Fleas in rented property

john1002

Hi all,

Ok so need some advice just to put my mind at rest, recently moved into a new rental property and have discovered fleas, now they were first found in the bedroom, there is carpet upstairs, on the landing and stairs and downstairs its wood floor and tiles,(i'll explain why I'm saying this in a bit). I don't have any pets nor have I had any pets for years so assume that they were in the property and once heating on etc came to life. Have treated the upstairs with spray and lots of vacuum -ing. Did not bother downstairs due to floor types.

So for the last week or so have not seen any upstairs since treatment but downstairs on the wooden floors keep finding them, have sprayed everywhere and always hoovering up. But still they come, some I find our dying and others are like new ones fully jumping about. Id say I pick up about 6-8 a day in the two rooms, how long will this continue? do i keep spraying or just do what I'm doing and should see less and less due to them having no source to spread eggs etc(ie no pets).

Just weird that these floors everything i have read says I should not be having a problem with them in the sense of not needing treatment. I have treated the furniture in these rooms, sofa bed and two 3 seat settees.

Any help or just reassurance to say in a week or so more I should not see any more.

john

Paulaviki

Get one of those flea bombs, that should kill off whatever is left behind after the spraying and hoovering. It can take a while to get rid of fleas as you have to break their life cycle.

G_M

Fleas need serious treatment.

The whole property. A variety of treatments. Use a spray, and a fogger, and a bomb...... google 'flea treatment for house' (or you'll get results for dog collars etc)

Treat clothes, bedding carpets etc. or they'll just come back.

There are DIY packs you can get (better to over-treat than under-treat). Stay out of the property while treating.

Or get the landlord to treat if you believe the fleas pre-date your tenancy. How long have you lived there?

Note: this is one reason I am so against tenants with dogs. The dog-owner does not suffer (the fleas prefer the dog), but if the next tenant has no dog the fleas go for the tenant.

and the LL has to sort it!

*yeah yeah - I know. Your dog does not have fleas.........!

Or smell.

Or bark while you're out.

bouicca21

I once lived in a flat with fleas (culprit assumed to be upstairs' cat). And they did infest a tiled room, though were worse in carpeted area. It took 6 weeks to get rid. Flea treatments don't kill the eggs so you have to keep on going till the last of the !!!!!!s hatch out - I think it took about 6 weeks. Cat was never allowed to visit again; thus there was no meal available to sustain the fleas and they got noticeably slower and slower as those not killed by the spray presumably starved to death. They will try to bite humans but I don't think they find us sufficiently nutritious.

Perelandra

bouicca21 wrote: »

They will try to bite humans but I don't think they find us sufficiently nutritious.

Thirty four years ago, I had the misfortune to live in a seriously flea infested houses, and the little blighters would munch on us all night long. It was truly horrible.


OP, I hope you get it sorted.

john1002

Thanks for all the messages, good to know timescale etc. I think I have the upstairs sorted as I say have not seen any, just downstairs to go, the spray I have I think is good as it cost a fortune, in fact I could have got three of those flea bombs for the same price as this tin.

I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, only moved in two weeks ago, have informed landlord.

I'm also going to steam as well as I've read that is good at killing, any one confirm?

John

Blackpool_Saver

I would be gone, I would have a fit, I would be on to the landlord night and day

anselld

Bombs are useless, don't even bother.
Use this stuff ...
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/flea-treatments-household-flea-sprays-c-3_419/vetkem-acclaim-household-flea-spray-500ml-can-p-16

Money_Bunny

Big hugs. Fleas are absolutely awful. We were seriously infested about 6 years ago after a dog stayed for a week. They were everywhere including the kitchen which had a hard floor and a tiled bathroom.

Seconded that they need serious treatment. Don't rule out getting in a professional. We found a guy through the council who absolutely nuked them in two sessions - it is right that you do need to respray after a couple of weeks to catch those who have newly hatched. It cost less that 100 pounds and was worth every penny.

BitterAndTwisted

The only good thing about cat/dog fleas is that they cannot live on human blood although they will try a bite.

Your real enemy are the pupae, which can lie dormant in their cocoons for up to six months before they hatch out and are immune to the flea-spray alas. The spray you are using will kill the adult fleas once they have hatched, plus the eggs and larvae, and the vibration from vacuuming plus the carbon dioxide you exhale will encourage the fleas to emerge from their pupae. This is why you are seeing small, recently hatched fleas.

Some of the sprays remain effective for months, so it might not be necessary to constantly respray on a weekly basis, although it will make you feel better.

Cracks in hard floors and skirtings, underneath furniture and in carpets are where the larvae usually head for. Their food-source (the adult's flea-faeces) has been removed so you shouldn't see them emerging for very much longer.

Shoppadolley

Borax powder is very good, order it online and dust around everywhere, leave as long as u can and Hoover up. Don't use near kids or pets (just in case you have any visiting). Gets rid of our big ant infestation every summer when nothing else works and even heard it works on roaches (although I hope never to find out). Good luck xx