Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm in the process of moving out of dad's house, and am actually supposed to be moved into my house next week. School starts the week after, so as of the 27th, I will be staying in this house 7 days a week regardless of what is going on.

The problem is, I'm having a horrible problem with fleas. I've used pesticide spray foggers in the house, but my guess is that I didn't use enough. I used enough based on the square footage they're supposed to cover, but there are tons of storage areas (crawl spaces, closets, etc...), especially in the bedroom, because the bedroom is a loft-style room, meaning there are crawl spaces the entire length of the room.

So, fleas are coming back, and I'm frustrated, because I'm supposed to start moving my animals in Monday and Tuesday.

So, the foggers say that they're OK to use with fish and small mammals in the house if you put a cloth over the cage. It also says that it's effective as the liquid spray that is released, and once dry it's harmless.

But, realistically, how long should I leave my animals with my dad before I can move them in after using more foggers? Does anyone have an alternative that would be recommended? Or a specific brand of pesticide?

thanks

Right after posting that, I found an ad in the newspaper for an electronic device that plugs into walls and repels insects and rodents. Does anyone know if this will bother reptiles, or merely insects & rodents? And, do they actually work?

Several things.
One, fleas won't be a problem if you have no mammalian pets. Did the previous owners? Consider waiting them out as they should be all but dead after 6 months.

Two, I've heard mixed things about those electronic bug things. Both on their effectiveness and whether they are a good thing to use with reptiles. I would avoid them myself.

Three, I wouldn't trust those foggers with any pets. I would use them if need be, and then leave the windows open for a week. Then, assuming there is no smell or anything, I might feel safe bringing in my reptiles. Smaller reptiles would be more at risk IMO, like anoles or day geckos ect.

Lastly, if these truely are fleas, then the fogger might be effective on the adults, but the larvae and eggs might be the cause for reoccurance. If this is the case, then you'll have to fog every month for probably 3 months, and then bring in your animals on the fourth.

To finish, I"m no expert on pest control so make sure you're following the instructions on the container and perhaps seak further advice elsewhere.

Ian

The last tenant had cats, ferrets, and a dog, and the place was absolutely infested when I started "moving in". I bombed about a month ago, and the fleas seem to be making a comeback, which is like you said, most likely what was in the pupae stage. I haven't had any mammals in the house, except for those of us who have been working on it over the summer, so I'm hoping that this last bit of fogging should do the trick, as the last foggers had IGR(insect growth retardant) in them, which should mean that the only thing left in the house would be what were in pupa stage, and haven't bred yet.

I've been reading that fleas can live up to 8 months without eating, and can still breed. That means that fleas that are hatching NOW could still be alive in 8 months. And they could delay development in any of the previous stages for months on top of that. So, without actively getting rid of them, and waiting for the cycle to work its way out on its own, it could be another YEAR before I actually got all the fleas out of the house. And even then, they may not all be gone. I'm anxious to get a cat in the house, and I'll have a small rat colony, which I can't do until they're gone.

I'd rather just wait to move my animals in now, and completely eliminate the problem than struggle with it for a long time, or have to move the animals again in a few months, because I end up HAVING to use chemicals again. And since I'm moving about 40 minutes away from my dad, it'd really be a challenge to move all the animals a second time.

Thanks for the help. A week sounds fair to me, as well. All of the foggers say that they're only active while wet, and they kill on contact only. They all say the fumes are fine, once everything's dry. This is the second treatment, so, I'm thinking that this may be enough, but I'm going to wait a month before I move any animals in, just in case. If in a month I have more fleas, I'll spray again, and wait again.

Thanks for the input!

On another thought, carpets are a flea's dream. Get rid of them and any other fabrics that are retained from the previous owners. This will go a loong way in ridding the problem. Perhaps a workeable second option is manual removal, which would mean some sort of power vaccum, shampoo thingy. Again, I'm not an expert on carpet cleaning either

Ian

Ian is right about the carpets, a great way to get rid of them is to vacume OFTEN!! the larval stage will hatch quicker if they feel the vibrations of a vacume, so twice a day is great. also you can sprinkle borax powder in the carpet a little while before vacuming, this helps to kill the fleas. also grab a flea collar (they are cheap) and put it in the vacume bag, it will kill the ones in the vacume instead of them just climbing out (yes, there is a use for flea collars...) if you are moving in with any mamals, use a flea Tx like advantage of frontline on them. im a vet tech in the good old HOT a$$ south, it never freezes here so we deal with TONZ of fleas, GOOD LUCK!!

oh, and as anoying as they are, if they are fleas, not mites they should pretty much leave herps alone!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

For an inexpensive but effective fix, sprinkle BORAX powder (sodium polyborate, sodium tetraborate, sodium borate) on the rug, drapes that touch the floor, etc.
Wait a day - vacuum thoroughly.
IMPORTANT - Throw the vacuum cleaner bag out immediately or put flea powder in the bag. Live adults will crawl back out.
IMPORTANT - Don't do this if you have a mammal that cleans itself, like a cat.
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Repeat in a week.
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It kills the adults, and some of the eggs. Some eggs and pupae survive so that's why you have to repeat the process to avoid reoccurrences.
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Regards, Bill McGighan