Possible flea infestation in rented house!

dean_wales

I will try to summarise as best I can - despite being quite distressed!

A lot of my questions have been answered by searching the forum alread so thanks for that.

Just moved into a rented house 3 weeks ago. The previous tenants were filthy and had cats and dogs. Over several years they made such a mess of the house that it had to be completely redecorated before we moved in. New carpets in every room except the master bedroom.

Partner started getting itches last week and has since had lots of small red bites on legs and arms. It has been particularily bad when in bed or in the bedroom. Initially we suspected a rash of some form.

I have now started to itch lots and feel like I am getting bitten but have no visible bites. This is during the day when I am out not just at home.

I think it must be a flea infestation despite the work done on the house. We have no pets and so I am just going to start treating the whole house with the Acclaim and Wilkinsons spray that the landlord has just dropped off.

My only nagging doubt is that I havent seen any fleas and when you feel bits you can look at your arm/leg and not see anything - should they be visible? Could it be anything other than fleas?

I am worried about the sprays as we have a six month old baby - is it safe? She is always on the floor and putting things in her mouth?

With nearly all the carpets being brand new I presume that will help? Or is there going to be a problem with fleas "trapped" under the carpets?

Seeing as we have no pets, are very clean people and are treating the house with the spray etc the problem will go away fairly quickly...... right?

Will DEET insect repellent help prevent bites at night in the meantime?

Will tuble drying soft furnishings kill them or do they need to be washed and dried?

Thanks in advance. One distressed parent!

Dean.

billjohnson1986

Hi are you sure this is Flees?
We had a similar sounding problem a few years ago and we thought it maybe flees from our cats. Turns out that one of our close friends and some of thier friends had the same problem.
After doing some research we found out that it was Scabies. It wasn't pleasent, we had small itchy bumps on our skin and it was worse at night when we were laid in bed. The only treatment we had was to get a cream (similar to headlice cream) which you wear for 12 hours and that seemed to resolve problem.

colli

I had the same problem. It was deifinately fleas in my case, I only ever saw one or two but ended up with 50 bites! I bought a couple of flea bombs online and let them off and went out for the day to let it do it's job. I then sprayed the house with flea spray regularly for a few weeks to make sure I got anything that had been missed. I don't have kids so I'm not sure what precautions you'd need to take but I'd guess you'd open up the windows and give the place a good airing after using the bomb (they advise this anyway) then do one room at a time afterwards and keep baby out until all has settled, then hoover floor/furnishings Or you could contact the council and they may offer a subsidised pest control service for those in rented (ours didn't but I know some do/did)

real1314

Put some sheets of white A4 paper downin the places you think it's happening.

If it's fleas, you'll see them land / jump off due to the high contrast.

As demonstrated to me by a pest controller some years ago. Cheap, quick and effective diagnosis.:cool:

mummyroysof3

we ordered a heat lamp when we had a flea problem last summer as well as the sprays and powders and trating the cats, was a nightmare x

dean_wales

Copier paper doesnt seem to have shown them up yet.

Im not getting ithcy bites just I can feel sudden bite sensations and an itchy feeling. No lumps or marks. I would liken it to the feeling of midges in the summer.

Do I have to do all the washing, spraying and hoovering at the same time?

It couldnt be headlice or anything like that could it?

Thanks,

Dean.

muckybutt

More likely than not it is fleas ! we regularly get them, dont often see them bite you just get the raised red lump after.

We use the flea bombs too, as said earlier, use the bomb then go out for the day - when you get back in first of all open ALL the windows to vent and air all the rooms, when the smell has all but gone vacuum every room, get the crevice tool and do all around the skirtings and door jams. If you have loose settee covers wash them and also wash all bedding afterwards. We had a nipper at the time of our last bad dose we just kept him off the floor for a day and made sure he had clean hands at all time for a few days after.

It could also be bed bugs if worse in the bedroom which could have been picked up from the previous tennants....sorry for that bit of bad news but its possible, do the flea stuff first see if that knocks the problem on the head, then if it persists get a pest expert in as you probably have bed bugs.

Errata

Fleas, lice, bedbugs - could be anything.

keystone

If landlord won't address this properly instead of such an apparently cavalier manner - move! It may not be his fault that his previous tenant left the place in an "unfit to live in" condition but it sure as hell is his responsibility to you to sort it out.

Cheers

dean_wales

The bed, bedding etc came with us and were fine so I wouldnt suspect bed bugs?

I have some spray that says it will do the whole house but dont know what these 'bombs' are?

The landlord is friendly and has redone the whole house but does try to do the bare minimum everytime!

What about the washing/drying at the laundrette? I have three duvets in the room (one top, one under as a mattress protector and one summer in waiting!) - it could get very expensive!

Dean.

Norman_Castle

We had a bad flea problem caused by a neighbors cats playing in the communal hallway. The landlord paid for profesional treatment of mine and two other flats. The pest controllers treated all of the floors with a liquid spray. This would kill any fleas and eggs. It also left an insecticide on the floors which would kill any fleas missed. There is no need to wash all of your clothes and bedding. The fleas live on the floor and at some time any fleas missed will end up on the floor and get poisoned. Myself and another neighbor had noticable bites around our ankles, the fleas hop on, feed, and hop off, some people get bitten but have no marks. I also had a small flea problem after looking after a dog. I treated areas of the carpet where I never walk with wilco flea spray which solved it. I would ask your landlord about profesional treatment as the previous tenants flea problem is their responsibility, not yours. Good luck.