UKC

anyone else had a sudden surge of fleas?
we have three cats so do find them through out the summer but do give them the oil on their necks.
havent seen one all summer then this last week....boom. would have thought the cold would have finished them for the year.
off to the pet shop for some smoke bombs

In reply to mark s:

BASTARDS! Hate them.

Probably eggs lurking around hatching out.

In reply to mark s:

If the smoke bombs don't work (never have for me) go to the vets and get some spray from them.
Inorex I think it's called. It was the only thing that would kill our last outbreak.

In reply to mark s:

We had a infestation earlier in the year. Our moggie is 4 years old and never had an issue before (have been sticking to the spot on flea/worm treatment since he was a kitten).

We used some aerosol spray stuff throughout the house from pets at home, and washed all bedding & clothes on high temp.

Repeat the aerosol a week later I seem to remember.

We were told by someone (forget who!) that this year has been particularly bad due to the mild winter not killing them all off.

In reply to mark s:

I know of a family who are plagued by bites, which have caused bad skin problems. No medical professional seems to have realised it's a flea infestation and I don't want to be the one to tell them.

In reply to Lusk:

Possibly due to central heating being turned on?

In reply to mark s:

Indorex or Rip flea much more effective than bombs and you can buy online rather than from vet. Check which spot on you are using and how often..

In reply to mark s:
Fleas were most often seen at this time of year in the UK in a survey by the RVC a few years ago. Increased pet time in the house, central heating and the fact that most people consider fleas to be a summer seasonal problem causes this. If you are seeing a few fleas on your cats, there are thousands in your house. Cat fleas only spend their adult life on the pet and don't move animal to animal (rabbit fleas are much more clever) so eggs, larvae and pupae are all in the carpet, crevices and other favourable sites around the house.

It will take a while to kill fleas which have pupated as they will quite resistant to chemical attack. Repeat treatment is needed.

A common approach would be
Maintain flea treatments for ALL the animals in the house and treat the environment aggressively
1. Hoover the whole house
2. Immediately spray with a product containing an adulticide and an insect growth regulator (such as Indorex already mentioned)
3. Leave the house empty for a few hours and then re-hoover
Sprays are bad for some other pets such as birds and fish and people with respiratory so READ the label

** Repeat after 8 weeks **

Why are you seeing fleas when you are using an adulticide?

Common reasons are...
1. You are using a product at the wrong frequency or in the wrong way
2. The environmental burden means that even though fleas are killed by the product they are replaced by new ones
3. The product has been washed off (only true for some)

Hope this helps a little. They are bad critters! A vet can help you understand why your regime has broken down and its worth a chat, particularly if the cats have any skin lesions as they may be able to be given some more immediate relief.

HTH.

In reply to mark s:

When you have sprayed the room, I was advised by a pest controller, put some kids jumpy/walking wind up toys on the floor. The fleas feel the vibration think its lunchtime and climb up into the insecticide. Apparently makes it more effective at getting the living ones that are hiding down below

In reply to SouthernSteve:

Good job I'm so juvenile otherwise I'd kill myself

In reply to mark s:

The sprays and bombs are nasty and unnecessary in most cases, other than a huge infestation. Our indoor cats had fleas. We now use advantage 2 topical spot treatment on them - between the shoulder blades and we shut them apart so they cannot lick it off each other before it has been absorbed. Vacuum every day, including under the sofa, all the upholstery etc, even areas they don't go but you do, as you can also carry them around the house. Spray the inside of the vacuum bag so they can't breed in there, or use a new one every day (or empty your bagless, but with a bagless you have to clean the filter too so a bagged vac is better, and has better suction anyway).

In reply to mark s:

Try the Siphonaptera on them - that should drive them out if you repeat it enough:

Big fleas have little fleas,
Upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have lesser fleas
and so, ad infinitum

In reply to mark s:


Yes, glad you asked. It's been bad these past couple of months. I've got a number of hedgehogs in my back garden and handle them a lot in the course of looking after them. I've noticed a lot of the hedgehogs have been crawling with fleas this year and those fleas have spread to me and my two cats. It's been a nightmare. After getting the right treatment it's beginning to look like the worst is now over, touch wood.