The flea is a blood-sucking insect and belongs to the order of arthropods. Its body length is only 1-5 mm, but there are some rare species that reach 1 cm. Fleas do not have wings, but have strong and long limbs, thanks to which they move. Some individuals can make long jumps to considerable heights.

If the environment is favorable, then the flea lives on average from several months to 2-3 years, and can go without food for a long time. The color of the insect varies from yellow to black, depending on its species and habitat.

The main reasons for the appearance of fleas in apartments:

• migration of insects from neighbors;
• from public corridors and entrances;
• from pets;
• dust (for example, after renovation);
• living in the lower floors or basements;
• unsanitary conditions and lack of hygiene;
• from clothing and footwear of people;
• from rodents (rat fleas).

How to remove fleas

Not only is it unpleasant to live next to fleas, it can also be dangerous. Arthropods feed on the blood of humans and animals, and their bite causes pain, irritation, itching and redness of the skin. In addition, they can be carriers of infectious diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, typhoid, plague, malaria and other infections.

Penetrating into the dwelling, they settle in their favorite places:

• in carpets, bedspreads, linen boxes, upholstered furniture;
• in bed;
• in places of rest for pets;
• under skirting boards, window sills and wallpaper;
• in other secluded places, grooves and crevices.

Fleas multiply quickly, therefore, if they are found in the house, you must immediately take measures to eliminate them. Different types of this gnat are removed by different methods.

Cat and dog fleas

If a pet suddenly begins to itch and behave restlessly, then most likely fleas are in its fur. They can be easily detected by examining the areas behind the ears and belly of the animal. It is there that they most often lay their larvae, and if, for example, a dog is lowered into the water, then fleas will begin to actively jump on the pet's head.

There are several ways to get rid of insects in cats and dogs:

• special detergents and shampoos for animals;
• drops on wool;
• collars (more often as a prophylaxis);
• sprays and aerosols.

The greatest effect can be observed from sprays and aerosols. When using them, one must take into account the fact that animals often lick wool, and the products contain poisonous substances that can cause poisoning. Therefore, before choosing a method to eliminate fleas from the animal's fur, it is advisable to consult a veterinarian.

Bed and linen fleas

Most often, fleas do not live in underwear all the time. They are forced to move in search of food, but they can lay eggs in their underwear. It's unpleasant when fleas get in bed. It is in this place that they are most comfortable, since in a dream a person often does not feel bites and bloodsuckers can calmly eat and reproduce.

If, after sleeping, red itchy bites appear on the body, mainly on the legs, and small black spots or dots on the bedding, then this indicates the appearance of fleas.

Then the following measures must be taken immediately:

• wash linen drawers and cabinets with laundry soap or vinegar;
• vacuum up upholstered furniture;
• wash all laundry in hot water;
• iron things thoroughly;
• blankets, pillows, mattresses for some time to take out in the cold or warm well in the sun.

Grass and earthen fleas

Grass and earthen fleas bite painfully and disturb people and animals. But they are easier to remove than other species of insects. It is enough to eliminate the factors contributing to their reproduction and disinfect.

Professional pest control

Calling a special service is costly, but the result of pest control will remain for a long time. The specialist will preliminarily inspect the territory to assess the situation. After deciding on the processing method, a time is assigned for which you need to prepare the room.

Professional pest control is carried out by three methods:

• hot fog;
• cold fog;
• small-drop spraying.

The principle of operation of hot and cold mist treatment is identical. The surfaces are irrigated with a working solution by means of a generator. When sprayed, small particles of liquid scatter like fog, and the death of insects and their larvae occurs almost instantly.

The difference between cold and hot processing is the temperature of the composition. Irrigation with hot mist is considered the most effective, but its use can negatively affect furniture, wallpaper and interior items.

The small-drop processing method is the most cost-effective. Spraying of the disinfectant liquid takes place using a mechanical or electric sprayer.

Flea aerosols

If there is a possibility of being in any other place, then it is advisable not to wash the floor for 2-3 days, so that all the larvae die, and the reappearance of fleas does not occur.

New generation chemicals are safe for humans and animals and are practically odorless. The most effective substances in the fight against the gnat are permethrin, pyrethrum, fipronil, which are part of known solutions for fleas such as Tsifox, Tetrix, Get, Zona, Executioner. The drug "Cucaracha" is popular, but it has a strong smell, it must be handled carefully, observing all safety measures.

Folk remedies for removing fleas

Important! All of these methods will be useless if you don't do regular cleaning and keep your home clean.

clean sofas, armchairs and other upholstered furniture with a detergent;

wash and remove bed linen;

hide food in the refrigerator or in tightly closed cabinets;

cover flowers and household appliances with plastic;

temporarily remove pets and birds from the premises;

Boil or discard all pet supplies.

After cleaning, it is better to discard the dust bag from the vacuum cleaner, as flea larvae and eggs can remain in it.

Eliminating fleas in the basement

In the basements and basements of private houses, you can try to get rid of fleas yourself using the same methods as in living rooms. For the destruction of arthropods in the basements of apartment buildings, it is better to resort to the help of specialists.

Often for these purposes, professional services use dusty powders, which are sprayed with special equipment. This is guaranteed to get rid of bloodsuckers for a long time.

After processing, it is necessary to ventilate the apartment within 1-2 hours. Wash door handles, countertops, window sills, tables with soapy water. It is not advisable to wash the floors and walls within 10 days after professional disinfestation.

If it was not possible to avoid flea bites, then you should wipe the place of redness with a solution of soda in water to relieve irritation. You can grease the bite site with brilliant green or a special cream.

Many people think that fleas can live only by feeding on blood, directly on a carrier - a dog or a cat. But this is not the case.

The insect lives for a relatively short time - a maximum of three months. During this time, the flea lays up to half a thousand eggs and can bite a person or animal up to 100 times.

There are several types of fleas, they are classified depending on the carrier:

Insecticides have practically no effect on flea larvae, they only kill adults. That is why it is recommended to sanitize the premises twice with an interval of one month.

Without food, these blood-sucking insects can live up to two months, but the female cannot reproduce without blood. Therefore, it is possible to be bitten by fleas even in an apartment in which no one has lived for a long time.

Reasons for infection

Due to their structural features, fleas can move long distances and reproduce in an apartment at an incredible speed. The small flattened body of a flea with three pairs of long legs can jump up to 30 centimeters from the floor. On the sides of the flea's body, there are bristles and spines that help the insect to catch on to the host's body.

What causes fleas:

There are no animals in the apartment, but there are fleas

Many people wonder where fleas come from if there are no animals in the house, especially in a high-rise apartment. Old houses with out-of-date communications and damp basements are the main "supplier" of fleas to apartments. If fleas are found, investigate the basement first. Often the management company does not fulfill its duties - the basement is damp, it is open to wild animals, rodents and marginal individuals. We must raise the alarm.

It is in such premises, as well as in dirty entrances that have not been repaired for decades, that all apartments are infected.

Important. Be sure to write a statement to the management company or to the housing office, signed by all tenants. Utility workers are required to sanitize the basement and front doors when infected.

Sometimes in an apartment or house, the floors are old wooden, especially in bathrooms and toilets. It is worth bringing one flea from the street on clothes to such a room and the insects will begin to multiply, hiding in the crevices of the floors and under the baseboards.

Important. Domestic fleas (larvae) can go into suspended animation at low temperatures for up to eight months and begin to develop under ideal conditions.

Everything you didn't know about fleas:

Means for the destruction of fleas and their larvae

To prevent insects from appearing in the apartment, especially if you keep pets, it is important to carry out preventive disinfection. Tansy or wormwood, spread out on the doorstep and in the corners, will scare away fleas, but will not be able to effectively fight these insects.

Tips to help in the fight against fleas in the apartment:

08/03/2017 7 33,549 views

Insect pests can attack not only animals, but also people and their homes. An extremely unpleasant problem is fleas in the house. Where do they come from and how to get rid of them quickly at home? You will learn the answers to these questions from the article.

How to find fleas in a house or apartment?

How to understand that fleas have appeared at home? First of all, you should find out their features and differences from other insects.

1. The first is the size, which usually does not exceed 1-2 millimeters.
2. The second feature is the color, ranging from golden wheaten or red to dark brown.
3. The third difference is the structure of the body, which is flattened on the sides and enlarged in the abdominal region. Its surface is covered with small bristles used by fleas for fixation on different surfaces. Such insects have three pairs of legs, and the hind legs are the most powerful and long ones, which are responsible for movement.
4. The fourth feature is movement: fleas jump, and very high and quickly, which is why it is extremely difficult to catch and examine them.

To find out that fleas are bred at home, you need to conduct an inspection. It includes the following actions:

Fleas most often live in carpets (especially long-nap and fluffy ones), under furniture, in bedding and on beds, near baseboards and in corners, in stuffed toys, as well as in places where pets stay, for example, near their sun loungers.

Where do they come from?

Fleas in the house are not the rarest phenomenon, and they can enter people's homes in different ways:

1. Together with pets. If you have a pet that regularly walks, then he may well bring "uninvited guests" into the house on his fur, talking to a street dog or cat, or visiting the trash heap or in the basement.
2. From the basement. In this way, fleas are able to penetrate into private houses or into apartments of multi-storey buildings, and not necessarily located on the first floors, because insects can move quickly and over long distances.
3. Together with the residents of the house or apartment. If a person has visited a place where fleas accumulate, then adult insects, larvae or eggs could get on his shoes or clothes, and then move to housing.
4. From neighbors. If they have already encountered such a problem as fleas, then pests that reproduce and seek new sources of food will begin to develop new territories and spread to other nearby apartments.

Views

In nature, there are several hundred species of fleas, and about thirty of them are able to live near people. The most common species in human habitation are:

• Sandy (also known as street) fleas are usually found outdoors in open spaces and rarely penetrate people's homes.
• Field or herbal pests live mainly in plants, often cling to the wool of wild and domestic animals.
• Fleas are divided according to their hosts, that is, living creatures used as their main food sources. There are such species as rat, feline, pigeon, dog, chicken.
• Earthen or basements (another common name is dust) are found in the upper layers of the soil and in basements. They do not jump as high and far as other species, and prefer to dwell in rugs, carpets and other floor coverings in houses and apartments.
• Woody or black fleas usually live in house or summer cottages and enter dwellings from cultivated plants grown on the territory.
• Household or indoor fleas are not so much a separate species as all pests found in living quarters.
• Bed (or linen) fleas stand out separately, but this variety does not exist, and any pests living in linen or upholstered furniture can get this name: such places are difficult to access and protected, so insects often choose them.

Why are they dangerous?

Third, flea bites can cause allergic reactions, especially in young children, whose skin is fragile, delicate and thin. With numerous attacks of pests, such manifestations as severe itching, hyperemia, fever, edema (including Quincke) are possible.

Although fleas that live on pets, as a rule, do not attack people, it is still necessary to get rid of them, since they harm pets and, when there is a lack of food, they look for other sources of food, which the residents of a house or apartment can become.

Destruction of pests on cats and dogs

To get rid of fleas, you need to cleanse your pets. Pet hair treatment is carried out using effective insecticidal preparations: they contain chemical components that enter the body of pests and cause paralysis and subsequent death.

Preparations and special devices against fleas and other blood-sucking and biting insects attacking animals are produced in various forms:

• Shampoos are easy to use and many are suitable for kittens and puppies, as well as frail and pregnant animals. But such products will not work if the pet does not like to swim and does not tolerate water, since the foam will need to be kept on the wool for a certain time.
• Most of the drops contain high concentrations of active insecticidal substances, therefore, they are not suitable for use in animals of an early age. But such drugs are effective and have a prolonged effect. Drops are applied to the withers, base of the neck and between the shoulder blades, that is, in places that the animal cannot reach during licking.
• Sprays are aggressive preparations sprayed on wool and quickly destroy pests. But after application, the pet should not be allowed to lick the treated areas in order to avoid the ingress of chemical components into his body (it can provoke severe poisoning).
• Collars. On such devices are applied substances that destroy and repel fleas. Collars are as safe as possible and are suitable even for kittens and puppies, they last for a long time, provided they are constantly worn, but they are quite expensive.
• Combs and combs. They have fine teeth that allow you to comb out fleas. But mechanical treatment will be effective only with a slight degree of pet infection, that is, with a small number of fleas. Also, the combs can be used to remove pests that have died after treatment with an insecticidal preparation.

The most popular brands of anti-flea products for animals are: Celandine, Bolfo, Frontline, Bars, Hartz, Advantiks, Stronghold.

What are the most effective remedies?

There are many similar active ingredients, and pyrethroids and pyrethrum are considered the safest: they are low toxic and do not pose a threat to the life of animals and humans.

Organochlorine compounds are highly effective, but they can accumulate in the tissues of living beings, therefore, they can be dangerous. The most toxic substances are organophosphates, which are present in preparations used for professional treatment. It is better not to use them on your own.

Insecticidal preparations are available in the form of aerosols, sprays, solutions and emulsions. Liquid products contain high concentrations of active ingredients, but often require preliminary preparation, for example, dilution with water.

If the products come into contact with the skin, undesirable reactions and even chemical burns are likely, so caution should be exercised. The most effective drugs produced in liquid form are Executioner, Cucaracha, Get, Tsifox, Medilis, Tetrix, Delta Zone, Butox.

Aerosols and sprays are equally popular and effective, as they are easy to use and do not require additional preparation. But their smallest particles can enter the respiratory and digestive organs, provided that precautions are not taken. Among the most effective means of this group are "Raid", "Raptor", "Varan", "Kombat".

To get fleas out of the house and not harm its residents, you should carefully study the instructions for use. Consider the basic rules for anti-flea treatment:

1. First, you need to vacate the room by removing all pets and residents from it. Food is also taken out.
2. To eliminate some of the fleas and remove dirt, carry out dry cleaning using a vacuum cleaner.
3. Then all surfaces should be treated with the selected preparation: carpet or carpet, upholstered furniture, as well as textiles. Particular attention is paid to crevices, spaces under objects and around skirting boards, gaps between individual pieces of furniture, fleecy surfaces. It is advisable to wash bed linen, bedspreads and pillows in hot water. Clothes are also washed.
4. Leave the premises for a few hours.
5. Next, you need to ventilate the apartment and carry out a thorough spring cleaning.
6. If the degree of infestation is high, the treatment should be repeated.

It is important to know: before handling all surfaces, you should wear thick rubber gloves and a respirator. And when using aggressive and toxic agents, it is recommended to use a protective suit.

How to get rid of fleas at home?

You can fight fleas on your own using folk remedies:

• Bitter wormwood and tansy have a pungent odor that will keep fleas away. You can simply spread a few twigs on the floor, furniture, along baseboards, and near pets.
• Try a decoction of eucalyptus, wormwood, and tansy. Mix a teaspoon of each component, pour 300 ml of freshly boiled water and cook the mixture over low heat for ten minutes, after which, strain the product and spray in the room.
• The smell of garlic or citrus peel will repel pests.
• Ordinary vinegar has an unpleasant smell for insects. Dissolve half a glass of table product or a large spoonful of essence in a glass of warm water and spray this solution over all surfaces of the room.
• Use essential oils such as lemon, eucalyptus, mint, rosemary, and others that have pronounced and strong aromas. They can be dissolved in water and sprayed or used for cleaning floors.
• Try making a baking soda solution. To do this, mix half a glass of each product and dissolve the powder in two glasses of warm or hot water. Spray this liquid on the places where fleas accumulate, and after a day, do a general cleaning.
• You can drive out fleas with the help of ammonia. Dissolve two tablespoons in a glass of water, spray the product indoors, and perform a thorough damp cleaning the next day.
• Dissolve half a glass of kerosene in a bucket of water. Apply the solution with a broom or spray.
• Use bleach or a detergent containing bleach.

If the treatment is completed, then first of all, you need to ventilate the room in order to eliminate the unpleasant smell remaining after the application of insecticides and small particles of active ingredients flying in the air. Open all doors and windows and wait a few hours.

Another important recommendation is general cleaning, which will help remove residues of preparations from all treated surfaces, eliminate dead adult insects, and remove larvae and eggs. First, you can vacuum the floor and pieces of furniture, and then carry out wet cleaning, including using a disinfectant.

Professional pest control

To quickly get rid of fleas, you can resort to the help of specialists, that is, carry out a professional pest control. To do this, you should contact the sanitary-epidemiological station and leave a request. You will probably have to wait a while. But in some regions there are private pest control companies. Naturally, their services are paid.

The main plus of professional disinfestation is the high efficiency of processing due to the use of specialized products and their full-fledged spraying on all surfaces.

Disinsectors provide a guarantee that pests will not reappear (if they reappear, re-treatment can be carried out free of charge). The disadvantages include the need to leave the premises for several days, as well as the high cost of the services of private companies.

What to do after killing fleas?

In order not to have to poison fleas again, after treatment, you should follow some rules aimed at effective prevention. First of all, keep an eye on your pets. To protect them from pests, use specialized tools or devices and check them regularly. Also inspect your clothes and shoes after coming from the street.

To minimize the risk of fleas entering the house from neighbors or from the basement, remove all holes and crevices, do not keep the door open. It is also recommended to vacuum the apartment several times a week. And if you have a vegetable garden or garden, then treat this area with insecticides as a preventive measure.

Video: how to get rid of fleas?

If you find a small black jumping insect in your house, then you have a natural question, fleas in the apartment, where and how to get rid of. First, it is worth determining the reasons for the appearance of these little bloodsuckers. And also you need to deal with the question of where they could "come" to you. Next, we will describe what to do next and how to get rid of them now.

The eggs and larvae themselves are treated with chemicals, the so-called dusts. This is due to the fact that it is the larvae that feed on all sorts of organic debris, and can eat poison.

Having figured out the reason for the disaster, let's go further and answer the question: "How to remove fleas in an apartment."
Basically, flea remedies have an effect on the nervous system of bloodsuckers and lead insects to paralysis. The presented preparations differ only in the active ingredients. Some act due to the fact that they contain peritroid poisons, that is, insecticides that have structural similarities and the closeness of the mechanism of action to natural peritrins. And peritrins are natural insecticides found in the flowers of a herb like Dalmatian chamomile.
Other agents are based on organophosphorus compounds. Organics phosphorus-based preparations are considered obsolete. They also have pungent odors and a rather high consumption of the product.

Modern means of dealing with fleas are practically not dangerous for humans, and only people with a sensitive sense of smell may experience irritation of the respiratory tract or allergic reactions.
When buying professional products for use by special services, be careful. Read the instructions carefully and follow the safety precautions. Special suits and respirators are required. When dealing directly with processing, do not forget about hard-to-reach places, such as the space under the bathtub or sink. After exposure to chemicals, the poison must be washed off to prevent intoxication.

Treatment of an apartment from fleas is carried out in several stages. First you need to eliminate the reasons that can serve as the appearance of fleas:

• Conduct a thorough inspection of basements for leaks and debris.
• Check the apartment plumbing for places where moisture is constantly forming.
• See if the sanitary facilities are properly ventilated.
• A visual inspection of things, wet cleaning is carried out to eliminate debris and dust that can interfere with pest control.
• The carpets must be thoroughly vacuumed. And then warm them up in the warm season in the fresh air.
• All household linen must be washed.

Calling sanitary services is a must if fleas have bred and settled throughout the house. In addition to pest control in the apartment, it is necessary to process the basement as well. Deratization is also being carried out in the basement. Because, without getting rid of rodents, the main transport of earthen fleas, you risk that fleas will soon return to you again.

Although they appear black from a distance, the actual color of adult fleas is dark brown. In addition, young fleas that have just emerged from their cocoons look darker, almost black, until they are drunk with blood.

The dark color in hungry fleas is due to overlapping abdominal segments. As it fills with blood, the abdomen doubles in volume. The segments are distributed so as not to hinder this growth. As a result, after feeding, the flea's body looks lighter, since the segments no longer overlap.

The jumping height of these insects is 50-100 times greater than their own size, so fleas can easily jump on animals. And thanks to the hairs and bristles that dot their body, black fleas are firmly held in the coat and feathers and deftly move.

When infected with fleas in cats and dogs, black dots accumulate on the coat. These reddish-black specks are nothing more than insect feces, which is the host's undigested or partially digested blood. These dried marks look like ground black pepper. But when moistened, dry blood is restored and stains the water in a raspberry-red color.

How black fleas appear in the house

Adult fleas live on domestic and wild warm-blooded animals - mammals and birds, and lay their eggs there. Animals in the process of life scatter flea eggs wherever they move and rest. The hatched larvae live and feed in the environment until they develop into sexually mature fleas.

How to get rid of black fleas in a house or apartment

We start by cleaning the apartment

The accumulation of dust and dirt on the floor provides a comfortable environment for the development of flea larvae. The larvae feed on the feces of adult insects and other organic debris that accumulate in carpets and house dust. The accumulated contaminated top layer of carpet pile protects eggs and larvae from harmful sunlight and maintains a favorable microclimate for the development of black fleas inside the carpet.

Vacuuming will remove some of the flea eggs from the carpet, disturb the pupae and force them to emerge from their protective cocoons. It will also collect dirt from the surface and raise the pile, which will allow the insecticide to penetrate deep into the carpet.

We wash pet supplies, rugs and bedspreads

In the presence of a steam cleaner, we process seats, backs and armrests of upholstered furniture, crevices and cracks, soft toys, as well as floor carpets with hot steam. It will not be superfluous to wash the bed linen before processing the room, especially if black fleas crawl onto the bed and bite at night.

Lowering the relative humidity

These insects love dampness, but what small black earthen fleas are afraid of is dry microclimate and sunlight. We lower the relative humidity in the house with a household dehumidifier to below 50%, and after a couple of days, all stages of flea growth will begin to gradually die.

To dry the eggs and larvae swarming in the carpet, use ordinary finely ground salt or baking soda. It is enough to rub it with a brush or a broom into the pile of the carpet, leave it for 3-5 days, and then collect it with a vacuum cleaner. Another popular remedy for combating immature stages of fleas is a mixture of boric acid powder with pyrethrum, a dry vegetable insecticide. This mixture is also used to treat carpets and sprinkle floors under furniture and along baseboards.

Vacuuming carpets

Also, the vacuum cleaner, creating vibrations in the carpet and emitting heat, imitates the presence of the victim and tricks the lurking matured pupae out of their cocoons. Vacuuming regularly after an insecticidal treatment when carpets are dry can have a positive effect on how quickly re-emerging black fleas die from poison. The elimination process is accelerating.

We carry out chemical treatment

Chalk "Mashenka" and similar remedies for black fleas are also ineffective, because adult insects move mainly by jumping, and the larvae hide in carpets. Both of them are unlikely to come into contact with the lined lines, unless you cover the floor with a layer of toxic chalk. In addition, adult fleas live in the fur of animals, and not on the floor.

Aqueous emulsion concentrates and suspensions on pyrethroids, organophosphates or neonicatinoids retain their insecticidal effect on the surface for 4-6 weeks. Subject to the precautionary rules, these products are quite safe for people and animals. "Dobrokhim FOS", "Confidant", "Taran" and other insecticides for professional and domestic use after one treatment will destroy 4-5 generations of domestic black fleas.

After treatment with contact agents, it is important to refrain from wet cleaning the floor for at least 10-14 days. Therefore, my apartment before pest control, and then get by with a vacuum cleaner and a broom.

We process animals

As mentioned above, adult fleas live on the body of animals, and if they are not treated, all work will go down the drain. We must process cats, dogs and other furry pets on the same day when we carry out pest control of the premises.

Care should be taken when choosing veterinary flea medications, as dog products, for example, can be dangerous to cats. In order not to risk the health of beloved animals, we first consult with a veterinarian. Before using any product - a collar, drops, pills or shampoo - carefully read and follow the manufacturer's instructions.