We moved into our new house & the previous owner forgot something....her fleas!!!!!!!!! We have done EVERYTHING...bombed twice, had Orkin come spray, we are vacuuming everyday for 10 days like they told us to, washed all curtains & bedding, emptying vacuum outside. What else can we do?!?!?! How long will this last? We have no pets! I'm on the verge of a major meltdown. I refuse to unpack until this is handled. ETA: We also did Borax on all carpets & hardwoods.
We had fleas twice in the past, tried EVERYTHING. The ONLY thing that worked was calling professional pest control out to bomb. We used American Pest Control. Make sure whoever you call uses enough bombs for your house. The 2nd year when we called, we had a new bug guy who didn't use as many bombs as the first guy-and we had to call him out AGAIN, the next time I made sure he set an 'extra' bomb, and they were all gone.
Tell the previous owner that you will send her a rent bill, $1.00 rent for each flee, if she does not get her fleas. I feel for you. I HATE fleas. We used diatemeshes earth(sp?) and it worked. For the outdoors, we used nimatodes (sp?).
Diatoms have some sharp little shells, which can cut fleas' exoskeletons to shreds so they dry out (and blow away!!!) -- Look for diatomaceous earth at the garden store. I didn't know nematodes got rid of fleas... I'll definitely have to remember that one!
I so feel your pain!! That exact thing that happened to us when we bought this house. The only thing that worked for us was Bengal Flea Spray on the carpet/floors. We didn't try an exterminator, because it worked for us. Other sprays, powders, borax---none of it worked.
Let your house get cold. If you could leave overnight and let it cool down to about 40 or 45 degrees. I am not sure where you are but my DH used to work for Orkin and this is his advice. The eggs hatch in one to two weeks. If you treat you have to treat it in one week intervals to get rid of them. I hope it all goes well for ya!!!
He also said you could purchase IGR's (Insect Growth Regulators) They mess up an insects growth. So the new hatched ones won't make it to adulthood. You can search for do it yourself pest control and order from one of those places online. I hope this helps.
Oh my gosh that sucks so bad for you. I have no advice because I have never dealt with this. Wow. I hope you get them gone.
Vet Tech here Flea eggs can go into stasis for up to a year....then when the conditions are correct (warmth and vibration) they hatch. I would get the pros in....if you had pets I could make lots of suggestions...that help with both pet and premise. There are some great premise sprays out there that have a residual effect. Call a local vet hospital and they can direct you in the right direction!
This year we finally found a flea spray that kept it under control. The last two summers, though, every year was war with the fleas. We tried house bombs- rotfl. I think it made them angry. I second the advice about letting your house get really cold, but don't stop there. Vacuum every 4 days for 2 weeks. Since they can hatch in as little as four, it's necessary to make sure you get all the little buggers. Vacuum every crack and crevice- even on the things you brought in. Wash and rewash anything cloth. I've had decent luck in the past sprinkling cat flea powder on the carpets and letting it sit before vacuuming, but I had luck in the past with the bombs as well, so I'm not sure what is going on there (immunity?). The problem with a lot of chemicals, also, is that they kill one life cycle, but not the others. Good luck! I HATE fleas!!
If you have a crawl space instead of a basement, set off a flee bomb or two in the crawl space. Flees will go where its dark and that area is often forgotten. If you have a basement, even if you don't use it, bomb there at the same time or the flees will go down into the basement. When we had flees I washed the slip cover, pillows and our clothes and shampooed the carpets with a dose of liquid flee spray. It did work but it took a while. Hope this helps. ps: glad to see ya back!!!
Here's a remedy that worked for us in the past, as prescribed by our veterinarian (40+ yrs exp.): vac. only once every 2 days. No more, no less ~ I am stressing this point!. This will break the fleas' breeding/hatching cycle. Also, in the area(s) that the fleas seem the most intense, place a lamp (turn it on before you go to bed) with a jar lid of water, containing a little squirt of dish soap in the lamp light. They will go into the water & not be able to escape. This remedy cured the most horrific flea season I have ever seen (3 dogs). Fortunately, we now have stained, polished concrete floors & haven't seen a flea in over 3 years. Fleas hate concrete, gravel, & sand. Unfortunately, our yard still consists of sand & gravel (no lawn) until next year. :-(
