4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Gem_Seb]

I have found fleas on both my cats! sooo annoyed as they hardly go out and i have been treating them with frontline as well.... i went to the vets and was given advocat and a week later and 2 flea combing sessions a day im still pulling live ones off of them!! i think there must be a place in the house they are coming from.

 

I really didnt want to treat the house as we have a 4ft marine fish tank and every single treatment says remove fishtanks from house, being a 4 ft by 2ft tank there is no possiblility of this! we are going to have to somehow seal the tank and hope for the best.. OH not happy about this..

 

Has anyone used any good house treatments? with the hassel of the fishtank this is something i only want to have to do once really..

 

Thanks

Gem

[milli]

Would steam cleaning all the carpets and bedding etc help? Or maybe using a cat flea shampoo?

[Gem_Seb]

Yep going to buy the cat flea shampoo on my way home, my OH sister has a vax but its such a long process! if theres a spray out there i will use it!!

 

I have been told RIP fleas is a good one.. anyone used this? Its really weird i havent seen any around the house, ive cleaned it from top to bottom, and i do so every single week then just vacum as it needs it during the week and they literally only go out for about an hour a day! god knows how they got them!! luckily i only seem to be pulling one or two off them a day but the though of them all around my house is driving me nuts!!

[Falkor]

I have started to use Diatom on my cats (puffer bottle) and touch wood fleas seem to have gone I have also sprinkle diatom onto the carptet and their beds and hoovered them the day after.

 

Also treat with spot on once every three months.

[Olly]

Sorry Gem Seb, this probably isn't what you want to hear, but I have had cat-flea infestations twice in a previous house, and the only solution was to get the council to come round and spray it. I tried all manner of sprays and powders, but if the fleas have settled into your carpets and laid eggs it is very difficult to get rid of them.

 

You may have to move the fish-tank out of the house or something, they'll advise you on that, and there's probably charge, but it is well worth it!

[Old Speckled Hen]

If you use Advantage from your vets it should clear the problem.

 

The active ingredient not only kills fleas but is shed in the cats' skin scales which is one of the things that flea larvae feed on.So your pet actually cleans the environment of fleas safely) You can use Advantage every two weeks (says 4 on packet) for say three or four doses, which is what I would do if you are still combing out live fleas.

The reason you are getting live fleas is that they are hatching out from your carpets and soft furnishings (flea eggs will be laid wherever your pet sleeps or even lies down) and jumping on your cats. It takes a day for the advantage to kill them and it is in this interval that you are intercepting them.

Stick with the Advantage. It will work.

 

Advocat is more expensive and contains an insect growth inhibitor. Your choice.

 

Steam cleaning will not shift flea larvae which are very tenacious.

 

Once the problem is sorted deflea all pets monthly even through the winter.

Good Luck

[Chucky Mama]

Advantage will deal with new flea infestations but can't deal with things if there is already a well established poplutation in the house. Skoosh is effective and very safe (for use in the house not the cats). It essentially coats eggs, larvae and fleas in the house with a type of latex which kills them without pesticides. With your cats if you can give them tablets you will kill the fleas on them within 10 mins by giving them 1 Capstar or a 4 fleas tablet. This will not offer any protection though so you will still have to use a Spot On. Bob Martin Double Action Spot on is exactly the same as Advantage but available without prescription

 

oh, nearly forgot. Fleas are the intermediate host of the tapeworm so you need to worm them with Drontal too (or Droncit Spot On)

[Old Speckled Hen]

From Bayer

 

"stops biting fleas in three to five minutes

kills fleas quickly, which helps reduce the risk of secondary problems such as flea allergy dermatitis and tapeworms within 12 hours, 98-100 percent of fleas are dead

kills over 99% of flea larvae within 20 minutes."

 

From Novartis

 

" With CAPSTAR® (nitenpyram), almost all your dog's adult fleas will be gone within four hours"

 

The active ingredient has no long-term residual activity and therefore is not effective as a longer-term flea preventative such as Advantage. It is usually used to kill adult fleas quickly on an infested animal to give immediate relief for a day

 

I disagree with Chucky Mama

One of Advantages indications is environmental flea control without having to use environment preps. If a flea jumps on a cat treated with advantage it will die thus the cat cleans the environment

The bob martin prep IS the same as Advantage however and IS cheaper

[Chucky Mama]

 

I disagree with Chucky Mama

One of Advantages indications is environmental flea control without having to use environment preps. If a flea jumps on a cat treated with advantage it will die thus the cat cleans the environment

The bob martin prep IS the same as Advantage however and IS cheaper

 

Yes absolutely, Advantage will negate the need for environmental preps but if there is a high burden present when it is first used an environmental spray is necessary initially. The dander that falls off a cat treated with Advantage is not shed in sufficient quantities to kill everything already present.

[Redwing]

We used Beaphar Extra Long Lasting Flea Spray from Pets at Home, it was quite expensive but has worked on a Flea infestation and also a 'red mite in the house' situation, we were itching like mad before we sprayed, it works on beds, sofas (do a oatch test first) as well as carpets and hard surfaces and says its effctve for up to 6 months

 

As its over the counter it may not have the science bit behind it but we found it to be really effective

 

Its not for use on the animals themselves though

[Old Speckled Hen]

I'd much rather confine an insecticide to my pet rather than spray anything around the house but that's a personal preference.

The answer is to use something topical routinely ALL YEAR thus preventing any flea build up

 

Interestingly

 

Imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide with soil, seed and foliar uses for the control of sucking insects including rice hoppers, aphids, thrips, whiteflies, turf insects, soil insects and some beetles. It is most commonly used on rice, cereal, maize, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, fruit, cotton, hops and turf, and is especially systemic when used as a seed or soil treatment.

 

Its use is controversial as it has been reported to be toxic to bees.

"French beekeepers claim that Imidacloprid, as a seed treatment for sunflowers, has killed many bees and caused a significant drop in honey production"

 

I have seen it added to house plant compost to control vine weevil.

How many of us put our house plants out for the summer?

 

Bayer refute that there is any problem with their product used as a seed dressing but admit it's toxicity when used as a spray or soil additive.

 

Much said about Bayer over on BEES

[Chucky Mama]

Bayer refute that there is any problem with their product used as a seed dressing but admit it's toxicity when used as a spray or soil additive.

 

Much said about Bayer over on BEES

 

Surely they have to take responsibility and ensure that they don't contribute to the Bees' plight. Having said that I am not suprised that they are denying it -$$$$$

[Gem_Seb]

Just trying to take all this in!! thanks for all the info!! Right they had advocat as advised by the vet 3 weeks ago, their next monthly dose is due on 1st Sept! im combing them every day so is this why im picking off live ones? there isnt enough gap inbetween for the advocat to kill the fleas?? im vacuming the house before i go to work and when i get home and tipping the contents straight into the bin outside... I have a house spray coming on Friday from the vets, the one they sell is the RIP fleas one so going to give that a go,,, i really wanted to avoid using a spray but the thought of having fleas in the house is driving me mad! funnily enough both myself and OH havent been bitten at all.. weird seeing as i usually attract any type of insect to bite me! i dont think we are overun with them yet so im going to keep going with the vacuming and then do the sray on the weekend, going to take the curtains down and wash them and do the sofas outside so only thing to be done in the house is the carpets... OH is very worried about his fishtank and its obv going to have to be coverd airtight so it cant be left for too long..

 

Hope this works! i hate thinking they got fleas! we vaccinate them, worm them and were doing frontline every month and they literally just stand outside the back door! the slightest noise and they are back in the house! i know a few people up the road who dont do any of the above and their cats dont get anything!!

[Old Speckled Hen]

You're doing all you can.

Don't break your back vacuuming like a mad woman.

Flea larvae are very sensitive to vibration and can sense a vacuum cleaner whereupon they curl up and are impossible to extract.

Best of luck

[fluffyfeet]

Just a thought on reading this thread, we used to get fleas in the house off the cats and I got eaten alive by the blighters every time.

I got some stuff from our vets called Acclaim plus - this may be known as something else now - which came in a large aerosol can and stated the coverage needed for success. One aerosol should be enough to do an average sized house.

It's not cheap but nothing effective ever is.

I had someone come in and spray the house once too - took them ten minutes but it was very effective - I think I got them through the local Envir Health/Council.

Hope you're successful - I know how "Ooops, word censored!"py it can make you feel.

 

Dawn x

[Joojoo]

I can't offer much advice I'm afraid as fortunately my lot are clean at the moment but we did have an infestation a few years ago and got the local council in to sort it out.

 

However, I would be very very worried about your tank. I know how difficult it is going to be for you to move it as I've got a similar sized one myself BUT I definitely wouldn't leave it in the house if you are going to be spraying flea treatments. You won't be able to leave it completely airtight for long and it wouldn't take much once you've uncovered it for some remnants of the spray to get in one way or another.

 

Have you tried contacting a local reputable aquarium supplies company? We have one near us who are fantastic - they have 24 hour call out in the event of tank breakage so have the means to remove all the fish from the tank. I just think they would probably be able to empty the tank for you, put the fish and the water (to save you having to cycle it again) somewhere safe and remove the tank from the house then reintroduce perhaps the next day once all traces of the flea treatment have subsided. It's obviously going to cost something to provide that service but I wouldn't have thought it would be too expensive and would save all the heartache of anything happening to the fish

[Blackrocksrock]

Just a thought on reading this thread, we used to get fleas in the house off the cats and I got eaten alive by the blighters every time.

I got some stuff from our vets called Acclaim plus - this may be known as something else now - which came in a large aerosol can and stated the coverage needed for success. One aerosol should be enough to do an average sized house.

It's not cheap but nothing effective ever is.

I had someone come in and spray the house once too - took them ten minutes but it was very effective - I think I got them through the local Envir Health/Council.

Hope you're successful - I know how "Ooops, word censored!"py it can make you feel.

 

Dawn x

 

 

The acclaim is one you must move the fish out of the room to spray as harmful to fish.