We are, quite literally, fleabags, help...

[itching as I type] No idea really but we used to get them in Norfolk. I remember Mum having a little cup of soapy (i.e. washing up liquid) water with her all the time as that was the only thing that killed them; they're so resistant to death. So that would be my top tip ?

Yikes, poor you.

Our cat sleeps on our bed and we got caught out once and it's horrid - we sprayed the bed, carpet etc as well as we could with an OTC spray and that seemed to do the trick but I think we had a very limited infestation.

I'm sure someone else will have better advice - i'd imagine dry cleaning will kill fleas and eggs but you might just need to change the sheets.

Give everywhere a good hoover, that will pick up a big proportion of the eggs/larvae. Wash all bedding tomorrow. Acclaim and skoosh are good household sprays to use, safe to return to the treated rooms after half an hour. I tend to spray upstairs during the day time and treat downstairs before going bed. Pay particular attention to room/wall edges.

I become a manic woman when I discover fleas in the house, you have my sympathies.

Oh gawd, I have been there, you have my sympathies. I was up the stick with the small one and my legs looked like they had been eaten alive. On advice from here we just got out the big guns and bought spray from the vets and sprayed (well Mr P did) everything any anything then hoovered it all (with a flea collar in the hoover just to pin the nail on the coffin of the little barstewards). I stayed out of the way for the day and it worked a treat. I was beyond mortified about it for ages, I just felt so filthy ☹️.

I feel your pain. This happened to me a few years ago and its just awful. Its very very easy for your home to become infested, especially in this warm weather, so don't feel too bad about it. I am pretty sure that some of the sprays on the market are ok to use when you have small children. Just read the labels carefully before using. Would it be possible to spray the house, top to bottom and then go out for a few hours or even a whole day? That way, you're limiting the childrens exposure to any fumes.

Oh yes, if you do catch a flea, make sure you crack it in half between your finger nails, squashing it isn't enough sadly.

It is horrible isnt it

if you dont want to fleabomb then i think the best thing is to hoover everything and then take the bag to the tip or burn it - this will get rid of most of the live ones so long as you are thorough

there is a flea treatment you can use called program ( i think that is right) that doesnt just kill the fleas it destroys fertility every time they feed - so you treat the cat/dog every month and after a couple of months the problem is neutralised without having to rip the house apart

if you want to get a spray you can use in isolated areas too then get one from the vets - the ones you can get from pet shops etc are not the same strength as only the vets are licensed to sell them

The flea collar in the hoover sounds a good idea but don't forget to dump the hoover bag if you have one!

There''s no shame...animals pick up fleas (unfortunately)

We get a great spray from the vets which seems to sort the house out. Expensive but worth it

Thanks all and thanks for making me feel less skanky. shall go to vets today for flea treatment and just nuke the place, I am sure I can go out somewhere to avoid it all if I have to - three little blighters in the bed this am despite all my efforts and my legs are bitten to heck. and one on the baby, sob.

how come my husband hasn't been bitten? ? bizarre...

My OH never gets bitten

The spray we have you do each room, leave it for a few minutes, and then it's OK

Mr P never got bitten either (I was an all you can eat buffet), which is possibly why my problem went on so long... the old "if it isn't happening to me then it can't be urgent" routine [sigh]?.

We had an infestation last year - it was horrendous - and it took us a couple of months to bring it under control. We found that Frontline wasn't effective with our dog and cat - it was as if the fleas were immune to it. We now use Stronghold in conjunction with Program - sort of hitting it from two directions - and I'm really REALLY vigilent about treating them on time. I've got it written in my diary every month so I don't forget!!

We bought a special spray from the vet to treat our house and we also bought a really noxious spray to treat our dog which had to do at the local park and walk him for three hours before we could bring back home again. I really hope this year won't be a repeat of last.

Ugh poor you! We had this problem a few years ago and I decamped to my parents because I was being eaten alive. I had to send Mr G to the house to get things as he didn't seem to react to the bites. In the end we got a professional in which sorted it all, have you looked into that? I think we just had to stay out for the day which was alright.

We had this a couple of years ago and I called a man in to treat the whole house. I had to keep out of the house for half a day, but within a couple of weeks every last trace of flea was gone, and we've never had a problem again. It cost about £50, which I think is worth it for least hassle and guaranteed results.

Try the council for the best rates, and they should be able to send someone round very quickle.

I have to say, i'd consider getting a man in. I spent about £30 on cans of vet-approved flea removing spray. And on that occasion, Ro and I were Puss's proverbial buffet, Lexi and Mr Jk got off virtually scott-free.

Hi i feel your pain i had our cat on my knee the other night and i saw a little blighter on her leg we used Johnsons flea tabs for cats and a bob martin fogger in a black and yellow box we find those two products work the best the foggers are great just pop them off in the all rooms bar kitchen and leave them for cople of hours done...bedroom wise i just stripped the bed and lay everything out and put the spray in had no more problems...hth