Flea infestation, remodelling AND pregnant...
August 4, 2013 3:04 PM Subscribe
We've just finished a kitchen and bathroom remodel (yay) and the rest of the house still needs floors polished, repainting and some carpentry. Visiting this weekend (we're not living here during the remodel), we became aware of a wholesale flea infestation, mostly in the old carpet. We're treating the cats and plan to flea bomb the whole place overnight tonight. What do I need to do after bombing to make sure the house is safe for me to live in - and for a newborn in three or four months?
Already planning to wash down all the kitchen surfaces, including inside cabinets (even though we just finished the wash down yesterday). We'll do the same in the bathrooms. All the bedrooms will have the walls and floors refinished and new drapes. Same with the living room (all carpet is going to go). We will steam clean mattresses and other soft furnishings and wash all the clothes and linens that could have come in contact with the fleas or the bomb. Is there anything I'm not thinking of? Thank you, MF-ites!
Already planning to wash down all the kitchen surfaces, including inside cabinets (even though we just finished the wash down yesterday). We'll do the same in the bathrooms. All the bedrooms will have the walls and floors refinished and new drapes. Same with the living room (all carpet is going to go). We will steam clean mattresses and other soft furnishings and wash all the clothes and linens that could have come in contact with the fleas or the bomb. Is there anything I'm not thinking of? Thank you, MF-ites!
I'd be more inclined to clean or take the carpet out like was suggested above. I've used a flea bomb previously and found it KILLS ALL THE THINGS for quite a long time afterward (2 years). Diatomaceous earth and lots and lots of vacuuming should calm things down if you've treated the cats for a few cycles.
posted by bookrach at 4:02 PM on August 4, 2013
posted by bookrach at 4:02 PM on August 4, 2013
Note: I am assuming that you are living in the USA and using an EPA-approved fogger/bomb product intended to kill fleas. If those are not true, then you should disregard the rest of my response.
It will be safe for you, your fetus, and your pending newborn to enter and remain in the premises if you follow the directions on the box of your flea bombs.
Common sense dictates that it would be best if someone other than you can activate the foggers and then briefly enter (after the label-indicated waiting period) in order to open the windows to ventilate the place. The product with which I am familiar says to keep out for two hours following application, and then to stay out for another 30 minutes after opening all the windows to the treated area.
It seems like common sense to me that you, as a pregnant woman, might want to stay out for longer than that; perhaps even up to a day or two. After that (and really, after the time suggested on the package), the primary, fast-acting pesticide in the fogger will have been destroyed due to exposure to light and oxygen.
The longer-acting (usually about 7-month) substance in most of these products is a synthetic insect hormone which prevents insect larvae/pupae from becoming adults, hence breaking their reproductive cycle. To my knowledge there is no evidence that these compounds affect humans in any way.
Best of luck!
posted by Juffo-Wup at 4:14 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
It will be safe for you, your fetus, and your pending newborn to enter and remain in the premises if you follow the directions on the box of your flea bombs.
Common sense dictates that it would be best if someone other than you can activate the foggers and then briefly enter (after the label-indicated waiting period) in order to open the windows to ventilate the place. The product with which I am familiar says to keep out for two hours following application, and then to stay out for another 30 minutes after opening all the windows to the treated area.
It seems like common sense to me that you, as a pregnant woman, might want to stay out for longer than that; perhaps even up to a day or two. After that (and really, after the time suggested on the package), the primary, fast-acting pesticide in the fogger will have been destroyed due to exposure to light and oxygen.
The longer-acting (usually about 7-month) substance in most of these products is a synthetic insect hormone which prevents insect larvae/pupae from becoming adults, hence breaking their reproductive cycle. To my knowledge there is no evidence that these compounds affect humans in any way.
Best of luck!
posted by Juffo-Wup at 4:14 PM on August 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
We discovered our MATTRESS! was infested with fleas the day after we sent our son to my parents for a few days, the evening after I had just had a prenatal massage, and what would be about 4 days before I went into labor and 5 days before my daughter was born.
I FEEL FOR YOU! So very much do I feel for you.
We only had hardwood floors, so what we did was:
1. Run all the clothes and blankets through the washer and dryer. Run stuffed animals through the dryer only, and then tied as much of that as we could up in trash bags as tightly as possible with no holes for fleas to get in or out of.
2. We rented a carpet cleaner and used it (sans the soap) on the mattress.
3. My husband used flea spray in the places we suspected it the most.
4. We got topical treatment for our rabbits.
5. Let my midwives know our plans for a homebirth might be changing because of the fleas.
We didn't use flea bombs because of the homebirth and because of my pregnancy, but like I said, we didn't have carpets, either. If we had carpets, we probably would have used the carpet cleaner many times over on it.
For what it's worth, what we did worked. We haven't had another flea since (and my daughter will turn two in about six weeks.)
I wouldn't use the flea bombs if I were pregnant, and if it had come to that for us, we were going to go to a hotel for a night or two after using flea bombs. But it was an absolute last resort for us. YMMV clearly.
posted by zizzle at 4:51 PM on August 4, 2013
I FEEL FOR YOU! So very much do I feel for you.
We only had hardwood floors, so what we did was:
1. Run all the clothes and blankets through the washer and dryer. Run stuffed animals through the dryer only, and then tied as much of that as we could up in trash bags as tightly as possible with no holes for fleas to get in or out of.
2. We rented a carpet cleaner and used it (sans the soap) on the mattress.
3. My husband used flea spray in the places we suspected it the most.
4. We got topical treatment for our rabbits.
5. Let my midwives know our plans for a homebirth might be changing because of the fleas.
We didn't use flea bombs because of the homebirth and because of my pregnancy, but like I said, we didn't have carpets, either. If we had carpets, we probably would have used the carpet cleaner many times over on it.
For what it's worth, what we did worked. We haven't had another flea since (and my daughter will turn two in about six weeks.)
I wouldn't use the flea bombs if I were pregnant, and if it had come to that for us, we were going to go to a hotel for a night or two after using flea bombs. But it was an absolute last resort for us. YMMV clearly.
posted by zizzle at 4:51 PM on August 4, 2013
The above suggestions are great -- fleas are gross but they're not that hard to get rid of, in my experience. It's not like bedbugs or something like that.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:29 PM on August 4, 2013
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:29 PM on August 4, 2013
I was pregnant when we got a flea infestation in the couch. We did not flea bomb. Instead we sprinkled Borax and vacuumed frequently. We treated the dog with Capstar daily until active infestation was gone, then went to frontline. It cleared up in 3 weeks. Good luck.
posted by crazycanuck at 5:45 PM on August 4, 2013
posted by crazycanuck at 5:45 PM on August 4, 2013
Most fleas are resistant to flea bombs, now. It would be a lot of trouble for very little reward.
If you can get rid of the carpet, that's awesome for a lot of reasons. If you can't, you can do the Borax sprinkling and endless vacuuming. Or you can call Fleabusters and get them on the job. They'll even do the yard. And they have a year-long guarantee.
And the double-treatment mentioned by crazycanuck for the critters is effective.
Definitely check the mattress, couch, and other textile-heavy objects in your home, as the carpet may just be the manifesting area, not the breeding ground.
posted by batmonkey at 9:16 PM on August 4, 2013
If you can get rid of the carpet, that's awesome for a lot of reasons. If you can't, you can do the Borax sprinkling and endless vacuuming. Or you can call Fleabusters and get them on the job. They'll even do the yard. And they have a year-long guarantee.
And the double-treatment mentioned by crazycanuck for the critters is effective.
Definitely check the mattress, couch, and other textile-heavy objects in your home, as the carpet may just be the manifesting area, not the breeding ground.
posted by batmonkey at 9:16 PM on August 4, 2013
I don't think you need to use the flea bomb if you clean the carpet, treat the cats and keep vacuuming with a good vacuum.
One thing that has always worked SUPER well for me is the use of Beneficial Nematodes in the yard surrounding the house. At dusk, spray the non-toxic solution all over your lawn and yard. Little nematodes, invisible to the naked eye, will attack flea larva and lots of other bad bugs. You will receive a package with a cold pack inside, you need to use it the same day or put it in the fridge until ready to use. It helps if you can use it with a hose end sprayer.
posted by dottiechang at 1:08 AM on August 5, 2013
One thing that has always worked SUPER well for me is the use of Beneficial Nematodes in the yard surrounding the house. At dusk, spray the non-toxic solution all over your lawn and yard. Little nematodes, invisible to the naked eye, will attack flea larva and lots of other bad bugs. You will receive a package with a cold pack inside, you need to use it the same day or put it in the fridge until ready to use. It helps if you can use it with a hose end sprayer.
posted by dottiechang at 1:08 AM on August 5, 2013
I had a flea infestation once (thanks cat! palling around with the racoons again?).
It was easy to get rid of them in a non-toxic way.
You can buy those little UFO like glue trap things that have a little lamp in them to generate warmth and a glue pad. You put those out in a few places and the fleas will jump in because they think it's some creature's body heat.
Cheap, non-toxic except for mild fumes from the glue discs and re-useable. Worked like a charm. Within a few days all fleas were gone and I had no more bites on the legs.
These are them.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 2:36 PM on August 5, 2013
It was easy to get rid of them in a non-toxic way.
You can buy those little UFO like glue trap things that have a little lamp in them to generate warmth and a glue pad. You put those out in a few places and the fleas will jump in because they think it's some creature's body heat.
Cheap, non-toxic except for mild fumes from the glue discs and re-useable. Worked like a charm. Within a few days all fleas were gone and I had no more bites on the legs.
These are them.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 2:36 PM on August 5, 2013
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Or... why not steam clean all the carpets, do everything else above, and then test to see if you still have fleas by putting out a shallow pan with soapy water in it. Before you go straight to flea bomb.
And mow the lawn really low. Fleas love tall grass outside.
posted by cda at 3:35 PM on August 4, 2013