Ok, some how we got fleas in our house, i say some how because we have NO pets except fish, and last time i checked they didnt have any LOL!! Any way, what can i do, or use ect. (that is safe for my kids who are all over the place) to get rid of them?? Thanks in advance for the help!!
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Ok, first we do not have any carpet in our house at all, we ripped it all out when we found out about my sons allergies. I would like to stay away from any type of foggers, because of my kiddos, im scarred my kids like to hide things that i never can find, and with them doing that i dont want to miss cleaning something and then they get ahold of it. I need something that is safe for them, both in "smell" and if they get a hold of something with it on it that i couldnt find they will be ok. My oldest some has severe allergies and severe asthma, which is another reason why i need something not too "chemical" smelling. I know you cant have your cake and eat it too, but i was hoping someone knew something that would work. Thanks again.
Have you tried to google search this problem. There are so many products on the market now. Also, you can call a vet and they can give you some advice.
Oh honey!! Those things are hard to get rid of on your own. When it happened to us, I had to call in a pest service to spray the entire house. They used something pet and children friendly and in a day or two we never saw one of those little monsters again! Also, wash all your bedding in the hottest water you can get! :) hope this helps!
Hi,
My husband & I own a pest control company here in Houston. We would be more than happy to send someone over for a free estimate, or at least a professional opinion. There are actually several different biting 'creatures' that mimic fleas. W/ you not having pets or carpet I would recomend a second opinion just to be safe. We are listed on this site under home repair...pest control. Or, Just call AntSir Pest Control at ###-###-####.
There are other ways to treat besides foggers, that are kid friendly. I would be happy to share some of the 'home remidies' with you, but those can get a little long winded. Please call if I can be of any assistance.
For now, you can call an organic company to come out and get rid of them. In the future, you can spray your yard with Nematodes. They are an organic micro-organism that not only eat fleas, but ants and grub worms. Good luck!!
If you or someone you know has a weeping willow tree, cut some limbs off, not big ones, and place under your couchs and beds and the fleas go to the branches. That is how we used to get rid of fleas.
make a mixture in a regular windex type spray bottle of sterile water (distilled) w/ 3 tsp tea tree oil (the stuff from wal mart workes fine teh natures own I think with the yellow label is what it is called) and if you can find it bay leaf (bay) oil but at least the tea tree and spray everythng down and vaccuum better than ever. If you can find someone with a super Kirby type vaccuum use it. After vaccumming THROW AWAY that bag. Wash linens in super hot water and dry super hot.
Fleas hate tea tree oil and respray with tea tree mixture every few days. It smells a bit like paint thinner but it works. Bugs also are repulsed by bay leaves (bay leaves scattered on shelves also will keep roaches away).
The problems with foggers etc is the fleas and other bugs that do manage to live (including the eggs) will then be resistant to further pesticide treatment and the eggs can lay dormant and hatch up to 1 year later! Not to mention cleaning that nasty stuff off everything you own because it is poison.
I am not "green" on everything but having a preemie child with asthma and having severe eczema myself has made me much more aware of cleaners, chemicals and pesticides and I have found much better and safer/ healthier ways to deal with such things.
Not an easy task... take all of the linens off your beds, turn off a/c and heaters, set a fogger in each room and hallways. Make sure the closet doors are open also. Leave your home for a few hours and when you come back, wash all of the linens in hot water and put them back on the beds. I had to do this twice before I finally got rid of them. You will also want to have your yard sprayed (or you can do it your self). When you or your family walk through the yard you are probably picking up fleas from stray cats or something. Good luck.
On top of the other advice, place a flea collar in your vacuum cleaner. Vacuums are good breeding grounds. So when you suck the little suckers up, they are not forming a village in the vac!!!
M:)
If you have fleas and no pets, the first thing you need to do is figure out where they are coming from. If it is the neighbor's animals, even when you rid your home of fleas, they are likely to return if the source has not been addressed. The other source could be rodents. If you have a rodent infestation, you will need to contact an exterminator as soon as possible to prevent the spread of disease.
The best way is to set off foggers. You need to leave the house for an all-day outing, so it can fill the house and do its job. In 2 weeks you need to do it again for the ones that hatch from eggs.
I don't know if this applies. The fact that you don't have a pet could be that someone living in the house previously did have a dog, etc.
If that is not the case and you have lived in the house for several years, there's another possibility that is unpleasant. You might have mice in the attic that could be carrying "critters."
We had a problem with ticks in a house, and I freaked out, because I had a toddler and young children. My father suggested putting out the mouse bait in the attic. That fixed it. I don't know if it applies to fleas or not, but you might consider doing that if you can't solve the mystery. Maybe someone else can say if they carry fleas or not.
Best Wishes,
R.
It sounds like you might need to treat your yard. The fleas could be coming from your neighbors through your yard.
I've read the other responses and be careful with the "foggers", you can contaminate alot of stuff with those; but the professional method from a trustworthy company is a good idea along with some proactive ideas - we use a product that is sprinkled on the grass that controls mosquitoes and fleas plus other pests and is 100% natural - I think it's made from a cedar based product. There is a product we bought at PetSmart also that is used indoors and it is sprinkled in carpets and furniture that is fantastic on keeping any eggs from hatching that is also safe.
If you are open to pets, fleas prefer pets to peoples carpets etc. Fleas can also lay dormant for a long time until a food source is available. So if you recently purchased, borrowed or were given any used furniture or rugs the fleas could have been there.
Anyway back to the pets thing. If you can either get or borrow a pet that is treated with a flea product that you purchase at the vet, that will eliminate the fleas. The over the counter flea meds from the stores do not really work. Only the stuff from the vet.
There are carpet treatments that you can use and them vacuum up. After vacuuming several times it is probably safe for kids. One note about tee tree oil, it is sort of expensive and may stain fabrics so be careful what you spray it on.
This site reccomends garlic, garlic powder and making homemade flea traps with light colored bowls of water with a few drops of dish soap.
http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/fleas.html
Good luck!
