Why do I have fleas if I don't have pets?
Fleas can infest a home left vacant during a vacation by hatching from dormant pupa left behind by previous occupants or carried inside by wildlife. Dealing with the infestation requires continuous, relentless vacuuming and active treatment to break the life cycle, though it leaves people overwhelmed and exhausted by the daily routine.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using flea bombs
- 2Vacuuming frequently and washing laundry on high heat
- 3Spraying Adam's flea and tick home spray on carpets and mattresses
- 4Vacuuming every day
- 5Washing all clothes and items
- 6Applying borax and diatomaceous earth on floors and furniture
- 7Using flea sprays
- 8Contacting the landlord to send an exterminator
- 9spending money on professional pest control services
- 10trying every commercial product available on the market
- 11Giving flea baths with pet shampoo
- 12Daily combing
- 13Sprinkling salt or diatomaceous earth on carpeting
- 14Washing bedding and vacuuming
- 15giving cats dawn dish soap baths
- 16combing pets regularly
- 17spraying carpets and furniture with flea sprays
- 18vacuuming religiously every day
- 19washing bedding frequently on the hottest wash and dry setting
- 20using specialized topical treatments and premise sprays
- 21Spraying vinegar and dish soap mixture
- 22Using food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) on carpets, rugs, and furniture
- 23Administering flea treatment to pets
- 24Sweeping carpets and rugs instead of using a washing machine
- 25vacuuming every other day
- 26steaming furniture and mattresses
- 27washing and drying items on max heat
- 28setting lamp and glue traps
- 29applied Frontline to our dog and cat
- 30vacuumed (emptied the bag outside)
- 31sprayed the house with wondercide spray
- 32used dawn soap on my dog
- 33spoken with my landlord
- 34Putting textiles into plastic bags to wash at 60 degrees
- 35Drying items out in the sun
- 36Vacuuming everything possible, especially the bed
- 37Using food-grade DE across the space, leaving it for several days, and cleaning it up
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“So my two cats are both indoor only, and just now as I was laying in bed I noticed a flea jumping next to me”source ↗
“Should I also give my other cat a bath even though he has absolutely no visible fleas ?”source ↗
“So just 2 days ago I signed a lease and moved into an apartment and have been NON STOP assaulted by fleas for the past two nights but only seen like 4, im taking pictures of the bites and fleas I catch but idk what to do it seems like early stage infestation, I have no carpets/rugs and no pets, live alone nobody has come over yet, need recommendations for anything to help kill them for now as im allergic and its miserable, All Ive said to landlord is asking if any of the other/past tenants have had pets here to no response please help, do I ask my landlord for an exterminator?”source ↗
“We have tried EVERYTHING to get rid of these things. Nothing and I mean NOTHING has worked, even after spending $300 on pest control.”source ↗
“Yes I’ve tried every product on the market.”source ↗
“The worse issue so far are the fleas.”source ↗
“My question is, will it be safe for my newborn after it dries?”source ↗
“I feel so hopeless with this entire thing.”source ↗
“Hi. Came back from a month long vacation and woke up with bites. didn’t realize what it was until a week later when i started seeing the fleas. but i have no pets!!!”source ↗
“I literally can’t live like this,, does anybody have any advice on what worked for them.”source ↗
“My question here is how much longer do I keep vacuuming? Also is there anything else that I should be doing?”source ↗
“I've spent so much money on flea treatments and they're still active in my house!!”source ↗
“However, with all of this, I do not own a washer or dryer, and I have no coins to take to the laundromat. Is there anyway I can get rid of the fleas without a washer and dryer?”source ↗
“I’m mostly worried about not being able to wash bedding and stuff bc my mother in law was letting us wash our at her house and now she says we can’t”source ↗
“About 10 days ago ago, my husband and I started noticing getting bit by fleas at home. We don't have pets, and haven't had a pet over in months.”source ↗
“Do we need to do more than what we're doing? Since there isn't a suitable host around, could we expect them to just die off on their over the next couple weeks?”source ↗
“Yesterday night I found a bunch of fleas crawling on me.”source ↗
“I have no pets in the house, nor have there ever been pets in there for the last 6 or 7 years, though we do have dogs in the office or maybe I picked them up outside in the garden?”source ↗
“How worried do I have to be about eggs or could they just have been hitchhikers?”source ↗
“I think I found around 10+ fleas around the house and myself. I am genuinely shocked how I didn't notice anything.”source ↗
“This is making me anxious and I spend the entire night cleaning the house”source ↗
“I moved into a new apartment w my girlfriend and cat in April and it was FLEA INFESTED.”source ↗
“The biggest issue with this was that I figured out I am allergic to the bites and they ONLY bit me.”source ↗
“I have scars all over my body but my legs are the worst.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How to get rid of ants safely with pets and kids around
- 2How to safely remove a tick from a kitten without leaving the head behind
- 8How to get animals out of the attic without sealing them inside
- 8Cat getting poop stuck in long fur around back end
- 5How to get chalk paint out of a cat's fur
- 3How to get rid of ticks in the yard naturally