Flea For All
That's right. 2 weeks to 18 freaking months. Do you know the life cycle of a flea? Until two months ago I didn't, either. But, I am most assuredly familiar with it now. In fact, I now know more about fleas than I ever imagined I'd need to know. The one thing I don't know is how to quickly get them out of our new home. But, not for lack of trying. Let me explain.
We closed on our farm the first week of June. Being the enthusiastic new home owners that we were, we immediately set about working on the house. Every blessed square inch in the upstairs was afflicted with nail and tack holes. That meant an enormous amount of putty and sanding. While HoneyMan tackled that I worked on washing down cabinets. We were making good progress.
On the third day as homeowners, we were once more working on our new nest when Señorita Sassypants became worked up in a fit that was dramatic even by her standards. She was hysterically screaming, "Get them off! Get them off! There are bugs on me!"
Being the compassionate and sympathetic mama that I am, I glanced at her to see none, and proceeded with, "There are no bugs on you. Pull yourself together and get back to work."
She did not pull herself together. I was losing my patience as I couldn't figure out why she was so worked up until I lifted her pants legs and found her legs covered in fleas.
We soon learned that we had an epic flea infestation. I'm talking pestilence of Biblical proportions just shy of a Charlton Heston meet and greet.
We also learned that often times when one has an infestation they will be unaware of it until the fleas' host has been taken away. The former homeowners had multiple indoor/outdoor pets. It's possible they were unaware of the problem as fleas prefer animals to humans. But, take away their all you can eat furry buffets and they'll attack practically anything. And, attack they did.
We had an exterminator out the next day. And, two weeks later. And, again. The fleas were so bad that we couldn't allow the children inside of the house. I was frustrated. I was angry. We were finally homeowners to a home we couldn't live in. It was a hostile environment that we more or less visited on a daily basis. So, I took action.
We closed on our farm the first week of June. Being the enthusiastic new home owners that we were, we immediately set about working on the house. Every blessed square inch in the upstairs was afflicted with nail and tack holes. That meant an enormous amount of putty and sanding. While HoneyMan tackled that I worked on washing down cabinets. We were making good progress.
On the third day as homeowners, we were once more working on our new nest when Señorita Sassypants became worked up in a fit that was dramatic even by her standards. She was hysterically screaming, "Get them off! Get them off! There are bugs on me!"
Being the compassionate and sympathetic mama that I am, I glanced at her to see none, and proceeded with, "There are no bugs on you. Pull yourself together and get back to work."
She did not pull herself together. I was losing my patience as I couldn't figure out why she was so worked up until I lifted her pants legs and found her legs covered in fleas.
We soon learned that we had an epic flea infestation. I'm talking pestilence of Biblical proportions just shy of a Charlton Heston meet and greet.
We also learned that often times when one has an infestation they will be unaware of it until the fleas' host has been taken away. The former homeowners had multiple indoor/outdoor pets. It's possible they were unaware of the problem as fleas prefer animals to humans. But, take away their all you can eat furry buffets and they'll attack practically anything. And, attack they did.
We had an exterminator out the next day. And, two weeks later. And, again. The fleas were so bad that we couldn't allow the children inside of the house. I was frustrated. I was angry. We were finally homeowners to a home we couldn't live in. It was a hostile environment that we more or less visited on a daily basis. So, I took action.
Is it just me, or does this bio-hazmat suit make me look like a radioactive marshmallow? No?
A portion of the flea infested carpets I was going straight to the source. After dressing in the appropriate gear I took out my anger and frustration against the flea empire by ripping out the carpet in room after room after room all by myself.
Turns out ripping out carpets isn't that difficult. It's fairly straight forward, if not simple. However, it is hard on one's back and knees. And, it is dirty, dirty work. The silence and solitude of the house all to myself except for the occasional rant directed at the fleas was therapeutic. I was left with a great sense of pride in having done the job on my own. I am determined and stubborn if I am anything at all.
Turns out ripping out carpets isn't that difficult. It's fairly straight forward, if not simple. However, it is hard on one's back and knees. And, it is dirty, dirty work. The silence and solitude of the house all to myself except for the occasional rant directed at the fleas was therapeutic. I was left with a great sense of pride in having done the job on my own. I am determined and stubborn if I am anything at all.
This was the state of the living room underneath the carpet pad. 1/4 inch high piles of dirt throughout the entire room. Two days later we returned ready to work on our house. I assumed there might be a renegade flea or two still holed up in what they had mistakenly thought was their home. But, I was wrong. Oh, how I was wrong. The floors were down to the concrete slab and still the fleas. There seemed to be more than ever, and this time they were out for blood. Ours.
The house was bombed again. We also placed night lights in every room with shallow pans filled with soapy water directly beneath the lights. These were useful in giving us an idea of how many might be in each room. At night the fleas would jump at the lights and fall into the soapy water trapped.
It was apparent the fleas were not going down without a fight. They were fighting dirty. Fighting so dirty that I contracted bacterial pneumonia from all the nasties in the carpet while ripping it out. Did I mention just how dirty those carpets were? *Note* Ensure your mask is one created for the enormity of one's job. Clearly my mask was not up to the enormity of filth in this home.
It has been a month since I've ripped the carpets out. The house has been bombed a few more times. We've sprayed and vacuumed underneath the baseboards. The exterminator is set to visit next week for our monthly. We feel as if we're finally making a dent in their numbers. And, they seem to be knocked down to one room. Yay! Of course, that would be our master bedroom. Boo! But, it's huge progress, and I'll take it.
Y'all pray. Pray real hard.
The house was bombed again. We also placed night lights in every room with shallow pans filled with soapy water directly beneath the lights. These were useful in giving us an idea of how many might be in each room. At night the fleas would jump at the lights and fall into the soapy water trapped.
It was apparent the fleas were not going down without a fight. They were fighting dirty. Fighting so dirty that I contracted bacterial pneumonia from all the nasties in the carpet while ripping it out. Did I mention just how dirty those carpets were? *Note* Ensure your mask is one created for the enormity of one's job. Clearly my mask was not up to the enormity of filth in this home.
It has been a month since I've ripped the carpets out. The house has been bombed a few more times. We've sprayed and vacuumed underneath the baseboards. The exterminator is set to visit next week for our monthly. We feel as if we're finally making a dent in their numbers. And, they seem to be knocked down to one room. Yay! Of course, that would be our master bedroom. Boo! But, it's huge progress, and I'll take it.
Y'all pray. Pray real hard.
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