RTTof asked 6 years ago
I recently bought a home and a cat was living in the walls, by the time we discoved it 5 weeks later the house was infested with fleas. We gutted the area where the cat was living in the basement, we bombed it 3 times with over the counter products and had a professional spray, however we are still experiencing high levels of infestation. The house is vacant, no animals, no carpeting, no furniture, , no curtains etc and we can\’t seem to get rid of the fleas….any advice??
Adam Retzer Staff answered 6 years ago
Hello,
I apologize that I took so long to respond. I got overwhelmed with the site. Hopefully the problem has resolved now. I will still answer in case it helps others who stumble upon this question.
If the primary host (cat) was removed, then the fleas should go away on their own in time. Usually it takes around 8 weeks, but can take longer in severe infestations. It will also probably take longer in your situation, because the fleas were developing within walls.
The reason it takes a while is because the majority of the flea population are eggs, larvae, and pupae. These immature stages live in the environment, within micro-habitats where they are protected from insecticides. While treatments can be effective, they won’t end an infestation immediately.
After initial treatment, infestations can appear to worsen. The fleas were actively reproducing on the host, and so there was a large biomass of immature stages in the environment. These stages eventually mature into adults and emerge. This will be the largest amount of adults seen, and the numbers will go down from this point.
Flea bombs and sprays that contain an insect growth regulator (IGR), either pyriproxyfen (Nylar) or methoprene (Precor) are the most effective. They remain active indoors for 7 months. They work by mimicking insect hormones. Exposed eggs and larvae aren’t able to reach maturity.
Unfortunately, immature stages develop in protected micro-habitats, as mentioned. Many of these existing fleas won’t be exposed to the treatment, so they’ll still mature and emerge as adults eventually. However, any new eggs that fall onto the treated surfaces won’t survive (there shouldn’t be new eggs with the cat gone anyway).
Another issue that prolongs infestations is cocooned adults. The life cycle from eggs to adult completes in 17-26 days indoors. However, adults can elect to stay inside their cocoons in a quiescent (dormant-like) state for up to 5 months. Most don’t but some will. Heat and pressure (hosts resting on the cocoons) will trigger immediate waking and emergence. Vacuuming can help simulate these host cues, but within walls it wouldn’t be possible. So you will likely still fleas here or there for up to 5 months after the cat was removed.
Let me know if you have further questions. Again, I apologize that it took so long for you to get a response.
Warm regards,
Adam
JohnEllet answered 6 years ago
I hope your problem has been solved.
If not, then you can try using a flea comb just make sure that the comb gets down close to the skin, but you need to work slowly, as the comb may pull on the hair while you are dragging it through. You can also take some medicines like pill nitenpyram which helps to kill adult fleas on your cat within 30 minutes.
JohnEllet answered 6 years ago
If these two methods do not work then, you can consult some professional pest control or any exterminator in Suffolk County who can able to give you the proper advice on exterminating flea from the cats. Because consulting an exterminator will use the natural pesticides with proper amount, and they can eliminate the fleas safely and properly.
