Fleas
Foxes, the Greenwalk and Your Garden
The strip of green along Dollis Brook gives foxes cover to travel and to rest by day, and the gardens that back onto it are part of their range. A fox likes a dry, hidden spot: under a raised shed, beneath decking, behind a compost bin or in the gap under a summerhouse. The corridor itself is the subject of Pest Control Whetstone; this page is about the fleas that come with it.
How fleas get from a fox to your carpet
Adult fleas live on the animal, but their eggs fall off wherever it rests. Larvae develop in the soil and debris under the shed or decking, and newly hatched fleas jump onto whatever passes: a cat, a dog, or the ankles of someone fetching the mower. The fleas found on foxes will readily bite pets and people, and from there they come indoors. Having fleas without pets explains how that happens.
Cats that patrol the brook side
Cats from several houses often work the same gardens and the bank behind them, crossing ground that foxes and hedgehogs use too. A cat that comes in through a cat flap and sleeps on a bed can bring fleas inside without anyone ever seeing a fox in the garden.
Signs in a Whetstone Home
- Bites round the ankles and lower legs, often after time in the garden or the room nearest the back door
- A cat or dog scratching more than usual, especially after an evening outside
- Flea dirt, like fine black specks, in pet bedding or along the edge of the carpet
- Fleas jumping onto pale socks as you cross a rug
- A scraped hollow or flattened patch under the shed or decking where an animal has been lying
How to know you have fleas helps confirm it. Bites in lines on the upper body after a night in bed are more like bed bugs.
What to Do Now
- Speak to your vet about treating every cat and dog in the house, because treating the rooms does not treat the animal
- Vacuum carpets, rugs, sofas and the edges of rooms, then empty the vacuum into an outside bin
- Put pet bedding, throws and the cat's favourite blanket through a hot wash
- Once you are sure no animal is under the shed or decking, close the gap with mesh so a fox cannot lie up there again
- Do not set off a shop flea bomb before a professional treatment
Booking and How Rooms Are Counted
Flea treatment is priced by room, and halls, landings and stairs are not counted. So a house where the living room, the kitchen-diner and one bedroom are affected comes to £300. When you book flea control, tell us which rooms the pets use, whether there is a pet in the house now, and whether you think the fleas came from the garden. Before the visit, vacuum thoroughly and clear the floor where you can; how to prepare for flea treatment has the full list. Some bites can carry on for a while as fleas already developing in the carpet hatch, and why fleas still bite after treatment explains why. Get back in touch if they do not tail off.
Keeping Fleas Out Next Summer
Keep pets' flea protection up to date through your vet, particularly in the warmer months. Close off the space under sheds, decking and summerhouses once nothing is using it, and keep the grass short near the house. The same dry hollows that suit a resting fox also suit rats coming off the bank, so if you find burrows there, rat control in Whetstone is the next step. The borough-wide page, Flea Control Barnet, covers end-of-tenancy fleas and other cases away from the brook.
