Hi Can anyone help with some practical advice please? My daughter moved into a flat four months ago and about a month later she got a cat. Since then she has been battling with fleas. The cat did not take them in, I know this as he was one that I bred and I do not have fleas in my cattery, therefore, the little blighters must have been well established within the flat before she moved in. The previous people had a dog. My daughter, who is now at her wits end, has tried all sorts of products, both on her cat and in her home, numerous times and the problem still persists. If anyone has had this problem can you advise which products you would recommend that will actually do the job. We have changed from Frontline to Advantage and she has been using Fortefog Fumers in the rooms as well as flea shampoo, sprays and powders. We have already read online all we can about the problem so we don't need to know what to do but which particular products are the best to use, if any - or is it a case for a pest control company? Thanks, I hope someone can help, it's making me itch just thinking about it!!!

dont panic, its a common problem.. i find advantage is the best spot on. have you considered buying a steam cleaner as well as vacuuming? they are really good. get your kitty checked by your vet too!
it takes time to get rid of fleas, it sounds like the dog before was infested!! keep using your spot on's and clean clean clean. you will win eventually!!

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we had a major flea infestation about 2 years ago after our old cat died. It took about 3 weeks of constant spraying and vacuuming (using powder) to get rid of them.

We got 2 kittens about 3 months later - they have always been treated with Advocate and we haven't had a flea in the house since!

Just keep at them - you will win in the end!

I found using a steam cleaner for the carpets ( unfurnished property at the time ) in combination with Stay-Kil-a few sprays only required - worked very well for me.

Find a flea spray that uses sillicon instead of incecticides as this suffocates and kills ALL stages of the flea life cycle. Wipe out and skoosh are the only 2 that I know. May give better results.

It appears Skoosh is being discontinued which isn't great news. I don't know why, could be it was so good at what it did that there's no profit in it because of a lack of repeat sales.

definitely try steaming/shampooing carpets & upholstery. If you have'nt got one you can hire them from 'rug doctor'.

All other fabric stuff needs washing on high temp, this includes duvets,pillows,clothe etc. After everything has been cleaned treat with powders/sprays again & hopefully all should be ok. It's worth throughly vacumming everyday for week or so to make sure everything has been got. Hope it gets sorted, as a last resort there are flea bombs which would require she moves out for a couple of days.

Thank you so much everybody for your replies. I have passed on all the info. to my daughter. Steam cleaning is the only thing she hasn't tried yet and luckily I have a steam cleaner! She asked Environmental Health for advice so if all else fails they will do a job for £76. I hope it doesn't come to that, she's already paid a small fortune for products, but it has to be done.

I was having a terrible time with fleas earlier this year because the Frontline was no longer effective. So as fast as I was de-fleaing the house, new blighters were coming back in on the cats.

I saw the name Advocate come up here and was especially keen on the bit that advised that it also kills fleas in the areas that the cat comes into contact with. It is a spot-on, available from the vet, and it also combats ear-mites and MOST (but not all) worms.

Well, I can only say that since starting using it 4 months ago, I haven't seen a single flea in the house. I personally think it is quite brilliant.

But that is only my experience of it.

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