Jen asked 6 years ago
First thanks for this website! So informative! I discovered my cat had fleas in early November…I was late on the frontline and bam! She was infested…through out November and December I tried to combat the situation with everything available. Treated the cat with frontline plus …tried the organic stuff..borax only made the cat allergic…flea comb..vacuuming every other day…by January I was done…had an exterminator here twice…had the cat swallow capstar plus using frontline plus every three weeks vacuuming still…and she still had fleas…calling the exterminator again on Monday…will it ever end? What am I doing wrong?
Adam Retzer Staff answered 6 years ago
Jen,
I am sorry to hear about your flea problem. It sounds like you are doing everything right.
Completely ending a flea infestation can take time, usually at least 8 weeks. However, cocooned adults can elect to enter into a dormant-like state for up to 5 months. Most don’t, but some do. Vacuuming (heat and pressure) can wake up these cocooned fleas and force them to emerge. Regardless, it’s not uncommon to see fleas here or there for months. Patience is definitely required.
Placing a flea trap in infested rooms may help ease the anxiety. The traps don’t do all that much for control, but they are very useful for assessing flea populations. So you could see the numbers go down week by week, and then see when the infestation is completely over.
Did the exterminator apply an insect growth regulator (IGR) in the home? The IGR will mimic natural insect hormones, preventing eggs and larvae from reaching adulthood. Fleas already protected in the environment may not be affected. However, they should be the last generation. Any new eggs that fall onto the IGR-treated environment won’t survive. And the IGR lasts for 7 months indoors.
Keep up the vacuuming routine and monthly Frontline Plus treatments. You shouldn’t need the exterminator to keep coming out, as the IGR treatments will last 7 months. Killing adults in the environment isn’t going to do much to speed up the eradication process. Adults only make up 1-5% of infestations. And they will jump onto the treated cat and die.
Hope this was helpful!
Adam
