Flea control is work on the carpet and the floor, not on the animal
Treating the cat or dog alone will not clear an infestation, because roughly five per cent of it is on the animal. The rest is eggs, larvae and pupae in the carpet pile and along skirting edges. The work is on the floor, not the animal.
How to tell you have fleas
- Bites around the ankles and lower legs, worse near carpets.
- The animal scratching more than usual, particularly at the base of the tail.
- Small dark specks in the animal's bedding that turn red-brown when damp.
- Fleas appearing after the property has been empty for a while, because the pupae respond to movement and warmth.
- Activity concentrated where the animal sleeps rather than where it eats.
Why supermarket sprays do not work
A spot-on treatment handles the animal, which is the small share. Vacuuming helps and is worth doing, but it does not reach the pupae that sit deep in the pile. A flea pupa is armoured against surface treatment, which is why it survives what kills every other stage. That is the reason a single treatment often looks like it failed a week later.
What the technician actually does
- The technician identifies the animal's routes and resting places, which is where the larvae concentrate.
- Carpets, rugs and the skirting edges are treated, along with gaps between floorboards.
- The animal's bedding is treated or removed.
- You are asked to vacuum daily for a period afterwards, because the vibration triggers the pupae to hatch into the treated environment.
- A follow-up visit deals with the wave that emerges from the pupal stage.
An hour to an hour and a half. Expect some activity for a week to ten days as pupae hatch; that is the process working.
The written guarantee on fleas
The 5-year written guarantee covers fleas returning in the treated property, and the follow-up visit for the pupal wave is part of the programme.
What we cannot do
We do not treat the animal. That is a vet's job. And if the animal keeps picking up fleas outdoors, the property treatment holds but the source does not change, so a routine veterinary treatment alongside it is what makes the difference.
How the price is set
Two things set it: the floor area, and how far the infestation has spread by the time we inspect. A flat with a single focus point is not the same job as a villa with activity on two floors, and the gap between them is wide. That is why there is no fixed figure we can give before seeing the place. We give you the number on the call or on WhatsApp after a few questions, and always before anyone comes out.