How to get rid of basement fleas in an apartment

For an urban man, meeting with bloodsucking parasites is far from uncommon. Almost any resident of the metropolis can find fleas in the basement of an apartment building. But not every citizen knows how serious these insects pose a danger, many do not even suspect how the basement fleas in the house look.

These parasites are highly resistant to adverse factors and reproduction rate. Blood-sucking insects parasitize on warm-blooded animals and happily populate any room where there is an abundant food resource. It takes very little time for fleas to settle in human housing. But getting basement fleas out of an apartment or a basement is a difficult task, albeit feasible.

Distinctive features, habitat

The basement fleas in the photo are presented below - these are very small insects that do not have wings. Their size reaches from 0.5 to 4 mm in length. Basement fleas are often called earthen fleas for their favorite habit of settling in heaps of garbage, dust, cracks, underground communications and ventilation ducts.

These parasites have a very short life cycle, therefore, they have increased adaptability to adverse living conditions. Basement fleas are the common name for all wingless insects parasitizing on domestic animals, small rodents - the inhabitants of slums and sewer mines.

Important!

Before poisoning fleas in the basement of a residential building, you need to make sure that there are no unauthorized persons there.

Basement fleas get into the apartment through cracks in the walls, ventilation ducts, through small rodents or pets walking on the street. Insects caught in the apartment very quickly find quiet, inconspicuous places to lay eggs.

Important!

The distribution centers of the basement fleas in the apartment are moist and warm, unventilated corners, spaces under baseboards and furniture, and bedding for cats or dogs.

In an apartment, eggs quickly mature and soon the larvae hatch. Flea larvae feed on rotting debris, animal hair, or particles of excrement. After pupation, the pest finds itself a warm-blooded victim for constant nutrition.

Mice stray cats, people, especially people with no fixed abode - the most frequent inhabitants of uncontrolled abandoned basements, attics, so they are the victims of basement parasites in the first place. Basement fleas feed not only at the expense of animals, any warm-blooded carrier, including humans, is suitable for them.

On a note!

Many fleas do not live permanently on the skin of the wearer, they use the owner only to get enough blood, and later leave it in search of new places for breeding and breeding offspring.

Fleas in the larval stage are not susceptible to temperature fluctuations; they can remain in a frozen state for a long time and wait for favorable conditions. After pupation, they penetrate through shallow gaps from the lower floors and basements of the structure to the upper floors, gradually expanding the habitat.

At flea there are no wings, but they have excellent ability to jump long distances and cling with jointed legs to the victim’s body. The hind limbs of parasites are unusually strongly developed, which allows them to push off from the surface with force and cover a distance of one and a half meters, and the forelimbs are equipped with sharp grips that help to stay on human clothing or mammalian hair. Animals or people become not only a food link, but also a means of transport. It is in this way that fleas from the basement in the apartment are populated.

Danger to humans and animals

Most people are mistaken, considering fleas safe for humans. Parasites cannot harm a person’s health by drinking his blood. But the main thing danger blood-sucking insects are not in the way of nutrition, but in the spread of infection and the ability to cause allergic complications. During bites, insects inject an enzyme into the victim’s body that prevents blood from clotting in the wound. The danger is that a foreign protein that enters the wound causes a stylish allergic reaction and can lead to loss of consciousness and respiratory arrest.

On the claws and body of insects there are a large number of bacteria and helminth eggs, therefore infections or microscopic larvae of tapeworms often get into the wounds, and this threatens serious health consequences.

The consequences of a bite:

• fever in the body;
• itching on the skin;
• rash and inflammation;
• headache and nervous breakdowns;
• chest tightness, breathing problems;
• diarrhea;
• stomach cramps.

Any basement flea bites extremely dangerous. Arthropods are carriers of dangerous epidemics. Among the many flea-transmitted infections, the most deadly is the plague stick. This fatal infection causes epidemics with a survival rate of less than 10%. In Europe, facts were recorded when it was parasites that became the cause of the extinction of entire cities.

In addition to the plague, ectoparasites cause the spread of other infections:

• salmonellosis;
• hepatitis;
• encephalitis;
• tuberculosis;
• brucellosis;
• tularemia;
• typhoid fever;
• anthrax.

For pets, parasites are not only an annoying worry, but also a life threat. Insects carry worm eggs and spread them over the skin and hair of the hosts. When combing bites, animals infect themselves with helminths, larvae of tapeworms and tapeworms.

At the end of the incubation period, the behavior of pets changes dramatically, they become restless and often lose weight. In the future, the disease can lead to severe exhaustion and death of the animal.

Basement flea control methods

Forever get rid of fleas in the basement and destroy them is almost impossible. But you can create unbearable living conditions for them, and they will prefer another apartment or house. If insects terrorize the whole house, then you need to know where to go. There are specialized insect control services in most cities, and not only in megacities such as Moscow. Specialists from such services know how to get fleas out of the basement, cellar and how to get rid of basement fleas in an apartment.

If the parasites spread in small locations, then you can try to cope with them yourself using modern chemicals or resort to alternative methods. But you need to act in an integrated manner, single events will look ineffective and will not bring harm to arthropods in the basement.

Quite effective drugs are:

• Dichlorvos (100 rubles) - modern Dichlorvos is not as toxic as its predecessor, but effective against adult basement fleas;
• Combat (300 rubles) - a comprehensive drug for the destruction of any parasites;
• Delta Zone (600 rubles) - contains deltamethrin, which infects the nervous system of insects and causes paralysis and death, maintains a long-term effect;
• Pyrethrum (400 rubles) is a dust of plant origin, an effective remedy against larvae. Processing a flea basement using the drug reduces the likelihood of reinfection;
• Tsifoks (300 rub.) - an odorless drug with a long exposure period, suitable for preventive sanitary measures. A very powerful remedy for basement fleas;
  

  

• Taran (400 rubles) - a powerful synthetic insecticide destroys all types of ectoparasites, their larvae and egg laying, helps to get rid of fleas in the apartment;
• Raid;
• Raptor;
• Clean house;
• Butox 50;
• Stronghold (450 rubles) - drops at the withers for pets are designed to treat cats and dogs, but are suitable even for decorative rodents and birds.

In order to avoid secondary infection, complex treatment of cellars, cellars from fleas with insecticides is required, as well as disinsection of attics and common areas. In multi-apartment buildings, it is advisable to process entire entrances, since fleas easily move between floors.

Important!

Among the primary measures required is the destruction of small rodents in basements, attics and garbage chutes. Otherwise, the mouse will again become flea carriers and the effectiveness of prevention will drop to zero. It is very important to carry out flea treatment for all pets and even decorative birds, to completely replace their rugs and the inside of the houses.

For dogs and cats, it is recommended to purchase drops:

• Celandine;
• Blokhnet;
• Barrier;
• Dana Ultra Neo;
• Inspector.

For pets purchase special collars for dogs against fleas and ticks and feline parasites.

To enhance efficiency, you can use folk methods:

• hanging in the apartment and basement of bushes of wormwood and tansy;
• flea treatment in the basement of walls and floors wormwood tincture.

If the parasite has bitten a person, then the inflamed area should be immediately disinfected. Suitable for this:

• hydrogen peroxide;
• a solution of diamond greens;
• iodine alcohol solution;
• alcohol-based lotions.

If the wound is treated with a disinfectant, this will help stop the spread of infection. In case of suspicion of an allergic reaction, the victim is given an antihistamine. If the temperature rises or threatens Quincke's edema, you should immediately call a doctor.

Destroying fleas in the basement is no easy task. But it is important to understand that the elimination of a favorable environment in the habitats of parasites and the maintenance of a sanitary environment in good condition are the main operating mechanisms in the fight against basement fleas.