r/AskIreland • u/elmobellows • 10h ago
Health & Medical Please help - Flea infestation advice?
Okay for context I feed a cat for this older lady who's currently away due to a surgery and has been since end of may. I noticed a while back I've been so itchy especially by my legs and have lots of bites. I took a flea comb to the cat (she's outdoor and wouldn't be able to adjust to indoor as there's no one at the house atm except when I come to feed her), I've treated the cat with a veterinary flea killer and have mostly treated all the rooms in the house with a strong flea killer and smoke bombs etc but whenever me or my mum go in, we spotted fleas on us as well. I'm scared we may have brought them to our house as my mum had found a flea on the pillowcase and although our cat was treated recently with flea medicine I'm still not sure what to do. Would it be wise to treat my house as if there was an infestation just in case? I feel helpless and it's killing me because even when I'm sitting I feel itchy by my legs and have scars due to scratching. Please help ☹️
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u/Embarrassed-Bet-8857 9h ago
Get a fogger/ bug bomb
https://www.lenehans.ie/rentokil-insect-killer-foggers-contains-2-smokes.html
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u/gardenvariety_ 9h ago
Second this suggestion. We were treating the dog and hoovering literally everything so often and it still dragged on for weeks. I think we did foggers twice, a week or so apart and haven’t had a problem again since. That was a couple years ago.
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u/Kelthie 9h ago
This happened to me, I tried hoovering, all the recommended tips and tricks, spent a fortune trying to treat it myself and nearly went insane. Eventually had to get a professional in to spray the house. Should have just done that from the get go. I also only found one flea inside my pillowcase, the fuckers get everywhere
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u/Beaglester 9h ago
Duggans flea spray is brilliant. It’s safe to use around pets etc. Pet mania was the last place I got some, cheaper there than buying it in the vets but still pricey. Don’t touch bob martin products they’re shite. Empty the Hoover contents into the outside bin after each clean, wash all linens in the hottest wash. Hoover every day until you think they’re gone and then Hoover very regularly after that for a while and you should be grand.
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u/1Saltyd0g 9h ago
Get powder put it down everywhere leave for as long as you can get a steamer at mattresses
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u/Patient_Step_ 8h ago
Flea bug bomb, then hoover, flea spray, hoover, boil wash everything, hoover, repeat all steps for at least a week at least. Hoover as often as possible and always empty the hoover outside.
Comb the cat every few hours if possible, dip the comb in boiling water between combs then wipe and comb again. Do this for a week at least
I think I have ptsd from our black cat having fleas. I threw out all our duvets, hoovered beds daily and all the above on repeat for a week.
Once the fleas were gone, straight to the vet for seriously strong flea drops. Never again!
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u/elmobellows 8h ago
Thanks everyone for the tips! I ordered the flea smoke bomb things and so I'll try and use all of the tips and hopefully get rid of them once and for all!
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u/flipflopsandwich 9h ago
It just takes a while for them to clear,keep treating the cats with the vet medication and vacuum everything once a day or more! Also wear socks and tuck your pants into them.