Rebecca M asked 8 years ago
I adopted a stray cat and discovered within 36 hours of it being in my home that it had fleas. It received drops from the vet immediately. Everything seemed to improve in about a week until I found one in my hair. So despite being advised to not treat the house I called the vet and got the spray they carry. I cleaned thoroughly, vacuumed, mopped floors, washed and dried all items, bagged everything and left it outside until hours after spraying. I sprayed each room paying special attention to hot spots
I have vacuumed all area rugs and left them on the outdoor porch in freezing temps in Canada with three or four upholstered boxes. I sprayed them as well. I will leave them out there as long as necessary.
I will treat the cat for as long as advisable, I believe four months. But how can I tell if I have been successful after this time?
I don’t see any jumping around. I see dirt and I think all dirt is flea dirt these days. So paranoid.
Am I doing this right?
Adam Retzer Staff answered 8 years ago
Hello Rebecca,
It sounds like you’re doing everything right. However, even after all the proper treatment is in place, you’ll likely continue seeing fleas here or there for around 8 weeks.
Now that your cat is treated with flea drops, there should be no more eggs being laid. However, you still have to contend with the immature stages already in the environment. Eggs, larvae, and pupae make up the bulk of the infestation (95-99%). And they are usually found deep within carpet fibers. So, even if you aren’t seeing fleas, they are probably still there. You will continue to see adults as these young fleas mature and emerge. Once they have all matured and died, the infestation will be over.
The flea life cycle, from egg to adult, completes 17-26 days indoors. However, there is one troublesome stage. After pupating, adults can remain quiescent inside their cocoons for up to 5 months while they wait to detect a host. These so-called pre-emerged adults will emerge within seconds when they sense heat and pressure (indicative of a host resting on the cocoon). Vacuuming is the best way to simulate these host cues and force these problem stages to emerge. Slowly walking around the carpets, with long white socks, is also beneficial.
A good way to gauge when an infestation is over is to use flea traps. Flea traps aren’t very effective for control, because they only capture emerging adults (of which there are few). However, they are useful for assessing flea populations and for determining when the fleas are completely extinct within an area.
Another easy way to assess flea populations is to wear long white socks and then slowly walk around the carpets, as mentioned earlier. This will force the adults to emerge, and they will be attracted to you as the nearest host. They will jump onto the socks and then you can count them easily against the white fabric. Make sure the socks are relatively long if you want to prevent bites. Fleas can’t bite through most fabrics, and they’re only capable of jumping to around the height of a human ankle.
Hope this helps. And happy Thanksgiving! (if you are in the US)
Adam
