Dog or Cat Fleas
In Fleas, Pests, Pests in August
At PEST UK our peak time for enquiries from customers about pest control problems from dog or cat fleas is always in the late Summer and Autumn. The reason for this is because fleas are most active in warm weather so need to feed more often, this warm weather is when people go on holiday so their pest either go with them, go into kennels or catteries (in some cases are looked after in the home) so the food source is removed or in some cases restricted. The other issue is the behaviour of cats. Fleas mainly live in carpets, go onto the host (usually a cat or dog) to feed then back to the carpet, problem for the fleas is that in warm weather cats are more likely to be outside and may even avoid areas that are heavily infested with fleas. In the case of some one coming in to feed a cat left at home the cat will spend more time out of an empty house than an occupied one. We have had dozens of calls from house sitters who come in to feed the cat and get badly bitten in the process. Well over 90% of flea problems on animals are actually cat fleas, even on other animals such as dogs and rabbits are cat fleas.
Treatment of all types of fleas experienced in UK homes is virtually the same. Preparation as with most pest control treatments is vital if the insecticide treatment is to work. This involves vacuuming all floor areas (including under all standing furniture), once done emptying the vacuum cleaner to an outside bin and just clearing the floor areas of all clutter. There are no fumes to the modern insecticides we use so vacating the house is not needed but pets should be kept out of the house until the floor surfaces are dry and people should not touch the treated surfaces with bare skin until dry.
PEST UK offer guaranteed flea treatments for a reasonable rate.
