Flea treatment

When making a booking for flea treatment you are authorising Stroud District Council to carry out the treatment and/or destruction of pests on the above premises. Please let us know well in advance if you are unable to keep your appointment. If you fail to keep an appointment or give less than one working days’ notice you may be charged for the full cost of the treatment.

The most common fleas to infest homes are cat or dog fleas and fleas are usually brought into homes by pets (The human flea is now very rare).  So the best way to keep your home free from fleas is to ask your vet about effective flea treatments for your pet dogs and cats. Adult fleas leave the animal and get under the edge of carpets, into the seams of furniture, into pet's bedding or anywhere quiet and warm.  Here the female will lay her eggs, which hatch after a few days.  The female feeds semi-digested blood to the larvae.  After a week, the larvae pupate to become adult fleas.  The flea has a clever strategy; it will not emerge as an adult until it knows it can get a feed of blood. It is able to sense the vibration of a passing animal (or human).  Fleas can hatch in huge numbers when people enter a house that has been empty for a while. In either summer time or in a centrally heated house it takes around 10 days for a flea egg to become an adult flea but in cooler environments this could take several weeks.

Preparation for a flea treatment

• Pick up and remove all electrical equipment and trailing electric cables from floor surfaces that require a treatment.
• Vacuum all floor surfaces and empty contents of the vacuum bag into an outside bin.
• Pick up and remove all personal items, clothing, toys, books and any other possessions off floor surfaces. This includes underneath beds and any carpeted walk in wardrobes.

• If you have any pet cats or dogs they must have already been treated with a professional flea treatment from a veterinary practice. Fish tanks should be removed or covered. Any open food should also be covered or removed.

• Declutter and move all items of furniture away from walls.

• Please keep out of rooms during treatment and try to avoid entering treated areas until the treated surfaces have dried. During this period keep windows open to ensure good natural ventilation. Infants and pets must not be allowed to come into contacted with treated surfaces until they are completely dry.

After the treatment

The Pest Control Officer will spray your home with an insecticide to kill the fleas. You may see a faint mark when the spray has dried out. The insecticide is very safe for humans and pets provided that you follow these instructions: -

• Keep children and pets away from treated areas until the insecticide is dry.
• Ventilate treated areas until they are dry.
• Do not vacuum or clean treated areas for two weeks after spraying. If you do, you will remove all the insecticide and the fleas, which are still eggs, will not come into contact with any insecticide when they hatch. The longer you leave the area without vacuuming the greater the chance that treatment will be successful.
• Please Note: Re-visits should not be necessary if the above advice is followed. However, fleas are often reintroduced by untreated pet dogs or cats and, for this reason, we cannot guarantee the eradication of fleas so revisits will normally incur an additional fee.

 Safety advice

Avoid touching the insecticide when it is still wet. In the event of accidental contact:-

• Wash off skin immediately, remove contaminated clothing
• Eyes – rinse at least 15 minutes, seek medical advice
• Ingestion – rinse mouth, seek medical advice
• Inhalation – more than incidental move to fresh air, keep warm, blow nose, seek medical advice

If you would like further advice or information please email the Environmental Health Service on environmental.health@stroud.gov.uk