Cats frontlined - fleas in our bedroom!!!!!

[oopslateagain]

We have three cats, two are on Frontline and one on Advocate. We have never had a flea problem. Last night DH spotted a flea in our bed! Then this morning DH leaned over to speak to me and I saw something on his eyelid, picked it off thinking it was a bit of black fluff - it was a flea.

I was thinking maybe one of the cats has come in from the outside and carried a single flea in, but seriously, how likely is it that the bloody thing would still be in our bed this morning?

How can I check if we have an (shudder) infestation? I keep obsessively checking myself every time I have an itch!

[HattiFattner]

we also have random fleas, despite frontline. We stopped using it too early last year and paid the price.

Hoover regularly, spray with flea spray, keep up the frontline is all I can recommend. 1 untreated mog = thousands of flea eggs = flea central. Also, if their buddies are untreated, then live fleas can jump aboad and jump off again before feeding (and therefore dying).

[ShowOfHands]

Big flea problems around atm. Our vet said he's seeing lots of really troublesome infestations. They've become resistant to frontline. You need to use something else and treat your house.

[oopslateagain]

Bugger! I'll have to hit the petstore tomorrow and get some house treatment stuff - I assume there's a spray for carpets/bedding/furniture etc? Any recommendations?

[ShowOfHands]

Buy from the vet. Petstore ones are largely useless. I know it's ££ but you'll spend that anyway when the shop ones don't work.

We had a massive problem in the summer. Moved into a house which used to have pets and the eggs were dormant in the carpets. Sun came out and they all woke up. Was blooming awful. We tried shop bought stuff first and it just got worse and worse. DD was covered in bites daily (they didn't bite us) and despite having no feline host in the house, they did not disappear. In fact it just got worse over time. In the end we had the house treated twice by the council and set off flea bombs a few days later. Haven't seen a flea since. You have to hoover daily (everywhere, skirting boards included or you'll still have eggs around and they can sit there until next year and hatch out then), wash all of your bedding, curtains, sofa covers etc. They get everywhere. Both the council and the vet confirmed that they've had so many problems this year and the failure of frontline seems to be implicated in how bad it has become.

[oopslateagain]

OK thanks for the info SOH I'll ring the vet today. Going to cost me a fortune, isn't it! Flipping cats... gotta love 'em.

[bilblio]

I've just sprayed our house in the last couple of days. I hunted round for what people recommend and eventually got some Indorex. Then realised it was stuff I'd used in the past too. It's not cheap, but all I care about is whether it works.

I sprayed most of the upstairs on Thursday and spotted a dying flea on the landing a couple of hours later. The landing was the only area I hadn't sprayed. So it's very effective. :)

It lasts 12 months too and 1 bottle lasted 2 years last time. Make sure you do all the nooks and crannies, I even give inside the wardrobes a quick spray. I strip all the beds before spraying too and make sure all the windows are open for a couple of hours before we use the rooms again.

The other bonus is it kills any creepy crawlies. So at this time of year it banishes the spiders. [arachnophobia icon]

[bilblio]

Oh I bought it online from Co-op.

[HattiFattner]

an old trick: If you have/can borrow a carpet shampooer, use the dog flea shampoo instead of carpet shampoo to clean your carpets. Its a bit more foamy, but it leaves a residue and so will kill random larvae when they hatch. Id also recommend the expensive flea spray, rather than bob martins, as you need to irradicate as many as possible - look for one that kills eggs and larve too and spray esp near skirtings, under bed etc.