help asked 6 years ago
Hi there
I was Just looking for some advice after reading through the questions and answers you’ve provided. They are very helpful and I guess I’m looking for some peace of mind.
On Sunday evening (now Wednesday) I found flea dirt in my dogs fur – on closer inspection it was only on the lower half of his body, concentrated at the base of his spine, I did see one live flea too between his back legs. The next morning I purchased a spray from our Vets (Spray kill) and treated the whole home accordingly. I also treated the dog with his normal treatment of frontline. I have heard mixed reviews on this product since realising he has fleas but I must admit my treatment fell short – I always understood that it was to be applied every 3 months not every 6-8 wks so how we’ve gone 6 yrs flea free I do not know.
I naturally hoover the Home everyday as he is long haired and I have a small baby, sometimes twice a day downstairs if he’s spent a lot of time in the carpeted areas.
I have been flea combing him every evening since Monday and I am still finding 2/3 live fleas on him.
I am so worried about us having a large infestation with a small baby crawling around everywhere!
I have to admit that I haven’t seen any in the home nor have any of us been bitten before or after finding the flea dirt. I am going to respray the house tomorrow but wondered whether I need to do upstairs again or will the one application for now suffice (the tin does state it lasts for 12 months). Since finding the fleas too – the poor pooch has been confined to one non carpeted room of the house to try and reduce eggs landing on carpet etc and that area is hoovered at least 3 times a day.
He did go on our sofa which has since been sprayed and cushions hoovered. It did have a protective throw over it too which along with all over throws in the house have been on a 60 degree wash and tumble dry. (His dog bedding has been thrown away).
I only hoovered under the sofas and didn’t spray, will they move to untreated areas or should I move them out and spray there too? I don’t know if I’m being too cautious or whether that’s even possible when dealing with these critters.
Is it safe to assume I’ve caught this early and the infestation is relatively mild or am I being completed naive?
Thank you in advance!
Rebecca
Adam Retzer Staff answered 6 years ago
Rebecca,
Frontline should be applied every month (4 weeks), according to the product label. So going 3 months between treatments would have given the fleas an opportunity to infest your dog. In the previous years, perhaps there were just no fleas in your local environment.
It sounds like you have a mild to moderate infestation if you are finding new fleas on your dog every day. For every adult flea, there are roughly 100 immature stages living hidden in the environment.
It’s good that you vacuum regularly. 3 times a day may be excessive for control purposes, but it certainly can’t hurt. See our article on How often to vacuum for more details.
Flea larvae don’t move too far from where they hatch from eggs. They rarely travel further than 15-20 cm. So, immature stages tend to be concentrated where eggs fall. It’s unlikely that they will be found under the sofas, but it is possible around the edges.
Do the sprays you are using contain an insect growth regulator (IGR), either pyriproxyfen or methoprene? The IGR is the most important ingredient, as it will prevent new eggs and larvae from reaching adulthood for 7 months. Here are a few example sprays.
It is important to keep in mind that 95-99% of the infestation are eggs, larvae, and pupae in the environment. The larvae avoid light when they hatch, and so they are often deep within carpets or other substrates. As a result, spraying and vacuuming can’t penetrate to kill them all. Patience will be required before the infestation completely ends, often around 8 weeks. However, with the dog and environment treated, you should be dealing with the last generation, since they won’t be able to lay viable eggs.
It sounds like you caught this relatively early, but not super early (it’s difficult to catch flea infestation really early). From your description, it seems like a mild to moderate infestation. And it sounds like you are well on the way to controlling the fleas, and are taking all the correct steps.
You shouldn’t need to treat the toys. Adult fleas are only attracted to warm-blooded animals. Eggs are laid on the host. The eggs aren’t sticky, and fall wherever the animal roams. Upon hatching, the larvae actively move away from light, so they burrow down into carpets and other substrates. Taking these details into consideration, there shouldn’t be fleas of any stage on the toys (especially hard toys). However, if there are, vigorously shaking the toys should dislodge any fleas there.
One thing you may want to consider is letting the dog have full access to the home again. With the dog properly treated, any new fleas the dog acquires will be killed within a few hours. Your dog will naturally go back to favorite resting spots, which will be flea hot spots. This can help eliminate infestations sooner. Cocooned adults are a problem stage because they can enter into a quiescent (dormant-like) state for up to 5 months. But they rapidly wake up and emerge when they detect a host laying on the cocoon (heat and pressure). Vacuuming can also simulate these cues and force emergence.
Sorry for the delayed response.
Warm regards,
Adam
Also I forgot to mention all of the dogs toys have gone through the same treatment as the throws but the baby does have a mix of toys in a box on the floor – they are mainly hard toys. Do these need treating too? If so, is there anything you would recommend that is safe for children?