Moved into flat.....with fleas!

Chickenslippers

So we've moved into a new flat, one which strangely enough had a busted cat flap on the back door to the courtyard. No mention of the last owner having a cat (sounds like a dumb question)

Anyway fast forward a couple of weeks and I start seeing little bugs on the carpet, like I always do I google these things and see what autocomplete comes up with. I think nothing more of it.

I still see more of them, and after killing a few with my trusty masking tape cut offs, I examine them with a white light torch and they're brown, and flea like. Of course, they're fleas

Now it's been blitzkrieg since the Friday before last, flea kits from pets at home, salt on the carpets, banana peels, soapy bowls , and finally our v2 rocket that was indorex spray. (Not to mention daily hoovering and emptying the dust thing)

Here's the kicker. We found out the last tenant DID have a cat. surprise surprise, we are hoping that the ones we are still finding after all our efforts are just recently hatched fleas from their pupae (cuccoon) state.

We also have no pets! And are semi clean freaks so hopefully the ones we find (dead and alive) are just fragments and will fade away soon enough. Our flat has a studio style reception area with 2 bed rooms. As of now I find the odd one or two on my socks and grab them immediately.

Our flat is like those people who wear tin foil hats, I'll be going around the carpet with my high powered LED torch like a forensic officer, there are masking tape snippets on the walls and surfaces so I can dive in and kill the !!!!!!s. As you may tell, I want these suckers dead.

Isn't it weird with no pets? As we do not find LOADS like other forum posts, do you think this is the last push for them ala Germany at the falaise pocket (the allies are moving in, the jig is up)

thorsoak

The thing with cat fleas is that they can lie dormant until a new food source (you!) comes into a property which they've taken over - so you coming in will have woken these nasty little creatures up.

Is your furniture your own? Or is the flat furnished? If furnished, then attack all upholstered furniture with the Indorex as well - including the bases of the sofas and chairs!

After having attacked the whole place with Indorex, leave it for a fortnight, then do it again ....and don't hoover for 5 days (I know, that hurts!) - and hoover again. That way, the Indorex will be able to act upon any last-remaining pupae that are just emerging!

Job done.

dandelionclock30

The eggs can lay dormant for months and they also are prevalent around the skirting boards so keep on with hovering in the cracks every day. Also you need to hover both sides of matresses and wash all bedding on hot.
Indorex didnt kill all the fleas we had, I had to get these as well.

http://www.pestcontrolsupplies.co.uk/insecto-all-crawling-and-flying-insect-killer-bomb-150ml.

This was the last port of call before Rentokill and fortunatley they worked. Also you have to empty the hover every day. If you have to get someone in then bill the landlord if the property is rented.
Its really bad I know, I still have bite scars on my ankles. Good luck with it.

Chickenslippers

lil bastads

Yes it's rented, i spoke to the landlord and apparently they're going to rip up the carpets for us - hopefully they will [and replace it with wood floor any luck]

Weve put a flea collar in the vacuum capsule/filter so hopefully that will help with things.

Slinky

My Australian friends had this happen. They'd sold their house, moved into rented then come over to England for a month. When they walked back into their Australian home, their movements triggered the flea's life cycle and they were infested with biting fleas.

I hope you get it sorted soon.

meritaten

smoke bomb! kills all living things while its going off!
haven't used on myself yet - but am thinking seriously about it as I despite using all other known methods - my cat still gets fleas (despite being and only indoor cat). The guy in PAH highly recommended it - but I am asthmatic and am reluctant, just in case I get it wrong and kill myself too!

mountainofdebt

Indorex spray - best thing I've ever bought to get rid of fleas, preceeded by a 'deep clean' lol

A can costs about £8 but its a large can so one should be sufficient for your flat

FinanciallyUnsavvy

I was going to post to say Indorex too - but mountainofdebt beat me to it. It's excellent stuff.

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-3454-indorex-household-flea-spray.aspx

Chickenslippers

Yah I already tried that stuff

menollyke

We had it in the old house we bought, we had so much fleas it was unbearable, nothing worked. I would have 28 flea bites on one leg after a few days. They would bite my oh as well, but he never got the marks, but mine were itching constantly. We eventually got the council in to spray the place and we couldn't hoover for about three weeks. It wasn't very nice not to clean, but it got rid of all the fleas and we never had a problem with them after that. It wasn't that expensive and we almost spend as much in all other flea treatment before that.

penny_pincha

We moved into a house once (about 25 years ago) which was jumping with fleas. We told the landlord and he got the council to fumigate it. At the time it was free as it was a matter of environmental health. I told this info to a friend of mine about 10 years ago and they got the council to fumigate their house too.