My attic has fleas! What are the best ways to remove them without vacuuming?

A combination of using a vacuum every other day, flea powders or "bombs" and treating all animals that come into the house with a good-quality monthly flea preventative. After you vacuum, remove the bag and throw away outside so the fleas don't crawl back out. Vacuuming will help remove eggs to prevent hatching and the vibration attracts fleas from out of the carpet. Don't forget to get under beds, couches, tables, etc. https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-get-rid-of-fleas/

See your veterinarian for an exam. Sky may need antibiotics to prevent or treat infection of the sores. A short course of steroids followed by antihistamines may provide relief from the itching. Your vet can also dispense Capstar to kill any adult fleas on Sky. Follow up with a topical preventative such as Revolution or Frontline. Either should be applied monthly for at least 3 consecutive months, preferably year round. Vacuum your home/apartment. Clean everywhere Sky has been. Dispose of the bag outdoors. Wash all bedding in the hottest temperature allowed by the fabric. To prevent reinfestation, use an environmental treatment such as Knockout ES.

Fleas have a cycle of about two weeks. Adult fleas living in your house (usually in the carpets) would lay eggs and take 10-14 days to hatch however they can lay dormant and wake up when they think there is food to feed on. This is probably another cycle hatching. They can be difficult to get rid of as you need to kill adults, wait until the next cycle starts and kill the newly hatched ones before they have time to lay eggs and breed again. This will also depend of the type of product used to treat your house. Depending where you live grocery stores and pet stores sell flea spray/powders but some will only kill actual fleas, some will also kill the eggs. You need to vacuum very well everyday )be sure to get rid of vacuum bag after), wash all bedding and treat carpets, wash floors etc. It'll take some work but you can get rid of them.

I think the best option would be to give your cats an oral flea medication like Comfortis. This medication is very effective and will get the problem under control fairly quickly. This will also be helpful so you won't have to apply anything else to the skin since it sounds like they have some skin issues already. I would also recommend to vacuum well throughout the house and clean all the cat's bedding (this will help remove flea eggs). I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Hi, thabks for using PetCoach! Flea infestations take about 3-6 weeks to break due to the flea life cycle. All pets in the house should be treated with a good long lasting flea preventative. For cats I recommend Bravecto or Comfortis. For dogs with Nexgard, Bravecto or Simparica. You do need to treat the house: vacuum daily and throw bags out each day or clean canister after each vacuum. Put the bag in an outdoor trash can and keep the cans away from the doors. Keep stray cats and wild life away from your doors by removing door mats and sources of food. Sprinkling boric acid powder before vacuuming can help. I am not familiar with sevin 5 dust. https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-prevent-flea-and-tick-infestations-on-your-dog/ I wish you the best!

Neither of those would be very effective against fleas. At a home and garden center you may be able to find sevin dust or granules. It's usually very inexpensive and can be sprinkled in areas that the cats frequent. I would concentrate mainly on areas that are cooler and shaded and less on areas that are in full sunlight most of the day; fleas can't tolerate the higher heat and will be attracted to the cooler areas. Sevin dust is a component in topical flea powders, so being around it would not be harmful to the cats. As alternatives, you could sprinkle borax in the areas or diatomaceous earth to help keep the flea population at bay. Thank you for helping stray kitties!

Bathing your pets in dawn dish soap will help dislodge the fleas, or you can buy a flea shampoo from your local pet shop. I would recommend using a monthly treatment to prevent the fleas if it is available in your area.