How do you get rid of fleas?
 

After several bites and other victims reporting of getting bit, I now believe my household is infested with fleas. I don't own any dogs, neither are there any im my neighborhood. The house is immaculately clean, and somehow, a person in my family was working in a place infested with fleas and brought those SOB things to my house. Without resorting, to getting an exterminator how do you get rid of them. I have heard of a few ideas, like turn up the heater, and that will cause them to die, but the heat is already unbearable. I tried steam cleaning the little buggers and I'm still getting bit, I tried Raid, and for a brief moment I felt a little better, but there sure enough still here. Any advice would be appreciated and I sincerely mean that.

Fleas don't live on animals. They feed and then get off. If you vacumn the carpet on a regular basis they shouldn't be around. 99% of the time this will get rid of them. Fleas also need moisture to survive. It sounds like you keep the house very clean so the only thing I can think of is outside near the house. You can buy insecticide for the yard which will kill the majority of them.

Do you see them in the house? If you do then they must be somewhere where you're not cleaning. Change the bed linens and vacumn the furniture is my only suggestion that I can think of.

According to my wife, you can buy a Flea bomb at a pet store. She says that the vet is the best place though because they sell a higher quality product that's more likely to work on the first try.

This is the kind of thing where you set it off and vacate the premises for awhile. It's the only way to get the poison everywhere the fleas are.

Fleas will live in the dirt and grass outside as well, so even if you do bomb the place you need to spray the yard as well.

I vote for the yard. Its the place the littel bastards are living.

One word: "Napalm."

I believe that you can buy flea killing products which can be applied to your carpets. Many years ago we had a similar problem. As I recall the products had all kinds of warnings and we decided to avoid them. In the end, we had all our carpets professionally cleaned and that seemed to solve the problem.

Sounds like you've got quite an infestation. Having experienced the "scourge" of fleas several times, I can tell you that with some effort you will get rid of them.

1. treat the yard
2. spray around the foundation and all entrance ways
3. flea bomb the house including the garage
4. wash ALL laundry, including tennis shoes
5. vacuum thoroughly including your car(s)
6. flea bomb again in about 7-10 days. This is important to kill any remaining eggs and next generation buggers.

It's a lot of work but you will be successful. I know this sounds like overkill, however, having applied this technique I know it definitely works.

Kill products, vacuum everyday.

I found Advantage to also help with my pets from getting more fleas whenever they got outside. Now they can frollock in the flea infested grass without bringing any in the house.

This is the strategy I used.

#6 is critical as the eggs in the carpet can survive the first flea bombing. If you wait longer than 7-10 days, you run the risk of the new generation maturing long enough to lay more eggs.

I sprinkled some borax on the carpet, and then vacuumed, yikes that stuff is terrible, At first I was washing my bedding everyday, now I have had it, I'm now sleeping on a bed with no sheets no blankie, pillow, or comforter. All my clean clothing is sealed in those space age plastic stuff. Today I got bit worse, right on my left tock, it's like my underwear was lined with these things, these guys went to a lot of trouble to bite me, they went through my sweats and underwear.
Since nothing seems to work, I'm going with the bomb, it gives me an excuse to go out of town.

Had a problem years ago when I a) had a cat and b) lived in a neighborhood essentially built on sand dunes which were full of fleas. They were everywhere in the carpet. My live-in girlfriend at the time was organic/natural/everything, so we couldn't use poisons. We bought diatomaceous earth (at natural food store), put it in the carpet and left it there for several days. (we even powered the cat). Then we vaccuumed it up. It was a mess, but that did it.

Later on, living on my own with the cat, we had a flea problem again and I again treated the carpet with a spray. Worked, but I felt like hell for a couple of days after. And it was a "natural" product. Depending on what you use, you may want to sleep elsewhere the night after you spray/bomb/whatever.

I have succesfully used a flea trap that is nothing more
than a night light bulb hung over some sticky back paper..

I have even replaced the paper with duct tape with the
sticky side up---the fleas go for the light at night...they
miss and land on the sticky stuff...

You can buy a commercial version ...

Napalm.

vaccuuming is what we used to get rid of the problem (cats had fleas). But you cant vaccuum once, you must do it every day until the problem it gone. i repeat, every day.

The powder stuff for your carpet is boric acid. You can find it at PetSmart. It worked wonders for me when my house was infested. Lay it down. Don't vaccuum for a week or so, then vaccuum every other day. (I think that's the time frame, it's been several years.)

It not only kills the live fleas, it kills the eggs, too. Be sure to treat the yard - and keep your grass cut.

Feeling a lot better now, didn't do the flea bomb thing but I did use some raid which apparently is supposed to kill adult fleas and eggs, and the boric acid as a counter measure. I don't think that it is the end of it so i'll keep doing it until a month has passed hopefully by then everything will be back to normal. Once again thanks for all your feedback, having fleas is really a drag and I empathetize with anyone who has to go through this ordeal.

Here's what I had to do.

Take all your pets. Put them in your car. Go to a pet groomer and have them all flea dipped. While they're there, take flea bombs and put them in EVERY room in your house. Make sure you close all your windows. Set them off and go out for some food, pick up the animals, and come back when the directions say you can.

Remember to wipe off anything you're going to eat off of afterwards, as this stuff is toxic.

You may also want to ask the groomer to flea dip you but only if he/she is cute :D

I've found that the special flea version fogger (Raid) works real well, especially if retreated in the 7-14 day timeframe. .....and don't forget to change the vacuum cleaner bag (eggs that survive and are vacuumed up will hatch, escape the bag and re-infest)...

I agree the most important thing is to repeat any treatment after 7 to 10 days so you don't get re-infested.

Thanks

Thanks again for all your tips, you've all been very helpful. I haven't got bit during this week, and I plan on re-spraying some RAID soon.

Oh and Casdin, I don't have any pets, but I might throw my relative in the flea dip if anymore flea attack me.:)

Wear a Flea collar..... :D

Very funny jumpingbeans...

i'm having flea trouble too... maybe i'll
try to make that flea trap like viejo gringo said...

use one of the many Room Fogger products available at the hardware or even grocery store... they really work, but follow the directions...

Arson.




Or Napalm.

You may think it's funny, but i had a boss who fought in Desert Storm - his unit wore flea collars on each wrist and it really did fend off the little buggers..

Either way, you're on the right track.. You may want to consider treating your yard tho, and a repeat treatment is key to staying flea free. We helped my grandparents with them once. It's no picnic but worth the effort.

Think hardwood floors.

Carpet, any carpet is disgusting. Bacteria, dust, dirt, mould, spooge, it all lives in carpet.

Tear the shit up, put down some nice oak hardwood and you will never suffer from dust allergies and fleas again.

You can vacuum that carpet for a week, you will never get it clean.