AFAIK, fleas are fleas.  The ones that rode in on my brother's dog may have
preferred dog blood, but they feasted on me nonethless.

Not that I know of but I have heard that it's very bad for cats.

Don't know on this one.  I can recommend that you repeat whatever you do
about 2 1/2 weeks later because the flea life-cycle is about 3 weeks.  Then
you'll catch the ones that hatched after the first application but before
they reproduce.  We always had much better luck with the chemicals from the
vets office than anything else.

Leigh in raLeigh

I once had horrible fleas.  I got some basic flea powder at the store
and dosed all the rugs.  I took bedding to the laundry and ran it
through boil/bake.  Clothing was bagged for 2 weeks and I only wore
things that could be boiled and baked.  I vacuumed twice a day and put
snipped-up flea collars in the vacuum bags, which I burned on a daily
basis.

At the end of two weeks I was flea-free.  Had to treat the cats for
tapeworm subsequently...

Hi Suki,

There are many types of fleas, Non of them inhabit man exclusively.
Flea bodies are designed to live on a particular host animal by grabbing
onto the fur.  Fleas will bite people ( as you have already experenced)
but will not live on a person.  Fleas have four stages of develpoment.
Egg, larve, Pupa, and adult.  When a pupa hatches it will feed on any
warm blooded animal( you and me included.)

Boric acid is a stomach poison that works by being ingested.  If you
ingest enough of it you will be sick.  Some people think that its
dessicant qualities effect flea development but it is a more common
theroy that flea larva eat the boric acid and it kills them.

The boric acid can attack an adult fleas outer cutical and kill it but
it is not the most efficent method of control.

If you have a pet, most of the spot on treatments can solve your
problem.  fleas like to stay ont he host so by treating the animal you
can eventually control all of the fleas.  Without an animal your best
recoures is to use a product that attacks as many stages of flea
development as possible.  Vaccum regularly, find a product to apply
directly to your homes floor that is both an adluticide and has a growth
inhibiting hormone to control further development.

There is a Human flea that usually are spread by working
with pigs. I believe it is more of an European/African
issue than American. Cat/dog fleas don't need specific
type of blood but have just developed as mentioned to
specific furs and body temp of host animals. Cat fleas
(I believe dog fleas too) will have a "moustache" of
bristles where the Human flea will just have a few. Your
flea problem may be from wild animals living under your
home or in the attic or walls.

As with anything else it can be and can also cause
respiration problems.

I believe the Borax treatment, due to its particle size
will mainly effect the larvae stage where as boric acid
designed for carpet treatments will have smaller
particles that the biting adult will ingest and die from
also. Borate treatments will be a slower mode maybe
taking several days to see results, but can work.

Ingesting borax can cause irritability, anemia, skin inflammation and
lesions, hair loss, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, and even death.
Potentially lethal doses from borax ingestion are one teaspoon for
infants, two for children, and five for adults. The most significant
toxicity concerns for borax center around ingestion poisoning and its
reproductive toxicity through ingestion. While borax has not been
shown to cause cancer or mutations, some animal studies have prompted
concerns that it may be a human reproductive toxin, and the California
EPA is currently evaluating it for possible consideration as a
reproductive toxin under Proposition 65. Borax's conversion to boric
acid in water prompts concerns for dermal absorption through broken
skin, especially among sensitive infants and children.

Cheers,

Ned

news:vn1sk8m4hnk0c1@corp.supernews.com...

I had this same problem that I solved by calling a professional
exterminator.  Problem solved.

As another poster pointed out, your problem may be caused by wild animals
that have made a home with you.  Rats or mice are common, and they have
fleas too.  This needs to be checked.

It would probably help to put a flea collar in the vacuum cleaner bag as
well, but this alone won't solve the problem.  Even if no animals are
present, the flea eggs will continue to hatch in waves over time.
Professional exterminators know how to deal with this.

Bill

Try this, just as messy, but safer with dust masks:

Diatomaceous earth is a mined mineral product. It is the fossilized
remains of single-celled organisms that lived millions of years ago
(diatoms). Diatomaceous earth works on insects by puncturing their
outer protective layer causing death by dehydration. It comes
formulated alone or with pyrethrum insecticides. Alone, it is
virtually nontoxic to mammals. It is even added to animal feed to
control intestinal parasites and worms. This fossil is the abrasive
found in many types of toothpaste. In the home, it can be applied in
the wall voids, attics and other out-of-the-way spots to kill such
insects as ants, cockroaches and dry wood termites. Sprinkled on
carpets, it will kill fleas. As a barrier around garden beds, it
discourages slugs and snails. Caution: only natural diatomaceous earth
should be used for pest control (not pool grade).

And Nematodes added outside will end the problem, both can be found
online from organic gardening suppliers.

Cheers,

Ned

All of the advice given here so far is good, however there are a couple of
things to point out. First off most states are stopping the use of the boric
acid flea treatment where you cover the carpet area and tamp in down into
the carpet. I think Florida was the first to stop it. Lots of it is due to
breathing problems by unsuspecting tenants. You treat with Boric Acid and a
new tenant moves in that has bad allergies you may have problems. That other
thing is that flea eggs can lay dormant for as much as six months if they
have no blood meal. The eggs are laid and they wait until they are "rattled"
and then that excites them to start hatching. This is once they are ready to
hatch, once they hatch and come into the pupae stage they will be eating
Keratin (sp) in the carpet. Once they hatch into young fleas they need blood
meals and that is when the biting starts.

Instead of going with Borax or any of the Boric Acid products, there is a
much simpler way to rid you home and pet of fleas. Go to the Vet and
purchase Frontline, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME on the over the counter products,
get Frontline place the drops on the pet according to the label and within
48 to 72 hours your home should be flea free. When a customer calls me to
come treat for Fleas I advise them to try the Frontline first, it is less
that what I would be and what most of us don't want to admit, but it is the
truth, it is more effective than we are. In the Pest Control Industry the
key to any insect control is to treat them at the source, in this case it
would be a pet. Take care of your pet and your pet will take care of you.

Again though I must re-emphasize do not use the stuff you buy at Walmart or
the local drug store, those are all repellents and will cause the fleas to
jump off into your carpet and when you walk by they will still need to feed.
Use the Frontline, you will be happy.

Do you have cats, dogs, or any other pet that fleas like? If so, see
your vet about getting Advantage or some similar treatment for your
pet(s). Since we did that, we've never had a flea problem again.

Nothing else we tried was anywhere near as effective. Bug sprays,
powders, washing everything, etc. provide a little help, but it
doesn't last long. In the pre-Advantage era, we found that vacuuming
twice daily seemed to make the biggest difference, but since using
Advantage we've never had fleas again. Advantage (and similar
products) is by far the best solution, IME. Nothing else comes close.

(snip)

Very sound advice. I wonder what percentage of actual borates exist in the
various "powders"?

My neighbor has roaming cats. She uses the "drops" on her animals
(Advantage, Frontline etc.) and this works great !

I saw a case of an elderly lady that was exceptionally clean and never let
her cat outside. I believe the fleas came thru the front door. I believe
curious outdoor cats had a few residents jump off.

Ingesting borax can cause irritability, anemia, skin inflammation and
lesions, hair loss, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, and even death.
Potentially lethal doses from borax ingestion are one teaspoon for
infants, two for children, and five for adults. The most significant
toxicity concerns for borax center around ingestion poisoning and its
reproductive toxicity through ingestion. While borax has not been
shown to cause cancer or mutations, some animal studies have prompted
concerns that it may be a human reproductive toxin, and the California
EPA is currently evaluating it for possible consideration as a
reproductive toxin under Proposition 65. Borax's conversion to boric
acid in water prompts concerns for dermal absorption through broken
skin, especially among sensitive infants and children