Cat fleas

My DS's cat, when young, frequently brought in grass snakes and DS put them back into the woodland over the fence. He could never be sure if it was the same snake that she kept bringing back or if she had found a nest of them.

not slow worms? Grass snakes? They may be drawn by the warmth. Not really a problem unless you step on them (I bet they are a protected species), or are snake phobic, is it? Lovely creatures - catch them an put them near the compost.
I once found some squashed lizards under a carpet. I think they crawled in via the air brick.

Meant to add that the snakes, although sound horrid, are not the problem that fleas are.

Probably someone you might call my closest friend has a baby snake problem. Our view is that her cat is bringing them in. But we don't really know. After the first four and a break of four days she thought that was it.

Three baby snakes later. Maybe there are more as I haven't spoken to her for almost 36 hours.

These are baby versions of a harmless (unless you are a slug, snail, puppy dog's tail or a small rodent) snake that can grow to over a metre long.

I have just googled Nuvan Top to find it contained organophosphates. I am now wondering if that's what caused my dog to suffer liver failure and die at the age of 5. I agree with Jess that these products could be very dangerous and we should be careful about their use.

We have just had our workplace de-flead. I am wondering what they used and whether it's safe to go back.

I'm wary of insecticides myself. I had a breast cancer in my 40s. We all search for reasons I know. But I did wonder whether using flea powder (for the dogs) containing lindane was one of the factors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindane
Looking back I wonder why I put that powerful nit killer on my kid's scalps, which also contained organochlorides.
Hoovering carpets and furniture very enthusiastically and regularly, and boiling or changing any pet bedding should break the life cycle of fleas - the eggs and larval stages develop in such places and not on the animal.

flea bomb/fogger . I avoid Bob Martin products which I feel are not powerful enough.

That's just made me think of what you said on another thread kitty about your mother being Hyacinth Bucket. I think my mum was Hyacinth Bucket in reverse if that makes sense. She was very suspicious of anyone with middle class leanings or above

You're right, Nuvan top is banned Tegan. I don't know why but I'm sure it was something pretty toxic - to us as well as the fleas. It worked a treat though didn't it?

I think in the past dogs and cats lived outside, so it wasn't such a problem. Except for those belonging to the aristocracy and my mum always said they were a mucky lot anyway.

Hope we haven't got any aristocratic gransnetters

I can go one better, Tegan, having found a large slug in my kitchen a couple of weeks ago. No idea how it can possibly have got there.

We used to use a spray called Nuvan Top [sp] on the cats. I'm sure it's a banned substance now [for once I'm not going to google it because I don't want to know] but holding a struggling cat at arms length whilst trying to spray it [and attempting not to breathe at the same time] was a nihhtmare. I suppose in the past houses didn't have carpets and they were much colder so there wouldn't have been such a problem. Given that I've got moths in my clothes, fleas on my dog and rats in my compost bin I feel as if I'm under siege.....[although I am using various things to fight back]

That's good.
What I do is replace her flea collar rather more often than they say!

Last year, on our return from holiday we found my DS and DiL's house infested with cat fleas. My DiL rushed down to catch the pet shop before it closed and came back with 'bombs' to set off in each room. We had to sit outside for a couple of hours but it was a pleasant afternoon!
Alie, I didn't leave your house with flea bites so you're off that hook.

Frontline on back of neck has always worked for our Moggies. Its been a joy to be flea free for years...can remember the days before frontline....on hands and knees hoovering the blighters up!

My DiLs cats get an injection every six months for fleas.

Just had my son and his spaniels here for lunch and they were only treated for fleas yesterday after evidence earlier in the week. I can't stop scratching.

Frontline Combo is good and you can get one that ensures fleas are obliterated throughout their cycle so any eggs laid in your house don't hatch.

The embarrassing thing if my cat gets fleas is - I don't react if I get bitten,as I suppose I do.
Which means that I only know about it when someone else, a visitor, gets a bite.....

shysal; what are fogger/bombs? My dog had fleas this summer for the first time I can recall. I had got a bit slack with the Frontline as she very rarely comes into contact with other dogs and we no longer have cats. I don't think she'd had them for long as I noticed a few lumps on her head and I was worried that she'd got another kind of tumour [she had some benign ones the other year]; was horrified to realise she'd got visitors. Sprayed the rooms and the furniture but only with stuff bought from a pet shop, really needed something from a vet. I won't be so complacent again. My daughters cat has an injection when he has his annual check up that kills them [I'm sure she's not getting it mixed up with an injection for worms]. It really is horrible, isn't it [and embarrassing ]. The joys of owning pets .

medic - nightmare isn't it.

We use spot on but also buy a flea-collar to wear all the time. We attach bells to the collar to try to give mice and baby birds some warning. The small wildlife round here are all deaf.

The vet can supply a liquid flea killer to be rubbed in if the cat will tolerate it. Although I use Frontline spot-on monthly, one of mine once came home from a week-long absence with large fleas lined up around her ears, which I had to pick off with a tick remover. For the house the best option may be room fogger/bombs, to be done an area at a time, moving around the house.
I shall never forget as a child coming home from holiday to find my faux fur bedside rug absolutely jumping with cat fleas! My vet neighbour says a poorly or elderly cat has less resistance which could lead to infestation despite preventative measures.
Good luck!