fleas, but no pet?

A friend of mine brought his dog over and now I think I have fleas in my rug, YIKES! How do you know exactly what they are and how do I get rid of them? HELP!!!

You know you have fleas if you're getting bit and when you look at one of the places that itches, you see an itty bitty hole. The most effective way to get rid of them is to buy a borax-based product to sprinkle around. If that doesn't work, you have to hire a professional exterminator.

You have my sympathy! It's bad enough to have fleas when you have a pet, I can't imagine how upsetting it is to have them when you don't even have a pet.

Just make the fleas your pets!! HONK!! HONK!! :p :D

Cute, Boll.

Here's two odd bits of "folk medicine" that actually work: Garlic and Cedar.

Fleas can't stand pine and/or cedar oil, and eating garlic or taking garlic pills acts like a "Flea Repellant". When my pets had fleas several years ago, I used cedar bedding and even sprinkled cedar shavings through the house. I sprinkled a bit of garlic powder in my pet's food, and I ate it too. I eventually switched the pets to PurinaOne pet foods, which have a small amount of garlic in them. Both approaches worked. I only have one pet now, my old dog Sadie. Neither she or the other pets I had have suffered from fleas, for the past 6 years! No fleas in the house at all. -This does not work for ticks, however...

Hope this helps, can't really hurt. :) TD/Tim

Here's two odd bits of "folk medicine" that actually work: Garlic and Cedar.

Fleas can't stand pine and/or cedar oil, and eating garlic or taking garlic pills acts like a "Flea Repellant". When my pets had fleas several years ago, I used cedar bedding and even sprinkled cedar shavings through the house. I sprinkled a bit of garlic powder in my pet's food, and I ate garlic in my food too. I eventually switched the pets to PurinaOne pet foods, which have a small amount of garlic in them. Both approaches worked. I only have one pet now, my old dog Sadie. Neither she or the other pets I had have suffered from fleas, for the past 6 years! No fleas in the house at all.

-This does not work for ticks, however...

Hope this helps, can't really hurt. :) TD/Tim

Now you realize I don't have a pet, my YM brought his fleabag dog into my house and this is the result. What you are saying is that cedar shavings may help if I sprinkle them? The garlic won't because I have no pet. You see what I mean?

I am sorry for the dog who is suffering so. :( I have 3 pets (sometimes had more) and no fleas. Could be the cedar closets...location...or something in the yard/house, even the food that prevented flea infestation. Anyway, Chattebox wrote...

The most effective way to get rid of them is to buy a borax-based product to sprinkle around.

I had an exterminator come, but if it doesn't take, Borax it is! Tks, guys.

Garlic is a natural repellant for fleas. Eat a lot of garlic bread and pasta for a couple days lol. The fleas won't jump on you, I swear. If they have nothing to feed on, they'll either have to leave or die. Cedar oil based airfresheners and even things like Pine Sol are effective at chasing off fleas.

the Borax is good, of course but it's an Alkaline, and kinda rough on your evironment. Whatever you try, good luck! :) TD/Tim

Thank, much appreciated.

I had to chuckle when I read this post! I know it's not a laughing matter and you are probably at wits end about it, but I really don't think those fleas will hang around without a pet in the house. If they are indeed in your carpeting give it a good cleaning and try not to think about it any more. Have you actually seen them, or do you just itch? Maybe it's something entirely different? Keep posting. I want to hear how this pans out.

I see them on the window sill still. I've given the carpet a thorough cleaning. Hopefully like you said, since there's no pet, they'll give up and die.