I’m guessing our cat has had fleas since mid-July of this year. Never dealt with this in our lives, so we had no idea she had fleas for so long and was treated by our vet 2 months after (mid Sept.). By then, I’m sure we had many eggs, larva and pupae in our home. The vet treated her with Revolution and an exterminator was in our home at the same time we had the cat at the vet. He said he used Precor. The fleas were out of control, so 3 weeks later, we used a spray called Vet-Kem (this product is an IGR + adulticide, I believe) that we bought at the Vets.
This is the first time we ever have been infested with fleas. Our dog had them on him and it took us 2 days to realize that he actually had fleas. And then we went to work with bombing the house, vacuuming the carpets and furniture, washing sheets on the bed, throwing out the dogs bed, washing all the dog toys in hot water, and spraying the carpets, flooring, and furniture. The dog has been treated with spot on treatment Frontline Plus, Capstar pills to kill adult fleas, and Program to kill flea eggs and larvae. And he gets a bath at least every 5 days. Since he has been on the Capstar pill I have not seen any fleas on him. But I know we still them since we have flea traps throughout the house and are still catching them. My first question is that if there are no fleas in a trap and it has been 3 weeks does that mean that room has no fleas? Second question is that we live in a 2 family home, with me and my family living on the bottom floor and other relatives living on the top floor, so if we went upstairs or in the car or anyone elses house, could we take the fleas on our clothes and have someone elses home infested or our car? Third and final question is that we are planning on steam cleaning the carpet and have gotten mixed opinions on whether to do it or not, will it help? and if we do treat the carpet/area rugs can we put powders (fleasbuster) down afterwards? How dry does the carpet have to be? Also, if we do steam clean the carpet does that mean fleas will hatch sooner and we can come home to a swarm of fleas afterwork? Just trying to get an idea on this. The dog would not be around when treating, so they won’t after him if we came home, any ideas or suggestions would help. I’m just not sure when this will be over.
Hi my dog has fleas and my house is infested. We have treated the dog and treated the house on our own with a spray. We sprayed all of our hardwood floors. I needed to know if fleas live in clothes, so in part of my treatment should I wash all of them? And do they live in beds? If yes how do I rid them of my mattress? I am the only one in the house getting bit my husband isn’t. Our big issue is also that we are moving in 4 weeks and we are not bringing the dog,but we want to make sure we don’t bring the fleas. Will fleas move with us when we pack our things? We are only bringing the bed, clothes, & electronics? If yes should we pre-treat the new house before moving to be proactive? Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for your help.
To Whom It May Concern,
My husband and I recently uthenized our dog and two weeks later we start getting bites and come to the realization that we have fleas.
I had no idea that our dog had fleas, I think that she did not have fleas as we just moved into a new house a year ago and I’m thinking the fleas were here previously none the less we now have fleas.
More on how long will flea problem last in home with no pet?
I found a 3 mo old kitten living in my siding on Sunday oct 16. I brought the cat inside and washed it with dawn dish soap. I kept finding little grains in its fur and thought it was from the kitty litter until i found a flee… and another one so I promptly bought hartz flee shampoo and washed her well. I found more flea on her face and near her eyes, so I washed her face again and saw some flea fall off on to the floor and promptly killed them. I haven’t had her to long and I do have a spray I used in her hiding spots. I have 1 or 2 bites on my arms from yesterday and most of the fleas seem to be gone now. What else should I do and will I have a high chance of an infest. I am currently vacuuming washing and drying anything the kitten was on. Please let me know if I should take any other steps. Thank you, Jason
Hello, we moved into an apartment that had fleas about 15 months ago. We quickly got rid of the fleas because we have no pets, but now I am constantly paranoid about getting fleas again. My question is- is it possible for fleas to survive in our clothes or other items that we may not have caught and how likely is it to get fleas without having pets? We have since moved, but now our new neighbors let their cats roam outside and they sometimes come in our yard. I am concerned about us bringing fleas into the house that the cats may have brought in the yard. Please put my fears to rest! Thank you!
Our cat always used to walk on our oriental rugs and would sit on the furniture. Now, he only will walk on the hard wood floors and avoids the carpet and never sits on the furniture any more. Why all of a sudden is he doing this? He is an older male cat that we took in as a stray 6 yrs ago.
If you have dogs and they have fleas, do the fleas stay on the dogs rather then jumping off? I do not have a dog but my sister came by with hers and now I have fleas. She claims that there are no fleas in her home and she never gets bitten but we have been under attack. I checked two of her dogs and found on one the black droppings of the fleas. I am concerned even if she comes over that there could be fleas on her as well and she will re-infect my home, can that happen as well.
Our indoor cats managed to get fleas. Not real bad. We believe we caught it early. We took all the steps necessary (washing everything, vacuuming, treating the carpets with sprays and an IGR, etc). We also treated the cats with Revolution. All except one that is…
More on Can you get rid of fleas in your home without treating all the cats?
I was wondering if you could tell me that if washing cloths and other bedding in just one cycle of hot water will kill fleas and eggs. Thank You.
It will. But if you review our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn that in fact clothing is rarely if ever a place where one would have flea eggs laid. As our article explains, fleas want to live on their host. In most cases this will be a pet. But when local populations get large, there will usually be a problem in the home or surrounding yard as well. These local infestations will usually lead to people getting bit when walking around the premises. But will the fleas stay on these people and lay eggs? No.
I just finished watching your excellent video and reading your article about FLEAS! Oh my … they are persistent critters, aren’t they? Here’s my problem:
1 small dog who is primarily inside, but takes walks and goes out in the back yard 1 stray young cat who mostly lives under front porch (among leaves and other debris that have blown under there — not readily accessible — meaning under the porch AND the cat!
I have recently discovered fleas on my cats. I was reading your very informative articles and saw that this product, Precor 2000, is helpful in getting rid of fleas in the house, carpets and on furniture. However, I read that the active ingredient is permethrin, which is toxic to cats. If I spray it in the house, can it hurt my cats? If it will, what can I use to get rid of fleas in the house so that the cats won’t get re-infested?
Thanks :)
Alison
Would a first frost kill off all fleas? We have a 10 year old cat that has never been outside. But we now have a gated backyard she will be able to go outside without any fear of losing her.
My husband entered a home that was flea infested. Not knowing, got back into his car. As we were driving away I noticed them all over him. Before entering our own home, he stripped down and we threw out his clothes and shoes. So, What is the best way to kill the fleas inside the car? And should we treat our own home too?
I have just got a kitten six weeks old an he has fleas I was wondering how best to treat him and my house as soon as I can I have only had him for two days.
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