Flea control in Faerie Glen

Fleas are beaten by treating three things at once: the pet, the house and the garden. Your vet looks after the first. We treat the second and third, because that's where most of the eggs, larvae and pupae are waiting. In Faerie Glen, with its gardens, lawns and plenty of dogs and cats, summer flea problems are common, and they usually start outdoors.

Why fleas take hold in summer here

Fleas love warmth and humidity. Highveld summers, with hot days and afternoon storms, give them ideal conditions. The adults live on the animal, but they lay eggs that fall off into carpets, pet bedding, couches, car boots and shaded patches of garden where pets lie. The larvae develop in those places, then spin a cocoon and wait. That waiting stage is tough. It can sit for weeks until vibration and warmth, like someone walking across a room, tell it a host is nearby.

That's why people coming home from a long holiday sometimes walk into a room and get bitten straight away, even though the house was empty. The fleas were in pupae, waiting.

Fleas outdoors in Faerie Glen gardens

Shaded, sheltered spots are where outdoor fleas build up: under decking, along the side of the house where the dog sleeps, in a sandy patch under a tree, around a kennel. In homes near the reserve, wild animals passing along the boundary can occasionally bring fleas into the garden too, and stray cats sheltering under outbuildings do the same. A treated pet keeps picking up new fleas if the garden is full of them.

Signs of a flea problem

• Pets scratching, biting at their back or the base of the tail
• Small, itchy bites on ankles and lower legs
• Black specks in the pet's coat or bedding that turn reddish on damp paper (flea dirt)
• Tiny dark insects jumping on light-coloured carpet or socks

How we treat fleas

We ask you to have your pets treated by the vet at the same time, ideally the same day. Once you've vacuumed thoroughly, we treat the house: carpets, rugs, under furniture, pet beds, skirting edges and anywhere the animals sleep or rest. Outside, we treat the shaded resting areas, under decks and around kennels. We use odourless, non-staining residual treatments that keep working for a while, so newly hatched fleas are killed as they emerge.

Keep children and pets off treated floors until they're completely dry, then carry on as normal. Keep vacuuming every day for the next couple of weeks. It triggers waiting pupae to hatch, which brings them into contact with the treatment.

Moving into a unit that had pets

We get a fair number of calls from people who have just moved into a Faerie Glen townhouse or village unit and started getting bitten within days. The previous occupants had a dog or cat, the unit stood empty for a few weeks, and the pupae in the carpets were simply waiting for someone to walk in. If you're moving into a home where pets lived, it's worth having the carpets treated before your furniture goes in. It's quicker and easier with empty rooms.

What people get wrong

Treating only the pet. A flea collar or a tablet kills fleas on the animal, but if the carpets and garden are full of pupae, new fleas keep jumping on. The opposite mistake is spraying the house while the dog goes untreated. Either way, the cycle carries on. Fleas are a whole-household problem.

A local tip

If your dog's favourite spot is a shady patch of sand against the boundary wall, rake it and let the sun get at it. Flea larvae need shade and moisture, and they don't survive well in hot, dry, sunlit soil.

What does it cost?

The cost depends on the size of the house, how many rooms the pets use and whether the garden needs treating. A small flat with one cat is a light job. A large house with dogs that roam the garden, sleep on the couches and ride in the car takes longer. If the problem is mild and caught early, a vet treatment plus thorough vacuuming may be enough on its own, and we'll say so.

Not all itchy bites come from fleas. If you don't have pets but still get bitten, our page on biting insects in Faerie Glen helps narrow it down. For the full Pretoria service, see our flea treatments across Pretoria, and Lynnwood residents can look at flea control in Lynnwood. Our overview of pests in Faerie Glen covers the rest.

We're SAPCA registered. If fleas return within three months of our treatment, we'll come back. Call 012 012 5526, or WhatsApp us a description of where the bites are.