Fleas in the house - need help!

Woodstockdub

Hello, we have what we think is a flea infestation in our house. We don't own any pet animals so we're not sure of the source of the problem. We don't want to run the risk of inadvertently making things worse by trying to treat this ourselves. We need to get rid of this as soon as possible. If anyone has any experience with this, I'd greatly appreciate any genuine recommendations of treatment approaches and or pest control companies in or near the Dublin area. Thank you.

mymo

Have dealt with this myself a couple of times over the years, you can buy cans of flea spray, wash everything you can wash, spray carpets and soft furnishings, even beds if divans, I've used steamer to do mattress in past.
It's a big job to do yourself, you need a few days, spray, leave a few hours, ventilate then wash.
It's awful I know, but it's not impossible to sort yourself.
Have you just moved in?
Or had stray cat visiting?
My dads house got infested after a stray was coming in a window to snooze on his landing in the sun.

Rancid

I agree with everything mymo says.
It's likely it started in one part of the house and spread, see if you can work out the most heavily infested room and tackle it first.

Clear the floors and hoover at least twice a day. It helps if you get one of those flea collars and put it in the hoover bag and regularly replace the bag.

Indorex spray from the vet is very effective if you follow the instructions on the tin, we've used it more than once. :rolleyes:

dolallyoh

You can get flea traps from diy stores. Have a light bulb and sticky pads. Worked for me when i had similar. Put 2 upstairs and 3 downstairs. Caught about 8 in 3 days.

LirW

The only thing that really helps there is burning your house down. Sorry for dealing with these fartbags.

janmaree

Burning down your house is a bit extreme, they're just fleas after all.

They're a nuisance but they can be treated. Indorex is a very good spray but heavy duty chemicals are involved and I like a non-toxic route if possible. I've used lots of things at this stage but one of the most effective remedies was a homemade flea trap. People always roll their eyes etc., when I describe the process but it's dirt cheap, fairly simple to do and IT WORKS. It also gives you a really good idea of when you are in the clear. You need a washing up liquid solution in warm water in a shallow (pasta style) dish, set on the carpet with a small lamp beside it. The light and heat from the bulb attract the fleas, they land in the bowl of water and the washing up liquid strips the waxy surface off their bodies causing them to drown. This is important because they can escape from plain water. The process is as simple as that. You have to repeat it for a few days to get rid of the bodies and replenish the warm soapy water but you will see the numbers decrease until there are no more new ones. If you don't see them lying in the dish then you're in the wrong part of the house. Small reading lamps work best, the adjustable ones are perfect but any lamp will work. I have done this, it works and the good feeling of no more dead bodies in the water is worth the effort. Good luck, I hope you can give it a try.

Woodstockdub

janmaree wrote: »

Burning down your house is a bit extreme, they're just fleas after all.

They're a nuisance but they can be treated. Indorex is a very good spray but heavy duty chemicals are involved and I like a non-toxic route if possible. I've used lots of things at this stage but one of the most effective remedies was a homemade flea trap. People always roll their eyes etc., when I describe the process but it's dirt cheap, fairly simple to do and IT WORKS. It also gives you a really good idea of when you are in the clear. You need a washing up liquid solution in warm water in a shallow (pasta style) dish, set on the carpet with a small lamp beside it. The light and heat from the bulb attract the fleas, they land in the bowl of water and the washing up liquid strips the waxy surface off their bodies causing them to drown. This is important because they can escape from plain water. The process is as simple as that. You have to repeat it for a few days to get rid of the bodies and replenish the warm soapy water but you will see the numbers decrease until there are no more new ones. If you don't see them lying in the dish then you're in the wrong part of the house. Small reading lamps work best, the adjustable ones are perfect but any lamp will work. I have done this, it works and the good feeling of no more dead bodies in the water is worth the effort. Good luck, I hope you can give it a try.

Thanks janmaree. I tried this approach using shallow (blue) saucers with cold soapy solution in two of the infected rooms overnight but didn't find any fleas in the dishes. Other than using warmer water next time, do you have any thoughts as to why this may not have worked on that occasion? Do you think it only works at nighttime? The bites have mainly occurred at night whilst sleeping. Does it only work if the dish is near the occupied bed, for example? Do you think the dish needs to be left out more than one night to attract them? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.
(The reason we think it's more likely fleas than bed bugs is because I managed to catch one flea on the mattress (identified by a local vet), the bites are almost every night and there has been no sign of the black ink blot faecal stains and casings associated with bed bugs.)

Rancid

Indorex is useful in a really heavy infestation and when you need an immediate solution.
Unfortunately it also eradicates all the spiders and other creatures at the same time.

I've never tried the soapy water with the light over it for heat, but everything suggests that it works very well.
A method I found useful was to walk in the room wearing white socks with a piece of sticky insulating tape in my hand and according as the fleas jumped onto my socks I pressed the tape against them, then folded the tape to squash them immediately.
As you walk the vibration of your footsteps caused the fleas to become active, and they jump onto whatever is moving... cat or dog or foot.
Slow process, but combined with lots of hoovering, it works.

Woodstockdub: If they're biting you in bed, my guess is that they jump onto your feet or legs as you get into bed.

janmaree

First of all, if you're being bitten during the night, then they're in the bed with you. I've read that they hide in seams and along mattress edgings, then the warm human arrives and dinner is served . It's an awful thought but there are far worse ones that are harder to beat. I have sprayed Indorex on my mattress and then made up the bed, applying a light spray between each layer like blankets or the duvet. It didn't kill me, I kept the sheets between me and a sprayed item and I don't get bitten in bed anymore. Be mindful of ventilation when you're using it and leave the room with the door closed for a while for the air to clear, say a couple of hours before actually going to bed.

As for the soapy water, I think the heat and the lamp are vital as they are attracted by them, they get excited and jump in. I left the dishes in my room for a few days and I caught a fair few, but fewer and fewer every day until there were none. You may just have them in your bed in which case the Indorex should get rid of them. Just "to be sure, to be sure" I bought a large plastic storage box with lid and put my duvet in it with a good spray of Indorex and left it for the day. My bug box soothes my paranoia to this day by dealing with items that won't fit in the washing machine!

Elsewhere on Boards, I read a tip for dealing with itchy bites which is to hold a hot teaspoon (e.g. after stirring tea) against the bite, it stings but crazy as it sounds, it works.

Diatomaceous earth works well on the fleas too, it causes them to dry out and die when it's sprinkled on carpets, rugs and upholstery and is completely non toxic, you can even apply it to pet fur and bedding, no harm to pets at all. I bought it online from Willow Farm (I think) down in the midlands.

I wish I could tell you more but this is my personal experience and they have worked for me. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

P.S. I like the sound of the white socks remedy but you must be young and sprightly Rancid, with great eyesight.........sadly, none of these things apply to me anymore

janmaree

Woodstockdub wrote: »

Do you think it only works at nighttime? The bites have mainly occurred at night whilst sleeping. Does it only work if the dish is near the occupied bed, for example? Do you think the dish needs to be left out more than one night to attract them? )

Sorry, I meant to say that I think the soapy water really deals with any fleas that are near the floor as in carpet and is unlikely to impact on any in the bed, unless by sheer fluke. The spray will deal with anything in the bed and if that stops the biting and nothing is drowning in the dishes after a good few days, I would feel that they're gone. I would use the Indorex spray on the carpet as well, it might give you some reassurance at the end of it all.

Rancid

[QUOTE=janmaree;103275639... P.S. I like the sound of the white socks remedy but you must be young and sprightly Rancid, with great eyesight.........sadly, none of these things apply to me anymore [/QUOTE]
I admit it was a few years ago... and just pure determination took over, I think! And a fair amount of satisfaction.. one by one they were being eliminated!:rolleyes:

mymo

Can you borrow a steamer from anyone?
Steam every cm of the bed and mattress, twice!
Get right into corners, wash bedding and pillows if you can, or use steamer if you can't.
A steam iron might do for the bed if you're stuck, but be thorough.
Flea powder brushed into carpets and hoovered out couple of days later would work too.

Woodstockdub

mymo wrote: »

Can you borrow a steamer from anyone?
Steam every cm of the bed and mattress, twice!
Get right into corners, wash bedding and pillows if you can, or use steamer if you can't.
A steam iron might do for the bed if you're stuck, but be thorough.
Flea powder brushed into carpets and hoovered out couple of days later would work too.

Thanks also mymo. I've just tried the spray (on the bed, carpet) so we'll see. Hopefully we won't need to get a steamer.