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Original poster

Fleas but no pets | Silly question ?

13 replies

BruceAndMarley · 07/09/2020 14:37

Hi,

My husband and I think we have fleas in the house . We’ve never seen fleas before but after googling , the little pests look identical to this www.manchesterexterminators.co.uk/fleas-pest-control-services/ and I’ve attached a photo I managed to get of one on my arm .

We don’t have pets indoors. We have a rabbit in her own enclosure and we did have kittens who didn’t have fleas and were treated anyway, but they’re currently at a friends whilst we settle at home with our newborn baby.
Where could they have come from ? Our house is up for sale , could fleas come in on visitors ? And will they harm our baby?
I’ve never seen them before and haven’t been bitten. But I found one crawling on our 10 day old daughters head and it makes me feel like we are dirty.
Any advise please !
They jump away when you try and squash the little shits

Fleas but no pets | Silly question ?
OP posts:
GreyishDays · 07/09/2020 14:38

How long have you lived in the house? Eggs can be in the carpet and then hatch when heating comes on.

Original poster
BruceAndMarley · 07/09/2020 14:41

@GreyishDays 2 years !

OP posts:
Original poster
BruceAndMarley · 07/09/2020 14:41

@GreyishDays we got all brand new carpet when we moved in too

OP posts:
SwanShaped · 07/09/2020 14:44

Could be from the rabbits. You have to squish them with your nail or put them in boiling water to kill them

Original poster
BruceAndMarley · 07/09/2020 14:46

@SwanShaped rabbit definitely doesn’t have fleas and she’s at the other end of the garden in her own garage . She gets treated and 100% doesn’t have them.
How do I catch them to kill them though ?

OP posts:
Cornettoninja · 07/09/2020 14:48

You need indorex but you’ll need to air the house thoroughly afterwards. I would try and take the baby out for a day.

They could have come from numerous places but sometimes they hitch a lift from really random places. You might have them in your grass in the garden if there’s a lot of cats around your area or maybe there’s another food source for them (do you have any open chimneys? Might be dropping off a bird maybe).

Indorex is fab stuff and can actively kill them off for a year or so. It’s a pesticide though so you might want to look into it further if you’ve a baby crawling around.

Cornettoninja · 07/09/2020 14:50

Oh and vacuum like a maniac for a couple of weeks. Make sure you empty it straight away outside or they can crawl out. That helps keep any new eggs to a minimum. I think they’re life cycle is about seven days so two weeks should hopefully catch any lingerers.

ginghamtablecloths · 07/09/2020 14:51

Have you seen them hop? That would be a dead giveaway as fleas hop rather than fly. A past owner could have had pets which were untreated and the disgusting little buggers lay eggs which stay in a dormant state until the either the weather warms up or you put the heating on.

I rented a flat once where the previous owner had two house cats which had the damn things. I was the only one to get bitten - we got a chap from the council to come and spray the place. I'm not sure if that's the case now or if you'd have to pay Rentokil perhaps.

They are not a sign of being dirty OP. If you were a mummy flea you'd want to live somewhere clean. There are lots of sprays available now (from a vet) which are very good and you get what you pay for - don't go for the cheapest supermarket stuff - they are made with old formulas which the fleas have grown immune to. You have my sympathy and best of luck.

Original poster
BruceAndMarley · 07/09/2020 14:52

@Cornettoninja thanks for the tips that’s great , will they harm my baby do you know ?

OP posts:
Original poster
BruceAndMarley · 07/09/2020 14:53

@ginghamtablecloths thank you so much, that’s made me feel better. I just feel mortified and especially if any visitors notice 😭 I will see if the council will come out to us especially with having a newborn . It’s so odd as we’ve not got any bites !

OP posts:
toomanyspiderplants · 07/09/2020 14:55

indorex is the way to go. And not that expensive. .got mine of amazon

Cornettoninja · 07/09/2020 16:05

After the initial treatment and airing out it should be fine after all it’s designed to be used in the same areas as cats which are generally more delicate than a baby (well mine are!). Plus they lick their paws. You can definitely tell it’s in the air immediately after you use it so I would recommend organising for the baby to be out for the day.

Chocolate4me · 07/09/2020 16:11

We had fleas left behind by previous owners!! We had no pets of our own and after a few weeks of trying to kill them ourselves we had to get someone in to get rid of them! They bit me all over my legs, I had about 30 bites on my legs, where as my oh rarely got bitten

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