[wifey8809]

We have fleas in our house and we have a 17 month old daughter and we bombed the house last weekend but it didn't do anything. We have never had a pet or animal in the apartment. The house we live in is over 200 years old and we didn't have this problem last year, but in the walls, there are birds and other creatures is it possible that the fleas came from the animals that live in the walls? And is borax powder safe to use? We used Flea bombs/foggers that covered 4,000 cubic feet... our apartment is only 700-800 square feet. I'm just kind of at a loss of what to do. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

[Catsmine]

They probably did get in from the animals nesting in or under the house. Possibly a few on pants legs that laid eggs. You started well, but you need follow through.

Flea Biology 101 - Fleas pupate inside a cocoon just like a moth or butterfly. They do not leave that protected cocoon until it's time to get the blood meal they need to breed and lay eggs. Bombs, sprays, powders, etc. cannot penetrate those cocoons. You need to get the flea to hatch itself out so it can be affected by the pesticide.

Research has shown that there are three main factors in getting the adult flea to hatch out: temperature, humidity, and the vibration or pressure from a potential blood source passing by. As far as temperature and humidity go, guess who likes the same things we do? Yep.

Setting up vibrations in your carpets and rugs can best be accomplished by the beater brush on your vacuum cleaner. The vacuum also sucks up eggs, some of the larvae, and the dirt the larvae feed on.

To keep the ones you vacuum up from surviving, the flea powders for carpets help in a couple of ways: killing fleas and showing you spots that need more vaccuming.

Keep in mind that every couple of days more pupae inside their cocoons will reach maturity, so vaccuming once won't do. Fleas spend an average of two weeks in the pupal stage, so vaccuming daily for at least that long is essential.

Sorry about the book length answer, but if you know why you're doing something you can do it better.

Summary:

Keep the animal treated. With neighbor animals you MUST keep it up.
Treat the home with a product to kill adults and a growth regulator to inhibit maturation.
Sprinkle flea powder liberally on the floors after the spray/bomb has dried.
Vacuum, Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum (14 times) every day for at least two weeks, maybe three.