Fleas - Please Help!

[Emmajk74]

Hi, we have a 6 month old cat named Charlie, he is a beloved member of our family and adored by myself and my 2 children. He is an indoor cat, he has been outside in the garden a few times but never stays outside for long before coming back in. Despite this, and despite him wearing a flea collar and having flea spot on once a month, he has got fleas. Myself and my kids are covered in bites, we have sprayed the house, sprayed the cat, given him flea tablets and sat and combed him with a flea comb, yet we are still getting bitten!! Now my daughters father is threatening to report me to social services due to the fact that she is covered in flea bites, he has been taking photos of them. We are at our wits end, we really don’t know what else we can do to get rid of the fleas, we really don’t want to have to re-home our lovely charlie, please please anyone have any advice what else we can do??

 

[maggiedemi]

What brand of flea drops and collars are you using? Be careful not to use more than one thing at once, that might overdose the cat. I use Frontline drops on the back of their necks on the first of every month and then vacuum the house.

 

[Emmajk74]

Just to add, we are not a dirty house, I vacuum brush and mop every day and still can’t get rid of them!!

What brand of flea drops and collars are you using? Be careful not to use more than one thing at once, that might overdose the cat. I use Frontline drops on the back of their necks on the first of every month and then vacuum the house.

I’ve been using bob Martin spot on and collars regularly, but he’s still got fleas from somewhere, and we’ve got laminate floors all downstairs which I brush and mop daily, I’ve sprayed all the upstairs carpets with heavy duty flea spray then vacuumed everywhere else once it’s dried but nothing seems to be working we’re still getting fresh bites every day

 

[maggiedemi]

I'm not sure what Bob Martin is, I'll go look it up. Of course you're not dirty, I was just telling you what I do.

 

[maggiedemi]

What is the main ingredient in the Bob Martin flea drops? I can't find it. The main ingredient in Frontline is Fipronil and that works good for me. Of course, you would probably have to wait 30 days after trying the Bob Martin to apply it, you don't want to overdose the cat.

 

[Emmajk74]

Just looked on the packaging and it’s also fipronil, think it’s probably the same product just different brands. Don’t know why it hadn’t worked I’ve been using it once a month since we got him and he’s had a flea collar on constantly

 

[Emmajk74]

Just looked on the packaging and it’s also fipronil, think it’s probably the same product just different brands. Don’t know why it hadn’t worked I’ve been using it once a month since we got him and he’s had a flea collar on constantly

Not the same flea collar, I’ve replaced it every few weeks

 

[maggiedemi]

I wonder why the Fipronil isn't working? I like it because it usually kills fleas, ticks, and mites. I know mites can bite you and cause scabies. But if it was that, then the Fipronil should have killed them too.

 

[Emmajk74]

No idea, it’s so frustrating. I’ve literally sprayed the whole house using strikeback professional flea killing spray. I’ve sat and combed the cat with a flea comb numerous times (which he loves, he thinks it’s his birthday!!) the last few times all I’ve found is a couple of dead ones. Yet myself and the kids are still getting bitten!

 

[maggiedemi]

Is it definitely flea bites or could it be scabies from mites?

 

[orange&white]

Frontline (fipronil) and Frontline Plus (fipronil +(s)-methoprine) went over-the-counter here in the US a few years ago because unfortunately fleas have developed a resistance to those products and they've become ineffective in some regions. I buy an off-brand of the same product and have notice that it works sometimes, but not as well as it used to.

That's awful that your ex is threatening you instead of trying to help you solve the problem for the sake of your children. It's not your fault you have fleas; it can happen to anyone. I've had indoor flea invasions a couple of times and they are hard to get rid of.

I'm thinking you're in the UK (by looking up Bob Martin)? We have a couple of products here that I found effective for an interior spray called Precor 2000 Plus and Pivot Ultra. Both products kill the adult fleas and prevent the eggs from hatching. It's that second part that is a pain...preventing new eggs from hatching every few days or weeks. What you want is a product that's a combination adulticide and an IGR (insect growth regulator).

Sounds like the fipronil is working for the cat if you're only finding dead fleas now. So you just need to get a good product to break the flea reproductive cycle.

 

[orange&white]

I looked up the Strikeback Spray product to see if it has an IGR, and it looks like it does not, from the manufacturer answering an Amazon question about whether it kills flea eggs, but they do say it should kill the baby fleas after they hatch.

Here's the Q&A I found on Amazon:

-----
Question:
Does this only kill fleas or does it kill flea eggs and larvae ?
Answer:
<style> .noScriptNotDisplayExpander { display : none; } .noScriptDisplayLongText { display : block; } </style> Strikeback Flea Killing Spray will kill fleas and larvae but not eggs, these will be killed once they hatch out as the product will stay active for up to six weeks after application.
------

So I suppose you can wait for the next hatching cycle and hope the fleas die before they can lay more eggs and maybe you're done with the problem soon.

If the cycle continues, then you might want to call an exterminator and ask if any products are approved in the UK which include an IGR (that you can buy OTC and do it yourself).

Anyway, save all your receipts for flea products in case your husband acts like a jerk and calls CPS. You have a good case that you are doing everything you can to resolve the issue.

 

[Emmajk74]

thanks for your advice, my ex is not a nice person unfortunately I’m wondering if I should not clean as often, if I should wait for the eggs to hatch then if I’m mopping the floor every day am I wiping away the product before it has a chance to work?

 

[orange&white]

No, I'd mop as often as you usually do. The flea eggs are likely to be in fabrics, upholstery, curtains, etc than on solid surfaces. When I used the Precor (the first infestation in 1994) and the Pivot Ultra (my second infestation around 2012), I moved the cats out of the bedroom and sprayed everything down in there. 24 hours later (when I was 100% sure the spray was dried), I moved the cats to the bedroom for 24 hours and sprayed the rest of the house down. I still had to repeat a couple weeks later, because I must have missed some cracks or crevices, but after the second spraying...they were gone. Thank goodness!!!

I sure hope the Strikeback works for you and maybe you're done. The only problem with flea eggs hatching is that those little blood suckers come out starving and biting. I've been there. I feel your pain.

 

[basscat]

Advecta II for cats (same as Advantage II). Once a month, don't skip a month, don't wait 5 weeks.
Precor 2000 flea spray order online. OR Raid flea spray local is better than nothing.
Spray everything, under, on top, in between, all over. Do this once a week for 8 weeks.
Follow directions on can for when it's safe for you and the cat to come back in after spraying.

You'll just have to deal with fleas for the next six to eight weeks.

This is the "easiest" method and probably the least expensive.