The article talks about where fleas come from and where they are located. How to make sure you don't get fleas. And how to eliminate them if they have already been noticed.
If fleas appear in your home, it is better not to waste time looking for a method to destroy them, but to immediately turn to the sanitary and epidemiological service for help.
Fleas are blood-sucking parasites that do not allow a person to rest properly. Since these creatures lead an inconspicuous lifestyle, many do not even realize that fleas live in their house.
Enemy specifics
Fleas multiply quickly and it is enough for one individual to appear so that in a short period of time there is a massive spread of blood-sucking insects. A flea can live alone for a long time, without a permanent place of residence in the form of skin.
The flea has a flattened body 5-7 mm long. There are many hairs and antennae on it, with the help of which it clings to skin and clothing. The color of fleas may vary in shade. It is usually maroon or black in color.
Fleas can jump to great heights. Three pairs of legs allow this trick to be performed. Sometimes jumps reach 2 meters in height.
Fleas leave bites on the body of animals and humans that cause severe itching. By biting, the flea sucks out blood, but before that it lets its saliva under the skin. It blocks blood clotting and the insect can feed without worrying that the blood will stop flowing. Such bites can provoke allergic reactions or even infection, since fleas are carriers of infectious diseases.
Why are fleas dangerous?
Blood-sucking insects are dangerous because they become carriers of serious diseases. Of particular concern are rat fleas, which during bites drink infected blood and then transmit the infection to subsequent victims. Shustriki can transport viral and infectious diseases:
They can cause particular harm to fragile children's bodies, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems. Therefore, when parasites appear in an apartment, you should urgently take disinfestation measures.
Where do they come from?
Fleas in an apartment can appear from several sources:
- From pets.
- From common corridors, basement and entrance.
- From transport.
- From dysfunctional neighbors.
Pets can bring fleas into the house from outside. But today this is no longer the most common cause of insects. Most often, owners of cats and dogs promptly treat their pets for parasites. These can be collars, drops or sprays.
Public places are more dangerous. A flea can jump on clothes on a bus or subway. Fleas cling to long clothing and hide in folds and pockets. Driveways and corridors can be infested with fleas, so when entering an apartment, you should take off your outdoor shoes. Just like cockroaches, fleas can enter the house through ventilation hatches and any accessible cracks that are not visible to humans. Once in the apartment, they choose secluded places, these can be baseboards, the back walls of furniture and even the bed.
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Apartments with a bad reputation, where unscrupulous people live, are also considered a risk group. Usually in such housing there is an abundance of dirt and unpleasant odors, and as a result, cockroaches, fleas and other parasites too.
Parasite Habitats
To effectively and quickly destroy parasites, it is important to know its favorite habitats and breeding places:
- Animal bedding, cracks in wood floors and baseboards, behind carpets in places where your pet likes to rest.
- Heaps of uncollected trash in the closet or on the mezzanine.
- Garbage in hard-to-reach corners.
- Carpets and under them (how to get rid of genital fleas in carpets and rugs using pharmaceutical preparations and folk remedies, read more in this article).
- Parasites rarely appear on clothes, but in the secluded corners of closets it is quite possible to find a source of infection.
Important. Pet hair often accumulates under cabinets and upholstered furniture. If it is not cleaned regularly, it is an ideal breeding ground for fleas.
Any dark, warm place in the house can be infested with fleas. Since these blood-sucking insects can live for a long time without food, up to two months, and their larvae are viable for a year, even old other people’s things stored in a niche or on the mezzanine can serve as a breeding ground for parasites in the apartment.
Are there fleas in the house?
The first evidence of the presence of insects will be bites. Small redness in the form of dots on the legs and arms indicate the presence of fleas in the apartment. The bites are closely spaced and very itchy. But, even without detecting obvious traces, you can conduct a series of experiments that will confirm or refute the proximity to fleas.
After collecting dust after cleaning, you need to dissolve it in water. If the liquid turns pink, it means there are fleas in the apartment. The color of the water is due to the fact that flea feces contain remnants of eaten blood.
Sweet water or honey will attract fleas. The container with honey can be left overnight on the floor. In the morning, trapped individuals will definitely be found in it. If the plate is clean, then there are no fleas in the house.
How to protect yourself and your premises from re-infection
Residents of private houses, as well as apartments located on the ground floor, are more susceptible to the threat of such unpleasant pests as fleas in their homes. Therefore, in order to protect yourself, your family and pets from insects, it is worth periodically carrying out manipulations that will help minimize the occurrence of parasites.
- Clean carpets with powders or use the services of a professional dry cleaner, where you can ask them to treat the item with a special preparation.
- Periodically wash the floors with vinegar diluted in water.
These methods are used by those people who oppose chemical household products. When starting to wash the floors, treat not only the visible surface, but also the baseboards with cracks. If the walls of the house have paint rather than wallpaper, they should also be washed.
If you find a crack on the floor, wall or window, repair it immediately, because this is how fleas enter living spaces. If a street animal gets into your house, you need to carefully treat the places where it has been.
How to get rid
Pest control should begin immediately upon detection. Apartments and houses where there are large numbers of fleas are difficult to treat.
First of all, it is necessary to exclude the possibility of infection from animals. They need to be carefully examined and additionally treated with anti-flea drops or shampoos. During emergency measures, to prevent the animal from becoming infected again, it must be moved out of the apartment to relatives or friends.
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Next, you can start cleaning the apartment. She must be thorough. You need to vacuum and wash all secluded places and corners: cabinets, baseboards, crevices. Bed linen and curtains need to be washed. Carpets and any woven coverings should be taken outside and beaten. Washing should take place at high temperatures. All boxes and drawers with small items should be placed higher. House slippers also need to be thoroughly cleaned.
To effectively combat fleas, you can notify your neighbors so that they also take preventive measures. If parasites have settled in the basement of the house, then you need to contact the management company. They are obliged to send specialists who will process the basement and garbage chute.
After general cleaning, you can go to the hardware store. The modern market offers a huge selection of insect control products. You can trust the seller's advice or read reviews before purchasing. When using sprays, powders and gels against fleas, it is important to follow the instructions and precautions: wear gloves, face mask and closed windows.
The apartment must be treated in the absence of children and animals. A day is the period for which it is better to leave your home. Afterwards it is necessary to ventilate the apartment. After about 3 days, you can start wet cleaning again. A positive result will be visible from the flea corpses.
If the chosen remedy and the step-by-step scheme are carried out correctly, the fleas should disappear. This measure is not always effective. In this case, you need to contact specialized companies that disinfect apartments.
Often people never manage to get rid of fleas. They poison them, some time passes, and the parasites appear again. The reason is neighbors and flooded basements. There are cases when you have to change your place of residence. But such cases are extremely rare.
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Store-bought products and other methods for removing fleas from indoors
Let's look at how you can remove fleas from your home. To remove parasites from your home, you can use the following types of insecticidal preparations:
- Powders (dusts). They contain contact insecticides;
- Aerosols. They need to be applied to surfaces in the house and favorite areas of parasites.
In addition to household chemicals, there are other methods:
- Help from specialists. Professionals themselves select a means or method;
- Temperature treatment of rooms. It consists of freezing out a village or country house in winter or warming it up using thermal fans.
It is necessary to carefully read the instructions for use of the drugs. You can consult with people who have gone through this procedure and can provide specific recommendations.
Before using aerosols, you will need:
- Take all residents, including pets, out of the house for half a day. The aquarium should be covered with glass and the compressor should be turned off;
- Apply the product to baseboards, interior areas of cabinets and cabinets, clothing, furniture, bedding - all areas where fleas may be present;
- Close doors and windows, leave the house for several hours;
- Ventilate the rooms, do wet cleaning. Wash clothes and sets at the highest possible temperature.
Aerosols get rid of larvae and adults. In one procedure it will be possible to completely destroy the parasites.
It is important to read the instructions before starting the procedure. Typically requires protective equipment for use
Popular drugs:
- Gett, "Master 250". Several cylinders will be required. Price – approximately 700 rubles. ;
- "Sinuzan." Professional aerosol based on chlorpyrifos. It has a distinct unpleasant odor, but the drug is very effective. It comes in the form of a concentrate, which must be diluted as indicated in the instructions, then just start spraying. You will need safety glasses, gloves, and a respirator. It has a high cost and is difficult to find in stores. It is usually used by pest control services;
- "Raid". One of the most popular means. It is effective, but has a high cost;
- "Raptor". Manufacturer – Germany. There is no smell. It is chosen when it is not necessary to completely process the house. It is non-toxic. You can spray on infected areas, then stay indoors.
It is not difficult to remove fleas with powders, but it will take more time. They need to be poured onto areas where larvae may be located - baseboards, areas of dust accumulation, corners. These products kill parasites when they simply come into contact with their body. Adults die quickly.
Powders for room disinfection
The following drugs are common:
"Clean house". They will help not only quickly remove fleas from the house, but also get rid of bedbugs, ants, cockroaches
Toxic to humans and pets, so it is important to read the instructions carefully; "Pyrethrum". Natural preparation made from chamomile extract
The composition is simple, but the product gives a high result; "Phenaxin". Gets rid of fleas, flies, cockroaches, bedbugs.
Parasites can only live at a certain temperature. If it changes, they will die. The following temperature treatment methods are used:
- Warm up The temperature in the rooms should be up to 50 degrees. This method will not ruin communications, but it is difficult to implement. You can contact specialists who use heat guns for this purpose;
- Freezing. If the outside temperature drops below -20 degrees, you should open doors and windows.
If you contact the disinfestation team, the manager will identify the degree of infestation of the house before it leaves and decide which method is suitable. You will need to prepare the premises:
- Remove all residents, including pets;
- Move furniture away from the walls;
- Put bedding sets and clothes in the closet;
- Prepare products for subsequent processing.
Folk remedies with a pungent odor work well against fleas and other insects
Traditional methods
In the fight against any problem, be it a disease or insects, there is always an alternative method called traditional recipes. They are time-tested, but you can never be 100% sure of their effectiveness. Still, it's worth a try.
Wormwood can help in the fight against fleas. The branches are laid out on shelves with shoes, in corners and near the front door. The method really works, fleas die from the smell of wormwood. The disadvantages include the specific aroma of the plant, which can irritate household members.
In the cold season, you can resort to freezing the apartment. Fleas do not like the cold, although they happily live in humid environments. That is why they often inhabit basement floors.
Tansy tincture, another enemy of fleas. After brewing tansy flowers with boiling water, you need to make a strong tincture. Use the resulting solution to wipe the baseboards, cracks and cabinet joints. The product acts as a repellent; the fleas will not die, but will leave the apartment.
Precautionary measures
To prevent the appearance of parasites, you need to clean your apartment more often and ventilate the rooms. Of course, these are general and familiar tips, but they really help. The condition of the house is also the responsibility and consciousness of the residents. The basement serves as a breeding ground for fleas. It is necessary to inform utility services more often and require disinfection of the basement and waste disposal chute, if it is located in the house.
It seems that parasites attacking residential premises are a thing of the past. In fact, the problem remains relevant today. Simple rules and tips will help you avoid an unpleasant neighborhood with fleas in your apartment.
