Ok, so it seems either my dog or my cat has brought us the lovely gift of fleas.

Dog was taken to groomers and treated today but fleas weren't apparent on cat until this evening. Neither OH nor I have seen any fleas on the furniture or on us, and we haven't noticed any flea bites. Nevertheless, I know it will be necessary to treat our whole home to prevent the infestation from returning.

Does anyone know what home flea treatments are safe for use in a house with a pregnant woman? OH is planning on treating the carpets with boric acid tomorrow while I am out of the house, but what can we use on the furniture? Are sprays safe?

I'd treat the animals, not the house. My cats had an awful infestation. It was so bad that whenever they settled anywhere, when they got up again where they were sitting would be coated in what looked like sugar (but was actually eggs). So I took them to the vets as the flea stuff from the pet shop didn't work, and got some stronger stuff. The fleas were all dead within a few days, and I never found them in the house (no eggs etc).

Whenever our cats get fleas I treat the house not the cats as the fleas/eggs live in carpets/soft furnishings and only jump on the animals to feed and lay eggs.

AS for treating the furniture/carpets I use acclaim household flea spray.
I don't know if it's safe for pregnancy though.
It does kill both fleas and the eggs for up to 12 months.
I have always successfully got rid of all fleas using this method.

I'm not sure what is safe to use during pregnancy, maybe get a customer services number for the flea product you want to use?

Hubby and I had an issue a couple years ago with our cats, it was the worst case of fleas I'd ever experienced, it was so bad we were hiding in our room.

Some friends suggested vetkem
http://www.vet-kem.com/siphotrolplusiipremisespray.htm
You spray it around the baseboards (apparently they love to have their eggs there) and wherever else it tells you.
It does work! Although it was a couple years ago and I really don't know how it is for pregnant women but I'm sure leaving the house for a couple hours while hubby sprays wouldn't hurt.
We did that and then started using advantage on our cats and we haven't had an issue since.

I wish you luck in getting rid of them!

*Edit* The cheap stuff you can buy in stores will not work, it's all crap!

You can bath the animals in Zodiac flee/tick shampoo.... it works really well... and on your carpet find some powder that is all natural. I bought some stuff that was made from all kinds of herbs.... it worked wonders.... If you want I can PM you the info when I get home.....

Our two cats have got fleas at the moment....we've tried front line and all sorts of stuff to treat the house with too but none of it has made a difference. The sprays were the worst IMO as you have to leave the room completely for an hour (people and pets aren't supposed to breathe it in according to the bottle) and then thoroughly air the room (not good when your windows are painted shut!!)

We've got them booked in at the vets for an injection that kills off the fleas - it's effective for 6 months apparently but the vet says it's very good!

The vet also said that by killing them off on the cats that will stop the food source and they'll die off pretty quickly within the house then too.

What about people though? Fleas don't just go after pets

Lemon & citrus scents also deter fleas, you can also buy a mini lamp thing with a sticky sheet you place in the bottom, Its scented & the heat attracts the fleas to jump to it then end up stuck to the sticky pad & dead. That is a good one to place in a room overnight & close the door, The carpet powders are useless !!

There is a spray not sure what it's called spray it like mad all over the room & back out for the night. Make sure no animals are in there & if you have fish tanks cover them with a sheet if poss & spray below the tank aiming low down.

Yes fleas can bite people but not everyone, if you are bitten the best thing for it is calamine lotion straight away. If you manage to catch a flea *shudders* you have to pop/crack it, so either squeezing it between 2 nails or cracking it on a hard surface with you nail as if you give it a millimetre to jump it will.

You can also get a spray from the vets which is around £17-£20 a bottle to treat your animals with at home. You spray on your pet & rub in all over & leave.
You can also buy a flea shampoo which does also work at getting rid, but doesn't stop them coming back it just gets rid of the ones on the animal then. Any pet bedding will need to be washed on the highest setting you can. Most people with a pet at some time or another will admit they've had fleas or seen the odd 1.
Little buggers they are hun.

Ahh thank you all ladies! Cat was bathed today (God was that fun!) and OH treated the house while I went to a friends for a few hours. Hopefully we caught it before the house was infested too much. Both our animals LOVE to go outside, so we have applied a spot on treatment to both of them and he is spraying the yard this weekend.