Fleas can appear in an apartment regardless of whether there are animals in it or not. Find out how to solve this problem and what tools and methods will help. Fleas can bother pets and people, appearing in apartments and houses. Uninvited guests cause a lot of trouble, but if you take some precautions, you can get rid of them soon enough.
If left alone, fleas begin to multiply rapidly and cause even more anxiety and trouble. Therefore, we must start the fight against them immediately.
First of all, you need to ensure that these are fleas, as you must use different methods to destroy other pests.
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What do fleas look like?
A flea is an insect; its length and brown back are no more than 5 mm, while they come in various shades. The body is slightly flattened on the sides; on its surface, there are many bristles, with the help of which the flea easily adheres to various types of surfaces.
These insects have three pairs of legs; the structure is ideal for leaping long distances. Therefore, the insect not only can move quickly but also continuously.
A single flea can live for several years. During this time, the female can lay about 500 eggs, which will become larvae after 10 days. After a short time, the larvae turn into full-fledged insects so they can take up an active lifestyle with the others.
Types of house fleas
Today, about 30 species of fleas can live in an apartment. The most common are rats, mice, felines, humans, and dogs. They can live in the fur or hair of the owner and regularly leave offspring.
A specific type of genital flea also occurs. It lives in upholstered furniture, carpeted compartments, including baseboards. They enter the house from basements, abandoned buildings, or old furniture.
Fleas can settle in a closet, on shelves with neatly laid linen, and clay fleas live in the grass outside. This type of flea cannot harm human health but should eliminate immediately for aesthetic reasons.
Fleas often enter the apartment “traveling” on pets, people or rodents. Thanks to their tenacity and leaping ability, they are quick to explore new areas and force people to look for ways and means to fight against them.
Any insect that appears in the house is immediately associated with disorder and unhealthiness. This problem not only has an unsightly appearance but can also pose a severe threat to the health of residents. A flea bite causes an unpleasant, painful sensation that can vary in severity. In some cases, people with sensitive skin develop severe allergies. In addition, some fleas can become the source of various infections that enter the human body.
How to get rid of soil fleas quickly?
Depending on the fleas, we will choose a method to deal with them. For example, aphids do not resemble standard insects but Colorado beetles. But at the same time, they can jump as far as other members of their species.
Earthworms do not bite animals or humans to feed on blood, as plants are their primary diet. They enter the room together with the plants or by other means.
If an insect accidentally enters the house, you can throw it out the door or window. But in cases where pests are bred in large numbers, we must take immediate action. To combat fleas, you can use special chemicals sold today in almost all hardware stores.
Very often, clay fleas choose a summer house or garden as their primary habitat. In this case, you also need to act immediately because insects can cause severe damage to plants as they feed on leaves and stems. To avoid losing the entire crop, it is necessary to use extraordinary means.
You can start calling in the following cases:
- Spots appeared on the back of the leaves;
- Plants begin to wither gradually, even if they receive proper care;
- Small holes appear on the stems.
To fight against soil fleas, you can use the same methods as against Colorado beetles.
The most effective drugs are:
- Anti-beetle;
- Governor;
- Gaucho;
- Drive
As a rule, the treatment must be carried out several times to destroy a complete flea. The fact is that insects can quickly adapt to chemicals, which is why the drugs need to be changed regularly.
You can also use folk remedies to eliminate fleas to work from a garden or suburbs. This method is effective while preserving the ecological purity and naturalness of the crop. For example, you can use an infusion of wormwood or tan for this purpose. These tips make it necessary to process plants where pests have been observed regularly.
To protect the web from the appearance of soil fleas, it is necessary to take specific preventive measures:
- Protect all crops by planting wormwood, celandine, tobacco, or hemp;
- It is essential to water the plants regularly and abundantly;
- At the beginning of a new season, produce various types of plants in a new place;
- Planting crucifers is not recommended.
What can kill fleas instantly?
To get rid of household fleas, first of all, you need to be patient and persistent, as this process is quite long, but the result is worth it.
First step
First, you need to take care of pets and treat the wool uniquely. The final choice of the drug depends directly on the type of pet, age, and weight. Most carefully, it would help if you worked the area near the ears, withers, and tail.
When cleaning the apartment from fleas, you need to put on a unique collar on the animal that protects it from insects. You have to be very careful as overdosing can lead to animal poisoning.
If your pet develops symptoms such as lethargy, foaming at the mouth, or vomiting, take them to the vet as soon as possible and stop using chemicals.
Modern medicines often cause allergic reactions in a cat or dog. Pet owners believe flea collars do not help as the pet continues to itch actively. But this effect can appear due to skin irritation. Therefore, you need to pay close attention to the animal’s behavior.
If possible, during the fight against fleas, it is best to move the animal to another place to avoid harming its health.
Another step
General cleaning of the premises is necessary. It would help if you started with a banal mop; dust is wiped off with a damp cloth.
All products are refrigerated, placed in containers with tight lids, etc.
All aspects of the apartment are removed with special attention, including the most extended corners. Wash all clothes, soft toys, slippers, curtains, etc. Mattresses, pillows, and blankets are beaten and dried in the sun.
Not only carpets but every room part must be vacuumed, including upholstered furniture. The interior surfaces of cabinets and shelves, as well as panels, are treated with special disinfectants designed to combat fleas.
The third step
Now comes the most critical moment – all cracks and surfaces in the apartment are treated with unique flea solutions.
Taking into account the severity of the problem and your preferences, you can choose various drugs:
- Raptor. It has a neutral smell, but this product is believed to cause minimal harm to human health. Must spray this medicine carefully in all the cracks in the floors where insects can hide, and the space between the wall and the baseboard is treated.
- Biorin. This drug is only available for special hygiene services as it helps to destroy different types of insects that live on the premises.
- Can. It is a high-quality disinfectant that mildly affects the human body. Still, it does not harm the surface of the furniture.
- The sinus. This tool is no less effective; you can also find it on the free market, but rarely. The main disadvantage of the drug is its robust, solid, and unpleasant aroma.
Regardless of which remedy is chosen, it is essential to leave the premises for a few hours after processing the apartment. After returning, all the windows in the room are opened, as the apartment needs to be well ventilated. A few days later, wet cleaning takes place.
Thanks to the treatment, all individual fleas will die. Still, a new generation will appear from the previously laid larvae after a few weeks. Hence the need for recycling.
If bed bugs appear, they affect the way described above. To no longer face such an unpleasant problem in the future, you can regularly use preventive folk methods that are effective and completely safe for the health of humans and domestic animals.
Folk remedies for fleas
Uninvited guests will not appear in the apartment if you have placed a bundle of dried wormwood, chamomile, and tan inside the sofa and in the corners of the rooms. Fleas do not tolerate the smell of these plants because even after appearing in the house, they will soon leave it themselves. Can paper
decoctions from herbs, which are used to process baseboards and floors, and the furniture’s surface is also dried. To treat 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 put out into the fresh air.
Fleas can settle in the house even if there are no pets. Therefore, it is helpful to use simple insect repellents as a preventive measure. When uninvited guests appear in the place, you need to take steps to fight them immediately.