Nychole1 asked 7 years ago
So I just rented a house and found out it is infested with fleas inside and out. I have no choice but to be out of my apartment on Sunday. Today is Thursday. The rental company called an exterminator and they came out today and sprayed the inside and out side of the house. The house is covered in carpet from the front to the back besides the kitchen. How long will it be until I no longer see them? I plan on bombing the house tomorrow and putting down flea powder. Will that work, on top of the exterminators work? I have three young kids and we cant live like this. I have to bring in all of my furniture on Sunday. Will me moving in make it worse? Could i out a bunch of stuff in the garage or would the garage be infested as well? Any products you know of that arent too expensive that will work? PLEASE HELP ME !!!!!!!!!
Adam Retzer Staff answered 7 years ago
Hello,
It will take around 8 weeks before you stop seeing fleas. Unfortunately, there isn’t a control method or product that will end an infestation immediately. This is because 95-99% of flea populations are eggs, larvae, and pupae living in the environment. They often reside deep within carpets, where sprays, powders, and vacuuming can’t penetrate well. Many of the young fleas will be protected from control efforts. As a result, patience will be required as you wait for all of these immature stages to mature, emerge as adults, and die.
One of the best things you can do to speed up the eradication process is to vacuum regularly. More information on that here: How often to vacuum.
I am guessing the exterminator used an insect growth regulator (IGR) when they sprayed, either pyriproxyfen (Nylar) or methoprene (Precor). The IGR will last 7 months indoors, preventing new eggs and larvae from reaching adulthood. If the exterminator didn’t apply an IGR, then it may be a good idea to do this yourself. Premise sprays are a better choice than foggers, because they can be sprayed directly into flea habitats.
Fleas may emerge during your moving process. After maturing, adults can elect to stay inside their cocoons for up to 5 months in a quiescent state. These pre-emerged adults will wake up and emerge immediately upon detecting a host (heat and pressure on the cocoons). So walking around during the moving process could trigger them to emerge.
The infestation could be anywhere the infested host roamed. Garages don’t have as an ideal of a habitat as carpets, but fleas could be there. Regardless, you can probably bring the furniture into the home without too much to worry about. Without pets, the infestation won’t continue. And fleas can’t jump high enough to reach most furniture.
I apologize for the delayed reply.
Warm regards,
Adam
