How to kill flea infestation without killing cats

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Rikkitic

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#245115 19-Jan-2019 10:28

We are having a major flea infestation. I think I read somewhere that this is a big problem this year. We are on a farm with lots of cats that go in and out. The cats own this place. We are merely guests. I am looking for recommendations to get rid of the fleas without harming the cats. Confining or removing the cats is not a practical option. Neither is treating them individually. It has to be something that can be applied to the environment while the cats are in it. Is there such a thing?

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#2163602 19-Jan-2019 10:31

We've had a similar problem this year. We have one cat ourselves which we've treated individually, and we've had a professional flea treatment done in December, as well as flea bombing each of the rooms of our house, and it's still a flea pit. Our eldest daughter is covered in flea bites. Completely at a loss what to do, short of burning the house to the ground... Even then I'm sure we'd just see the fleas toasting marshmallows on the embers of our house...

fated

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#2163638 19-Jan-2019 11:51

Lizard1977: We've had a similar problem this year. We have one cat ourselves which we've treated individually, and we've had a professional flea treatment done in December, as well as flea bombing each of the rooms of our house, and it's still a flea pit. Our eldest daughter is covered in flea bites. Completely at a loss what to do, short of burning the house to the ground... Even then I'm sure we'd just see the fleas toasting marshmallows on the embers of our house...

The problem is the flea bomb only kills the already hatched fleas not the eggs of which there will be thousands! The eggs can remain dormant and will not hatch until conditions are right and a host is available. The vibrations caused by walking around tell them a host is available and they immediately hatch and jump onto the host for their first meal and then hop off again.

Best approach I found with an infestation at my elderly mothers house last year was to flea bomb which kills the adults and some bombs claim some of the eggs as well. Then we had the carpets commercially steam cleaned. This kills more of the eggs and removes them as well as the initailly killed adults from the carpet. Then we bombed again and still spent a week stomping around for a half an hour a couple of times a day to "wake" the remaining eggs. we wore white socks so we could see them jump onto them and kill each one!

The second bomb ensures that there is a residue in the carpet that will kill the odd flea that managed to hop on and get a feed then hop off into the carpet again.

We have had no further problems, touch wood!

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#2163683 19-Jan-2019 12:47

I spray our house inside and out once a year with Ripcord, we use the concentrate mixed with water in a normal garden sprayer on a fine mist and spray it up in the air at the ceiling so the ceiling gets covered in it and then the rest falls to the ground and soaks in to the carpet so that if there are fleas and other insects in the carpet they all die.

After we spray we usually vacate the house for 30 mins to an hour to let it all dry out and settle, make sure you cover up your electronics and clean down any surfaces that come in to contact with food and so on afterwards and put things away that you dont want to get covered in ripcord.

For the next week we had seen alot of cockroaches dying and flies and many more insects that had been hiding away and they still keep dying now, we would only see 1 or 2 cockroaches every now and then but after spraying there were a few more that must have been hiding out some where that have come out to die.

the stuff we use is similar to this but we still have the one that is in the old silver bottle

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/ripcord-plus-pest-control-200ml/p/138873

nickb800

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#2163687 19-Jan-2019 12:52

Our cat is always sleeping on dry sand around the section. Leading to fleas through the bed, humans covered in bites. We've had good results treating the carpet and sheets with the Kiwicare no fleas concentrate.

throbb

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#2163700 19-Jan-2019 13:30

fated:The problem is the flea bomb only kills the already hatched fleas not the eggs of which there will be thousands! The eggs can remain dormant and will not hatch until conditions are right and a host is available. The vibrations caused by walking around tell them a host is available and they immediately hatch and jump onto the host for their first meal and then hop off again.

This is not true, most Flea bombs (not ones labeled insect bombs) initially kill adult fleas and also contain a insect growth regulator that not only kills the eggs but keeps killing eggs for many months afterwards. This prevents re-infestation. A simple vacuum will pick up 80% of the eggs.

TwoSeven

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#2163704 19-Jan-2019 13:48

Rikkitic:
We are having a major flea infestation. I think I read somewhere that this is a big problem this year. We are on a farm with lots of cats that go in and out. The cats own this place. We are merely guests. I am looking for recommendations to get rid of the fleas without harming the cats. Confining or removing the cats is not a practical option. Neither is treating them individually. It has to be something that can be applied to the environment while the cats are in it. Is there such a thing?

The easiest thing to do is just treat the cats every month or so initially with somethink like Revolution (what I use) for cats which is non-toxic to cats. It is based on Selamectine and it will also treat mites and roundworm. Although, its worthwhile giving the cats a worming treatment if they haven’t had one in a while.

Basically, one treats the cat fairly frequently (the treatment will have precise instructions) and it will break the lifecycle and the fleas will decrease in numbers until they are no longer an issue.

Apart from washing the cats bedding and vacuming the floors often, the next thing to do (as far as I am aware) is just let the treated cats kill the fleas by walking around the house. Although, I am not experiened in pest control.

Unfortunately, I dont think there is anything much you can do for treating the environment as thats not really how the flea cycle works - it really is about treating the individual cat. I am not a fan of some of the general purpose products out there because of their ingredients, but that is a personal view.

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Rikkitic

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#2163708 19-Jan-2019 14:02

These cats can't be treated individually. Although they live under and around the house, and we feed them, they are semi-wild and cannot be approached too closely. I am unable and unwilling to try to trap them. That is why I phrased my question the way I did. The domesticated cat that can be treated individually has been. We still have fleas everywhere.

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#2163716 19-Jan-2019 14:23

Capstar in their food, flea bomb in your house, flea spray their bedding.

Rikkitic

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#2163719 19-Jan-2019 14:26

Can't control which cat eats what, or how much, cats have dens under house so flea bomb might affect them, they sleep in different places, some in bush.

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Rikkitic

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#2163720 19-Jan-2019 14:29

Addendum to preceding: I appreciate attempts to help and am not trying to be difficult. I'm sure I could get rid of some fleas by spraying but I was hoping for a better solution. There probably isn't one and we will just have to wait it out. But I will look into some topical sprays, which ought to at least help a little.

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TwoSeven

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#2163744 19-Jan-2019 15:35

Rikkitic:
These cats can't be treated individually. Although they live under and around the house, and we feed them, they are semi-wild and cannot be approached too closely. I am unable and unwilling to try to trap them. That is why I phrased my question the way I did. The domesticated cat that can be treated individually has been. We still have fleas everywhere.

Your vet not able to catch and treat them? Many offer a catch neuter return service.

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Rikkitic

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#2163751 19-Jan-2019 15:52

We went through all that a few years ago. Not about to do it over.

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#2163758 19-Jan-2019 16:36

Ring Gareth Morgan for free advice?

Rikkitic

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#2163763 19-Jan-2019 16:45

I wouldn't mind feeding him to my cats.

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#2163771 19-Jan-2019 16:58

Vacuum rooms then flea bomb, seal each room for a few hours (I.e. go out for lunch).. treat cats and vacuum again each day for the next 2 or 3 days. Repeat if you still have issues in a week.

I find that it pays to vacuum once or twice a week during flea season.
I had the same issue about 12 years ago and this is how I got them all and never had an issue again.

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