Hello,
Thank you for the compliments on the site!
You should definitely be towards the end of your problem. The fleas won’t be able to reproduce without any animals to feed on. They can’t reproduce on human blood. So, you’re seeing the last generation. That is, of course, assuming there are no animals in the home. Make sure no wild animals are living in the crawl space, attic, etc.
Enough time has passed where the eggs, larvae and pupae are completely gone. The only remaining stage left is the adults. The fleas you’re seeing are most likely adults emerging from their dormant-like stage. These ‘pre-emerge adults’ can remain inside their cocoons until they sense nearby heat and pressure, which indicates a host.
Unfortunately, insecticide treatments are least effective against pupae and pre-emerged adults. They are semi-resistant to treatments, plus they’re often protected in the environment beneath the carpet canopy (or within cracks of hardwood, etc). This is probably why you’re still seeing new fleas emerge after spraying and hiring an exterminator.
Here’s the good news: the pre-emerged adult stage can’t last beyond 5-6 months. Even without doing further decontamination, the problem will soon end on its own since you don’t have pets.
If you want to speed up the process, employ a regular vacuuming routine. Heat and pressure from the vacuuming will mimic a host and cause the cocooned fleas to emerge. The exterminator probably told you not to vacuum because it may remove some residual insecticide. However, vacuuming is best way to get the pre-emerged adults to emerge.
Ripping up the baseboards seems like an extreme measure. Especially considering the fleas should be extinct within your home soon. Though, I don’t know the full extent of your situation.
Wish you the best!
Adam
Thanks very much for the advice Adam! I spoke with the pest control guy today before he did the spray and he said it is okay to hoover after a few days – just no mopping so hopefully that will wake any remaining fleas up and get them out into the insecticide. We don’t have a crawl space and have checked the attic; no signs there or anywhere else of wild animals so hopefully this is just the remnants of the fleas from the previous owners cat! In the last couple of weeks (after nearly 3 weeks of nothing) we are only seeing small bursts of 4 or 5 of them at a time (some dead, some alive) with a week or so in between each burst. We might see one or two dead or alive in between. We really can not wait to see a real end to this; its been very mentally, physically and emotional draining! I had no idea that something like this could happen and I grew up with cats and dogs in my parents home in the country. We never had any problems!Thanks again Adam; I’m feeling more confident now that this will actually come to an end.G.
Glad I could help. I hope this problem ends very soon for you!