Why Are Fleas Still Biting After the Pet Has Been Treated in Duxford?

The short answer is that a treatment on the pet only deals with fleas on the pet. The eggs, larvae and pupae are elsewhere, and in a village house with a cat flap or a dog that roams the garden, there is a second route as well: new fleas arriving from outside.

Living close to the airfield and the open land around Duxford, many people let their cats roam, and a dog may well spend as much time outside as in. That is a lovely way to keep an animal, but it does mean you cannot treat the house in isolation. In Duxford, the sensible approach is to deal with both the animal and the rooms, and to keep the animal protected afterwards.

Two Separate Sources

When you are still being bitten, it helps to separate two questions. Is the house holding a population that was already there, or is something bringing fleas in?

Left over from before

Eggs shed by the pet before treatment are in the places it has rested. These hatch, the larvae feed in the carpet or floor, and the pupae wait. For a while, adults keep emerging. This is the usual cause in the first few weeks.

Coming in with the animal

A cat that goes out will meet other animals, and may pick up fleas in a shed, under a hedge or from another cat. A good vet-recommended treatment should protect the animal, but it has to be kept up continuously. A lapse of a couple of weeks is enough to let fleas back in.

Duxford Houses, Old and New

Older cottages in the village often have uneven floors and gaps where eggs settle. Newer houses tend to be fully carpeted, which suits larvae just as well. Neither type is easier to deal with; the approach is the same, and it depends on which rooms the pet uses.

What to Do This Week

1. Confirm with your vet that the pet treatment is current and correctly dosed.
2. Vacuum thoroughly everywhere the animal goes, then empty the vacuum into a sealed bag outside.
3. Hot wash the bed and any removable covers.
4. Note whether bites are mostly at ankles, and in which rooms.

Cleaning will reduce the population, but it cannot reach pupae in the pile or between boards. We would not claim otherwise.

If It Carries On

Our flea control in Duxford costs £220 for the first room and £60 per additional room. It is fixed, there is no call-out fee, and the figure is confirmed before we start. See the flea treatment cost guide for what happens on the day. After treatment, do not vacuum or wash the carpets for two weeks, and keep using the rooms normally. If fleas return within 14 days we re-treat free.

You can call 01223 902388 or send a WhatsApp message and tell us where the animal sleeps and where you are being bitten.