Any advice welcome please
We've rehomed two cats and there was a mix up and they came too us not flea treated, I haven't had cats before so as I didnt see any fleas and wasn't sure how much cleaning/scratching is usual so the fleas moved in
Since then they cats are treated and flea free as far as we can tell, it's now 10 days on and we've hoovered everywhere (daily) and used Staykil around the house they are still appearing at night though and we're catching them in soapy water , any idea when we might be flea free or anything else we could do ! Thanks
I used Indorex and found it very effective on the house, you have to be very thorough in the spraying, corners, soft furnishings, skirting boards, under beds and sofas you need to do every corner. My vet recommended it but I found it cheaper at VetUK. The flea treatments you can buy from the pet shop or supermarket aren't normally any good.
When we picked our kittens up in November last year, they had fleas but we didn't notice for a couple weeks, we didn't even think to look. We vacuumed everything and got them new bedding. Then a couple weeks after that they went into a cattery for 2 days over Christmas when we were visiting relatives and before we left we blasted the house with about 4 cans of Indorex, covered every single thing, left it for 2 days, came back and vacuumed again and we've not seen one since. Great stuff.
They also have Stronghold applied once a month (but I'm not sure how long this needs to go on for, can't be forever surely..?)
What do you guys do about spraying the house with Indorex when you've got your kitties home and around the place? I need to do mine - picking up some Advocate tomorrow but the house needs spraying as it's a pretty bad infestation.
I've got the Indorex ready but not sure what to do about using it as the boys are in the house most of the time and Harv has Asthma. If I put them outside and spray around the place, how long do you think until it's safe to let them back in?
If you can't put them outside I'd just close them in a room for the day. Spray the whole house and then do the room they were in before you go to bed. I think it's meant to be fine after an hour or so but longer is probably better. Remember not to ventilate while you do it and only open windows and doors an hour after you've sprayed.
It says 1 can should cover a 3 bed semi but we used about 4 cans as we coated everything including every inch of carpet! Probably a bit OTT thinking about it now!
I have a 2 bed house so I treated the upstairs and keep them shut downstairs and vice versa, once sprayed I open the windows for 30 minutes and then let them back in. Hector has upper respiratory disease and can't go outside but this seemed ok for him.
Thanks guys I only got one can as it said it would be enough - I'm in a 3 bed terrace but the downstairs is all laminate anyway so there shouldn't be as much to spray
I'll get on it the moment I've got the advocate - want to do it all at the same time hehe. I'm picking that up tomorrow morning when Harv goes in for his checkup. Hopefully we can get these things under control as it's the worst infestation we've ever had! I think the central heating has sent them into overdrive.
Oh hey what do you do about their beds too? They've got so many beds/blankets.. I've hot-washed a couple already but in order to wash them all it'd take days by which point maybe the fleas on the non-washed beds will have started causing a problem again? Getting on top of an infestation is a nuisance
Sadly I suspect that depending on the size and costs of the beds the only options are washing, freezing, spraying or replacing.
What you could maybe do is put as many as you can into black bin liners, spray into that and then seal tight so the spray can do it's thing in a relatively enclosed space. Then open the bag outside and let it vent properly? that may work?
Thanks meriad I had a chat with the vet this morning as I was in with Harvey anyway and she said to hoover any beds that can't be washed and spray them with Indorex but shut them away from the cats for at least a day and then re-hoover them before letting the cats use them again. She advised that any others that can be washed but are going to take more than a day to get onto should be put outside somewhere (my shed will do) to keep them from re-infesting the house and then I can wash them as I get around to it.
As for the Asthma, she suggested that I put the cats outside and I don't let Harvey near any sprayed areas for at least 3 hours, as opposed to the 1 hour recommended under normal conditions. She also suggested that despite the winter weather, I thoroughly ventilate the house after the 3 hours to give Harvey the best possible chance of not suffering with it. She said to leave less than 24 hours between treating upstairs and down if possible. Ahhh it's going to be fun.
I got some Advocate this morning (to the tune of £48 for 6 tubes!!!!) so I've done both boys in preparation for the Indorex blitz and will need to do them monthly for a few more months to ensure we get on top of things. Harvey didn't react at all to it so it looks like the drug in Frontline is what has been causing him the upset so that's a relief.
Sorry to hijack the thread - I hope you're getting on top of yours too elphgal!
