tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post8429209483997004017..comments2023-06-14T02:57:20.800-05:00Comments on This Ro(a)mantic Life: It's not nesting if it involves fleasThis Ro(a)mantic Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09324882155203905958noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-13089998134693079952013-01-26T15:31:00.678-06:002013-01-26T15:31:00.678-06:00Oh yikes. We had that trouble before. NO FUN!! Goo...Oh yikes. We had that trouble before. NO FUN!! Good luck:)Pamela Hunt Cloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15785363232789520183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-30334715275992349472013-01-25T19:17:38.836-06:002013-01-25T19:17:38.836-06:00What a nightmare in your home office, Kristen! (An...What a nightmare in your home office, Kristen! (And those poor dogs must have been so uncomfortable if they only stayed one night and left such an infestation behind.) I <i>hope</i> we don't need to get an exterminator. Fortunately, I haven't seen evidence of live pests yet. And we'll do our best to keep it that way -- but if we end up going the route you had to follow, I'll ask for your recommendations on what kind of treatment to search for in our area.This Ro(a)mantic Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09324882155203905958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-90491219452346912202013-01-25T12:35:43.086-06:002013-01-25T12:35:43.086-06:00Oh, yuck, that's the last thing you need right...Oh, yuck, that's the last thing you need right now! We are a pet-free house, but had a bad flea infestation after some overnight guests and their dogs left us with a very unpleasant parting gift. The borax solution seemed to work well enough upstairs, but we eventually had to call an exterminator for the room where they stayed - which happens to be our office. I still shudder at the memory of looking down one day to see those little creatures leaping onto my socks.<br /><br />God speed with the eco-friendly extermination efforts! xoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-89316354987022730612013-01-24T11:24:54.876-06:002013-01-24T11:24:54.876-06:00Kitch, I totally thought of you and the bedbugs wh...Kitch, I totally thought of you and the bedbugs while I was doing my umpteenth load of laundry. You and I, we take no prisoners! (Though at the moment, the cat is squalling to be let out of her quarantine space while I borax the last of some spot-wash-only seat cushions I'd rather she didn't get her paws on -- borax isn't good for pets. I imagine you can relate to the feline ruckus ...)This Ro(a)mantic Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09324882155203905958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-58971393091288043042013-01-24T10:46:55.732-06:002013-01-24T10:46:55.732-06:00Fuckity fuck! That's not fun, not fun at all. ...Fuckity fuck! That's not fun, not fun at all. Reminds me of my bedbug incident. Ick!TKWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16409505008377005185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-8245609476691723632013-01-23T19:31:01.410-06:002013-01-23T19:31:01.410-06:00Gosh between the dog beds, sofa, chairs, and floor...Gosh between the dog beds, sofa, chairs, and floors, I used it all up and I haven't a clue what it was. I do remember that I asked the lady who worked there. They had like four different sprays and all were non-toxic. We vacuumed the floor and did the furniture as good as we could. The dog beds? We just took them outside and shook them out. I do recall that we used a very light spray that was dry in about 30 minutes. Wish I could be more help. Nitewriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02003748081529399564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-1282028984717622702013-01-23T19:11:39.161-06:002013-01-23T19:11:39.161-06:00BLW -- wait staff, ha! :) And yes, I'm sure wh...BLW -- wait staff, ha! :) And yes, I'm sure what we wonder about with the first baby will feel much less consequential with the second. But only because the first will have prepared us!<br /><br />GEW -- OH NO. I am SO sorry to hear about your fleas. (Glad I could be of help ... ?). Yes, borax was what the vet recommended if we really wanted to be thorough, given that we weren't looking at an infestation. How long ago did the house sitter have the dog at the house? One flea cycle is about 2 weeks; so if it's been more than that, you'll definitely want to use the borax and not just vacuum. I got some guidelines on application from <a href="http://www.ehow.com/way_5167028_borax-flea-treatments.html" rel="nofollow">this site</a>. Vacuuming tips and general flea exposure management were helpful on <a href="http://insects.about.com/od/fleas/a/Effective-Flea" rel="nofollow">this site</a> and <a href="http://www.catsofaustralia.com/fleasgetridof.htm#.UPREd-TAcnc" rel="nofollow">this site</a>. As for pet meds, our vet recommended Revolution, which kills not just fleas but also worms (in case the fleas our kitty got were indeed carriers). They'd been using Advantage but found it ineffective in our particular area. Let me know if you have any questions at all; I'm happy to share tips!<br /><br />KChripczuk -- thank you. I agree, the idea of a due date for everything you think you want to accomplish before that first baby arrives is very apt at the moment! There was that book manuscript I was working on, the places we wanted to travel to ... the list could go on and on. Which is why we knew we couldn't keep putting off starting our family. There will always be something.<br /><br />Nitewriter -- I totally overheard a parent at Target yesterday looking for a lice killing kit while I was grabbing more borax. I gave him a wide berth. No sense compounding our problems further ... ! By the way, I checked out PetSmart's site and they had several spray options. Which one did you use?This Ro(a)mantic Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09324882155203905958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-91162843342041160392013-01-23T17:29:41.403-06:002013-01-23T17:29:41.403-06:00By the time the kids get to school, you'll won...By the time the kids get to school, you'll wonder which is worse, lice or fleas! LOLNitewriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02003748081529399564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-45922002695554573982013-01-23T17:27:46.462-06:002013-01-23T17:27:46.462-06:00It was funny to me, when pregnant with our first, ...It was funny to me, when pregnant with our first, how my due date became a literal "due date" fro nearly everything I'd ever hoped to get done before having kids. There was a lot that got left undone and three more kids later, there's more and more that get's yeilded. <br />Good luck with the fleas, we had them a couple of times and it freaked me out so to find them on my kids (because they crawled so on the carpet). No pets now means no fleas. Visiting from Just Write.kchripczukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15585289101589690551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-46674006460442879602013-01-23T15:29:26.968-06:002013-01-23T15:29:26.968-06:00Oh, and good luck to you with your pre-baby pest r...Oh, and good luck to you with your pre-baby pest removal, CT!Good Enough Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-67076371683582494622013-01-23T15:28:33.675-06:002013-01-23T15:28:33.675-06:00Us, too! Kitty started scootching her butt a coupl...Us, too! Kitty started scootching her butt a couple of days ago! Actually, it was while reading your post that everything clicked for me. Not only do we have fleas, but she has worms! Ick! Now I need to get the fleas meds, the worm pills, and get to work on the carpets and house. Sigh. <br /><br />So Borax is a good method? I've got some in the laundry room. Might look for the non-toxic spray that Nitewriter mentioned, especially for the cat tower.<br /><br />I think our housesitter brought her dog over, and the doggie brought in fleas. Bleck.<br /><br />So glad they are unlikely to carry the plague these days. Whenever I'm reading early modern texts or even a recently written history fiction book written in plague times, I just want to yell, "Not the blankets! Don't use the blankets!!!"Good Enough Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-56967854788867383932013-01-23T14:42:51.557-06:002013-01-23T14:42:51.557-06:00Not to worry. When that little being comes into th...Not to worry. When that little being comes into the world, those things you need to yield you <i>will</i> yield, short of having wait staff to take care of those tasks for you!<br /><br />And by Child #2, all the things you torture yourself over on Child #1 seem very very small indeed. It's part of the process... BigLittleWolfhttp://dailyplateofcrazy.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-63967841506387742072013-01-23T11:19:19.620-06:002013-01-23T11:19:19.620-06:00We suspected the presence of fleas so early (withi...We suspected the presence of fleas so early (within 2-3 weeks of exposure) that the vet didn't think a spray was necessary -- just a thorough vacuuming of floors and furniture. The borax was optional, but I wasn't going to take any risks. We'll definitely remember your spray recommendation should we continue to see evidence of a problem! Kitty's got her meds on board now and will be treated monthly for the next three months at least. We'll also vacuum at least once a week during that time (even with a baby, I know ...). What was the brand of product you got from PetSmart?This Ro(a)mantic Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09324882155203905958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7356184928339139776.post-19692804658473651822013-01-23T08:57:37.051-06:002013-01-23T08:57:37.051-06:00Oh yuck! We did the same thing several months ago....Oh yuck! We did the same thing several months ago. The vet gave the dogs a med that is one pill that kills fleas on the dogs immediately. Did that and put the flea preventative on them. Also got some stuff in PetSmart to spray on furniture and animal beds (it's non-toxic) and it kills fleas on contact. Then we shook the bedding outside and vacuumed inside. Once more swipe of the spray the next day and another vacuum and all was done. <br /><br />If it happens again, check for the spray that kills on contact. It's a lot easier doing that several times (to get all the eggs too). <br /><br />Good luck -- fleas are awful.Nitewriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02003748081529399564noreply@blogger.com