Where a Dog Picks Them Up
Most dogs with fleas did not catch them from another dog. The flea usually found on dogs in UK homes is the cat flea, and it waits wherever an infested animal has been resting: a sheltered spot under a hedge, a patch of long grass on a regular walk, the area around a neighbour's shed where a cat sleeps. Hedgehog fleas turn up on dogs occasionally too.
Parks and riverside walks are not the problem in themselves. Fleas need somewhere shaded, sheltered and slightly damp, close to where animals lie up. Open, sunny grass is poor territory for them. The odd flea hitching a ride is inevitable for a dog that goes out; what turns it into an infestation is the flea breeding once it is home.
The Garden: Shade, Shelter and Visitors
Your own garden can play a part if animals rest in it. Visiting cats, foxes and hedgehogs leave eggs where they lie, and larvae can survive outdoors in shaded, sheltered ground: under decking, beneath shrubs, in a dry corner by a shed. If your dog has a favourite shady spot outside, that is where to think about first.
Practical things help. Keep the grass short where the dog lies, clear leaf litter from the corners it likes, and block the space under decking if the dog squeezes in there. We do not treat gardens; the treatment that matters is inside the house, where fleas breed far better than they ever do outdoors.
Two Treatments, Not One
The dog needs its own treatment from the vet, or a product the vet recommends. We do not treat animals. We treat the home: a residual insecticide on floors, carpets, soft furnishings and the dog's areas, usually with an insect growth regulator that stops larvae becoming adults.
The one thing that matters most: both treatments, at about the same time. A treated dog in an untreated house keeps getting re-infested from the carpet; a treated house with an untreated dog keeps getting new eggs dropped on it.
The places a dog spends time are the places to focus on before the visit: its bed, the rug by the back door, the sofa if it is allowed up, the landing if it sleeps outside a bedroom. Wash the dog's bedding hot, vacuum those areas thoroughly, and do not forget the car if the dog travels in it. The car, the dog bed and the routes a pet uses are covered on our page on the car, the dog bed and the pet's routes.
On the Day
The dog goes out, ideally for a walk or to a friend's, and everybody stays out of the treated rooms until they have dried. Follow the instructions you are given on the day. At booking, let us know about anyone pregnant, a baby, asthma or another breathing condition, and any fish, birds, reptiles or small caged animals.
The price is a fixed £220 — confirmed with you before the visit is booked in.
Keeping It From Starting Again
Regular flea treatment for the dog, kept up all year, is the single most useful habit, because a dog that walks daily will always meet the odd flea. Washing its bedding often and vacuuming where it lies does the rest. A fuller routine is set out on our page about keeping fleas away for good.