Flea bites

[mikeinpittsburgh]

I got fleas twice in one week a few years ago. I should not have gone into the 1st place because the smell of cats over powered me at the door. The 2nd place seemed ok until I got out to the car and saw the little buggers.

I sprayed the car, my brief case, and my shoes with something supposedly oderless from Petsmart. It worked but the car smelled for a while on hot days. I stripped in the basement and threw everything in the washer and washed it in hot water.

I work hard keepng my dog flea free and did not want to explain to people that I gave my dog fleas! I hate fleas!

 

[Calvin the Airedale]

If your getting bitten regularly, the fleas have likely taken up residence in your car. They feed on you, jump back into the carpet, and breed on the food supply you've provided (your blood).

Flea bomb the car overnight, I wouldn't worry about any residual poisons. Just let it air out well afterward.

Back in 1980 I did regular work for a large insurance company appraising fire damaged houses. A new law had been passed to discourage arson insurance claims, it said that if your house burned, instead of the policy limits, the insurance carrier was only obligated to pay the market value of your home (less the value of the lot) if you decided not to rebuild.

The effective dates of the appraisal were based on the day before the fire. It was cool work. I was often inspecting the house with the arson investigators. One learns how to tell if a home had been occupied or vacant prior to its fire.

Anyway, one of the other things that I learned is that fires do not kill fleas. They do, in fact, incubate them. Some of my worst flea experiences came from such assignments. I still carry flee repel ant in my car and have a decontamination routine for when I get home.

 

[DianaOKC]

I keep a can of OFF in the car at all times and from early spring to late fall I spray from the knees down every morning. I was at a house early in my career where everything looked fine - they had a second story large deck and the dog would not leave it. When I went to get in my car I found out why - I was covered with little seed ticks crawling up my legs and had gotten all the way to my knees!

 

[Peter LeQuire]

Ever since last week, I've been having flea bites right above my ankles mostly on my right leg.
I notice it at end of day when I take a hot shower, the flea bite shows up.
I'm thinking a flea jumped on me when I saw a house with a dog or cat.
I figured the flea or maybe a tick will die of natural causes or should I be more aggressive and thoroughly "bombed" the inside of the car?
And in the future, how can I avoid fleas hitching a ride on me?

Bomb the car. The stuff in the aerosol that kills the fleas is pretty volatile, and will dissipate pretty quickly. Were it me, I'd bomb it on Friday evening, let it sit a day or so, then air the car out for a couple of days. Pay attention to the direction of the spray - it may stain - and cover your upolstery and dash.

 

[Sharon Dossett]

The Borax works great, just throw about a half cup under your each seat leave it for a few days and the flees will be gone.