Fleas - how to identify and kill

[Second Summer]

Have you ever had fleas in your house? Feel free to share your experiences in this thread. Below is my own story.

Back in 2012 I discovered mystery bites on my person, mostly around my ankles and legs. New bites seemed to appear every day or so, and yet I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. The bites itched and looked much like mosquito bites, but I couldn't see how mosquitoes were getting underneath my duvet at night, or perhaps into my trousers somehow. What made the situation even more mysterious was that my wife did not have any bites at all.

Eventually we got a pest control firm to try and deal with it. They sprayed something "benign", two treatments, but the problem still didn't seem to go away entirely. In the end, it seemed to go away by itself. At that point I was still not sure what had actually attacked my poor legs, thinking it was perhaps mosquitos after all.

This autumn the problem came back with a vengeance. It was getting completely out of control, and my poor legs almost looked like they'd been shot with a shotgun. It was itching like mad. There were bites even on my torso and neck. So I went to my doctor who said that it certainly looked like flea bites. Fleas! How could we have fleas! Although we don't have any animals that live with us, the friendly neighbour cat was a regular visitor at our house ...

We didn't want to believe it, and we had still not seen any bugs anywhere, despite searching very carefully. However, one night the cat was visiting and I did the "wet paper-towel on cat's neck" trick, which in the end revealed one possible blood stain.

The following evening I made the first positive identification. One of the little devils was crawling on my daughter's hair! It was most definitely a flea. While I felt tremendous relief to finally know for certain what was slowly eating me up, other members of the household were less thrilled at the finding. Still, arrangements were made, and a pest control firm was brought in. Three treatments and much anguish later, and the little devils finally appear to have been exterminated.

 

[Amy SF]

My only real experience with fleas was back in the 1970's. My mother insisted that my cat spend most of her time outside. I did not have the knowledge or backbone to oppose that decision. As a result, the cat always had fleas that she brought into my bedroom. Back then I think there were only two solutions: A toxic bomb that you put on the floor and got out of the room while it went off, or a flea collar. There was also a flea bath, but try giving that to cats. If there were other solutions back then I didn't know about them. I remember my mother washing my bedding in very hot water to get rid of the fleas, but said she didn't want to keep doing that and she was my cat, find another way to keep the fleas away.

The flea bomb was rejected by my mother, so I bought flea collars. Those didn't really work. They only killed the fleas near the neck, if they did at all, and didn't affect fleas elsewhere on the cat. And they lost their toxicity over time, making it necessary to continually buy more. And I can only imagine what the toxic chemicals did to the cat herself. I would NEVER buy flea collars now.

So I ended up in the bathroom with the door closed and the cat on my lap, picking fleas from her fur with tweezers, some of them alive and some of them dead, flushing them down the toilet. The cat didn't like these flea extractions, but at least I got rid of some of them.

Our dog had fleas, too, and the flea collars didn't work for him, either, but he occasionally had flea baths at the vet.

My mother finally banished both pets to the garage, where they slept in the same basket. I wish I had had the backbone to oppose that, too.

I haven't had any flea experience since. The cats I've kept as an adult have almost always been indoor cats, and I'm lucky that I haven't picked up any fleas from other pets.

I'm sorry this may not help you, but you did ask us for our flea experiences, LOL

Oh. And one other thing: I know in the UK if you suggest to cat parents that they keep their cats indoors 24/7 they think you're crazy, but in my experience it does keep the fleas away.

 

[ledboots]

When I lived in Georgia USA in my late teens, a big beautiful long haired white cat kind of adopted me. I fed him and would let him in the apartment sometimes. I am allergic, and he was a real outdoor cat, so that worked out.

Unfortunately, one day I was brushing him and saw a flea. I investigated and saw more. I took him to the vet, as I had been meaning to anyway, and he flea dipped him and did a health check.

Luckily no fleas were ever loose in the apartment, but I did vacuum the carpets every day for months like the vet recommended.

 

[Chryssie]

I have sprinkled borax powder in the carpet to kill fleas and it seems to work. When I first moved I admit the cats brought fleas with them but the borax and vacuuming every day got rid of them. I have not had any problems since but still treat the carpet once in a while.

 

[Mischief]

With five dogs going in and out all day, and multiple cats, I always have to be on the alert for fleas. (The dogs get regular monthly flea treatments, but that doesn't keep fleas from getting a ride into the house.)

I use food grade diatomaceous earth on the animal bedding and any rugs, and vacuum at least daily. During peak flea season, I sprinkle the DE along the baseboards, under furniture that can't be easily moved for vacuuming, and anywhere else fleas are likely to congregate.

A word of warning to anyone who doesn't already know this: don't use flea collars. All they do is get the fleas to congregate on the animal's butt, away from the collar, and they can be toxic to your companion animal, especially cats.

If you want to double check whether you indeed have fleas in your house, set out a flea trap at night: place a shallow pan, preferably a white one, on the floor and put water in it, with a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Then set a light over it. Fleas will be attracted by the light, and any fleas that land in the water won't be able to jump back out because of the soap in the water.

 

[KLS52]

The only time I "don't" have a flea issue is when I regularly use Advantage on my cats.

With my current four cats, who have been strictly indoor since day one, I slacked on the Advantage, not wanting to use a chemical on them if I didn't have to. I have now noticed them scratching a bit. Further investigation resulted in a flea finding. It's not a "problem" now and I will pick up the Advantage and use it on them. I was more than a little annoyed realizing they didn't need to be going outside in order to pick up the biting dudes. Supposedly they can hitch a ride on humans. That's a little more than a tad unsettling to me.

I have had infestations in the past and, luckily, always managed to get rid of them within a week with lots of vacuuming, washing of linens and things daily and treating the cats with a flea remedy.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

We have a serious flea problem. We have tried everything short or ripping out the carpet, what I want anyway. We pt borax, DE, the flea birth control spray, PetLock flea control, flea bath and flea comb. Nothing is working. This house had two large (Grate Danes) living in it a while back. My girl cat is in misery with fleas.
I might give Advantage a try.

 

[Tom L.]

One problem with fleas:

Killing the adults is fine- they're the ones that bite- but the eggs they lay hatch and the larvae live in the carpet, eventually becoming adult biting fleas. I thint that's why flea infestations can be so hard to get rid of once you've got them. To get permanently rid of them, you would have to kill all the adults before they laid any eggs. I think those drops you put on the back of a cat's neck are supposed to be able to do that. I remember hearing something about a growth regulator you put down on the floor which prevents the larvae from maturing, but I don't know if this is still available or recommended.

Toward the end of the last time I had animal companions (1993-2011), I just had my cat Crystal and my rabbit Franz. I had a minor flea problem and often used the flea comb on Franz just to see if they were bothering him, but only found them on Crystal, and at the time I don't think there was any flea medicine approved for rabbits. Franz and Crystal both passed within about 3 months from unrelated causes- they were both quite old. The fleas died off shortly after; one mostly-vegan human wasn't suitable to support them, although I actually did find one flea on me at work.

(It had followed me to work that day, which was against the rules...)