Carpenter asked 6 years ago
Landlord lives upstairs, we live downstairs. Landlord has no pets and thinks they have fleas because we have a small dog. He had fleas at the time but was on flea medication for a while. we\’ve never been upstairs or in there unit. We aren\’t the reason they have fleas right?
Adam Retzer Staff answered 6 years ago
It sounds unlikely that you are the cause of their fleas. The fleas would have to hitchhike on someone that is going into the landlord’s apartment. If your dog has fleas, they were likely picked up outside. Raccoons and opossums are common vectors that bring fleas into neighborhoods. It’s possible that your landlord, or his/her guests, picked up fleas outside, just like your dog did.
It’s strange that the fleas are surviving in your landlord’s apartment without a pet there. The only species that can survive and reproduce on human blood is the human flea (P. irritans), and this is a fairly rare species. Check out my answer to this other question for how to identify species.
If the species you’re dealing with aren’t human fleas, then something strange is going on in your landlord’s apartment. Either he/she isn’t dealing with fleas (maybe bed bugs?), or there is some animal living in his apartment that is serving as a host (maybe a opossum in the wall or attic?).
It’s difficult to know exactly what’s going on without taking a look in person. Maybe it would be a good idea to hire a pest control expert. Then they could identity the pest and the source, and relieve you of the liability that your landlord seems to be placing on you.
I hope this was useful!
Adam
