FLEAS? Slight flea infestation from a friends house.

[Travissues]

Okay, so my wife and I were helping a friend clean her house the other day, and the <beep> failed to mention her house was absolutely <beep> up with fleas... so when we finally got done and went home, we ended up bringing quite a few home I guess. I am absolutely livid that we weren't told, as i have had fleas in the past before, and it is not a fun experience by no means whatsoever.

So for my question... how do I get rid of these little bastards, without using stupid chemicals or bombs that could possibly kill my little 8 legged friends as well as the slithering variety? Lol.

 

[MikeofBorg]

Okay, so my wife and I were helping a friend clean her house the other day, and the asshole failed to mention her house was absolutely fu**** up with fleas... so when we finally got done and went home, we ended up bringing quite a few home I guess. I am absolutely livid that we weren't told, as i have had fleas in the past before, and it is not a fun experience by no means whatsoever.

So for my question... how do I get rid of these little bastards, without using stupid chemicals or bombs that could possibly kill my little 8 legged friends as well as the slithering variety? Lol.

You can spread diatomaceous earth in your carpet and let it sit for a month. The microscopic shells of the diatoms in it are sharp and scratch the cuticle of fleas, ants etc causing them to dehydrate. In a house with AC this doesn't take long as the AC dries the air as it cools it. I've used it before and it works, not as fast as a spray, but good enough to kill the fleas. You just have to deal with a dusty carpet for a few days until it works it way into the carpet. After month vacuum it up. It will dehydrate ants too. I spread it around the base of a tree I have that had carpenter ants. I've not seen a single ant in the tree this summer and where they had their nest appears abandoned.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

You can spread diatomaceous earth in your carpet and let it sit for a month. The microscopic shells of the diatoms in it are sharp and scratch the cuticle of fleas, ants etc causing them to dehydrate. In a house with AC this doesn't take long as the AC dries the air as it cools it. I've used it before and it works, not as fast as a spray, but good enough to kill the fleas. You just have to deal with a dusty carpet for a few days until it works it way into the carpet. After month vacuum it up. It will dehydrate ants too. I spread it around the base of a tree I have that had carpenter ants. I've not seen a single ant in the tree this summer and where they had their nest appears abandoned.

Wow smart way , I lost at least 10-20 Ts to unknown causes around when my parents sprayed for fleees. It was devastating, been looking for a job 4 years to no avail. P Metallica was my priciest loss but to me there all priceless!!!!!
Great Depression + job search = disappointing

 

[SonsofArachne]

You can also make a home made flea trap. Take a aluminium pie pan - put in about 1/4 of water then enough vegetable oil to cover the surface. then suspend a lamp (without a shade) about a foot over the pan. The fleas will be attracted to the heat, then fall into the pan, getting stuck in the oil. Believe me it works, I've used it several several times. be careful to block access to it if you have small children or pets as it can make mess if spilled (believe me about this too).

 

[The Snark]

In a word, vacuum like you've never vacuumed before. Assuming you have carpets, if possible, isolate your animals in a quarantine room. Next, go buy flea powder and meticulously power and brush/scrub the powder into all carpets. Let the power do it's thing for 72 hours then repeat the vacuuming, this time to remove the flea powder.
Now the thing is fleas have a pretty sophisticated life cycle. Not all the fleas you brought home are fertile females that have already had the required blood meals and are ready to lay eggs. Depriving them of the multiple blood meals they require is the next surest way to get rid of them. If you don't have dogs or cats or other furrys you are half way there. It's pretty unlikely you will be giving the fleas a chance to feed multiple times off your own bods.

 

[MikeofBorg]

You can also make a home made flea trap. Take a aluminium pie pan - put in about 1/4 of water then enough vegetable oil to cover the surface. then suspend a lamp (without a shade) about a foot over the pan. The fleas will be attracted to the heat, then fall into the pan, getting stuck in the oil. Believe me it works, I've used it several several times. be careful to block access to it if you have small children or pets as it can make mess if spilled (believe me about this too).

I totally forgot about this technique. Very good also to get rid of fleas without chemicals.