Fleas in a House

A while back we received a phone call from a puzzled client in Wantage . They had recently moved into a new home and within the first few days they started to see flea bites .
We asked our normal questions, a few examples:

Do you own animals?

Is the biting happening at night?

Where on the body do, these bites tend to be appearing?

They didn't own any animals; they were being bitten all hours’ day and night and the bites tended to be in the lower body. We had a good idea from here and went to investigate. Up on arrival we put on some white coveralls and went to investigate. We took a can of flushing agent with us and went straight to the first room, the living room. We gave a light burst of the aerosol flushing agent on the edge of the carpet. within seconds the clients where shocked to see tiny black specks appearing on the skirting boards, fleas to be precise and our suspicions where confirmed. We continued to do this in every room of the house and every room was the same. We explained the situation to a very shocked client when they asked us a question.

We have just moved in and don't have any animals. How do we have fleas ????

We asked if the heating had been put on when they moved in?

Yes, the house was freezing came the reply.

So, we had to explain about fleas and their life cycle , with eggs going into a state of suspended animation at certain temperatures. By turning the heating on it had caused the eggs to hatch and carry on the lifecycle of a past problem. A very unfortunate situation for the client, although not an uncommon one for us. They requested we sort the problem a soon as possible.

From there we implemented a plan of action and set to work.

First off we hoovered the property as best we could, which again surprised the clients. But the start of any good flea treatment should start this way. Next we got into our full PPE (personal protective equipment) gloves, and masks. As you may remember we already had our overalls on. We filled up our sprayer with a broad-spectrum insecticide and preceded into the property. Now the clients had to leave the house due to the chemicals being used, they had no problem with this and left.

We start spraying from upstairs and work our way down. By the time we got halfway down the stairs our white coveralls looked polka dot patterned from the knee down. we completed our spraying and went outside to join the clients once again. We explained how the chemical will work the health and safety they needed to know. For example, they should go out for a good while once treatment is complete as to let the chemical work and when they return they should air the house as soon as they return to remove any lingering fumes. By this time the fumes in the air will be very minimal.

We then re-entered the property and strategically place several insect monitors around the house. we can now monitor the situation over the next couple of days.

This is all part of IPM (integrated pest management) to give the most effective pest solutions possible.

We hand a report to the client with all the legalities on, arrange a follow up and off to the next job of the day.

Follow up day comes and we turn up and check the insect monitors, even we were surprised. They were basically full of fleas in every room . We did expect a high count on the monitors after the first visit. We again explained to some slightly happier clients that we are replacing all the monitors to get a second count. They explained they was not getting bitten like before and are becoming more and more relieved. Again, giving a visit report, and leaving after a follow up was arranged.

Visit three and we once again checked the monitors. Much, better and the look of relief on the client’s faces is why I enjoy this job. They had no new flea bites and the ones they had before the first visit had pretty much all cleared up. Again, a visit report was given, and job ticked as complete.

Another successful flea problem in Wantage completed for shire pest solutions and another happy client.

Feel free to leave a comment or if this sounds slightly familiar we are contactable on the contact us page

Thank you for reading
Check back soon
Mike Light