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- Apr 6, 2006
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OK, so I haven't been here for a while--I couldn't pay for Internet access and had to use it at the library, and my college courses were unfortunately more important than TCS.
Anyway, here's my flea problem; hoping some of you people might know what to do about it.
I recently moved out of a house with three housemates. All three housemates had dogs; and all three dogs lived outside except at night. During the last few days before I left, I noticed small bites on myself; I thought they were chigger bites until I saw a small jumping insect in the car of the housemate who was helping me move. Also, I found a picture of flea bites in the library and matched them to mine. Her dog is the most likely to have been the one who had them, in retrospect; she rarely groomed him and would not have noticed an infestation for a while.
After I moved, I thought I had left any fleas behind me; but apparently either the new apartment already has them, or I took some with me. The last residents of the place had a cat (apparently, a badly-behaved cat, since the landlord will not let me have a cat). So there are two possibilities for origins: The dog, or the last resident's cat.
I have found five of them in two days, and drowned them in soapy water (which is the only way I can think of to kill them, tough little things that they are). Also I've had more flea bites, especially at night because I have to sleep on the floor since I haven't got a bed.
The only animal I have is a hamster. He's a dwarf hamster--smaller than a newborn kitten--and I do NOT want him to get fleas. It would be dangerous for such a tiny creature.
For the most part, I don't think the problem is very bad yet. I've only been able to catch five fleas; and they do tend to go towards me, since I'm the best source of food in the house.
My hair is short, and I would know if the fleas had gotten into it. Mostly the bites are at my waist and on my feet--where my bare skin makes contact with furniture and floor.
I can't afford to buy anything that costs more than $2, because that's the money I have right now. I'm pretty poor (See above re. lack of bed, among other things); so if I buy something, it'll have to be pretty cheap. I have a lot of "common household substances" though.
My landlord will be unavailable for two weeks. If I know anything about how fast fleas can spread, I can't wait to contact him. And it may not be his fault anyway--the biggest possibility is that I brought them with me.
So, from you experts who've rescued flea-ridden strays and probably had to deal with the problem yourselves:
How do I get rid of the fleas?
Anyway, here's my flea problem; hoping some of you people might know what to do about it.
I recently moved out of a house with three housemates. All three housemates had dogs; and all three dogs lived outside except at night. During the last few days before I left, I noticed small bites on myself; I thought they were chigger bites until I saw a small jumping insect in the car of the housemate who was helping me move. Also, I found a picture of flea bites in the library and matched them to mine. Her dog is the most likely to have been the one who had them, in retrospect; she rarely groomed him and would not have noticed an infestation for a while.
After I moved, I thought I had left any fleas behind me; but apparently either the new apartment already has them, or I took some with me. The last residents of the place had a cat (apparently, a badly-behaved cat, since the landlord will not let me have a cat). So there are two possibilities for origins: The dog, or the last resident's cat.
I have found five of them in two days, and drowned them in soapy water (which is the only way I can think of to kill them, tough little things that they are). Also I've had more flea bites, especially at night because I have to sleep on the floor since I haven't got a bed.
The only animal I have is a hamster. He's a dwarf hamster--smaller than a newborn kitten--and I do NOT want him to get fleas. It would be dangerous for such a tiny creature.
For the most part, I don't think the problem is very bad yet. I've only been able to catch five fleas; and they do tend to go towards me, since I'm the best source of food in the house.
My hair is short, and I would know if the fleas had gotten into it. Mostly the bites are at my waist and on my feet--where my bare skin makes contact with furniture and floor.
I can't afford to buy anything that costs more than $2, because that's the money I have right now. I'm pretty poor (See above re. lack of bed, among other things); so if I buy something, it'll have to be pretty cheap. I have a lot of "common household substances" though.
My landlord will be unavailable for two weeks. If I know anything about how fast fleas can spread, I can't wait to contact him. And it may not be his fault anyway--the biggest possibility is that I brought them with me.
So, from you experts who've rescued flea-ridden strays and probably had to deal with the problem yourselves:
How do I get rid of the fleas?