Fleas
How Fleas Get Into a New Colindale Flat
A new flat has never had a pet in it, so fleas have to be brought in. The usual carrier is the animal itself, and the usual source is outdoors or another animal. How to tell you have fleas is the place to start if you are not sure.
Dogs walked on Montrose Park and the green spaces
Parks and grass verges are shared with other dogs, cats and foxes. A dog that picks up a few adult fleas on a walk brings them home, where they feed, mate and lay eggs that drop off into the flat. It takes a few weeks before anyone notices, by which time eggs and larvae are in the places the dog rests.
Indoor cats on high floors
A cat that never goes outside is less likely to get fleas, but not immune. Fleas can arrive on a dog in the same home, on a visiting pet, or with a second-hand cat tree or pet bed. If the cat came from a rescue or another household, fleas can come with it.
A flat that changes hands
Flats in the earlier phases are now being resold and relet. If the previous occupier had a pet, dormant fleas can hatch once someone new is walking about, as fleas after moving into a new home explains.
Carpets, Hard Floors and Where the Larvae Live
Many new flats have hard flooring in the living area and carpet in the bedrooms. Flea larvae prefer carpet, rugs and pet bedding, but they also develop in the gaps along the edges of hard floors, under sofa cushions and in the fabric of a dog bed. A rug laid on a hard floor where the dog lies in the sun is a favourite spot, and so is the space under the bed if the pet sleeps there. Where fleas hide lists the places, and the rooms your pet uses most are the ones to look at first.
What to Do Now
- Speak to your vet about treating the pet; we treat the property, not the animal
- Wash pet bedding and throws on a hot wash
- Vacuum carpets, rugs, sofa seams and hard-floor edges, and empty the vacuum into an outside bin
- Do not use a flea bomb before a professional visit
- Note which rooms the pet uses, so you know how many rooms are affected
Bites are usually small and itchy, around the ankles. Speak to a pharmacist or GP if they are troublesome, and call 999 for signs of a severe allergic reaction. If there is no pet and the bites are in bed, it may be bed bugs rather than fleas.
Booking Flea Control in Colindale
When you book flea control, tell us which rooms the pet uses, whether they are carpeted, and whether the pet has been treated by your vet. Halls are not counted as rooms. Before the visit, clear the floor so carpet edges and under the furniture can be reached; preparing for flea treatment has the full list. How long it takes depends on the flat and the infestation. Seeing a few fleas for a while afterwards is normal, as fleas still biting after treatment explains, but get in touch if numbers are not dropping.
Keeping Fleas Away With a Pet in a Flat
Keeping the pet's flea treatment up to date, on your vet's advice, matters more than anything done to the flat. Wash bedding regularly and vacuum the rooms the pet uses. Small bristly larvae on the carpet that do not jump are more likely carpet beetles. For fleas in other Barnet homes, see Flea Control Barnet.
