New Roomate brough fleas with her. What are my options?

fracture

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Ok a few months ago a new roomate moved in and at her previous apartment she used to just let her cat wander around outside without any fle protection. Consequently she left that palce infested with fleas (didn't tell me this) and moved into here, where her cat proceeded to infest the house I live in with fleas, and infest my cat.

Now, the house I live in as a bit of a special circumstance. there's no lease and I know the landlord. He generally just let's people move in and so far it's been farily ok until now. Shortly after moving in she lost her job and I was unemployed (up intil next week when I start a new job). I told her she needed to take care of this to which i was payed some lip service and she never did anything. Consequently my legs are all bit to hell and I can even see some on me when I go out (so I try to not go to friends houses because I don't want to invite this plague to them too).

So what are my options> I know frontline is supposed to be the best stuff for my cat (and hers as it looks like I will have to pay to get her cat de-flead because she apparently doesn't care). However frontline is pretty expensive. I should also mention that I have a rabbit and have no idea if he has fleas or what I would need to de-flea him. Next up is getting the fleas out of the house. This place is pretty big. it's an old victorian sized house and it has a couple rooms that are closed off and full of boxes of old antiques that the owner stores here. There are 3 large living rooms, a huge basement, a large furnished attic, a large kitchen, a bathroom, and 4 bedrooms. So there's a lot of square footage to deal with. Bombs aren't really a good solution as they won't get under everything they need to (or maby they will I'm not sure there) and I don't really have anywhere to put my pets while the house is being bombd (or is it possible to do a house in stages?).

So there in a nutshell is the whole problem. I could afford one moderatly pricy procedure to fix this but not multiples. I know the best solution is to put the animals at the vet overnight and have them medically de-flea them while the entire house is bombed, but that's really not an option as it's pretty expansive. Also keep in mind my jackass of a roomate will likely not be helping me in this because, well, she sucks.

I guess I could wait a few weeks and do this once I have more money from my new job, however to give you an idea of how bad this is, as I am writing this I have killed 2 of them I caught crawling on my legs. So far my roomates solution has been to not spend any time at the house (althought they have infested her room at this point now too). In the long term I plan to move out of here, but as I actually know the guy that owns this place I'd like to get it back in some kind of livable order for new people that would move in.

And yes, this sucks.
 
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fracture

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Can the bombing be done in stages? I don't really have anywhere to put my cat or rabbit during the bombing.
 

hissy

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You can use borax powder and sprinkle it on your carpets and floor, let it sit at least an hour, then vacuum it up with a flea collar (cut up) stuck inside of your vacuum bag. Or you can use dicotamous earth crystals (I spelled that wrong) but you can find that at a nursery and use it the same way as the Borax. You want to treat your cat with either frontline or advantage from your vet.
 

valanhb

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Whatever is done should be in conjunction with whatever treatment is done directly on the critters.

A flea bomb is the best bet. You'll have to read the directions on the can as far as how much space can be done at a time. You definitely don't want the animals exposed to a bug bomb, though. They are pretty nasty. If you can't do that, there are other options but they are definitely more work.

Is the place carpeted or hardwood floors?

In carpeted areas, a cheap solution is to get those flea collars, cut them into pieces, and put them in the bag of the vacuum when you vacuum. When you're done vacuuming, immediately take the bag or take out the contents to the trash outside.

Wash the bedding and curtains and anything else you can (throw rugs, etc.) in HOT water and dry on the hottest cycle. You will probably have to do all of this more than once to the house.
 
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fracture

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Hardwood floors. There's no carpeting in this place at all actually.
 

pushylady

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Hardwood should make the job easier. No carpets for the fleas to live in.
That roomate needs to go!!
I'm angry that's she done this to you & your pets, and to your landlord. I think he should be informed - he sounds like a decent guy and doesn't derserve a flea infested place. Maybe he can do something about the roomate's irresponsibility, ie, did he get a damage deposit?
it's an old victorian sized house and it has a couple rooms that are closed off and full of boxes of old antiques that the owner stores here. There are 3 large living rooms, a huge basement, a large furnished attic, a large kitchen, a bathroom, and 4 bedrooms. So there's a lot of square footage to deal with
Sounds great! Get rid of the fleas & roomate and I'll move in in a heartbeat!
 

semiferal

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Advantage, Frontline, or Revolution are all effective. You can get Advantage in a large dog size and measure out the appropriate dose for a cat using a 1 cc syringe. You cannot do this with Frontline or Revolution.

I have never flea bombed my place. Treating the cats has always been enough. I know it means I'll have to put up with a few days of flea bites but it really is only a couple of days. I vacuum the snot out of the place and then a month later I treat the cats again and the problem is solved.
 
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