AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

FLEAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FRUSTRATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And they all start with Fuckin' F's!

Whew.......

I feel better now.

Thanks.

Brenda

That is why I'm doing the "drill"

Regular Spraying, vacuuming, pitching the bag, wearing the white flea-detector clothes, etc.

They came in from outside, I witnessed one jump on me and caught him. The yard will be power sprayed soon, I have not been using the front walk where they were, or getting in the yard since.

A handful got into my house from outside, I caught and drowned them all. I resprayed everywhere they were found at, which were only a couple places. They were all very very sick, sank quickly, not much jumping ability. TRust me, I know how the very healthy ones move, and how high they can jump. None were found or have been brought up this time from the basement. I had already pretreated my basement earlier, and had been re-treating areas in my house ever since last year. I check my feet and legs before leaving or entering any room, so as to locate any sources of them inside, so that was how I tracked the source to outside. There have been none found inside now since Feb 19th, except one that jumped on me outside when I cleaned up the seed hulls and took down the bird feeder, and snuck in on my shoe. I drowned it.

I believe I am winning the war. I need to believe that to be okay. Meanwhile, I continue to be alert, count the hatch cycle days, and keep doing "the drill."

I was venting because the "drill" is tiring, lots of work, anxiety-producing, etc. If thousands of fleas got on me, FYI, I would probably have a heart-attack and be in the hospital. One flea jumping on me triggers enough fight/flight in me to cause racing heart, panic, dehydration, nausea, the works. Hence, my intense desire to prevent an infestation, which I'm fairly sure I do not have, as there are no pets to carry them around the house, and most were found near the front door, or hallway. And this year, they do not have a foothold in the basement. No larvae were found down there anywhere, by me or the exterminator this time. Whew.

If any hatch on the hatching dates, there are multiple defenses in place, from Hartz flea spray to the exterminator's treatment, that kill eggs, larvae, and fleas. I don't know if they are newborn fleas, but most were so sick, I doubt they were able to bite anything before getting inside, and none have bitten me or John.

But the doubt is why "the drill" exists.

Brenda