats should be find after being treated however and the frontline will prevent it as well in the furture. Good luck!

Answer 6

Get rid of the flea collars..they have been known to poison pets and usually do not do much of a job killing fleas except for the ones immediately in the head and neck vicinity. Go out and buy a QUALITY flea control such as Advantage or Frontline....those cheap brands such as Hartz never work. Yes, go ahead and bug bomb your house to kill the fleas and eggs in the carpets, furniture etc. Make sure you get your cats out of the house before you do this.

Answer 7

My cats got fleas somehow recently and I called a vet and was recommended a product called cat star it is a pill you crush and mix in with their food and it kills all fleas within 24 hours then you follow up with a spot treatment such as advantage or frontline,the cat star pill really did kill all the fleas they were litarally droping off of my cats,I used bio after the 24 hours but it did not work that great so I will probably have to go with advantage like I should have in the first place those cheaper brands never seem to work anyway the cat star I highly recommend and it is not very expensive around three dollars per pill and it usually only takes one time.

Answer 8

Use a gardening product called Diatomaceous Earth - it dries up the bodies of the fleas. We had the same problem - two indoor cats who somehow got fleas (we probably brought some in on our clothes) and the fleas spread like crazy. We sprinkled the DE each night in corners and closets, treated the cats with Frontline (which in my experience works best), washed all of our clothes and blankets and sheets, washed the house from top to bottom - and the fleas were gone within a couple of days. They haven't come back in a year, either. Good luck!

Answer 9

We use revolution on our pets, which works extremely well. Fleas are a pain to get rid of. Make sure you treat the yard for fleas, and bombing will help. Because you can bring fleas in on your shoes.When you vacuum make sure you take the bag out side asap.

I have heard that the Hartz treatments for fleas doesn't work and could also be possibly hazardous for you cats.

You could also get a flea comb and comb the cats fur, make sure you put the fleas in soapy water, not just flush the flea.

Answer 10

I am fighting this problem now.
It is hard and takes time, but I am winning, there are two aspects, your pets and the house, and you have to do hard work on both at the same time. My cat was infested, and he had collar and drops, and still loads of eggs, you will notice tiny spots on furniture sometimes white and sometimes black.
The cat will scratch and drop them everywhere, after a few days even if you bomb they will hatch the new ones. And the fleas in the cat will lay 40 a day.
Every week ( my cat lets me ) I dip him in a big pot with warm water mixed with Dettol....Antiseptic Liquid..... You will notice the fleas floating in the water dead, of course , care full not to let him swallow. Loads of fleas will run to the head as it is not under water, so wipe with a damp cloath with the same liquid.
there is also flea shampoo i hope they all help. you will notice that the cat will not scratch for a few days then new fleas will hatch and start again, so repeat the process even 3/4 times with a week period.
The house is the same you have to use Frontline, or sprinkle water with Dettol very often for a few weeks till there are no more eggs to hatch.
Good luck.