Anonymous asked 9 years ago
Hi there,
Thank you for the great site – so informative and helpful. We moved into our new house 3 months ago and discovered a flea infestation left by the previous owners cat. We tried to solve the problem ourselves (vacuuming, salt, borax, shop bought flea spray etc) but after a few weeks got an exterminator in to spray the entire house. We have had him out 3 times (will be a fourth this week) as after some periods where they seem to be gone – bang – they emerge again. We think they are in the cracks in laminate floors and under the baseboards in the sitting room and hallway mainly (have found what appears to be remnants of a sticky white-ish empty pupae in the cracks). Could you give me some advice as to how to make the last remaining fleas emerge more quickly to hit the insecticide. We don’t have any pets and are ensuring not to be bitten ourselves – so we have to be near the end. We are considering ripping the baseboards off to get at the pupae. Note we really have only start vacuuming again this week as the exterminator told us not to previously.
Many thanks,
G.
Mij answered 6 years ago
I solved that problem by buying a Lady Bug steamer, smallest model. Used twice so far on 890 sq ft house & it works! It has a narrow nozzle to steam under baseboards, in cracks, in grout joints, etc. Spendy little guy, but after numerous professional visits you will have paid for it & then some! Repeat necessary because fleas can enter house from pants cuffs, etc even if pets are treated. We have two indoor cats that get fleas, & we treat them, then vac/steam/vac the whole house & the furniture. Not fun, but neither are the bites. Hope this helps.
ecu
replied 5 years ago Good answer! Steam will indeed finish them off at all stages. The hard part is getting the steam to everywhere ‘all the stages’ are. Not having a pet makes it somewhat easier as you are (likely) not re-infesting. I think people make too much a deal of things. No one is jumping out of their skin over that ant in the kitchen or the spider on the window sill (lavender apparently works there) – fleas, as unpleasant as they are, are a part of nature that we need to learn how to deal with as best we can. Steam is a really healthy (not for the fleas) albeit long term effective plan. Good on you!
Mary
replied 5 years ago Easy for you to say….you’re not being bitten in your bed at night.
Ann Stokes
replied 5 years ago Fleas are an intermediary host for tapeworms. They also can carry diseases like Typhus, plague and cat scratch fever. Fleas can be a big deal!
wanda
replied 5 years ago how do cure typhus plague, how do kill fleas inside the human body.
Claudia Arnold
replied 5 years ago I have been infested with fleas since I was diagnosed with diabetes 7 years ago. They Have bitten EVERY WHERE!
Adam RetzerI’d recommend consulting a physician about curing typhus plague. Fleas don’t live inside the human body, so I don’t know what you mean. It sounds like you should talk to a physician if you are having symptoms that make you think fleas are living inside of you.
