Fleas!!

[LHIS]

I'll try and keep it brief. I am house sitting at the moment for YO, she has 2 cats that i'm looking after (as well as 3 horses + 1 that's mine, 6 chickens). I've got my dog with me (and hubby! haha) whilst we're staying there.

The cats MUST have fleas - and they've given them to my dog who has never had fleas before. I've also got bites on my legs.

I'm house sitting for another 2.5 weeks, and it's already driving me mad. I flea'd my dog a week ago (Frontline Spot On) in preparation for staying at the house, knowing there were fleas, but I've found a flea on her this morning and she's itching like mad.

I'm going to have to flea powder the whole house, and I'll flea treat the cats too. I've not had a flea problem before though and I don't know where to start/what is the most effective way of getting on top of the little blighters. And I really don't want to bring any lodgers back to our house when we finish our house-sitting stint.

Has anyone got any recommendations? Methods in getting rid, where to start, and product recommendations most welcome.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I'll try and keep it brief. I am house sitting at the moment for YO, she has 2 cats that i'm looking after (as well as 3 horses + 1 that's mine, 6 chickens). I've got my dog with me (and hubby! haha) whilst we're staying there.

The cats MUST have fleas - and they've given them to my dog who has never had fleas before. I've also got bites on my legs.

I'm house sitting for another 2.5 weeks, and it's already driving me mad. I flea'd my dog a week ago (Frontline Spot On) in preparation for staying at the house, knowing there were fleas, but I've found a flea on her this morning and she's itching like mad.

I'm going to have to flea powder the whole house, and I'll flea treat the cats too. I've not had a flea problem before though and I don't know where to start/what is the most effective way of getting on top of the little blighters. And I really don't want to bring any lodgers back to our house when we finish our house-sitting stint.

Has anyone got any recommendations? Methods in getting rid, where to start, and product recommendations most welcome.

Yes these are brilliant and work really well

http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/pets/johnsons-4fleas-room-fogger-twin-pack

there is also

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/flea-bomb



http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/4-fleas-cat-tablets

 

[CorvusCorax]

Some Frontline is no longer effective. I'd speak to the vet for advice.

Indorex is great stuff but you'll need to follow the instructions rigidly and keep the animals off site for a while if that's possible.

 

[blackcob]

Agree that non-prescription Frontline is hit and miss. No need for gimmicky flea bombs, just a decent household spray with an insect growth regulator (Indorex, RIP Flea, Acclaim etc.) and a dose of prescription stuff for all pets (Advocate, Stronghold, Bravecto, Advantage etc.) Might need to liaise with owner and vet for the latter.

 

[LHIS]

Thanks all - yes won't be doing anything to her house without running it past her (have sent a careful email), though we have a good relationship so can't forsee an issue. If it is an issue then I'll just vacuum everything and leave it at that. I'll be treating our house in the meantime to ensure there's nothing lurking there.
I spoke to the vets and they've said I can't give my dog anything else for another 3 weeks so that will have to wait too, though I've trotted off and bought myself a flea comb to have a bash with later.
I've ordered some house sprays from Amazon to arrive in a few days, should have the permissions in place by then.

 

[AmyMay]

Yes, spray the house with a good flea treatment and hoover like mad. Use Stronghold for the cats, and ask your vet about an additional treatment for the dog with something like Nexgaurd - which is given orally and will kill the dog fleas within hours.

 

[Possum]

Just a quick caution in case you're not aware - a common ingredient in dog flea treatments is permethrin which is very poisonous to cats, please have a quick check of the labels of anything you buy.