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Fleas! Oh, Help!
I am the only mammal in my house. The house has fleas.
I am catching them and killing them as quickly as I can, when I see them on me, but I know they lay eggs, and I sense this solution will not be effective in my lifetime. I don't have carpets, just wood floors, but I have stacks and stacks of books and crap all around so I despair of doing a thorough cleaning.
These are probably fleas that came home with me from Chilicon, since the night we came home is the first time we noticed them. The internet tells me they are most like "cat fleas", since even a dog is more likely to have those than "dog fleas". The internet provides a lot of advice for getting rid of fleas on your pet.
I have no pets. Brian has long since gone back to Ann Arbor. It's just me and the fleas.
What must I do?
I am catching them and killing them as quickly as I can, when I see them on me, but I know they lay eggs, and I sense this solution will not be effective in my lifetime. I don't have carpets, just wood floors, but I have stacks and stacks of books and crap all around so I despair of doing a thorough cleaning.
These are probably fleas that came home with me from Chilicon, since the night we came home is the first time we noticed them. The internet tells me they are most like "cat fleas", since even a dog is more likely to have those than "dog fleas". The internet provides a lot of advice for getting rid of fleas on your pet.
I have no pets. Brian has long since gone back to Ann Arbor. It's just me and the fleas.
What must I do?
no subject
Non-chemical is probably safest for your health, but it takes longer to have an effect, and is actually a bit better at preventing an infestation.
Non-chemical flea control and elimination:
wash your sheets, pillows, bedding, rugs. any cloth that's been in contact with your anatomy since you noticed the fleas. hot water, soap, dry in the dryer.
treat your mattress with Diatomaceous Earth: http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceous-Earth.html it's the calcified bodies of prehistoric creatures, usually single celled or microscopic creatures. these little bodies are sharp and pointy; they work by scratching the chitin of the insects, causing them to dehydrate until they die. spread the DE over your mattress (it won't scratch you, you're too big), along baseboards, at entryways to your house. (incidentally, if you have ants, DE works to kill them, too. just dump it on the mound and stir it in a bit.)
there are non-chemical flea sprays you can get, most likely at your local health food store. or, you can pick up some essential oils and make your own spray. use thyme oil, cinnamon oil, and clove oil, three to five drops each in a standard spray bottle, with water. spray your mattress, couch, chairs, baseboards, curtains...
fleas don't lay eggs on you, they lay eggs in your house. Choice locations are bedding, clothes, rugs, but they'll lay eggs anywhere they can get away with it. With wood floors, if it's a floating wood floor, you're in for more of a battle, because they get under the floorboards where it's hard to treat them.
If you go the chemical route:
close all the windows in the house, turn off appliances (unplug them if you can't find an off switch; refrigerators count), read the directions on any flea bombs you choose to use to make sure you use the correct number, and place the correctly. Too many actually lessens the effectiveness. After you get home, open up the windows and air the place out. Then, wash your sheets, because sleeping in flea bomb residue just sounds totally gross.
If you do chemicals, you may need to retreat in a few weeks, because it's not 100% on killing the eggs. Once the eggs hatch, you need to treat again.
After the chemical treatment, you may want to start doing the non-chemical prevention stuff, or if you think it's a one off random infestation, use your best judgment.
Good luck! I hate fleas, so, have fun killing the little shits. :)