Fleas in a House That Runs Up Four Floors
Adult fleas live on the animal; almost everything else does not. Eggs are smooth and do not stick, so they fall wherever the cat or the dog settles, and the larvae that hatch from them move away from the light into whatever is underfoot. In a tall house that means the bites and the animal are often on different floors, which is why people start by looking in the wrong room. Work out where the pet actually spends its day and where anyone is being bitten, and treat both. How to know if you have fleas sets out what to check for.
Stair runners, rugs and board gaps
A runner is ideal for them. It is walked on constantly, it is rarely lifted, and the strip of bare board on either side gives larvae somewhere dark to drop into. The grooves that hold the rods collect debris for years. Rugs laid over polished boards do the same job on a smaller scale: the underside stays dark and undisturbed, and the gaps between original boards take anything that works its way to the edge. Vacuuming lifts what is near the surface and not what has gone below it, which is why an energetic clean on its own often does not settle things. Where fleas hide around the home covers the less obvious spots, and fleas in beds and sofas deals with the furniture. Where floors are being lifted for other reasons, Pest Control Queen’s Park explains how to use the opportunity.
The long garden, the studio and the cat flap
Behind these houses the gardens run in a long chain, divided by old walls that cats treat as a footpath rather than a boundary. Foxes lie up in the dry space beneath a garden studio, under a shed or behind a stack of timber down the side. Fleas drop off wherever an animal rests, so a fox under the studio leaves eggs and larvae at the far end of your lawn, and a neighbourhood cat that has learned to use your cat flap brings the same thing as far as the kitchen. It is one of the reasons a household with no animal of its own can still be bitten — can you have fleas without having pets? goes into it.
Making Sure It Is Fleas
- Itchy bites in small groups, mostly around the ankles and lower legs
- A cat or dog scratching, grooming more than usual or unsettled at night
- Tiny dark specks in the pet’s bed or along a carpet edge that turn rust-red on a damp tissue
- Small dark insects springing off the runner onto white socks on the stairs
- Bites that start within days of coming back to a house that has been empty
Bites on the arms, neck or shoulders that appear overnight point to bed bugs rather than fleas, and itching along with small hairy larvae at a carpet edge suggests carpet beetles. A pharmacist or GP can advise on any bite that looks infected, and your vet is the person to speak to about treating the animals themselves.
Getting a Big House Ready
- Ask your vet to treat every cat and dog in the house at the same time, indoor cats included
- Vacuum slowly along the runner, the rod grooves, the edges of every rug and under the beds and sofas, then put the contents straight in the outside bin
- Hot-wash pet bedding, throws and any blanket an animal sleeps on, where the label allows
- Lift small rugs where you can, and say if there are open board joints under a carpet
- Clear shoes, toys, bags and storage boxes off the floors and out of the bottoms of wardrobes
- Count the rooms with bites, carpet, rugs or a pet’s favourite spot, leaving out the hall, the landings and the stairs
Preparing a property for flea treatment has the full checklist, and our Brent flea advice takes in the wider picture.
After the visit
Keep vacuuming daily for a while, because the vibration encourages the ones still in their cocoons to emerge rather than sit tight. How long that goes on depends on the house and how long the fleas have been established, so no honest date can be put on it in advance. If bites are not easing, or live fleas keep appearing on the runner, tell us which floors and rooms and we will take it from there — why fleas can still bite after treatment explains what is normal in the meantime, and how long flea treatment takes to work covers the timing.
Keeping Fleas Out of a Family House Here
Most of it comes back to the animals — yours and the ones crossing the gardens. Flea Control Brent covers the rest of the borough, and neighbouring Kilburn has the same tall houses and shared back gardens.
- Keep every pet’s flea protection up to date on your vet’s advice, and have a new or rescue animal checked before it settles in
- Fit a microchip cat flap if other cats have been letting themselves in through the garden door
- Once you are sure nothing is living under it, close off the gap beneath the studio, the shed and any decking where foxes and cats shelter
- Vacuum the runner, the pet’s favourite chair and the spot it sleeps in every week, and wash its bedding often
- Shake and vacuum both sides of wool rugs when the seasons change, and look at the floor underneath while they are up
