Treating your apartment for fleas

Where do fleas come from in an apartment?

Fleas can enter the house through adjacent ventilation from neighbors, from the entrance, from clothes and shoes. Sometimes they appear in sterile apartments if favorable conditions for reproduction are created: humidity, warm air. Mice, rats, and pets are also carriers of these parasites.

Since fleas are small, they can penetrate into any cracks, rugs, or carpets. But they do not rise higher than 30 cm from the floor. Their appearance is very dangerous for humans; they are carriers of typhoid, plague, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria. You need to start treating your home immediately as soon as fleas are discovered.

Products for treating pets

Available options:

• drops;
• pills;
• shampoos;
• collars.

The first option is considered the most effective even with severe infection. In this case, the toxic substance remains on the skin and fur of the animal, which will destroy insects and prevent other parasites from entering the body of the cat or dog in the future. The tablets act from the inside - they create unsuitable conditions for fleas to live in, affect the composition of the blood, which prevents insects from continuing to bite the pet.

Shampoos are a preventative measure. Such drugs repel, they do not destroy pests. This is important to consider when in contact with other animals on the street. Collars are also a preventative measure. They exist in different types. For small animals, options containing natural ingredients are used. Adult pets are given collars impregnated with insecticides.

Facilities:

• Leopard;
• Advantix;
• Kiltix;
• Frontline et al.

To cure an animal, it is better to use drops or tablets. At the same time, shampoos or collars (only one of these options) are used for prevention.

Signs of fleas

A light cloth or sheets of paper will help determine the presence of parasites. You need to spread them on the floor and leave them for 20 minutes, during which time the fleas will definitely show themselves. You can also find out about their existence by the following signs:

1. Pets are constantly itching and acting restless.
2. Bite marks are found on the legs. These are red, itchy little spots.

Children are more likely to suffer from bites; they are allergic to the saliva of ectoparasites.

Self-treatment for fleas

Not all housewives resort to the help of professional exterminators to get rid of blood-sucking insects. Therefore, they prefer to do the cleaning themselves.

Main directions of struggle:

1. Treating animals with chemicals, drops, shampoo.
2. Everything that is in contact with the floor: carpet, carpet, carpet, linoleum.
3. Furniture, a collection of old things. Insects can lay nests in them.

Act on all vectors simultaneously to prevent parasites from hiding in cracks or under baseboards.

The procedure for processing things and apartments

Before you start treating your apartment with special insecticides against fleas, you need to prepare, namely, do a general cleaning, otherwise disinfestation may be ineffective, and pests will very soon reappear in your home.

Attention! If you have animals at home, you first need to wash and treat their fur, and only then take care of the apartment. In this case, you need to carefully read the instructions for use of the drugs, because those remedies that are suitable for one animal are completely contraindicated for another. For example, chemicals for dogs containing permethrins can be fatal in cats.

To rid your apartment of basement fleas, first of all, you should wash the floors and baseboards very thoroughly. At the same time, pay close attention to places with high humidity, pantries and closets. Next, carefully vacuum all the cracks, corners, upholstered furniture and carpets, not forgetting the rug at the front door. Shake out the contents of the vacuum cleaner outside the apartment.

Bedding, mattresses and bedspreads, where linen fleas hide, must be knocked out or treated with a steam generator. Fabric products such as bed linen, curtains, contaminated clothing and slippers must be washed, preferably at a temperature of at least 60⁰C. It is also necessary to wash all outdoor shoes and throw away those things in which a large accumulation of eggs or adult pests was found.

Only after thorough cleaning, during which it is possible to get rid of most of the insect larvae, can you treat the room with the help of “heavy artillery” - pesticides or folk remedies in order to finally destroy all the fleas that have occupied the apartment.

Anti-flea floor cleaning solutions

This includes not only special formulations, but also any proven methods. Most often, the following chemicals are used to prepare the solution:

1. Chlorine (whiteness). Be careful when using, highly toxic. It is necessary to make a concentrated solution and wash the floors and baseboards with it. It is not recommended to treat carpets with it, as chlorine acts as a bleach.
2. Sinuzan. It will help get rid of not only fleas, but also other pests: cockroaches, flies, bedbugs, ants. You need 10 ml of product per bucket of water. There is a drawback: you need to order on the manufacturer’s official website; it is not always available in regular stores.
3. Biorin. The most poisonous substance against all blood-sucking parasites. It is even used by special services. During disinfection, there should be no children, animals, or indoor plants in the house. This is explained by toxicity. When diluting the chemical, follow the instructions on the packaging.
4. Get . It goes on sale in the form of a concentrated gel; dilute it with water to the required concentration of the working fluid.

When using any of these products, do not forget about protective measures: respirator, rubber gloves. After disinfection, close the room tightly for 2-3 hours, then ventilate for 60 minutes, and carry out wet cleaning. If after the first cleaning the number of parasites has decreased, repeat after another 3 days. Prophylaxis should be carried out 2 times a month to avoid recurrence.

Which drug should I choose?

On store shelves today you can find preparations for treating apartments against fleas in various forms of release:

• these can be concentrated solutions of insecticides that require dilution in water (often they are also called emulsion concentrates);
• ready-to-spray aerosols in cylinders;
• as well as dusts and pencils (all kinds of insecticidal powders are called dusts).

Of these, concentrates are the most versatile and effective - these products, for the most part, actually kill insects outright and are quite inexpensive - one bottle of such a concentrate is usually enough to treat a large area. It should be noted, however, that some of these drugs are quite toxic and are not always odorless. If you want there to be virtually no odor in the room after treating your apartment for fleas, you can pay attention to concentrates of microencapsulated insecticides.

It is also useful to read: How to get rid of genital fleas in an apartment

Aerosols in cans are convenient for quickly treating residential or office premises against fleas. They do not require preparation or dilution, sometimes have a pleasant smell (due to fragrances) and often give good results. But in general they are also the most expensive.

Insecticidal dusts and pencils can be used to combat flea larvae - adult parasites do not feed on anything other than blood, and therefore dusts do not enter their body. The exception is contact agents, but their effectiveness is still lower than that of aerosol preparations and spray solutions obtained from concentrates.

How to treat carpet for fleas

Some housewives solve this problem with a vacuum cleaner. This is an effective but very long process. You need to vacuum every day for 14 days. It is impossible to get rid of a large number of parasites in one go, so they may choose other hidden places. Therefore, it is best to use aerosol or powder preparations.

Popular aerosols

1. Control Home. Within 5-10 minutes, up to 98% of adult insects and larvae die. The active substance has a paralyzing effect on all types of blood-sucking insects. The product is used economically, the effect lasts up to 1 month.
2. Executioner . Dilute it with water according to the attached instructions. Spray with a spray bottle and remove with a washing vacuum cleaner.
3. Raid . One bottle is enough to treat 50 square meters. meters. The aerosol can be purchased unscented or with aromatic additives.

Even if the instructions indicate that the product is safe, you should not neglect precautions. For people with allergies and bronchial asthma, it is better to refrain from this method of treatment and seek professional help or ask someone you know.

Contact powder preparations

The most effective are considered to be: “Ranosan”, “Super Fas”, “Phenaxin”, dust. Scatter in various hard-to-reach places, but so that pets and small children cannot reach them. Their advantage lies in the immediate effect; not only adults die, but also larvae. In addition, there is no need to carry out repeated disinfection, according to the manufacturer. But it is better to do this after a few days to be completely sure that the parasites are destroyed.

What to do if everyone starts itching

Fleas are small insects (2-6 mm in length); it is difficult to see them when infesting a room due to their high speed of movement.

The main symptom is itching in the lower extremities; fleas cannot jump higher. The bites itch, causing scratching to appear. If you are prone to allergies, red spots and bumps appear. In most cases, bites leave dots.

To make sure that parasites are present in the house, you need to detect activity at a level of 1 m above the floor, in the habitats of pets, near carpets. Here you can see fast moving dark dots. They are better visible against a light background. Fleas do not live on animals; they jump on them to get a portion of blood. In case of severe infection, different individuals are constantly on the pet. For this reason, it may appear that fleas are living on his body.

Insects prefer special conditions: dark, damp places, hidden, remote areas of premises. Fleas multiply, leaving eggs everywhere - up to 10 pieces. per day from each individual. The offspring are not fixed on anything, as in the case of lice (on the hair), this facilitates their spread.

After 7-10 days, larvae emerge from the shell. Gradually they turn into insects called nymphs. After 10-30 days they pupate, after which adults emerge that are capable of biting a living creature. For comparison, at the initial stage of development, the larvae feed on waste.

When adult fleas grow, bite marks immediately appear on people’s bodies, and at the same time, itching.

If such signs occur, you need to create an algorithm for further actions:

• destroy fleas on an animal;
• at the same time they clean the room, it is enough to clean the walls and floor, clean the carpets;
• carry out disinfestation of the facility;
• after 14 days, it is necessary to re-treat the infected premises with insecticides, because at the end of this period, larvae emerge from the eggs.

Preventing fleas

To prevent another flea infestation, you must follow the recommendations below:

1. Monitor pet hygiene: bathe with special shampoos, wash bedding, wear flea and tick collars.
2. Before entering the house, dust off your shoes.
3. Conduct general cleaning in a timely manner.
4. Avoid dampness.
5. Ventilate the room daily for 1-2 hours. In winter, 40-50 minutes is enough.

If there are a lot of parasites and you can’t deal with them on your own, then the sanitary and epidemiological station workers will help.

Watch a video about flea remedies:

Concentrates for dilution

Among the concentrates there are many professional products used by sanitation workers to disinfect premises. Concentrates are considered the most effective preparations against domestic insects, including fleas. However, they can also be quite toxic and require precautions when used.

It is also useful to read: How to kill fleas in an apartment

The most famous concentrated insecticides are Get, Tetrix, Tsifoks, Cucaracha, Executioner, Agran, Medilis Cyper, the Zone line of products, etc.

Tetrix, Medilis Cyper, Cifox and Cucaracha have a strong unpleasant odor. Get and Zone are microencapsulated insect repellents and have virtually no odor. In general, although Get is a rather expensive product, due to its effectiveness and lack of odor, it can be considered optimal for self-treatment of an apartment against fleas.

On a note

Microencapsulated preparations are produced in the form of a suspension in which the insecticide itself is concentrated in microscopic granules. After being sprayed indoors, these granules settle on the surfaces and bodies of the insects themselves, and later, when moving, the parasites involuntarily cling such capsules to their limbs. The insecticides in these products penetrate the flea's body and lead to the same poisoning as when entering the body through the mouth.

Before use, all concentrates must be diluted with water in the ratios specified by the manufacturer, and then pour the solution into a regular household spray bottle and use it in the same way as aerosols. When using, you should spray the entire apartment and thoroughly treat the floors against fleas, especially if there is parquet on them. After using microencapsulated preparations, it is advisable not to wash those surfaces on which food is not prepared and children do not play for several days.