Oh no, we have a major flea problem.  That is what I said a few years back when I started a renovation project on a recently purchased two unit property.  I have seen fleas before, and have had to deal with them on my cats over the years, we also have a pet agreement for tenants with cats or dogs, that requires proper flea control.

I have never really considered them a major problem until my electricians walked off the job.  They said they would not come back until I dealt with the problem.  I just figured they were exaggerating and blowing the situation out of proportion.  Maybe they had blood that attracted fleas.

Well, I have to admit, I had to eat crow.  My handyman / painter met me at the property to investigate.  We put on white painter coveralls and entered the property.

The property was completely vacant, no furniture, carpets, or curtains.  We were only in the house for a few minutes when fleas started appearing all over our white coveralls.  It was like we were being attacked.  I quickly realized our electricians were not exaggerating about the flea situation.

At that point our handyman / painter said you are on your own, he did not want to bring fleas home.  I was left alone to figure out a solution.  I made a few calls to some experienced ears and found out the best way to deal with the situation was with flea bombs.

A flea bomb is a can that you set in the middle of the room, press a button and run.  It fills the room and kills the fleas.  The problem is, since there were likely un-hatched eggs, I had to come back a couple of days later and do it again.

This method of extermination worked very well, I completed the process twice to make sure we got them all.  It took about four days, but we seemed to eliminate all the fleas.

We managed to get our electricians, and handyman / painter back on site, and finished the project.

If you do not want to handle the fleas on your own, an exterminator can be a great solution.  We have used our local exterminator for various problems at properties over the years.  If you can name a problem, your local exterminator likely has a solution.   If you are in my area I want to recommend Truly Nolen Pest Control , they also have locations throughout Canada and the USA.

If you do handle it on your own, make sure to use the proper safety equipment.

Until next time,

Design your landlord experience,

Michael P Currie

Landlord by Design

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Photo Credit Goes to Nancy Guth