brianthephysicist Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 My apartment is under siege by fleas. What do I do? I told my landlord. He acted confident, but I don't think he knows what he's doing either. :facepalm: What chemicals do I need to use? Should I try it myself or call a company? Should I stay at a friend's house or should I quarantine myself there? Should I wear a flea collar on my leg like an ankle bracelet? Is there anything else I can do to protect myself? Are there any diseases I need to watch out for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xTrishaxLynnx Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 They make these ultrasonic repellants that you just plug into the wall. We had SO many fleas once that I took a step off my bed and it looked like my leg turned black. A couple of days after my dad plugged those ultrasonic things in, they seemed to be gone. If you have carpets, though, I'd use a fogger on the place. Your landlord would have to fog the whole building if you want to go that route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xTrishaxLynnx Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 If you go to a friend's house, you risk carrying them there in your clothing and then you may both have the problem. :\ I don't know anything about diseases they may carry or if it's safe for a person to wear a flea collar; I doubt it, but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie-Therese Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Do not put a flea collar on your person. Get a product called Sevin Dust. Follow the instructions and apply it to your carpet. You might want to arrange to spend a night or two with a friend while the Sevin Dust works. Once done, it vaccuums up from the carpet. It will kill fleas and a multitude of other pests. Really. Trust me on this one. Sevin Dust. You should be able to get it at any store that sells products for home and garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 whatever treatment you choose, make sure it last long enough (or you repeat it enough times) to wait out all the unhatched eggs!! Do you have pets? Do you have carpets? And most importantly...and you sure they are fleas? I don't think you need to worry about getting typhus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I second the sevin dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthephysicist Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 [quote name='Marie-Therese' timestamp='1340117855' post='2446282'] Do not put a flea collar on your person. [/quote] ty [quote name='Marie-Therese' timestamp='1340117855' post='2446282'] Get a product called Sevin Dust. Follow the instructions and apply it to your carpet. You might want to arrange to spend a night or two with a friend while the Sevin Dust works. Once done, it vaccuums up from the carpet. It will kill fleas and a multitude of other pests. Really. Trust me on this one. Sevin Dust. You should be able to get it at any store that sells products for home and garden. [/quote] I looked at sevin dust online and the FAQ's say not to use it in the house at all and that it should only be used on plants. Am I looking at the wrong product? [quote name='sixpence' timestamp='1340118013' post='2446284'] whatever treatment you choose, make sure it last long enough (or you repeat it enough times) to wait out all the unhatched eggs!! Do you have pets? Do you have carpets? And most importantly...and you sure they are fleas? I don't think you need to worry about getting typhus [/quote] I don't have pets, but my old roommate did before she moved out. When I'm away from her room, there's no problem, when I'm near her room there's some fleas, and the one time I walked in her room, they swarmed my legs. All of the apartment is carpeted except the kitchen and bathroom. Yes, I am sure they are fleas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomaly Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I would avoid Sevin Dust. Do a google search. It's not as safe as a pyrethin insecticide. Also, if you have cats or dogs (or even you) the dust may be irritating. We've used Precor and pyrethins to treat our home for fleas with great success (we have had 3 cats and a dog in warm Florida). We've gotten them occaisionally, but never for long. It took two weeks to take eradicate fleas in my neighbor's INFESTED house when they were gone for months and I took care of their pets. It doesn't happen over night since you have to worry about eggs hatching, etc. Vacum and dispose your bag every couple of days to get rid of eggs and dead fleas. Follow the directions on the insecticides. I don't know how bad your fleas are, but I wouldn't recommend wearing flea collars on your legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) It will be easier since you don't have to worry about animals... its better to just wear long pantaloons and do the dorky sock-tuck than to use flear collars not meant for people. You probably have a good amount of options as far as pesticides, but read the directions, make sure its safe for indoors, and like anomaly said, keep vacuuming!!! Also, if there were cats, dust off and furniture they might have been on Edited June 19, 2012 by sixpence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthephysicist Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 [quote name='Anomaly' timestamp='1340119496' post='2446296'] I would avoid Sevin Dust. Do a google search. It's not as safe as a pyrethin insecticide. Also, if you have cats or dogs (or even you) the dust may be irritating. We've used Precor and pyrethins to treat our home for fleas with great success (we have had 3 cats and a dog in warm Florida). We've gotten them occaisionally, but never for long. It took two weeks to take eradicate fleas in my neighbor's INFESTED house when they were gone for months and I took care of their pets. It doesn't happen over night since you have to worry about eggs hatching, etc. Vacum and dispose your bag every couple of days to get rid of eggs and dead fleas. Follow the directions on the insecticides. I don't know how bad your fleas are, but I wouldn't recommend wearing flea collars on your legs. [/quote] That Precor product looks perfect. I'm going to try that. The annoying thing is that the vacuum my landlord has down here is one of those fancy bagless things. I'll need to figure out how to clean that properly. Maybe the hose will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laudate_Dominum Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomaly Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 [quote name='brianthephysicist' timestamp='1340120567' post='2446300'] That Precor product looks perfect. I'm going to try that. The annoying thing is that the vacuum my landlord has down here is one of those fancy bagless things. I'll need to figure out how to clean that properly. Maybe the hose will work. [/quote]I think you want to do both. If I remember correctly, Precor keeps fleas from maturing, prethins is an actual insecticide. Sixpense probably knows. Dude, you don't own a vacum? Shop GoodWill for used, and check out dollar stores or a Harbor Freight for cheap bags before you chose a vac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 i say kill it with fire... you're renting, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthephysicist Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 [quote name='Anomaly' timestamp='1340121149' post='2446305'] Dude, you don't own a vacum? Shop GoodWill for used, and check out dollar stores or a Harbor Freight for cheap bags before you chose a vac. [/quote] My landlord has his own vacuum and he left his old vacuum in my apartment. It works great, but it's one of those bagless thingamajigs. Lolwut. Apparently this text editor doesn't think "thingamajigs" is spelled wrong. [quote name='Anomaly' timestamp='1340121149' post='2446305'] I think you want to do both. If I remember correctly, Precor keeps fleas from maturing, prethins is an actual insecticide. Sixpense probably knows. [/quote] I'm not sure. It says it's a "[color=#000000][font=Verdana, sans-serif][size=3]insect growth regulator (IGR) and residual insecticide[/size][/font][/color]" but idrk what that means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthephysicist Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Just ordered Precor. It'll take 1-3 days to get here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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