Fleas!!

[HAH]

Well - tonight, stroking Kipper on the floor, I saw a little black hopping feller on the carpet. “Was that...?! Noooo...”. Couple of minutes later... hop! Holy cow, it was a flea
He’s up to date on his tick & flea treatment, and checking over the obvious places (behind ears, top of head, tops of legs) there’s nothing - no obvious dirt or creatures (thank goodness for pale fur). And no particular scratching or nibbling.
I’m calling the vet tomorrow to ask about local resistance, but in the meantime I’ll do a thorough Hoover first thing

 

[Granca]

I’ll do a thorough Hoover first thing

Including Kipper?!
I hope it’s a one-off.

 

[Emily]

Yuck! Instantly itchy all over!

Hopefully it's just a one off!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Maybe he hitchhiked in on something else, like your clothes? Not that it would make you feel better!

 

[Cath]

Hopefully its a one off

 

[snowbunny]

I found a couple of fleas earlier this year on my lot, despite them wearing the Seresto collars. They were isolated incidents and didn't lead to an infestation, so fingers crossed it's the same for you

 

[Loraseal]

I feel itchy just reading this. Hopefully just a one off.

 

[edzbird]

We've had the odd flea (last year), it's never the dogs or me...it's always OH who gets a bite or sees one of the blighters. Can you get a mansize Seresto collar?

 

[FayRose]

I found a couple of fleas earlier this year on my lot, despite them wearing the Seresto collars. They were isolated incidents and didn't lead to an infestation, so fingers crossed it's the same for you

Oh no, don't tell me these things are already losing some of their effectiveness - or more to the point the fleas are developing resistance
I've always been extremely pleased with Seresto collars, never having seen a flea or tick on any of the dogs or cats since I started using them.

 

[HAH]

I found a couple of fleas earlier this year on my lot, despite them wearing the Seresto collars. They were isolated incidents and didn't lead to an infestation, so fingers crossed it's the same for you

This is reassuring, thanks - my only memories of fleas are back in the day growing up (before regular flea treatment was what we did) when seeing one flea meant there was a hoard already taking over the house...

I've been keeping a beady eye and had a very thorough going over of Kipper, nada - so hopefully it's a one off

 

[snowbunny]

Oh no, don't tell me these things are already losing some of their effectiveness - or more to the point the fleas are developing resistance
I've always been extremely pleased with Seresto collars, never having seen a flea or tick on any of the dogs or cats since I started using them.

Stay with it if you like them, and until you see them failing for yourself. Personally, I'm going back to Advantix next year, as that is far more effective in our situation than the Seresto has been this year, but your tick and flea situation is likely very different to ours, with different strains, too. Most people round here use the Seresto collars and are happy with them; I've just found they're not as good as Advantix, and with four dogs, a little bit less effective makes a big difference with what gets brought into the house!

 

[Heidrun]

I would play it safe and get some flea spray for the house. If you see one flea there are bound to be others in different stages of development.

 

[Aitch]

Poppy has a very hard time if she is flea bitten. This spring she picked up some and I didn't notice right away. Poor girl ended up with a bit of a bald spot. I switched treatments and she was fine, bless her.

 

[Shaz82]

Oh my worst nightmare, a flea in the house. People keep telling me that if there is just one there will be eggs everywhere and the place will be crawling soon. Even if your own dog is treated monthly it doesn't stop the odd hitchhiker finding a nice spot in your carpet. Good luck!

 

[M.F.]

You need to treat the environment more than the dog. Vacuum vacuum vacuum! Wash bedding immediately and leave out in the sun. I’d hold off further pesticides on the dog. You can use a flea comb on Kipper to catch fleas and get rid of flea eggs. Good luck!

 

[HAH]

You need to treat the environment more than the dog. Vacuum vacuum vacuum! Wash bedding immediately and leave out in the sun. I’d hold off further pesticides on the dog. You can use a flea comb on Kipper to catch fleas and get rid of flea eggs. Good luck!

Thanks @M.F. Vacuumed, scrubbed and washed everything in sight. No signs on Kipper after having gone over him with a fine tooth comb, so I’ll keep walking around barefoot and leaving white paper on the floor to see if anything materialises

 

[Anne123]

You need to treat the environment more than the dog. Vacuum vacuum vacuum! Wash bedding immediately and leave out in the sun. I’d hold off further pesticides on the dog. You can use a flea comb on Kipper to catch fleas and get rid of flea eggs. Good luck!

Plus in three weeks time again for the little eggs will come out....

 

[JES72]

Our neighbours cat used to visit us regularly until Homer got big enough to jump up into the sofa ( top of the sofa was his safe place until then). After he left we realised we had complete flea infestation! It took ages to get rid of them. They fleas never bothered puppy Homer. I think cat fleas are different to dog fleas - or am I just making that up?

 

[Stacia]

I once found one flea on one dog, think I brought it back from the vet where I worked at the time. They didn't have flea preventative and she never had another flea again.

 

[Beanwood]

We had fleas last year...well the dogs did! When we bathed the three of them, didn't spot one single flea...even examined any "bits" under a microscope. We spotted the "odd" one. Casper has an allergy to fleas, so it just takes one flea and he is uncomfortable. The vet suggested to vacuum first to agitate them, then use a good quality household flea spray. Treating the dog sorts out roughly 5% of the problem...Now I am all itchy!!!!