Fleas

[-Chanticleer-]

Does anyone know how to get rid of fleas for good? My neighbor is elderly and has fleas. I’ve bombed her house for her but it didn’t work. She no longer has the dog he was 14 and passed away a month ago. Any advice on how to get rid of them is greatly appreciated!

 

[Nym]

You will need to vacuum each day and dispose of the bags immediately. There are also plenty of home remedies you could try: any plant & vegetable dust or DE or even a cheap flea powder sprinkled on the carpets and around skirting boards will go a long way to sorting them out. Fleas hate lavender, so a few drops in a water mister sprayed on carpets will help. Remove all the dog's bedding and / vacuum any places the dog slept. As Spring heats up, the eggs will keep hatching unless a thorough vacuuming is performed until no more fleas appear. Good luck! If all fails, try a pest control mob.

 

[-Chanticleer-]

Ok I will let her know thanks! I would vacuum for her but don’t want to risk bringing them to my house.

 

[Kiki]

You need to treat the house and the yard. More than once.
Every week.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Western Washington has a bad flea problem. We would leave for a couple weeks, and when you got back the fleas would hop on your legs, *shiver*. Since we moved to Eastern Washington we have no fleas, because the winters here are cold and there are alot of pine trees, which I hear they don't like.

 

[-Chanticleer-]

Will they migrate to my yard? Now that the dog is gone?

 

[SourRoses]

Yes, they will migrate looking for food (blood).
Sandy areas can harbor native flea populations. We once went to look at a rural property and had fleas jumping up our legs (ahhh!) of course we ran away.

When we had dogs with neighbors who didn't treat theirs nearby, the ONLY product that worked was the Seresto collars (4.5% flumethrin and 10% imidacloprid). From reading the reviews and other forums, there are tons of people (especially in the south) with flea populations that are immune or resistant to the older flea medications.
For saving an elderly lady from a flea infestation (the only thing they could be eating is her!) I wouldn't bother with the natural solutions, but find somewhere for her to stay for a weekend and truly knock it out. Get an exterminator in if you have to. If you can't manage, call social services. It's likely you don't want to make more stress for her, but fleas can bring deadly diseases so you may have to choose between her stress level and leaving her life in danger.
If you want to try one more DIY first, get 3-4 of those seresto collars which have a repelling effect, chop them into bits, and scatter them starting in her (bedding free) bed and around her bedroom, leaving a clear route of exit for the fleas to vacate her room out the door and perhaps the windows too. It would take some hours for them to get out. The collars release the product when they warm up, so you would want her house to be hot. When you're sure her bedroom is clear, move the collar confetti to the other living spaces. Keep in mind it's only the repelling effect that will be useful without treated blood for them to be poisoned by. Don't let anyone elderly or young have an intact collar they might think to wear and be poisoned by. That's the only DIY I can think of that might work. The typical advice is to keep vacuuming on a regular schedule, but meanwhile they are eating this old lady alive, how awful!

 

[Penpal]

They will migrate to your yard and your chickens will eat them.

 

[Nym]

Will they migrate to my yard? Now that the dog is gone?

I had that exact problem when my neighbour's dog died - they all headed over to my yard and dog. I called in a pest control to sort it as I don't think flea bombs were even available at that time. Remember, dogs and cats host fleas, not humans. They bite us but don't like us or they would live on us. If you have a dog be vigilant. @gimmie birdies mentioned the pine trees. Pine oil would then be a great solution. Whatever steps are taken, they need to happen ASAP.

 

[-Chanticleer-]

Will they get on chickens? I only have birds at the moment. I think I’ll have someone come out and spray just to be safe.