What to do if there are fleas in the house ...

Fleas in the house always appear unexpectedly, especially when the owners do not keep pets. In such cases, bewilderment usually arises: how is it that there are no animals, but there are fleas in the house, does this happen? ..

As a rule, fleas begin to especially pester with their bites much later than the moment when they first appeared in the house. The fact is that these parasites lead a rather secretive lifestyle, and only adults bite. At the same time, for example, flea larvae feed in a completely different way, and can develop in large numbers in the house, for the time being without attracting the attention of unsuspecting tenants.

Only when the number of parasites in the house becomes significant, and their bites become regular, then the issue of fighting fleas becomes acute. About what to do if there are fleas in the house and how to make the fight against them as effective and fast as possible, we will continue and talk in more detail.

So, first of all, it is necessary to identify where the insects came from. They usually enter a home in one of two ways:

1. On the wool of pets from the street or other premises - an entrance, a basement, a garage combined with a house.
2. Or directly "on their own" from all the same basements or attics, where they parasitize on rats or pigeons.

If there is a pet in the house that at least occasionally walks on the street, it is almost certainly he who brings parasites here. If there are no animals at home, and not far from the attic or basement, one can assume independent migration of insects. Depending on the way fleas enter the house, measures for their destruction should be adjusted.

Important!

All fleas are dangerous because they carry eggs of worms, pathogens of diseases that are very dangerous for humans (including plague and encephalitis), and also simply cause strong skin reactions with their bites. At the same time, fleas coming from the basement are more dangerous than those "coming" to pets: among them, rat fleas are more common - the most famous carriers of plague and some other infections.

 

What needs to be done first?

If there are fleas at home and you don’t know what to do, start with the following simple steps:

• Treat flea bites to prevent infection through broken skin. For this, antiseptic solutions are used (3% hydrogen peroxide, sulfuric ointment, alcohol solution, you can even use vodka or soda solution). If a severe allergic reaction occurs, you should see a doctor: in this situation, antihistamines are usually prescribed. To relieve itching from flea bites, you can also use various ointments used for insect bites in general.
• It is also important to find out where fleas are found in the home in the greatest numbers. Since they jump on animals temporarily, you should look for parasites under bedding and beds, in basins with sand, under carpets.Also, fleas are often found behind skirting boards and in parquet crevices, but it can be problematic to see them there. To begin with, it is enough to clean where possible, and wash the carpets and bedding or take it outside for a while.
• The third step is to protect yourself from fleas until they are completely removed. To do this, people's legs should be treated with any product containing DEET. You can also put a bunch of wormwood under the bed to repel parasites, or turn on a fumigator in the room.

In the photo - fleas in the house on the floor:

And in the next photo - they are on the cat's litter:

Above were the preliminary measures before the fight against parasites. Next, consider what needs to be done to reliably and quickly destroy fleas in the house.

 

Flea Eradication Plan

If fleas appeared at home, they should be dealt with comprehensively, adhering to the following plan:

• If there are animals in the house - mammals and birds - it is necessary to pickle them from fleas. And all, regardless of size - and mice, and rats, and cats, and dogs, and parrots.
• It is necessary to take measures so that in the next few days after treatment, the fleas do not again attack the cured pet. For dogs and cats, a flea collar works well for this task, for rodents, a diligent cleaning of the aquarium, and for caged birds and animals, moving to another room until the end of the fight against fleas.
• The next important step is a thorough flea-baiting indoors. Even if you only occasionally notice that fleas are jumping at home, this is a good reason for such processing.Often, parasite larvae are already hiding in places that are hard to reach for humans, and it is possible to destroy them only with the help of special means.
• If there are fleas at home, having penetrated from the basement (you must make sure of this), the basement itself should also be processed, in parallel, carrying out deratization - the destruction of mice and rats. Fleas in the basement of a house are a sign that rodents can live here.

After treatment, appropriate measures should also be taken to prevent the re-entry of fleas into the room.

Review

“We had such joy - in the house, except for me and my mother, not a single living creature. And then after the holidays I look - a flea in the house on the balcony. At first I thought that she had accidentally hit me, and then they bit me at night, then my mother began to complain about the “bugs”. I began to sort out the rubble on the balcony, and there were thousands of fleas there. Our balcony is right above the basement, and the neighbors have a dog on the balcony. Well, in short, for three days I flooded the house with Dichlorvos Neo. Such a good Dichlorvos, does not stink, unlike the old one. The fleas disappeared, but at the same time the neighbors poisoned them. I don’t know, maybe I’ll have to work on the basement too, but my money won’t be enough for it.”

Lesya, Yakutsk

Let's start with the first step - we will choose the means by which we will poison fleas on a pet and in the house in general.

 

Choosing the right flea remover

Be sure to remember that preparations for removing fleas in pets and preparations for treating fleas at home are completely different means. The former are expensive enough to handle the premises, while the latter can be dangerous for both humans and animals if used improperly.

For pets, they most often use products such as drops on the withers, sprays and shampoos - they allow you to rid your pet of fleas in a matter of hours.

After that, it is advisable to put a collar on the animal.

Of the chemicals, Hartz, Bayer, Frontline in the form of drops and sprays, Phytoelita and Doctor Zoo shampoos, Hartz, Beaphar, Kiltix collars are very popular. When choosing a product, one should take into account the weight of the animal, its age and state of health - in all lines there are products for the treatment of sick animals, large and small, growing cubs of different ages.

Of the means for treating an apartment from fleas, the following preparations are optimal in terms of price-performance ratio:

• Get (microencapsulated suspension);
• Executioner;
• Cucaracha.

There are also more powerful preparations such as Diazinon and Tetrix, but they require a professional approach and have a strong unpleasant odor. Means such as Raptor and Reid can also be used, but their effectiveness is somewhat lower than that of the above options.

Fleas can also be eradicated from the premises using kerosene, vinegar and turpentine. However, compared with specialized insecticidal preparations, such folk remedies for fleas, in addition to their relatively low efficiency, also have many other disadvantages - they leave behind a strong persistent unpleasant odor and are generally dangerous to use.

 

Get rid of pet fleas

Treatment of a pet from fleas should be carried out strictly according to the instructions for the product used.

• Drops on the withers are applied to the back of the pet's neck at the base of the skull, or at several points along the spine and carefully rubbed into the skin. After that, it is advisable not to bathe the animal for several days.
• With flea shampoo, the pet simply bathes, and it is important to rinse his hair well after such water procedures.
• The animal is sprayed with a spray all over the body, while pushing the hair apart with your hands so that the drug gets on the skin. After such treatment, the animal should not be allowed to lick itself for several hours, and then you should simply bathe it thoroughly.

Some products have a certain residual effect and allow you to not use flea collars. These are, for example, flea drops and some sprays. After shampooing, you should always put a flea collar on the animal, at least before removing fleas in the house and before every walk on the street.

 

We clean the room from parasites

Fleas in a private house can be quickly completely destroyed with a total treatment with special preparations of all surfaces and places where both adult insects and their larvae can live.

Aerosol preparations in cylinders are used in the form in which they are sold. Special concentrates for dilution are diluted with water and sprayed using ordinary household spray guns.

Particularly careful processing should be subjected to skirting boards, cabinet shelves in closets, corners in which pets like to sleep. In general, the more surfaces in the house that are treated, the more likely it is that all fleas will be killed.

At the time of processing, all animals and people should be removed from the premises. After applying the drug, you need to close the windows and doors and leave the house for several hours.Then a thorough wet cleaning is carried out in the room.

Fleas in the basement are removed in a similar way, but here it is advisable not to carry out any cleaning for as long as possible - this will guarantee that the parasites will definitely die.

In the future, as a preventive measure for the re-proliferation of fleas in the house, a thorough cleaning with mopping should be carried out at least once a week. At the same time, a decoction of wormwood or tansy should be added to the washing water, which repels fleas well. Pets that are outdoors should wear flea collars at the beginning of the warm season, at least while walking. Such measures are usually enough to ensure that fleas in the house no longer appear.

 

A typical situation: residents suffer from an invasion of fleas from the basement of the house

 

Useful video: how to properly treat an animal from fleas and which drug to choose

 

How to choose the right flea control service