I have fleas, but no pet!

hellokitty08

Hello,

I have a really bad problem with fleas in my one bed flat, but no pet! They only seem to have appeared in the last two weeks, (been in the flat two months) but the problem seems to be getting worse, no matter what i try!

I have sprayed a whole can of flea treatment, the one from boots, that begins with A, cant remeber the name, in my one bed flat, when it supposed to cover a 4 bed house. I didnt hover the first time for 4 days, but it didnt seems to make much of a difference, so yesterday i sprayed the whole place again. I moved all the furniture in the bedroom, striped the bed, sprayed the mattress, but I still had fleas in the bed this morning. I covered the whole of the carpet in there yesterday. I also covered the living room again, including under the sofa, behind the sofa, all over the sofa and the cushions! I am washing all my clothes, and I am not sure what else to do. I dont plan on hoovering for at least a week.

I currently have close to 200 flea bites, and I am about to lose my will to live. If i get the council out it will cost me £60, but I am begining to wonder if that will even work. I am not sure what else to try, but I am swiftly running out of skin and paitence.

Can anyone suggest a way to keep the fleas off me! At least them they might actually die on the floor? Or if anyone has had a similar problem, fleas and no pet and can suggest what else i could try, i would be very grateful indeed.

emmy05

are u kidding?
get some frontline and spray that stuff everywhere, get powder stuff too, is there a horrible smell in or around your flat anywhere cos im hoping theres no dead animals nearby at all? im itching just from reading your post, and 200 flea bites! its a gd job youre not allergic to it all, were the carpets already there when you moved in or have you got a 2nd hand bed lately? as its just you in the flat, i wouldnt hoover for a week tbh, and just keep putting it down, cos if you have 200 flea bites alone, there must be sh1tload of fleas in there, i know i wouldnt be there, id be shacking over at a mates til it all stopped

spankymonkey_2

it may take up to a week for the flea spray to work as at first it kills the adult fleas so they dont reproduce. but then there may be thousands of eggs and these need to hatch and then they die when they come into contact where you have sprayed.... not nice i know but you are doing the right thing......for the bites on you go to poundland they sell a small bottle of mosquito bite serum that will stop the bites from itching i found this helps too.

simpywimpy

Have you seen the fleas? I just wondered if they were perhaps bed bugs if the mattress was already in the flat when you rented it.

emmy05

did you also make sure you got rid of the hoover bag or emptied it straight outside in the trash if its bagless? the eggs take time to hatch so it needs to be done for quite a long time tbh

miamoo

Hi, my sister had the same problem, she moved into a house the council gave her which was infested with fleas. She had to get the council out to spray her house which did work, but it takes a couple of weeks for them all to hatch and die.
If its a council flat/rented I would try and get it fumigated for free, the landlord should be responsible for ensuring the flat is fit to live in. As you dont have any pets, the flea's where already in the flat, from the previous occupiers dog or cat.
They can lay dormant for ages untill there is something/someone to bite:eek:

hellokitty08

no, the bed is mine, I have had it for a while. And its never had fleas before! I have seen fleas in the bedroom and in the lounge, but not in my bathroom! The carpets where there when i moved in, but i only have carpet in the bathroom and bedroom. I am pretty sure there are no dead animals hiding anywhere! I rent privatley, so might call them to see if they will pay half for some treatment. I any quite alergic to bites, so have tried many insect bite products before and they dont seem to work on me! I have tried a few of the spray repelants, antihistamines dont work on me! ( i one remeber telling a medical professional i had taken three in one day!) Still nothing happened.

I am not sure anyone will want me, seems as i am infested with fleas! My mum is already looking at me suspisiously, but i might have to admit, its time to leave the fleas to it!

simpywimpy

I would phone the landlord or agency and explain the problem. Surely its their responsibility to get it sorted for you.

MrsTinks

The house/flat should have been professionally cleaned by the previous tenant when they vacated - by that I mean carpets drycleaned which will also kill most of the fleas.
As you don't have any pets I'd try these: http://www.pestfree.co.uk/fleatrap.htm
I've used them in the past and they're actually really good - they look cheap and like they might not work... But they do! I used them in a previous flat when my cats went through a phase of dragging in every flea infested corpse they could find... MUCH more effective than any powder I've ever come across.

mluton

Myself and Girlfriend have had a recent session of flee biting and we found out it was small flees coming from the soil of a newly bought plant.

We do not have a pet and have lived in the flat for 3 years.

It took a bit of research, but the solutions on the net are working well.

HTH

hellokitty08

hello,

Thanks for the support so far. I dont have any plants, and I dont think the previous owner had a pet, but they might have let some strays in as I have seen some at the door. I am going to go home tonight and see what the situation is. I am not sure what else to do.