how do you really get rid of fleas ?

[Rockinacoustic]

Originally posted by: akshatp
You could always ask Joba Chamberlain

Problem Solved :thumbsup:

 

[ohtwell]

Flea infestations are ridiculous. We always had tons of cats growing up and one time our house got infested with fleas. When you walked in you'd start getting bitten right away and they would cover your socks. It was insane.

We used the fogger and they were just as bad when we came back two days later. I'm not sure how we ever got rid of them.


: ) Amanda

 

[alien42]

"how do you really get off fleas?"

very small hands

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
Really need to call an exterminator here. I've had an infestation before since I have a dog/cat at home. We also live in a wooded area, so insects are much more prevalent outside, hence the occasional re-infestation. Anyway, aside from the flea bombs and other suggestions, try this. Take a regular kitchen bowl (or similarly shaped/sized bowl that you don't eat out of), fill it with water about 3/4 of the way and put a little bit of diswashing detergent in it. Place bowl on carpet where you won't step on it. Next, take a desk lamp, placing the bulb/head about 2-3 inches over said bowl. The trap is set. What this will do is provide a light/heat source to draw the fleas to the bowl. They will be attracted to it, and when they land in the soapy water, they will be stuck. This will kill quite a few of the ones that get near/jump on you, but more importantly, it will give you an idea of the size of your infestation. It won't take long before you see a few dead at the bottom of the bowl. It will help ease the biting you experience on your ankles while you wait for the exterminator to arrive. :-/ Best of luck though.

We tried the dishwater/light thing a couple days ago. I caught 0 fleas in two rooms. I've read about other people having success as well, but not in my case over the course of an entire night. We did find 1 more flea in the kitchen for a total of 4 fleas caught... I now have about 44 bites.

If you're thinking it's not fleas but bed bugs still, those are at least visible in your mattress. Close inspection /vacuuming of the mattress from 4 people over the course of a week still revealed 0 bedbugs. They are supposed to be easy to spot because they're not even remotely microscopic. We've checked the box spring too.

The bedroom cannot be any cleaner right now. Supposedly the carpet powder is still in the roots of the carpet (only lightly vacuumed) doing its thing. We got 2 new bites last night.

About the bug bomb, is there any health risk or is it just as "safe" as RAID as long as we aren't in there for 5+ hours ?

 

[rezinn]

This post contains the answer:

I found fleas in my new apartment (new carpet too) a month ago. Called the exterminator, who sprayed three times. Flea problem improved minimally, down to 1-2 bites per night but then back up a week later.

Solution: Home depot has cans of "Hot Shot" which come three to a box. One can is supposed to be sufficient for a large room or 5000 cubic feet. My apartment is about 6000 cubic feet so I used one in the living room and one in the bedroom. You turn off all appliances/sources of spark or flame, fog the place, return a few hours later and air out the place, return an hour or so later. Every insect in the entire place will die, including the fleas.

 

[K1052]

you should be seeing more fleas

are you sure that's what is causing the problem?

 

[EGGO]

Vacuum vacuum vacuum.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: K1052
you should be seeing more fleas

are you sure that's what is causing the problem?

- it is not chicken pox or shingles
- it is not an STD
- looks exactly like flea bites comparing with pics
- clear majority of bites are only as high as our knees (weird since we're in bed anyway)
- caught *some* fleas (small, black, no wings, only hop around)

 

[marvdmartian]

Originally posted by: alien42
"how do you really get off fleas?"

very small hands

Funny......I would've said very small Mob enforcers!! Maybe a couple tiny Itali-Ants, named Vinnie & Guido?? :laugh:

 

[DrPizza]

We had a flea infestation once; there were 2 or 3 areas where if you walked through, you'd see a dozen fleas hopping onto your legs. We didn't even bother with attempting less effective methods - we skipped straight to the bug bombs. Bombed the whole house, and a few days later (a week later? I can't remember, it was a long time ago) we bombed it again, hoping to get any newly hatched fleas. Didn't have any problems after the first bombing.

One of the keys: Once you get another bite after the first bombing, be prepared to bomb again. Otherwise, if you wait a day to see if it was just a random flea that happened to come into the house, they scamper off and lay eggs again.

 

[gsellis]

Vacuum first and throw the bag away. Bug bombs for the short term. Then, you want to spray the floors with any product containing Nylar. Nylar will last at least 6 months and will prevent any larvae from turning into adults. It will completely break the cycle. The IGRs like Nylar are the biggest bet for making the solution last. Home Depot used to have a gallon flea spray with it in it. Don't see it online at the moment though.

 

[rh71]

^ the carpet powder I picked up has Nylar, made sure of that. I don't know if it's because we've gotten the majority of it already or because we're actually wearing pants/socks to bed now... we've gotten bitten less the last few days. I hope it's the Nylar + sprays working, finally.

 

[Evander]

I once lived in an apartment in FL and this suddenly happened to me (no pets ever entered while I lived there, none were there for at least the 6 months prior I had lived there). Had manager spray for bugs, I put in a fleabomb, I vacuumed, but still couldn't get rid of 'em. I bought some flea spray from the supermarket, sprayed the bejesus out of the carpets, vacuumed and sprayed into the goddamn vacuum immediately afterwards. This seemed to do the trick, but I did it once more for good measure.