Kim asked 8 years ago
I noticed my cat was scratching more about 4 weeks ago, I checked her and found a few big fleas, I was previously treating her with Frontline but was advised to change to Advantage. I inspected the house and was mortified to find a flea infestation! I hoovered the whole house, behind and under all furniture to within an inch of my hoovers life! We have wood floor downstairs and I threw out the rug as I identified that as the main problem after looking under it and seeing 2 larve wriggling! I went out and bought home flea spray and sprayed the whole house, we have carpets upstairs so I was worried about any fleas living in the carpets. I washed the cats bed, and all our bedding and most other textiles like cushions and throws at 60 degrees. As a rule the cat isn’t allowed upstairs but any given chance she sneaks up. She hasn’t been upstairs for 4 weeks now, but I have still spotted a couple of small fleas whilst in the bedrooms. I’m hoovering the whole house everyday which is very time consuming and using the spray every few days. I do a flea check of the floors downstairs and finding maybe 1-2 each night, some are dead others aren’t. I have become completely paranoid about my children playing on the floors incase one jumps on them, and my own sanity it at stake before I develop hoovering OCD, So finally here are my questions. Do you think I have done enough to break the life cycle? Are the fleas upstairs hitching a ride on us to get upstairs? Does Advantage make fleas sterile? (I know Advantage II does) is it likely the fleas I’m seeing are recently hatched from the the cocoon stage? Can fleas breed from human blood? If the fleas feed on the cat how long does it take for them to die?
Adam Retzer Staff answered 8 years ago
Hi Kim,
I sounds like you’ve done all the correct sanitation procedures. Continue to focus your efforts on areas of the hardwood where the larvae can escape light. They seek out dark, humid locations. Common areas include under rugs/furniture, in the floor’s cracks, near crevices around baseboards, corners or anywhere else debris collects.
What type of spray are you using? Does it have an insect growth regulator (IGR) in it? The two common compounds are either pyriproxyfen (Nylar) or methoprene (Precor). When sprayed indoors, the IGR will remain active for up to 7 months. There is no need to spray every other day. All that will do is kill a few emerging adults, and these fleas can be easily removed by vacuuming.
As far as the fleas upstairs, they may be hitchhiking on you. However, the more likely situation is that eggs fell from the cat when it was sneaking up there. Then the eggs developed in the environment, and are now emerging as adults.
Advantage does not make the fleas sterile. Nor does Frontline. Advantage II and Frontline Plus do, because they contain IGRs (those mentioned earlier).
The fleas you are seeing now are those which have developed in the home and have emerged from cocoons. This is true for nearly all infestations, except for the first few fleas which likely originated outdoors.
Fleas can’t breed on human blood. Read more about this here.
The fleas will die within 24 hours of being on a treated cat. Most will die within a few hours.
How long were you treating the cat for? Did you stop treatments early, or allow a lapse in monthly treatments? It’s important to adhere to the instructions on the label regarding application and duration of use.
Hope this helps! Warm regards,
Adam
