Save Us From Fleas Please!!
Does you cat scratch and lick herself all summer long?
It must be hard being an Actual Moving Feast for fleas! As Sydney becomes more tropical (blame who you like!), fleas and other tiny pests are getting a better deal – longer ‘perfect weather’ for their development, and more 'habitats' to grow in! Fleas love your carpet almost as much as they love your cat!!! If your cat strolls outside, even for only a few moments, they can bring back a colony of fleas, who stay on board while they feed and breed until the cat picks them off herself. (Some cats just can't be bothered, or are too young or too old to be able to catch them and so become ‘Fleabags’!). The eggs and flea dirt laid by these freeloaders – or should I say flealoaders!! – then come into your home (and your bed) with your feline mate. And that is the start of your annual Summer Flea Plague. These days, Flea Season is starting earlier, more like August than October, so by October we are two generations into the Flea season. At 40 eggs per female flea per day and only three weeks from ‘egg to egglayer – you can do the calculations!!!!
What can you do now? You don’t want fleas in your house or on your cat!
Answer - You have to control the eggs and that will control the fleas.
And it has never been easier. If you start by controlling the Flea Eggs, no matter where your cat goes (including boarding....), your home and hearth will never have fleas.
Once the house is flea egg-free then all you have to worry about is the comfort of your cat when she goes outdoors – if there are millions of fleas outside, and she starts itching, you can use one of the spot on oil products to kill the majority of ‘Easy (Flea) Riders’. A few fleas on a cat is not a terrible thing – Fleas and Felines have coexisted for a million years (and cats therefore can build a tolerance to a certain level of infestation)! The Flea Experts are now saying what we’ve noticed for years – fleas have to by controlled at the ‘cat level’ (the adult fleas) and the ‘carpet level’ (eggs and larvae), and they bring out a ‘new best flea product’ every year to do one or the other (and occasionally both). There are now many strategies for flea control ask us how, now!
Flea facts that will help you control fleas in your environment
- Fleas prefer Fur!! Adult Fleas spend all of their time on your cat!
- Fleas have perfect camouflage!! If you can see 1 flea, there are 10 more you can't see! Even careful combing will only pick up 85% of the adults! They stick to the hairs like glue!
- Fleas lay 40 eggs per day!! Once they've had a meal from your pet! And they start biting within 10 minutes of hopping on your cat! And worse – (and cocoons)- once in the environment – are almost indestructible!
- Flea control has to be year-round – by mid-summer the problem is huge so by mid August you will have to think fleas! and get rid of the eggs.
- Cats will pick off 50 fleas a day from their own coats if they can, so the ones you see are the tip of the iceberg!!
- Flea eggs are the perpetrators of the problem – you must get rid of them first and keep them out of your environment – no flea eggs, no fleas!!
Daily grooming with fine tooth comb – this the single most important part of any flea control program!!
Daily grooming with a flea comb (and it must be a very fine-toothed one) does three jobs in one
- Checks for fleas and flea dirt so you know how big your problem is
- Removes dead hair daily so less is shed around the house
- Socialises your cat in a “Mutual Grooming” scenario like mother and kitten, so both of you enjoy it!
If you combine combing with a flea egg control system then you can achieve excellent, environmentally friendly Flea Control!
In the house – this is essential if you have a substantial flea problem or a pet with a flea allergy. Although the fleas spend most of their time on your pet, they shed their eggs into the environment to hatch, especially in the nice warm places your pet chooses to sleep!!!
House foggers or bombs – these speed up the elimination of fleas from your environment. There are many makes and models, but the essential ingredients to success are:
- Plan to do all the carpeted areas (no need to do the bathroom and kitchen as the residual eggkilling chemical will be wiped off next time you mop)
- Vacuum thoroughly first, and move all the furniture, as the eggs are under the couches and at the edges of the room where there is less traffic, and move the cushions off the sofa so the fog goes down the back where the dust is!
- Use enough bombs. Supermarket ones often only do 1.6 Squares so you need many more of them. Ours do 5 - 7 Squares so usually two or three will do a small house. Please ask us how to use them effectively.
Steam cleaning – will get rid of eggs from carpets and upholstery if done professionally (the machines for hire do not get hot enough to kill the eggs) plus hot washing Bedding (70 degrees Celsius kills flea eggs & larvae)
Pest control professional – may be more economical in big houses or if severe flea problem
Surface sprays – If you have mainly Floorboards and only need to spot spray rugs and furniture. These are designed to be sprayed on all the upholstered and carpeted areas where your pet goes. To use it most effectively, you need to vacuum the carpet and furniture, then spray lightly (hold the bottle at waist height as you go around the edges of the room) all over the main carpeted areas and down the backs of the cushions of your pet’s favorite chair!!! This product prevents the flea eggs from becoming adult fleas (the fleas are trapped in adolescence so they don't develop teeth to bite you or your pet). These usually for about six months and do kill the new eggs that may fall off an untreated pet.
Addressing the comfort of your Cat
If she is scratching, then fleas may well be the cause or contribute to your cat’s discomfort. There are now several ‘spot on’ products to kill the fleas that are annoying her, and a new one each year! Our recommendations depend on your cat’s lifestyle, your budget and your product preferences. Yes we do ‘have things for fleas’...!!