Ryan Kuriakose asked 5 years ago
So I have been dealing with fleas for 2 weeks now. I have lived in my house for 15 years and never had this problem ever. I’m the only one getting bitten in my family and we have no pets. I find 2-5 stragglers outside my house and inside my home. I have sprayed flea spray and vacuumed about every other day. I just put diatomaceous earth in my backyard since that’s where I find them. More specially on this concrete slab where it is shady. Will they eventually die without an animal host? Also it’s raining for like a week in Houston so I don’t know how this would effect them. I’m losing my mind day by day with this problem. Hopefully this problem goes away because I’m at my wits end with this.
Adam Retzer Staff answered 5 years ago
Ryan,
The fleas will die out without a host. However, there may be a host living outside near your home. The fleas won’t go away until the host is gone. Common culprits are feral cats, raccoons, and opossums. They could also be a species of bird fleas, and a nest may be in the area.
It makes sense that they are found where it is shady. The larvae and eggs can’t survive in areas of exposed sunlight.
It’s unlikely, but they may also be human fleas, in which case they could survive and reproduce on humans in your home. See our page on how to identify human fleas.
Here is an article about how rain affects flea development.
In summary, it sounds like an animal host is visiting/living in the outdoor area and perpetuating the flea infestation. If the the animal is gone, then the infestation should resolve in around 8 weeks. If it doesn’t resolve, you’ll need to identify and get rid of the host in order to get rid of fleas.
Warm regards,
Adam
Ryan Kuriakose
replied 5 years ago We have a flea company spraying the outside and using granules to get rid of the outside fleas. We are finding 1 flea a day inside and 1 to none outside as of recently, so the numbers are dwindling down. Will the fleas inside die out eventually? Even without having to vacuum?
Ryan Kuriakose answered 5 years ago
So the fleas have been dwindling down since my last post. I have 1 to none from outside and 1 maybe every other day fleas inside. We have a pest control company coming to spray the yard and apply granules. Will the fleas from the inside eventually go away?
Adam RetzerThe fleas inside your home are likely developing outside, and finding a way in from outside. If you don’t have pets, it’s unlikely they are actually infesting your home. They should go away on their own. An exception would be if they are human fleas (P. irritans). See my above reply for how to identify this species. Another exception may be if you have mice or rats inside your home, and they are carrying fleas.
