Weird flea (?) problem in flat - how to get rid of them without chemicals?

cashferret

shortcrust wrote: »

I had fleas when I moved in to my house - I don't have pets but the previous owners had a herd of cats. From my experience if you have fleas you see fleas. The last bite I had was around six months after moving in.

This is hopeful news!

In my previous house I'd occasionally find the odd flea which I think I brought in from running in the local woods. It's amazing how many bites you can get from a single flea if it manages to get in your bed!

I don't even walk on grass! I wonder where they've come from. And yes, I wonder if it's even just one flea!

Norman_Castle

cashferret wrote: »

at which point they might be harder to vacuum up?

I doubt you will vacuum up live fleas. They will see you coming and hop it. Vacuuming might help remove the eggs.

cashferret

david1951 wrote: »

So, if they are pet fleas then my understanding is they will eventually die away if there is no pet.

Fingers crossed, fingers crossed...

If not, they might be a different type of flea (or bed bugs??). Speak to a local exterminator. Ours sorted our pet flea problem out almost immediately, and without needing to use a bug bomb etc.

I've seen no sign of bedbugs - I think I'd have seen them, and I'm getting bitten during the day.

I just phoned the local exterminator (via the local council, who put me onto them) and I see that they've done "chemical"-free treatments for other situations. They're going to call me back.

I also called Rentokil but their only solution was toxic chemicals and they wouldn't even come out without a positive flea sighting.

Norman_Castle

cashferret wrote: »

I don't even walk on grass! I wonder where they've come from.

Mine came from a neighbours cat who would spend a bit of time in the communal hallway and stuck its head around my door once. Another neighbour was similarly infested at the same time.

https://www.google.com/search?q=remove+flease+without+chemicals

rach_k

cashferret wrote: »

Yes, indeed.

Thank you, that's very interesting. How long do you need to leave it on for?

Is it necessary to shift heavy furniture to put the earth under things, or won't the fleas have got there?

Will the earth all come out of the carpets when I finally hoover it up?

Is there anyone who will do this professionally? (I'm not well and would find this very difficult.)



Out of the question for me, I'm afraid.

I think you need to leave it down for a complete life cycle of the thing you're trying to kill. I have no idea how long that is for fleas but I'm sure Google will tell you.

I wouldn't do your whole house, just a few key areas where you think they might be lurking, perhaps where you spend most time if you're the only food source. They just need to go through it for it to kill them, they don't need to bathe in it for hours. We have mostly wooden floors so it's not such an issue for me (I just sweep it into the cracks between the boards and leave it down there!) but when doing the carpets we have I only used a little, perhaps a heaped tablespoon over an average size living room. I still used an old hoover to remove it afterwards.

I don't think you'll find anybody to do it for you as it's not as effective as standard treatments.

rach_k

Are you sure it wasn't something like a midge? I normally get bitten by them around the face and neck, but I don't see why they wouldn't nibble ankles too, perhaps if you stuck your feet out of the covers in the night and buried your face.

cashferret

Just had a very interesting conversation with the local pest control company (the one recommended by the council). Their guy, who sounded very expert, said that he thought it very unlikely that this is fleas because (a) I don't have pets and (b) I haven't seen any fleas.

He thinks it's more likely to be some sort of reaction to something in the environment - everything from electrostatic discharge from a chair, to allergens, and could be something from outside my home that I encountered and that could still be producing spots a few days on.

This would fit in with the odd pattern of having these spots appear before Xmas for a few days, with no sign of fleas in the flat, and then disappearing on their own, and then the long gap between this new incidence.

He recommended that I go and see my doctor and get a diagnosis (while warning me that the doctor's first reaction is likely to be 'insect bites'!). He thinks it may be some sort of allergy.

That would be a huge relief if I don't have to undergo some massive de-fleaing epic in the flat!

So Plan A is to go to the doctor's and see if the 'bites' stop happening; and Plan B will be to attempt the kind of decontamination methods that people have suggested in this thread.

Thank you all very much for your comments! It's been surprisingly stressful to contemplate dealing with all of this, and I really appreciate the advice and support.

Pandilex

I don't think it is fleas either, you would definitely see them, and without pets etc. they won't hang around long. I moved into a place with loads of them due to previous cat owners and they disappeared after a while. I just cranked up the heating and it made them all hatch and then a week or two later they were all gone.

coffeehound

Sounds more like bed bugs to me. I'd go over the bed frame, mattress and edges of the carpet to see if there's any sign of them.