Household fleas can appear in an apartment regardless of whether there are animals in it or not. Find out how to solve this problem, what tools and techniques will help. Fleas can disturb not only pets, but also people, appearing in apartments and houses. Uninvited guests bring a lot of trouble, but if you take some measures, you can get rid of them quickly enough.
If left as it is, fleas begin to multiply rapidly, causing even more anxiety and trouble. That is why the fight against them must be started immediately.
First of all, you need to make sure that these are fleas, since different methods must be used to destroy other pests.
What do fleas look like?
A flea is an insect, the length of which, together with a brown back, is no more than 5 mm, while they come in various shades. The body is slightly flattened on the sides; on its surface there are a large number of bristles, with the help of which the flea easily clings to various types of surfaces.
These insects have three pairs of legs, the structure of which is ideal for jumping long distances. That is why the insect has the ability not only to move quickly, but also persistently.
One flea can live for several years. During this period of time, the female can lay about 500 eggs, which become larvae after 10 days. After a short time, the larvae turn into full-fledged insects, so they can take an active life position along with the rest.
Types of domestic fleas
Today, there are about 30 species of fleas that can live in an apartment. The most common are rat, mouse, feline, human, and canine. They can live in the coat or hair of the owner and periodically leave offspring.
A separate species of genital fleas is also encountered. They live in upholstered furniture, carpet pile, including baseboards. They enter the house from basements, abandoned buildings or old furniture.
Linen fleas are able to settle in a closet, on shelves with neatly laid out linen, and earthen fleas live in the grass outside. This type of flea is not capable of harming human health, but it should be immediately eliminated for aesthetic reasons.
Quite often, fleas get inside the apartment "traveling" on pets, people or rodents. It is thanks to their tenacity and jumping ability that they are able to quickly explore new territories, forcing people to look for ways and means to combat them.
Any insects that appear in the house are immediately associated with disorder and unsanitary conditions. This problem has not only an ugly appearance, but can also pose a serious danger to the health of residents. Flea bites cause unpleasant painful sensations that can vary in severity. In some cases, people with sensitive skin develop severe allergies. In addition, it is fleas that can become sources of various infections that penetrate the human body.
How to get rid of earthen fleas quickly?
Depending on the type of fleas, a method for dealing with them will be selected. For example, earthen fleas do not resemble standard insects, but rather Colorado beetles. But at the same time, they can jump as far as other members of their species.
Earthen fleas do not bite animals or humans to feed on blood, since plants are their main food. They get into the room together with the seedlings or in some other way.
If an insect accidentally gets into the house, you can simply throw it out the door or window. However, in cases where pests are bred in large numbers, action must be taken immediately. To combat fleas, you can use special chemicals that are sold today in almost every hardware store.
Quite often, earthen fleas choose a summer cottage or garden as their main habitat. In this case, you also need to act immediately, because insects can cause serious harm to plants, since they feed on leaves and stems. In order not to lose the entire crop, it is necessary to use special means. You can start sounding the alarm in the following cases:
- spots appeared on the back of the leaves;
- Plants begin to wither gradually, even though they receive proper care;
- small holes appear on the stems.
To combat earthen fleas, the same means can be used as against Colorado beetles. The most effective drugs are:
- anti-beetle;
- regent;
- gaucho;
- aktara.
As a rule, for the complete destruction of earthen fleas, the treatment must be carried out several times. The fact is that insects have the ability to quickly adapt to chemicals, which is why the drugs need to be changed periodically.
For processing a garden or suburban area, you can also use folk remedies for the destruction of fleas. This method is effective, while it becomes possible to preserve the ecological purity and naturalness of the crop. For example, for this purpose, you can use an infusion of wormwood or tansy. With these means, it is necessary to regularly process plants on which pests have been noticed.
To protect the site from the appearance of earthen fleas, it is necessary to take certain preventive measures:
- protect all agricultural crops with plantations of wormwood, celandine, tobacco or hemp;
- it is important to water the plants regularly and abundantly;
- with the onset of a new season, plant various types of plants in a new place;
- it is not recommended to plant cruciferous plant species.
How to get home fleas out?
To get rid of domestic fleas, first of all, you need to be patient and persistent, since this process is quite long, but the end result is worth the effort.
First step
First you need to take care of pets, be sure to treat the wool with special means. The final choice of the drug directly depends on the type of pet, its age and weight. Most carefully, you need to process the area near the ears, withers and tail.
When cleaning the apartment from fleas, you need to put on a special collar on the animal, which will protect it from insects. You must act very carefully, as an overdose can lead to poisoning of the animal.
If your pet develops symptoms such as lethargy, foaming at the mouth, or vomiting, take it to your veterinarian as soon as possible and stop using chemicals.
Modern medications often provoke an allergic reaction in a cat or dog. Pet owners believe that flea collars do not help, as the pet continues to actively itch. But this effect can appear due to skin irritation. That is why you need to carefully monitor the behavior of the animal.
If possible, during the fight against fleas, it is best to relocate the animal to another place so as not to harm its health.
Second step
General cleaning of the premises is mandatory. You need to start with a banal mopping, dust is wiped off with a damp cloth.
All products are put into the refrigerator, laid out in containers with tight-fitting lids, etc.
All elements of the apartment are removed with special attention, including the farthest corners. If possible, wash all clothing, soft toys, slippers, curtains, etc. Mattresses, pillows and blankets are knocked out and dried in the sun.
Not only carpets, but all parts of the room must be vacuum cleaned, including upholstered furniture. The surfaces of the cabinets and shelves inside, as well as the skirting boards, are treated with special disinfectants designed to combat fleas.
Third step
Now comes the most crucial moment - all cracks and surfaces in the apartment are treated with special flea solutions. Taking into account the severity of the problem and your own preferences, you can select various drugs:
- Raptor. Has a neutral odor, while it is believed that this product causes minimal harm to human health. This drug must be very carefully sprayed into all cracks in the floors where insects can hide, and the gaps between the wall and the baseboard are also processed.
- Biorin. This drug is available only to special sanitary services, since it helps to destroy different types of insects that live in the premises.
- Gett. This is a high-quality disinfectant that has a gentle effect on the human body, while not harming the surface of the furniture.
- Sinusan. This tool is no less effective, it can also be found on the free market, but extremely rarely. The main disadvantage of the drug is its strong, pungent and unpleasant aroma.
- Chlorpimirak. This drug is effective not only in the fight against Colorado beetles, but also helps to get rid of domestic fleas. However, it is important to take into account the fact that after applying this product, after a few hours it must be washed off from all treated surfaces, including upholstered furniture, otherwise ugly whitish spots will remain.
Regardless of what kind of product will be chosen, after processing the apartment, it is imperative to leave the premises for a few hours. After returning, all windows in the room are opened, since the apartment needs to be well ventilated. A few days later, wet cleaning is carried out.
Thanks to the treatment carried out, all flea individuals will die, but a new generation will appear from the previously laid larvae in a couple of weeks. Therefore, there is a need for re-processing.
If bed fleas appear, they are affected in the ways described above. In order to no longer have to face such an unpleasant problem in the future, you can regularly use preventive folk methods that are not only effective, but also completely safe for the health of humans and pets.
Folk remedies for fleas
Uninvited guests will not appear in the apartment if bundles of dried wormwood, chamomile, tansy are laid out inside the sofas and in the corners of the rooms. The smell of these plants is not tolerated by fleas, therefore, even having appeared in the house, they will soon leave it on their own.
Decoctions can be prepared from herbs, which are used to process baseboards and floors, and furniture surfaces are also wiped. For the treatment of carpets, you can use a mixture of soda and salt (all components are taken in equal amounts). After the carpets have been processed, they must be left for a day, then vacuumed and knocked out in the fresh air.
Fleas can settle in the house even if there are no pets. Therefore, as a preventive measure, it is useful to use simple insect control products. When uninvited guests appear in the house, you need to immediately take measures to combat them.
How to get rid of fleas in an apartment, see this video:
