Every pet owner will at some point run into the dreaded flea problem. The majority of pet related pet issues we Pestcatcher Pest Control come across relate to Flea’s. Dogs and cats can pick up fleas very easily as every other pet they meet has the potential to share flea infestations to other hosts.

The first you realise you have a flea problem is when you start getting bites on your extremities arms and legs. We have found that customers of Pestcatcher Pest Control try the DIY method first and end up buying lots of cans of sprays such as acclaim and other brands. There is nothing wrong with these products but we have found that people have spent lots of money buying enough product to treat a whole house.

Typically when we treat a property for fleas we can use upto 10 litres depending on the size of the property. People who have contacted us after DIY methods have failed are surprised how cost effective it is to employ a professional pest control company to deal with the pesky fleas.

If you still want to give the DIY treatment a go then there are a few tips that we recommend.

  1. Bath Your Pet this is the simplest way to get rid of fleas but use a shampoo which is pet friendly. Natural ingredient shampoos work just as good as medicated shampoos, make sure you start at the neck of your pet as fleas are known to move to hard to reach areas when threatened by water. Please note tea tree and cedar oil should only be used on dogs as they are toxic to cats.
  2. Clean dog and cat Bedding and vacuum furniture, floors and skirting boards. This is because fleas lay eggs within hard to reach areas and hovering will help to pick up some eggs.
  3. Please also be sure to throw away the bag of the hoover after this has been done.
  4. Although hard work as I can testify the use of a flea comb can help to get rid of eggs embedded in coats. Marley our Golden Retriever requires lots of combing but is does help remove the eggs and adult fleas.
  5. Making Sure your pets are up to date with their flea treatments is extremely important, I don’t tend to recommend fleas treatments but personally we use Advantage from Bayer  and have never had a problem since using it.
  6. Home made flea traps can sometimes be effective but only for identifying that you have a flea issue. Using a bowl of water and a desk lamp fleas are attracted to the light and jump towards it then fall into the bowl.
  7. You could try a product called diatomaceous earth it is organic and should be applied to floors and carpets and kills fleas by dehydrating or drying out.
  8. Flea Collars can be effective and from customers who have used them the have said they are good but we have not needed to use them. They act by repeling the fleas  and are very affordable.
  9. Steam Cleaning Carpets and floors can help as the hot steam will kill off eggs and adult fleas, we use high power steam for bed bugs which works well.
  10. Salt has been suggested to me but again I have not tried it, it works in a similar way to diatomaceous earth by dehydrating the fleas although cost maybe a issue spreading salt around your home.

If all the methods above fail then feel free to give me a call and I can talk you through our flea treatment options. Don’t forget we provide flea treatments throughout the Swindon, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire area.

 

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