Human vs Fleas

[MBS500]

Well, long story short.
I live with friends, young couple.
My friends wife wanted a cat really bad.
So in February I found q beautiful kitten on craigslist and picked it up from family which had to many pets and couldn't afford it.
Anyway about 2-3 weeks ago we noticed that our kitty is scratching to much. ( it had anti flea leash several times).
We hound some fleas and started giving frequent bath with anti flea shampoo and sprays and some gel that goes on cats neck.
I went on long road trip for a week from Louisville to Mexican gulf shore to Atlantic shore all the way to Miami and Key West ( 3000 miles, awesome round trip in my new to me MB).
So, I came back couple days ago and immediately I got several bites.
As of today I got about 100 bites mostly on my left leg, up to my butt.
Much (several) less on the right one.
My friends, don't have any. Buddies wife has one or 2.

Holy @%^& they itch so bad, I never had any bites like that, and so many of them.My dad gave me spray that helps from poison Ivy and bugs, it works, but for several hours.
While I was gone, my friends bought foggers, but they were general ones vs insects, and washed cat almost every day.
After a day of research and itching, I said F U fleas ( actually caught couple on my socks), vacuumed whole apartment, sprayed couches/beds/carpet. Washed everything in sanitize mode/ washed cat/ installed flea foggers in bedrooms and covered carpet with flea powder. Today I got more killing spray/spray for myself/spray for cat. 2 more foggers in living room and powder. Of course everything got vacuumed again and I washed my cloth and sheets on sanitize mode again. Cat took a bath before fogging and spray after 2 hour drive around.
As for myself--little research lead me to scrubbing all my bites with tooth brush soaked in hydrogen peroxide and then covering all of them with liquid bandage. Seems to help. Also sprayed my legs today twice with extra strength insect repellent with 90% deet. Spayed bed and surrounding area with Fabreze anti flea spray.
stated taking my B vitamin complex again and bought and took garlic gels.
I hope those busters won't bite me again.
It's horrible,never had anything like that, and I was around pets since childhood.
I wonder why those fleas only bite our kitty and me? not others? Why do they bile my left leg, but mostly don't touch the right one?
What can you guys recommend? I know spraying engine oil around will kill them, but it will kill others too

I know that fleas hate Boric acid, lemons, vinegar, deet. What else? We will continue washing cat/vacuuming everyday and foggers like ones a week.
I also set up home made tap. Little pan with soapy water and LED light. So far caught 7 fleas.
2 industrial traps were ordered yesterday and should arrive tomorrow.
P.S. I live in condo/apartment (so no lawn)and we don't let our cat to even go on a balcony anymore.

 

[Stu_Rock]

Keeping the humidity low and frequent cleaning will keep their population down, but it's almost impossible to eradicate them from a house without chemical weapons. Dusting the furniture and carpets with amorphous diatomite (from the pet store, not the stuff from the pool store, which is dangerous) will also help kill the larvae and adults by abrading their exoskeletons off.

Frontline and Advantage work. Seriously, go to a vet and get one or the other. One vet I know thinks that it's most effective to alternate them each month.

I took in a kitten in from the outside who brought fleas with him. With two other cats inside, it became a huge infestation. At this point, the house is flea-free. The chemicals are the only things that solved the problem 100%.

 

[Silk]

We call them dust fleas - go away for Xmas holidays (summer) and come home to a house full of fleas.

 

[Andy636]

Kinda off topic but in case you didn't knew already washing the cat everyday is bad for her health. Once a week is the most that you should do it.

 

[crinkles]

frontline or advantage/advantix. pricey but kills the fleas across the lifecycle and in all bedding or anywhere else they go.

 

[bullwinkle]

I actually use Revolution, on both cats, once a month. Seems the little buggers were becoming resistant to Frontline & Frontline Plus. Vacuum a LOT, spray the basement, seems to have them pretty much under control (knock on wood!).

 

[Turk]

A cat isn't worth all that.

By-by kitty.

 

[Donald]

Are you waiting the day or two after applying Frontline before washing the cat?

Don't use too many chemicals at once on the cat.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

One of my parents cats got the fleas (long haired ragdoll) but the other one (short hair snowshoe) didn't oddly enough.

It got to the point that the long haired one was yowling and doing all sorts of crazy things. Apparently the fleas were really bugging him.

She had tried frontline - we give them frontline each month - and a few pills to no avail.

She ended up giving him a sponge bath with dawn dish soap and taking the hair trimmers and buzzing off his lower belly.

He hasn't had fleas now for a few weeks.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

You never mentioned what you did to combat fleas outside your house.

Be sure to have a 'Dial-A-Spray bottle with liquid Ortho, Spectricide or Bayer bug killer. Also Ortho Bug-Be-Gone Max dry power in a Scotts drop spreader (set on 10-1/2) works well. Be sure to hand spread around the garden, flower beds and shrubs.

Yes - fleas can come indoors everytime you open your entrance doors. Some folks even use the powder on their driveways - then activate it with a garden hose (fine spray).
Always activate the powder immediately.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

WIKI info that may help. Know thy enemy:

"Fleas are holometabolous insects, going through the four life cycle stages of egg, larva, pupa, and imago (adult). The flea life cycle begins when the female lays after feeding. Adult fleas must feed on blood before they can become capable of reproduction.[5] Although reproduction is normally asexual, for at least one specie, under stress conditions, female fleas produce male fleas. [7]. Eggs are laid in batches of up to 20 or so, usually on the host itself, which means that the eggs can easily roll onto the ground. Because of this, areas where the host rests and sleeps become one of the primary habitats of eggs and developing fleas. The eggs take around two days to two weeks to hatch.[3]

Flea larvae emerge from the eggs to feed on any available organic material such as dead insects, feces, and vegetable matter. They are blind and avoid sunlight, keeping to dark places like sand, cracks and crevices, and bedding. Given an adequate supply of food, larvae should pupate and weave a silken cocoon within 1–2 weeks after 3 larval stages. After another week or two, the adult flea is fully developed and ready to emerge from the cocoon. They may however remain resting during this period until they receive a signal that a host is near - vibrations (including sound), heat, and carbon dioxide are all stimuli indicating the probable presence of a host.[3] Fleas are known to overwinter in the larval or pupal stages.

Once the flea reaches adulthood, its primary goal is to find blood and then to reproduce.[8] Adult fleas only have about a week to find food once they emerge, but after that they can survive two years to three years between meals. Flea populations are evenly distributed, with about 50% eggs, 35% larvae, 10% pupae, and 5% adults.[3] Their total life cycle can be as short as one year, but may be several years in ideal conditions. Female fleas can lay 5000 or more eggs over their life, allowing for phenomenal growth rates.

Adult female rabbit fleas, Spilopsyllus cuniculi, can detect the changing levels of cortisol and corticosterone, hormones in the rabbit's blood that indicate she is getting close to giving birth. This triggers sexual maturity in the fleas and they start producing eggs. As soon as the baby rabbits are born, the fleas make their way down to them and once on board they start feeding, mating, and laying eggs. After 12 days, the adult fleas make their way back to the mother. They complete this mini-migration every time she gives birth.[9]

Newly emerged adult fleas live only about one week if a blood meal is not obtained. However, completely developed adult fleas can live for several months without eating, so long as they do not emerge from their puparia. Optimum temperatures for the flea's life cycle are 70°F to 85°F (21°C to 30°C) and optimum humidity is 70%.[9]"

A long time ago, wife #2 and I had fleas due to a cat. We were getting the upper hand and went away for the weekend. The heater pilot light went out and the house froze up. No pipes burst, but the fleas in the trailer and the fleas on the cats were dead...had assumed room temperature. How fortunate for us.

 

[MBS500]

I live in condo on 3rd floor, so no yard, cat went outside twice in his life wearing anti flea collar.
I did spray rug and chairs on the balcony with Raid anti flea spray couple days ago and yesterday with spray bottle from other brand along with sofas, beds, cat beds and so on inside.
I used 3 different brand powders for the carpets, and everything gets vacuumed frequent. We set off flea fogger bombs twice.
Everything together seems to improve things so far.

Cat will be washed again in couple of days. Yesterday she was washed, all fleas were picked of her and killed (about 7). At least I'm happy that out kitty is not crazy about taking baths and sits quietly and enjoys it most time (It's a Bengal mixed with something, Bengals can go and swim together with you into lake for example).
After bath we applied gel/oil that goes on cats neck. And sprayed with all natural flea repellent for animals.

My homemade trap caught about dozen of those suckers so far.
Vacuum trash container had lots and lots of half dead fleas, they were dumped into trash bag and taken to big trash dumpster.

Traps from Amazon should arrive tomorrow.
I still wonder why those suckers bite only me and cat,not other 2 people?

 

[morris]

i donated the gunney sack. and bricks.

 

[PandaBear]

I was going to suggest Permethrin type of pesticide, but since you have a cat it will kill it.

 

[tdpark]

I thought permethrin was safe for humans and pets? I saw that vexcon guy on discovery or what not and he uses the stuff a lot.

 

[spackard]

Vacuum frequently, with a bag-type vacuum.

I use a very fine flea comb, and green masking tape to seal their fate. Cats like the grooming much more than baths and chemicals (though I'm the first to recommend chemicals for fighting ants and flies).

The comb is chromed steel, with a wooden handle, made in England. It used to be available from Pet Supply Imports as PSI 3325, but looks like they no longer import it.
This one may be have as fine teeth as the one I use:
http://www.getpetsupplies.co.uk/product.asp?id=7558&curr=usd
or maybe:
http://www.amazon.com/Safari-Flea-Comb-Cats-Green/dp/B0002RJM7I/ref=pd_rhf_cr_s_cp_3

Other combs in the pet stores are useless for cat fleas.

 

[hr1940]

Have you considered getting a flea bomb from your vet? My daughter had a similar problem and the ones she bought at the store did not work well but the one from the vet took care of the problem.

 

[Mr Nice]

Carpet is a haven for fleas.