melissa1695 asked 7 years ago
Hello, so I’m currently dealing with flea infestation at the house I live. My landlord is not doing anything to help with this problem so I have decided to move out. But now I have some questions about if this animals could possibly be all over my furniture and possible get into my new apartment. My cat has already been treated for prevention and I do regular cleaning at the house and use “sentry home guard” all over the house to kill them or do whatever that is supposed to do. What should I do to my furniture before I move into my new place?
Thanks for your time
Adam Retzer Staff answered 7 years ago
Melissa,
The furniture to be concerned about is that which the cat has accessed, namely sleeping or resting on. This is where flea eggs likely fell and where fleas could be developing. Cat trees and area rugs can be particularly prone to having fleas.
When larvae hatch, they will bury deep down in substrates because they avoid sunlight. So when cleaning furniture, remove all the cushions and try to vacuum deep in folds of the fabrics. Give the furniture a very thorough vacuuming before moving.
Sentry HomeGuard has pyriproxyfen, which is an insect growth regulator (IGR). It mimics natural insect hormones that regulate development. It will prevent any exposed eggs and larvae from reaching adulthood. Still, some of the immature fleas may not be affected if they are hidden where the spray can’t penetrate. The nice thing about IGR is it remains effective for 7 months, so any new eggs falling on the furniture shouldn’t be able to survive.
The adulticide in the spray is meant to kill adult fleas. But it’s not as important as the IGR. Adults only make up 1-5% of infestation and live on pets (unless they haven’t found one yet). Plus, the adulticide has a much shorter residual effect.
Even if you accidentally bring fleas with you to your new place, they shouldn’t be able to survive without an untreated host. As the fleas emerge as adults, they will seek a host and die when they reach your treated cat.
As an added layer of defense, you may want to consider spraying an IGR to the carpets in your new home. Martins’s IGR comes in a good size for indoor use, and doesn’t contain any other chemicals.
Hope this helps!
Adam
