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My brother lives on the 12th floor of a high-rise in Miami. His cat “Vivi” has been living there with him for the past seven years, and that cat doesn’t leave the apartment or condo other than for yearly veterinary exams. Vivi goes in a carrier and comes back in a carrier, and she has never been enabled to roam around outdoors or with other pets. A few weeks ago I got the following recorded message: “Vivi has fleas, and the apartment or condo is full of them! I can’t believe it and don’t understand where she could have picked them up. Please call me back, I really need help with this.”
Although lots of people who live on high floors feel that their family pets are safe from a flea infestation, fleas do often find their way up there. My brother’s floor has several tenants who have dogs, and the whole hallway is carpeted. It is possible that the fleas or larvae hitched a ride into his apartment or condo on his shoes or other parts of his clothing. He also did mention that one of his workers is often enabled to bring her pet dog to work. Her pet dog generally spends the whole day running around the place greeting everyone and possibly depositing fleas/larvae in places and on things that other people bring home.
In places like Florida where flea infestations can occur any time of year, it is even a lot more crucial to always use preventatives and be mindful that these fleas can find your pet even in the most unlikely of places. Preventatives such as Flea3X for your cat or Flea4X for your pet dog are a relatively low cost “insurance” against a full blown infestation.
If you notice fleas on your pet or in your home/apartment here are some suggestions;
Treat the pet with a flea manage product to get rid of the fleas from their fur and body and continue using this monthly for prevention afterwards.
Use a good carpet spray to spray the rugs and upholstery and under furniture considering that dark areas are a favorite location for fleas to hide.
Ensure the safety of the family pets by eliminating them from the location for a few days and then fog the home to eliminate all the life stages of the fleas. Foggers last long enough once sprayed to stop re-infestation of the home.
The home need to then be cleaned really well, and the pet’s possessions and bed linen must be washed in hot water to kill any remaining flea eggs. Rugs need to be vacuumed and furniture cleaned, tile and wood floors need to be mopped and swept.
After all that has been done, it is crucial to keep the pet on flea preventative. Preventatives will not work appropriately after the fact if there is already an infestation unless the above steps or similarly aggressive eradication methods are followed. The home will keep getting huge numbers of fleas hatching and hiding in crevices and in carpeting.
The following can’t be said enough and I need to have told it to my brother so lots of times that he was worn out of hearing it: Flea preventatives are an exceptional way to keep fleas at bay in the first place and when used appropriately (even if you live in a high-rise) they could stop you from having to go through all the trouble of having to treat the whole home because you will a lot of likely have prevented a full blown infestation in the first place.
Another thing that I forgot to mention is that if you live in a house with a yard, it may be helpful to also spray your yard and all the areas that the pet walks with a yard spray such as the Sentry yard and Premise Spray Concentrate. This kills fleas before they enter into your home from outside.
Getting rid of fleas is not as easy as a lot of people think, and if not done appropriately the fleas will keep coming back or hatching weeks after the initial treatment. This can be quite discouraging to a lot of people who try to avoid the crucial step of treating the environment along with the pet. thankfully when my brother called me he was receptive to the directions I provided him and within a few days the fleas were gone.
If for some reason your pet is still scratching after proper treatment, it is crucial to go over this with your veterinarian. A veterinarian may diagnose another reason entirely for the discomfort or itching. As always, the best way to keep our family pets healthy and safe is to develop a good relationship with your veterinarian and by asking questions when something is not clear.
Additionally if you have any questions about your pet’s medication, you may give one of the 1800PetMeds pharmacists a call for assistance. It is never a good idea to use a product or give a medication to your pet that you do not fully understand how to use, or are not clear about the reason for its use.