Last spring, a very friendly and cute calico cat showed up at our door. I tried to ignore her for a few days, but finally gave in and fed her. Not the best idea I’ve had. Eventually this lovely stray cat had six lovely kittens, each cuter than the next. This combined with my own two cats (yes, they were also strays who showed up at the doorstep over the years) and my daughter’s cat meant we had 10 cats running around our house this summer.
We’re down to six now – two kittens tried to escape by hiding in Brent’s truck. We found and returned one after a delightful chase scene at the local gas station, but the other we’ve not seen since. One kitten was adopted and another was lost to a failed attempt at crossing the road. My daughter’s cat – a lifelong indoor cat – decided one day she wanted to be an outdoor cat. She hung around the front door for a week, but we haven’t seen her for a month now.
The downside to all this is that flea treatment is freakin’ expensive! And fleas like to hitch rides on our clothing, making the transition from outdoor pests to little bitty indoor torture machines. So now we have to undertake the painstaking and time consuming task of ridding the house of fleas. (Anyone want to adopt a kitten or two? Please?!)
Here’s how it’s done, according to my brother, Bill, the pest control professional:
Supplies needed:
§ Vacuum bags – lots of them. 10 or 12 is not too many.
§ Moth balls
§ Flea Spray with IGR (Insect Growth Regulator), or one that says it “kills all stages of fleas – eggs, larva, pupa, adult.” NOT flea bombs.
§ Insect granules that lists “fleas”
1) Arrange to have cat flea dipped as it will need to be out of the house for several hours anyhow.
2) Get EVERYTHING off the floor, this includes bottom of closets, under beds, storage rooms, etc. YOU MUST TREAT 113% OF THE FLOORS!!
3) Buy extra vacuum bags and moth balls, you’re going to need them.
4) Vacuum all floors, be they carpeted or hard wood. Put 2 moth balls in the vacuum bag first! When you’re done, take the bag outside to the trash or burn it.
5) Buy flea spray (no "flea bombs") that says it has an IGR in it (Insect Growth Regulator), or it may say "kills all stages of fleas, egg, larva, pupa, adult.” You can buy it at Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc. Read label VERY carefully as it will tell you how many square feet it will cover. DON'T MISS ANY OF THE FLOOR!!!!!!
6) Wait about 5-6 hours and vacuum again - with moth balls in the vacuum bag - and dispose of the 2nd bag. Vacuum every day for a week in the same manner.
7) In about 2 weeks you will see some fleas again, this is normal. You can not kill all stages no matter what the label says. The chemical you have put down will still be there and it will kill them. When you start to see them like that, whip out the vacuum and mothballs again and vacuum 2-3 times each room and trash the bag. You should be done at this point.
8) Buy a bag of insect granules, (kind doesn’t matter as long as fleas are listed on the label) and spread them over the entire yard. Do this the day you spray. The granules are clay or ground corn cob with pesticide on them and need rain/watering to activate.
9)You may want to invest in some Top Spot or some other type of flea stuff for the cat; flea collars only cover about 12 inches, so your cat’s ass will still have fleas.
So, if you ever find yourself covered in fleas, now you know how to get rid of them. And if you ever find yourself looking into the eyes of a very friendly and very cute stray cat begging you piteously for food, go ahead and feed it – right AFTER you treat it for fleas!
