Help! Fleas!!!!

Oh, it's not always the four-legged animals that bring in the fleas! We have been working a month now to get rid of fleas in our house, and our cats are indoors, never go out pets. So yes, your house could very well have fleas, sorry. Look for tiny black specks, which are flea droppings. The eggs are pretty much invisible to the naked eye, as are the wormlike larvae. They attach to carpet fibers, so are hard to vacuum away. The larvae feed on the droppings. One adult flea can lay one egg an hour. Ick, I know, I have learned TOO MUCH about fleas this past month! Wash everything that came home with your daughter, and look for those droppings. I sincerely hope all she brought back was the bites. BTW, Preparation H works on bug bite itches and takes down any swelling. I have more luck with that than anything else.
Good luck!!!!

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Just vacuum and empty the vacuum outside. Also, wash all bedding in hot water. I would also wipe down the pack and play with something (maybe a bleach/water solution?) I've read that people bring in fleas just as much as pets. Let your MIL know that she needs to take care of the problem. Advantage flea prevention works great on pets. You can get it at the vet's office or 1800petmeds.com. Good luck.

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Relax ! It's a nasty problem, but nothing to get too worked up over.
First, for her bites .... use the same topical product you used on her teething gums. Baby Oragel, or Numzit, or whatever you use. It numbs the itch on contact to keep her comfortable. Beyond the itch, the bites won't harm her, and they'll go away soon.
Next ... Yes, they can "follow" you home and into your car. Call your vet for suggestions for a premise (home) spray for the car, or just go to a pet store and look through what they have. There are a lot of good products out there.) As another mom said, wash down everything that came home with her, though it's not necessary to disinfect things. Simply washing is good enough.
After that, vaccuum often. Our vet told us the number one best thing you can do to get rid of fleas is vaccuum your floors and upholstery at least once per day.
Now ........ relax ! Even homes without pets get fleas in the house, but you rarely notice them because for one thing, they have to have a warm blooded host to feed on. No food, no fleas. They really don't prefer human meals, so can't thrive without a pet in the home. And a person who vaccuums often is way ahead of the game as far as keeping them under control. You have probably had a flea or two in your home long before this, but never noticed due to these reasons.
The hard part will be getting your MIL to treat her house. I gaurentee this is not news to her, so if she has not treated her home and pets for fleas before now she is not likely to. I agree with the mom who said to go through your husband first, that may solve the problem if he lovingly tells her that the baby can't visit her again until they have those fleas under control. Some people are more bothered by fleas than most people, and your child seems to be one of them.
If she still won't treat, then you will have to be firm and not allow the baby over there. Also, vaccuum immediately after every visit to your home. You could then spray with a good premise spray, but personally I don't like the use of chemicals that much, and it really shouldn't be necessary if you vaccuumed well(Oh, also, you don't have to worry about changing the vaccuum bag EVERY time you use it. That could get expensive ! It would be the rare flea that could find his way all the way back through the hose, etc, to jump out of the vaccuum and terrorize your home a second time !)

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I am so sorry the fleas bit your child. Any flea that bites a human dies. Our blood is deady to fleas. But the bites still itch. Go see the dr.if you are concerned. Your child may need some no itch cream.
Yes the pack-n-play can have flea eggs in it. Wash it with really hot water.

Yes to all your questions. Fleas can jump over 6 feet, and they enter the house by any carrier available: pets and humans. White clothing, socks, and sneakers excite and invite them right into the living room where they remain unseen and happily reproducing without your ever knowing until the problem is advanced.

The base I lived on when I was younger had a really bad flea problem and since we had inside/outside dogs it was hard to get rid of. First thing we did was make the dog outside only. But once we got it under control we could bring them in every once in a while and never got them again. Our secret weapon was Eucalyptus. I remember using eucalyptus oil to clean everything with. We put some in the washer with our clothes and put it in the carpet clean. After that we always had a little plant in the house and we never got them again.

So my suggestion would be to get plant put a couple leaves in her diaper bag and under the mat of the pack in play. I would also have a plant at your house just to be on the safe side.

About the flea bits unless they look nasty she should be fine. But if you are worried about it call your doctor and see if they are concerned enough to have you come in. Otherwise I remember getting bit and I was fine.

are you sure they are flea bites. If so tell your mother in-law that frontline that you buy from a vet is the best she can use on her dog or cat. If there house is that infested with fleas they will need to treat it. I use to work for a vet and you can buy products at any vet. I would buy them from a vet and not at places like walmart or such. The flea drops that you buy from a store have been known to some pets to have a reaction and worse case the pet could die from. If she does not want to treat the problem then I would not let your daughter go there.

Be careful what you use. Make sure it is safe for your child. Wash all fabrics that were over there, add clorox to the laundry. Other than that, you should be okay. Clean the play n pak thorougly. Don't go overboard with chemicals - too many people do this and poison their kids. Call a local poison control center to get advice on what to use.

Your poor daughter!!!!
I am one of those people that *everything* likes to eat, fleas, mosquitos, spiders, etc. And when it comes to flea bites I tend to have a mild reaction to them which makes all touch painful, especially when I try to scratch them when they itch. I feel so bad for your little girl.
You're definitely more calm than I would be, I would be ... livid ... if my kid came home with bug bites all over their body from a sleep over, especially one so young. When a mosquito bites my son he doesn't seem to know to scratch it (at 15 months), so I'm sure she's miserable if it doesn't occur to scratch them, and even if she does that probably doesn't feel too good either. If they noticed the bites did they apologize or say they're going to do something about it? If not I'm with the rest of the crowd in having hubby talk to them about it. I would *not* let her back in their house until they had a professional spray.
As far as the doctor thing goes... I wouldn't take her unless you're seeing something that makes you really worry (rash, the bumps look really irritated, the number of bites is appalling, she has a fever, or you're not really sure the bites are fleas).
And the OP are right about the fleas hitchhiking, definitely vacuum every thing and empty out your bag immediately. I'm not convinced washing things will get rid of live fleas or eggs without pesticide measures.

Yes, they could be in your car. My sister had a vaccuum that belonged to a friend in her car and the vaccuum had flees in it. They spread all in her car. It was terrible. I have heard that if you set out a pan of hot water, they jump in it. They are attracted to heat, so they jump in the warm water and can't get out. Otherwise, it would help to use spray.

Yes, they could very well be living in the pack-N-play, your car and the clothes she had on. You must treat your house and your car immediately with something safe or treat it while you and your daughter are gone one day. Tell them(in-laws) that they must treat for them or better yet, take them whatever you treat your house with. The smart thing would be to let your husband take it over so a feud doesn't begin. I would insist since flea bites can make your daughter sick plus the bites could get infected.

Good luck,
D.

OMG. We are fighting the battle. We had to treat our yard. We have had pro come to spray, we've bombed. still fleas. yes they can follow you home. we have had to treat our car too. yes treat your pack n play. or just leave it there. it is awful. if they dont start now they will be infest. even tho it sounds like they are worse than we are. I have never seen flea bites on any of my kids or myself or DH. so they have them bad. we dont even have carpet or a couch. Yikes for them. she needs to stay off the floor. which is hard for a 17 mos. sorry I really cant help. except to treat treat treat NOW. your daughter may be allergic to the flea bite maybe thats why you see the mark. IDK. good luck.

Tell your MIL to call an exterminator. They can rid her house of the fleas. To prevent reinfestation, she needs to treat her pets monthly. I use Revolution on my cats, which also rids the animal of other parasites. And have your husband tell his mother that you will not be returning to her home until she has taken all these measures to prevent this from happening again. I've had plenty of flea bites in my life from infestations at my own home and at one of our rental properties. They're annoying, but I've never had any serious issues develop because of the bites. I would be concerned about your daughter possibly having parasites now, though. I don't know how conventional doctors would treat that. My alternative doctor treated the parasites I got from fleas with a homeopathic remedy.

I didn't see anyone say this yet, but it doesn't sound like flea bites. It sounds like bed bug bites instead -- especially if she woke up with them.

They are hard to get rid of. There might be more modern ways of exterminating now, but you used to have to have your house bombed. Leave for a while and have the exterminator have a slow spreading spray, much like a smoke bomb permiate the house. I think I would take the baby to the Dr. and I wouldn't bring in the pack and play until it is sprayed or washed down real well

You should be concerned and they should be concerned too. Take her to the doctor just to put your own mind at ease and to find a treatment for the bites. Yes, they are living in the pack-n-play in your car and everywhere...get them under control quickly.

HOnestly, You might want to have your hubby talk to her first. If that does no good, then tell her until she can gt it controlled and taken care of, your child will no t be having any over nighters. You have to think of your child, not your mother in law's feelings. She should understand, she 's a mother too.

put some campho phenique on her flea bites. It will help dry them up and also keeps them from itching. This also works for mosquito bites. I would vacuum the pack and play and wash it and make sure you empty the vacuum cleaner so they don't crawl back out into your carpet. Fleas are a pain. Maybe buy some frontline to put on your parents animals. It really does work and so far is the best product out there to keep fleas off the animals. As for getting them out of the carpets, they need to vacuum and use the flea powder stuff you put on carpets and furniture. There are probably some other suggestions on here but I didn't read through them.