Black fleas in the house - how to get rid of them, how to poison them

Features of fleas

Fleas in a black apartment are quite nimble insects. They come from basements or are brought in with pets.

Fleas can go hungry for up to 100 days! Insects tolerate temperature changes well. Insects are able to jump up to 30 centimeters. The optimal humidity for life is 70%. If it is lower, the larvae will die. The optimal temperature is considered to be from 18 to 26 degrees.

When parasites bite, they inject a special substance, but infections are transmitted through blood sucking, as well as through feces, which the insect successfully leaves on the host’s skin. Infections can exist in the body of fleas for a long time.

Fleas move from basements or are brought in with pets

Appearance and structure of fleas

Small jumping bloodsuckers have a fairly characteristic appearance and, even despite their small size, are easily distinguished from other insects. They have a narrow, laterally flattened body 2-5 mm long. Its color is brown, almost black, the surface of the chitinous shell is smooth and shiny. Under a microscope, you can see individual spines and hairs on the flea’s body:

The legs of the last, rear pair are significantly enlarged and have powerful muscles. Thanks to them, these small insects are able to jump far, as a result of which they easily move between shelters in an apartment, and in case of danger they jump so quickly that the jump itself is not noticed by the human eye.

Fleas are the insect world record holders for jumping ability. An average individual with a body length of 3 mm can jump a distance of 30 cm, that is, 100 times its length. If humans had such abilities, it would be normal for a person to jump 160 meters in length.

The eyes of fleas are simple, almost non-functional. Fleas receive basic information about the environment using small antennas and a special sensory organ capable of detecting air vibrations.

Generally speaking, fleas are winged insects, and their lack of wings is an adaptation to a parasitic lifestyle. Without wings, it is easier for them to move in the fur and elude the teeth of their victims.

Damage caused

In an apartment, black fleas pose a serious danger. They drink the blood of victims, and after that, after a while, they go for the blood of the next owner. As a result, a huge number of infections are transmitted through the insect. Some of them can be fatal:

encephalitis;
hepatitis;
anthrax;
plague;
typhus

Fleas carry a huge number of infections

Parasites in the home can cause a person to develop helminthiasis. Fleas often hide in hair. Finding them in an apartment is quite easy. It is necessary to lay out clean white sheets on it.

Important! Fleas can grow in a clean room. They hide in pillows, mattresses, carpets, and on pile surfaces.

Parasites appear in the apartment with animals and old things. They can move from neighbors. Insects appear in the house and with rats. If parasites appear in your apartment, you should act quickly, due to their rapid reproduction. Otherwise, after a week the infection will be extensive.

What do parasites look like?

Black fleas are a common household name for all types of fleas that live in apartments and houses:

felines;
canine;
rat;
rabbit

Due to the tiny dimensions and minor differences, noticeable only under a microscope, only an entomologist can determine the species. The average victim suffering from attacks by bloodsuckers essentially does not care what species they belong to and therefore domestic fleas are called black, bed, basement, and household fleas.

The flattened body of a dark brown color with black sides is densely covered with hairs, villi, and bristles, thanks to which the insect freely moves in the host’s hair and analyzes the environment. They are connected to nerve receptors and signal air vibrations; because of this feature, it is almost impossible to catch the parasite.

Interesting! Fleas are excellent jumpers. Before jumping, their body contracts like a spring and, with the help of their highly developed hind legs, they push off with force from the surface. The jump height reaches 30 cm. If a person had such jumping ability, he could easily jump over multi-story buildings.

Black fleas feed exclusively on blood. Insects are not distinguished by their devotion to one host; they migrate freely from one animal species to another. Man is no exception, and parasites are not averse to using him as a food source.

Due to their invulnerability and quick response in case of danger, black fleas do not mask their bites. Unlike bedbugs, they do not inject an anesthetic substance with saliva, but only an enzyme for blood clotting. The component has a protein structure, which provokes the appearance of allergic reactions in the affected areas. In addition, fleas carry dangerous infections and helminth eggs.

Methods of disposal

If fleas with a black color appear in the house, you should not delay the process. Urgent action must be taken.

Treat your pet. It is better to do this in advance, and not when the animal has already begun to itch. It is easier to see parasites behind the ears - the skin there is lighter, the blackheads are clearly visible. Proceed with caution to avoid infection. Insect bites are similar to mosquito bites, but smaller and leave scars. In an apartment, fleas can be seen behind baseboards, on furniture, and clothes.

One of the stages of getting rid of fleas in an apartment is treating the pet

We also invite you to find out how fleas differ from lice by reading the corresponding article on our resource.

Causes of infection

There are actually a lot of reasons why parasites can appear in an apartment. The most common is pets who carry them home. The fact is that parasites do not lay eggs in one place, they scatter eggs and this can happen both on the animal’s body and in the environment. Therefore, once home, the parasites scatter their offspring throughout the room.

It can also be caused by the person himself, who brings the larvae into the room on his shoes. In the presence of food, parasites multiply very quickly. If an infection occurs, then after 2-3 weeks you can notice a large number of parasites.

It is worth saying that most of the parasite population is not noticeable to humans at all, since they are eggs and larvae. They do not bite, but are found in carpets, crevices, and other hard-to-reach places. Only when a person begins to experience flea bites, then their presence becomes more noticeable and we can say that the population will soon increase many times over.

Quite often, massive populations are found in basements where mice and rats live, and stray cats spend the night. For this reason, infections can occur in apartments on the first floors. But country houses are no exception, since a stray animal may enter the territory.

What to do

When getting rid of parasites, you should start with the simplest thing - cleaning. Wash your laundry and hang it out in the fresh air. Wash floors, baseboards, window sills. Remove dust from cabinets. Vacuum carpets and upholstered furniture.
If you don’t have the desire or time to do general cleaning, call a special service. She will help quickly.
Methods for getting rid of insects can be different. The action of the insecticide gives a good result. Spray Dichlorvos on walls, floors, ceilings, and furniture. Close the door and do not enter the room for several hours. Then you can ventilate the room.
Then you shouldn’t wash everything in the house right away. The parasites will die, but the eggs will live for a week. If the procedure does not help, you should repeat it.

When getting rid of parasites, you should start with the simplest thing - cleaning

Black midge: photo

Midges are very small insects, so it is almost impossible to even roughly distinguish their species by eye without magnification, and this must be remembered when understanding this issue. The black midge in the photo is shown in a greatly enlarged form. In fact, it looks like a black moving dot with a jagged flight path. Despite the difficulties with visual identification, some common pests can be distinguished by indirect signs.

Detritus

Detritus gnats, sciarids, soil gnats, fungus gnats or leaf gnats are common pests of indoor plants. They lay larvae in flower pots, which causes more and more insects in the apartment, and the plants begin to suffer from a lack of nutrients and may die.

Sciarids are small, completely black insects with transparent wings no more than 5 millimeters long, usually less.
They can be active around the clock.
They climb mainly around window sills and other places where indoor flowers are located.
Adults live for about 5 days, larvae develop in a pot for an average of 20 to 30 days, after which their mass emergence follows.
At one time, a female detritus can lay up to 200 larvae, most of which will survive and develop into adults.

Leaf gnats do not bite people or animals, but they still need to be dealt with, since their number always increases exponentially and contributes to the creation of unfavorable sanitary conditions in the house.

Fruit flies

Fruit flies are classified as flies. In the home, they can most often be seen in the kitchen, next to foods high in sugar.

Fruit flies rarely exceed 2.5 millimeters in length.
The insect has transparent wings and a beige-transparent body that may or may not have dark, cloudy spots.
The key distinguishing feature of fruit flies is their bright red eyes, which can visibly contrast with the body even without magnification.
Drosophila feed on fruits, vegetables, baked goods, and sweet liquids in the house.
They are active mainly in daylight.

Like sciarids, fruit midges are not blood-sucking pests, but they eat food from people and domestic animals, where they also lay their larvae. Eating such foods is dangerous to health.

Gorbatki

Humpback flies are typical inhabitants of sewers. It is from there that they most often enter the apartment.

The humpback is a small insect of dark gray or black color with a yellow tint, no more than 6 millimeters in length.
Flies can fly, but they can often be seen running within the radius of a food source of interest to them.
Most often, this source is sewer drains, areas in the kitchen and bathroom with high humidity, where mold and microorganisms can grow.
Pests are most active in the dark, when it is night outside or there is no light on in the room where they are found.
Humpback eggs can be laid in any decaying organic matter, from dirt in drain pipes to indoor flowers and garbage cans.

Humpbacks do not bite, but they can cause myiases, diseases caused by fly larvae.

Midges

In the Central region of Russia, the most common midges are short-palmed, silver-fronted and light-fronted midges, but outwardly they will look the same to humans. Their characteristics are also similar.

The size of an adult winged midge does not exceed 1–2 millimeters in length.
The color of pests is always dark.
Midge larvae are laid in the most moist soil or directly into water; in apartments, flower pots, the area around hot water pipes, sink drains, bathtubs, washing machines, and sewers are suitable for this.
Active around the clock, from spring to late autumn, they practically disappear during the heating season.
Midges are a component of midges - blood-sucking insects that can be carriers of dangerous blood-borne diseases.

Bites can provoke intense allergies, leave large red spots on the skin, itch for a long time and be painful.

Folk remedies

Fleas can be killed by cold. There is no need to do anything; the parasites will escape on their own.
Pine sawdust performs well. They can be spread under animal bedding. For fleas, the smell of pine is extremely unpleasant.
Animal wool is treated with a decoction of tansy, eucalyptus and wormwood leaves. The leaves are simply poured with boiling water and allowed to brew. The method is good for preventive purposes.
In the house, calamus or wormwood leaves are placed in corners and cabinets. In one of our previous publications, we also talked about how to use eucalyptus in the fight against fleas.
A mixture of baking soda and salt is effective. The substances are mixed in equal parts and poured onto the carpet. They wait until the morning and vacuum the lint.
You can make a preventive shampoo and wash the floor with it. To do this, add a decoction of nettle and calendula to the soap solution.
Animals can be bathed by dissolving a pack of salt in a bucket. It is necessary for the pet to be in such a “bath” for 4 minutes. Afterwards he should take a shower.

Pest Elimination

To quickly get rid of fleas in the house, you need to understand the characteristics of their reproduction. Parasites most often choose warm places for themselves. They love:

shading;
dampness;
clutter.

In such conditions, they multiply at tremendous speed, ruining the lives of not only people, but also animals. The larvae feed on decaying organic matter. So, the main task is to deprive pests of the opportunity to feed by creating unfavorable conditions for them.

To quickly remove fleas from your home, you need to:

Regularly wash the floor with a vinegar solution.
Vacuum carpets thoroughly (ideally they should be dry cleaned).
Treat furniture, floors and baseboards with Dichlorvos or similar preparations (it is important to hide the products so that toxic substances do not get on them).
Treat your pets with antiparasitic agents, which are sold in the form of sprays, shampoos and drops.
Disinfect pets' bedding and put special collars on animals.

It is necessary to prevent the spread of fleas in order to completely get rid of them.
When treating an apartment, you should not neglect the corners, the space under furniture and in closets. Clothes are washed at +90°C and ironed. Surfaces up to 1 m high can be treated with a steam generator.

If you are going to get rid of fleas, you need to remove people and pets from the house. A day after working with the insecticide, you need to ventilate your home. Typically, pest control allows you to completely remove hated insects from your home.

Folk remedies

There are many effective folk recipes with which you can poison vile parasites. Chemical compounds appeared not so long ago, but before, people also dealt with bloodsuckers.

Getting rid of fleas is also possible using home remedies. For example, you can place wormwood in the corners of the room, paying special attention to the area near the door. Insects cannot stand the smell of this plant. If they smell an unwanted aroma, they will most likely hurry away.

To get rid of fleas at home, you can make an infusion of wormwood, tansy and eucalyptus . A small part of the solution should be poured into a spray bottle and sprayed on vertical surfaces in the house, including upholstered furniture. The remaining product can be used for wet cleaning. Citrus fruits will also help repel fleas. You should place orange peels around the house, not neglecting hard-to-reach areas.

Some herbs can help fight fleas

Pyrethrum (Persian chamomile) is an ornamental flower that contains natural insecticides. This is a universal remedy for parasites, allowing you to rid your home of pests without the slightest threat to the health of its inhabitants. The infusion is prepared from dried inflorescences. You need to pour half a liter of raw material with boiling water and place it in a dark place until the broth cools down. Then the floor is washed with this infusion. It would be a good idea to bathe your pet in such a liquid.

Boric acid is no less popular. Antiseptic can be purchased at any pharmacy. The powder scatters on carpets, under mattresses, and is good for treating furniture. This remedy is harmless for humans and animals, but fleas, carrying away its particles, subsequently die.

Essential oils also help remove fleas from your apartment. It is very easy to remove parasites this way. The smell of essential oils is very pungent; it is enough to treat the surfaces just once for the pests to forget about this area for a long time. They hate the aroma of mint, cloves, and anise.

If you have pets, it is always appropriate to treat for preventive purposes.

Other methods

In winter, it is imperative to ventilate the rooms every day : parasites cannot tolerate the cold. You can also sprinkle the floor with pine needles. You should also fill your furry pet’s bed with sawdust.

In every housewife's kitchen you can find baking soda, which will successfully remove parasites. You need to mix it with salt in equal proportions. The composition is poured into a spray bottle and sprayed onto the floor. After 12 hours, the surface must be vacuumed. If necessary, the procedure is repeated.

There are simple rules for home control of fleas

If there are larvae in the fur of a cat or dog, the animal should be bathed using tar soap. You need to soap your pet and wait about 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with water. The pet's bedding is washed in a soapy solution. The composition can also be used for wet cleaning.

If there are fleas, two glasses of ammonia will help drive them out. The product is used for treating carpets and washing cat or dog rugs. A small amount of the product can also be added to the liquid where the owner will bathe the furry pet.

A mixture of crushed garlic and brewer's yeast is suitable for processing the carpet. After 10 hours, you need to vacuum the floor well. The concentrated smell will drive away parasites for a long time.

A solution of camphor alcohol and vinegar can cope with this task no less effectively. It would be a good idea to mix in a little cologne with a sweet floral aroma. This smell intoxicates the insidious bloodsuckers. The product is sprayed not only on the floor and furniture, but also on the fur of pets, from where fleas can spread to humans.

Insects cannot stand the strong smell of kerosene, so this product will also come in handy in the fight against annoying and dangerous parasites. When working with the composition, it is important to be careful, not forgetting about its flammability. Under no circumstances should matches be lit during processing. Kerosene is used infrequently, as it has another big disadvantage: the product emits a terrible smell, so when using it, wet cleaning after a day is mandatory.

If you follow these recommendations, you will be able to deal with parasites in a few weeks.

Chemical treatment

If folk remedies are not to your liking for one reason or another, you can always turn to chemistry. Among aerosols, the following compositions have proven themselves to be effective:

Raptor is a German odorless product. Its advantage over Dichlorvos is its higher efficiency. After surface treatment, you don’t have to leave your home.
Sinuzan is a professional drug with a strong unpleasant odor. The product is diluted according to the instructions and sprayed.
Raid is the most popular composition and demonstrates remarkable effectiveness. The drug is sprayed throughout the room. You can enter the room only after a few hours.
Gett is a household aerosol; a couple of cans will be enough to treat one room.

This is interesting: what kind of fleas are there?

You can find many anti-flea products in the store.
You can use products that are diluted with water. Gett gives the best results. The bottle contains 100 ml, which according to the instructions must be dissolved in 1 liter of liquid. This is quite enough to process a large room with all pieces of furniture. A product called Tsifroks contains cypermethrin. 50 ml of this powerful drug allows you to disinfect a room of 100 m2.

If you want to get rid of fleas in your apartment yourself, you can try many methods and choose the most optimal option. To prevent parasites from appearing in the house, it is necessary to take appropriate preventive measures, especially if you have furry pets, whose fur is often inhabited by dangerous bloodsuckers.

Consequences of bites

The shins and feet most often suffer from fleas. Less commonly, lesions can be seen on the hands. Blisters form at the site of the bites. Swelling may develop and turn into blisters.

Flea saliva contains a special enzyme that causes inflammation. But the reaction can also be individual. Some people tolerate bites calmly. Others experience an acute reaction, including scabies and hair loss. Ulcers may form at the site of the wounds. The situation becomes more complicated if there is an allergy to parasites. By making a bite, the flea retains the infection in its body. She can bring it to people throughout the year. Insects often wander from one donor to another. Infected parasites are dangerous. They can “reward” a person:

erysipelioid;
plague;
pseudotuberculosis;
typhus;
tularemia;
anthrax;
brucellosis.

Flea saliva contains a special enzyme that causes inflammation.

A flea can carry worms. You should get rid of it as early as possible.

What fleas can harm a person

Mostly all types of known fleas live in houses and apartments: cat, dog, human. Each of them can pose a threat:

Cat fleas: the most common parasite. They settle on animals in colonies that look like pieces of dirt. In the fur you can see excrement that looks like dark semolina. They feed on human blood by biting the skin; these areas then itch.
Dog fleas: live on both cats and horses. A person is rarely attacked unless there is a primary host. They jump much further than they see. They also bite painfully and carry infectious diseases.
Human fleas: feed on human blood, they are attracted by the smell of sweat and hair on the body. But this is only a transit point for the parasite. When the opportunity arises, they jump onto animals. The bites of these insects cause unbearable itching and possible inflammation around the wound. A person is at risk of contracting serious diseases from fleas.

There is a danger from bites, but severe consequences are extremely rare.

How to find out if there are fleas in the house

The main difference from many parasites is the absence of substances that dull the pain during skin piercing. It is impossible to confuse a flea bite with an attack by another insect or tick: a sharp, unbearable pain pierces the body. Another characteristic symptom is severe itching of the affected area, which is difficult to relieve for a long time.

In most cases, fleas bite legs and arms if a person is sitting. Small red spots appear on the body, and a small drop of blood is visible. It is difficult to catch a flea: after being bitten, the insect quickly jumps onto the floor and walls and hides in a secluded place.

READ ALSO: How to get rid of wasps on a balcony: reasons for the infestation of stinging insects, effective control methods

Why are fleas dangerous? Pests often live in basements, on the bodies of rodents, and in rooms with unsanitary conditions. Insects carry some diseases and provoke the development of bacterial and viral infections.

Biting parasites often attack some family members but leave others alone.

Why are cruciferous flea beetles dangerous for cabbage?

For the cabbage flea beetle, there is nothing tastier than the tender foliage of cabbage seedlings just placed in the garden bed. Young, immature plants are attacked by the pest and can dry out from insect damage.

The flea gnaws numerous holes on the leaf plate, depriving the plant of the ability to function normally. Damaged leaves dry out and the plant stops growing.

A flea attack on adult cabbage plants is not as dangerous as on seedlings; the cabbage will not die. But the pest is a carrier of diseases; its activity weakens the plant’s immunity and spoils the appearance of cabbage.

What fleas can harm a person

Mostly all types of known fleas live in houses and apartments: cat, dog, human. Each of them can pose a threat:

Cat fleas: the most common parasite. They settle on animals in colonies that look like pieces of dirt. In the fur you can see excrement that looks like dark semolina. They feed on human blood by biting the skin; these areas then itch.
Dog fleas: live on both cats and horses. A person is rarely attacked unless there is a primary host. They jump much further than they see. They also bite painfully and carry infectious diseases.
Human fleas: feed on human blood, they are attracted by the smell of sweat and hair on the body. But this is only a transit point for the parasite. When the opportunity arises, they jump onto animals. The bites of these insects cause unbearable itching and possible inflammation around the wound. A person is at risk of contracting serious diseases from fleas.

There is a danger from bites, but severe consequences are extremely rare.

Where do midges come from in an apartment: the main reasons

The best nutrient medium for fruit flies is spoiled and rotten fruits and vegetables. Also tempting midges are fruit or sugar-containing liquids: wine, juice, compote, beer. These insects will not ignore honey and jam.
Another potential breeding source for fruit flies is flower pots . The cause of the appearance of midges can be contaminated flower soil brought into the house, or their appearance can be provoked by excessive watering of indoor plants. A humid environment, evaporation, rotting leaves - all this attracts fruit flies like a magnet.
Midges can fly out of the hole in the sink. This happens because food debris gets stuck on the siphons, creating a favorable environment for midges to breed. .
A potential source of the appearance of small flying hosts in the house is the place where food preparations are stored for the winter. It happens that some jar explodes, but the owners do not notice it. This is only beneficial for fruit flies, especially if it is a jar of jam or compote.
A living area that is in poor sanitary and hygienic condition is an excellent haven for these small dirty tricks . An aquarium with algae and water that has not changed for a long time, dirty, uncleaned cages can become a potential source of fruit midge reproduction. The same applies to bowls that pets eat from. It is better to hide everything that is not finished in the refrigerator until the next meal.

There are times when midges fly into a house or apartment from outside. For example, in a private house, the cause of midges swarming indoors may be fruit-bearing trees on the plot. In this case, you should collect all fallen and spoiled fruits under the trees. If the situation does not change, then it is advisable to contact the Disinfection Service.

In apartments, the source of the appearance of Drosophila midges can be:

garbage chute,
ventilation shafts,
the unsanitary condition of the neighbors’ apartment,
trash containers on the street

. It is very difficult to fight here on your own, since you can only eliminate the consequences, but it is impossible to eliminate the cause. In this case, you need to install mosquito nets on the windows and use the mosquito repellent odors that we described above. Additionally, you can use camphor. It is melted in a dry frying pan until white smoke emerges. All rooms in the apartment are fumigated with this smoke; incense can be used instead of camphor; fruit flies do not like it either.

Traditional methods of fighting insects

A fairly common folk remedy for cruciferous flea flea is to treat the crops with a vinegar solution. Add a glass of vinegar of 9% concentration to 10 liters of water.

It is recommended to pollinate seedlings or seedlings using tobacco dust, wood ash, slaked lime or ground pepper. But these products only repel insects. Therefore, the procedure is repeated as often as possible, especially after watering. As a pollinator, you can take naphthalene and scatter it along the plantings (50 g per 10 m2). You can spray it with an infusion of ash.

Another method is to install glue traps. Small shields made from scrap materials are smeared with glue and laid out between the rows. Insects stick and remain trapped.

The cruciferous flea beetle really does not like watering. It is worth watering the cabbage beds more often. Fine-drip watering or simply spraying with cold water is especially good in this regard. You can add decoctions and infusions of plants that bugs especially don’t like to the water.

Preventive measures

As in the case of organ diseases, it is better to prevent infestation of premises by parasites in advance than to try to correct the situation later. If arthropods have already been eradicated from an apartment or house, it will not hurt to adhere to basic rules that will avoid the reappearance of foreign inhabitants. So, in order to prevent fleas from fleas, it is recommended:

Regularly treat animal fur with drops and sprays, purchase and change flea collars, especially if the cat or dog is often outdoors.
Check whether rodents have access to the house, basement or cellar. If rats or mice are found, treat the premises and remove the animals.
Regularly inspect basements and attics of apartment buildings to avoid mass reproduction of parasites. To eliminate fleas, use powders or liquid sprays once every 3 months, preferably in warm weather.
Inspect and thoroughly wash all clothes that a person has worn in the basement, attic, in the forest or hunting.
Treat and wash bedding, houses, and beds for pets.
Promptly carry out wet and dry cleaning of the room, wash and vacuum the cracks and baseboards so that no larvae remain there.

In any case, when carrying out treatment of the territory yourself, it is best to use proven means, the effectiveness of which has been previously proven.