Flea Control
Frequently Asked Questions
º I’ve been on holidays for two weeks and my house is alive with fleas. What shall I do?
Firstly, you usually don’t need to get your house fumigated or rip up the carpet. The fleas that you are seeing are the newly emerged adult fleas that stayed as dormant pupa while you (and your pet/s) were on holiday. Therefore you need to use something that kills fleas quickly. Most of the available products will kill fleas within 24 hours, but “nintepyrum” (‘Capstar’) will kill them in minutes. Treat cats every 3 days and dogs every 2 days with ‘Capstar’ in addition to an adulticide with residual action. Most importantly, put the pets back in the house as the fleas will preferentially head for the dog/cat than for humans. To speed up the process it will help if you can stimulate movement and heat. Try vaccuming the entire house, preferably with a beating type brush to stimulate the pupa to hatch. You have then reduced the flea burden significantly. Nothing is going to cure the flea problem in minutes, but the sooner you treat, the sooner you will get a result. (Remember it will take a few weeks to eradicate the problem). Treating with an environmental spray will speed up the process as we can kill the flea larva as they hatch.
º I’ve treated my dog/cat 2 weeks ago and they still have fleas. Why did somebody sell me a worthless product?
They didn’t. If you understand the flea life cycle you will know that it typically takes between 3 and 8 weeks to eradicate a flea infestation. No matter what adulticide you use, there will still be new fleas hatching out over that 3-8 week period. If you look closely at any fleas you see, they will be tiny fleas that have not yet eaten and engorged (and therefore not laying eggs). If you are using one of our recommended treatments and are treating every animal in the household then there is no need to change products. Continue on with the same medication, perhaps add in ‘Capstar’ and wait for the flea problem to subside. (Make sure you are using a product with residual activity and preferably one which treats the environmental life stages also i.e. eggs, larva or pupa).
º My dogs don’t go out. Do they need treating?
Possibly! They can still pick up fleas, but it is less likely than in other households. If you have cats or other dogs in the house, which do go out (even for short periods) then they can introduce fleas to the household. You must always treat all animals in the household. Other (untreated) cats will often frequent your back yard and urban (and rural) foxes and hedgehogs can carry fleas. A treatment such as ‘Program’ is excellent if your household pets don’t go out very often as it will ensure that your pets don’t develop a flea infestation.
º We’ve taken the dog/cat out of the kids room and now my child is being bitten. Do I need to call the pest control people?
No. This is a similar situation to the holiday situation described above. The only difference is that the pets have gone on holidays (from the child’s room) and the fleas then pick on the next best thing – us! Put the pets back in the room, treat them with an adulticide (+/- ‘Capstar’), vacuum and clean the room thoroughly and follow the steps on killing, eradicating and preventing flea infestations.
º What’s the cheapest flea control?
The simple answer is the one that does the job properly. The most expensive treatment is the one which doesn’t work. The best treatments combine residual activity (i.e. applied every month or less), treat environmental life stages (i.e. eggs/larva/pupa) and will kill fleas in 24 hours (i.e. before they mate and start laying eggs).
º How safe are the flea treatments?
Very. All of the mentioned treatments have met the very strict UK Licensing laws. You can follow the links to the National Office of Animal Health data pages on each of the products mentioned - http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk Please note that for completeness, these pages will list potential side effects even though they are very rare.
º Is there a natural flea treatment?
There are lots of products that claim to be flea treatments. Many are not effective. A flea repellent may repel fleas but where do fleas go if they are repelled from your pet??? That’s right, they jump on us!!! Researchers use flea traps with controlled light, humidity, CO2 and temperature, but these are usually not suitable to use in the house. Some of the natural flea treatments may also be dangerous. Garlic in large quantities can be toxic. Using flea combs and manually grooming out fleas is unlikely to affect the total flea population significantly enough to eliminate the infestation.
º My friend tells me that one treatment kills all fleas, ticks and worms! Is that true?
No. Not yet. Various flea treatments also treat other parasites, but they are not a substitute for using a complete worming treatment.
º Where can I buy effective flea treatments and how much are they worth?
Summerhill vets stock all of the mentioned flea control products. Please note that different flea control products are marketed under different licensing categories and some will require a written prescription from your vet. Your vet cannot refuse to give you a written prescription for your pets medication. Ask your vet how many times the prescription can be repeated.
º Can I treat my rabbit or guinea pig?
Yes, ‘Advantage’ is licensed for use in rabbits and ‘Xenex’ and ‘Xeno’ are licensed for use in rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and other small mammals. Ask your vet for further details. Fipronil (frontline) should not be used on rabbits.
º How about flea collars?
Yes and no. They can be useful, but depending on the type of collar they usually only treat the environment and they may also aid the flea in developing resistance to the medication being used. A lot of people are hesitant to use them on cats due to the risk of them getting the collar caught somewhere.
