Flea treatment in Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth
Fleas live in the carpet far more than they live on the animal.
The eggs drop off into the pile and hatch over the following few weeks, which is exactly why an infestation seems to come roaring back after you’ve treated the dog and thought you were done.
Treating the house and the carpet together is what breaks that cycle.
Why the dog was never the whole problem
What you see on the animal is a small fraction of what is in the house.
The rest is eggs, larvae and pupae down in the carpet, in the gaps between floorboards, and under the edge of furniture that never moves. A pupa can sit there for weeks waiting for something warm to walk past, which is why a house can seem clear and then come alive again a fortnight later.
That is also why treating the pet and treating the property are two different jobs. Your vet handles the first one. We handle the second.
How to tell
- Bites around the ankles and lower legs, usually several close together. Fleas don’t climb far.
- The animal scratching more than usual, or biting at the base of the tail.
- Flea dirt in the coat. Black specks that turn rusty red on a damp piece of paper, because it is dried blood.
- Small dark insects moving fast through the carpet pile when you part it.
- It comes back a few weeks after you thought you had dealt with it. That is the pupae hatching, not a new infestation.
What we do
- Inside and outside. The house and the yard, because the shaded sandy spots where the dog lies are where the outside population sits. Doing one and not the other is how it comes back.
- One side only, if that is genuinely all it needs. It’s priced separately below. We’ll tell you which yours is once we’ve seen it rather than sell you both by default.
- A follow-up if it needs one. The treatment doesn’t penetrate the pupae, so a heavy infestation usually wants a second visit once they have hatched.
Everyone and every pet needs to be out of the house for at least 90 minutes after we spray, and don’t wash the floors for a week afterwards. Vacuuming isn’t only fine, it helps: the vibration brings the pupae out early, which is exactly what you want while the treatment is still down.
Ticks are the same treatment and the same price, and they are in the table below.
If the carpet is due a clean anyway
Doing both in one go makes sense, and we can quote them together.
It’s the same carpet either way, and a flea job followed by a carpet clean a month later is two trips out for work that could have been one. That side of it is on the carpet page.
Questions we get asked
We treated the dog. Why are there still fleas?
Because most of them were never on the dog. The eggs are in the carpet and they hatch on their own schedule.
Is it safe for the animals?
Yes, once it has dried. Everyone and every pet is out for at least 90 minutes, and fish tanks get covered because otherwise the fish don’t make it.
Do I need to do anything before you come?
Vacuum thoroughly and throw the bag out afterwards, and wash the animal’s bedding hot. Both take a real bite out of the population before we have even arrived.
How long until they are gone?
The adults go quickly. What you might still see for a week or two afterwards is newly hatched fleas walking into the treatment, which is the treatment working rather than failing.
What it costs
| House | Inside and outside | Follow-up | One side only | Its follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 bedroom | R1 610 | R1 035 | R1 150 | R748 |
| 4 bedroom | R1 840 | R1 380 | R1 495 | R805 |
| 5 bedroom | R2 013 | R1 610 | R1 725 | R920 |
| 6 bedroom | R2 128 | R1 840 | R1 955 | R920 |
VAT included. Newton Park, Sydenham and Algoa Park are inside the Gqeberha price. Further out there’s a travel charge, and those are on the prices page.
Prices can change. We keep the site up to date as best we can, and the price we quote you before we start is the one you pay.
Tell us about the animals
How many, whether they go outside, and where they sleep. That tells us where to start.
Or phone 061 905 0514 if you’d rather talk to a person.