Fleas!
A couple of weeks ago, we noticed the cat scratching. But at the time, we had more important things to worry about with the baby coming and all. So we didn't do anything. Post baby, post-baby company, we found ourselves with even more company.
My wife was the one who first noticed them. She kept getting bug bites on her ankles at night. Then she started seeing them more frequently. Finally she had enough. We were going to take care of them. The real question was how. If it were just the two of us, we'd just automatically bug bomb, stay away from the house for a few hours, and that would be the end of it. But with an infant in the house, filling the air and covering the furniture with insecticides didn't seem like the best course.
So the first round was to take all of the cloth/fabric that we had in the house and haul it down to the basement. Then I was going to spray the carpets. After a while we opened the windows and let the air circulate out any toxins. However, as my wife sat down to nurse the baby, she noticed one on his head.
Cue round two. I got out the foggers. In order to not blow up the house, I had to turn of the electricity and the pilot lights to the furnace and water heater. I crated up the cat and put him in the garage. I ended up placing six fogger cannisters in the house and setting them off. I let the house for a few hours and then opened up all of the windows and doors. An hour or so later, I let the cat back in the house. While this was going on, we sent my wife and children to live with her mother. I joined them when I was done with work. The next day I came back to check on the cat. And found still more fleas on me.
Cue round three. I bagged up all of the cloth/fabric that was now in the house. This time we called a pest removal place to come and take care of the problem. They came out, sprayed, and set three more foggers. While I was waiting, I took all of the bags to the laundromat and washed the whole thing. When I was time I came back, opened the house up, let the cat back in, and then left again. The next day we came back.
Living in the house is a bit of an adventure these days. Every time I stray wind moves some of my leg hair, I think the fleas are back. Most of our laudromat cleaning is unbagged and put away. There is still some more that needs to be done. We have seen a few fleas, but a little judicious spraying seems to have taken care of the problem. As soon as the laundry is all put away, I'll spend a couple of weeks religiously vacuuming the rugs.
And I really hope that that is all. I hope that Oliver and Xavier don't react badly to the insecticides that I picture lying on everything in the house. I hope the cat doesn't get sick. And I really hope that those stupid fleas stay gone.
My wife was the one who first noticed them. She kept getting bug bites on her ankles at night. Then she started seeing them more frequently. Finally she had enough. We were going to take care of them. The real question was how. If it were just the two of us, we'd just automatically bug bomb, stay away from the house for a few hours, and that would be the end of it. But with an infant in the house, filling the air and covering the furniture with insecticides didn't seem like the best course.
So the first round was to take all of the cloth/fabric that we had in the house and haul it down to the basement. Then I was going to spray the carpets. After a while we opened the windows and let the air circulate out any toxins. However, as my wife sat down to nurse the baby, she noticed one on his head.
Cue round two. I got out the foggers. In order to not blow up the house, I had to turn of the electricity and the pilot lights to the furnace and water heater. I crated up the cat and put him in the garage. I ended up placing six fogger cannisters in the house and setting them off. I let the house for a few hours and then opened up all of the windows and doors. An hour or so later, I let the cat back in the house. While this was going on, we sent my wife and children to live with her mother. I joined them when I was done with work. The next day I came back to check on the cat. And found still more fleas on me.
Cue round three. I bagged up all of the cloth/fabric that was now in the house. This time we called a pest removal place to come and take care of the problem. They came out, sprayed, and set three more foggers. While I was waiting, I took all of the bags to the laundromat and washed the whole thing. When I was time I came back, opened the house up, let the cat back in, and then left again. The next day we came back.
Living in the house is a bit of an adventure these days. Every time I stray wind moves some of my leg hair, I think the fleas are back. Most of our laudromat cleaning is unbagged and put away. There is still some more that needs to be done. We have seen a few fleas, but a little judicious spraying seems to have taken care of the problem. As soon as the laundry is all put away, I'll spend a couple of weeks religiously vacuuming the rugs.
And I really hope that that is all. I hope that Oliver and Xavier don't react badly to the insecticides that I picture lying on everything in the house. I hope the cat doesn't get sick. And I really hope that those stupid fleas stay gone.
posted by mypetrock at 11:04 PM
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