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Calling all homeowners - have some questions
delalluvia:
Urgh.
Another downside to living where stray/wandering/feral cats have kittens in my car....(see my other thread for that).
Fleas.
For the first time in their lives, my cats have fleas. One - when she was sick last week - I had the vet treat. Now the other one has them. But she's not sick, so I don't have the time to take her to vet until her appointment on June 12th which by then, a whole new generation of fleas will be living in the house with us and reproducing.
I have hardwood floors and a few area rugs, fabric furniture and bedding.
How the heck do I get rid of fleas in the house?
Mandy21:
Del, that's so funny about your new neighbors popping by. I'm guessing they're probably older folks? I had the same problem when I moved in here 17 years ago. Trick is to buy thick shades for your front windows by the door, and then don't answer the doorbell a time or two, and they'll get the message. Right now, they're probably just trying to make you feel like you're part of the neighborhood. I love the story about the differences in your taste in art vs. your mom's. That by itself just might be enough to scare them off for good. :o However, don't discount them cause you'll need them someday to pick up your mail and papers, etc. if you go travelling. And if you make friends with older neighbors, they're usually busybodies who stare out their windows all day, and will alert you if anything goes wrong with your house. You might want to exchange phone numbers with one or two of them, just in case.
Fleas in a house can usually be killed with something they call a bug bomb, which you can get at a hardware store; they're usually sold in packs of four cause you have to set them off in each room. I used to have two cats years ago, and they got fleas off of a stray dog that I only took in for a day before its owner claimed it back. Before I knew it, those dadgummed things were flying around everywhere in my house. But you and the animals will have to leave the house while it's going off, and for several hours after when it's settling and doing its job. Read the instructions carefully regarding putting foodstuffs/dishware away, etc. There's absolutely no point in doing this, though, while one of the cats is untreated. And of course the other cat is going to need retreating at the same time. Fleas are amazing creatures that can jump for miles in terms of their size, so they're probably all over the treated cat already. I'd recommend you find another vet who can take care of both of them toot sweet, before the problem gets any worse. Then put all the bedding and rugs, etc. into the washing machine on HOT, and set off the bug bombs in every room before the cats go back in, and get all of you out of there for a couple hours. Even after having done all this, you might have to do it a second time, so keep a watchful eye for the problem to reemerge.
Hardware stores and handymen are priceless if you find good ones. I understand your inclination to use "professional contractors", and the reasons why you think you cannot trust handymen, but think about it -- even a contractor, no matter how professional, can take all that info about you and use it against you or tell a friend about you, etc. Handymen cost about 1/3 of what you'd pay a big company. It won't hurt to meet with a couple of them and decide whether or not you trust them. I've got an awesome guy who does exactly what he says he's going to do, is incredibly conscientious, is easy to talk to while he's doing the work, etc., and I trust him completely. I got lucky on my first time out, and he's never disappointed me. From the very first handshake, I knew I'd made the right choice.
I'm sure this is very intimidating for you, but keep in mind that for every problem, there IS a solution out there. It's YOUR HOME now. Make it yours. All the best, girl!
dejavu:
All good advice. I'd just like to add that I'm completely unhandy, so when I had to repair two of my mother's window screens, I asked at the local hardware store. A different hardware store where I used to live used to offer screen repair for a service, but this one doesn't. However, they did have an employee who did screen repair on the side, and referred me to him -- the store took in the screens, and he worked on them elsewhere and brought them back, and then I had to pay cash to (for) him when I picked up the screens (the store wouldn't accept credit card charge since the work wasn't on their books). He did a good job, and I never could have done it myself.
Also, about heaps of trash...it all depends on your city/municipality/etc. Where I live, they will take almost anything at the curb, except you have to call for "big pickup" if you put out a sofa so they can send a different truck. However, where my mom lives, they recently changed the procedure. They will still take "big pickup" items, but for regular trash, they won't take anything that isn't in the large green trash cans on rollers with attached lids. The city sells those trash cans; my mom had to buy a third one when they changed to this new way of doing business. You can no longer put out loose trash bags by the curb. But I think her city is unusually picky, so check your own city's rules and regulations for trash.
Mandy21:
Oh, come on girls, window screens are so easy to fix. Deb, if you can learn to play pool, you can fix a messed-up window screen. It's quite satisfying to do something for yourself at times, rather than paying for someone else to do it. I guess I must have grown up handy by nature cause I was always down in the basement wood shop with my dad. I was always more fascinated to learn how to hammer and saw and screw and rivet and paint, than I ever was about that whole "women are supposed to do the cooking and cleaning" stereotype. As it turns out, I still did manage to figure out how to cook and clean in an acceptable, but most certainly not impressive, fashion, but I can hammer and saw and screw and rivet and paint like a pro. And I'm quite proud of that.
Don't underestimate your abilities, ladies.
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: Mandy21 on May 31, 2010, 05:59:35 pm ---Oh, come on girls, window screens are so easy to fix. Deb, if you can learn to play pool, you can fix a messed-up window screen. It's quite satisfying to do something for yourself at times, rather than paying for someone else to do it. I guess I must have grown up handy by nature cause I was always down in the basement wood shop with my dad. I was always more fascinated to learn how to hammer and saw and screw and rivet and paint, than I ever was about that whole "women are supposed to do the cooking and cleaning" stereotype. As it turns out, I still did manage to figure out how to cook and clean in an acceptable, but most certainly not impressive, fashion, but I can hammer and saw and screw and rivet and paint like a pro. And I'm quite proud of that.
Don't underestimate your abilities, ladies.
--- End quote ---
It's not that I don't think I can't do it, I'd just rather not. I can change my own spark plugs, wires and rotar, I can change my own oil, I can change my own filters on my cars. i can mow my own lawn. I just don't want to. It messes up my manicure, I have outdoor allergies and a HUGE aversion to getting bitten by bugs and working out in 100 degree weather in 90% humidity. I feel my time is more valuable doing things I like rather than doing things I don't care to. And of course, my efforts at repair will look amateurish compared to someone who does it for a living. Why do something I know will come across half-assed?
And sure enough, one of my scary neighbors dropped by. Uninvited and unannounced. He'd seen my bike chained to the porch railing and asked,
"Hey what are you going to do with the bike?"
I can't imagine he thought it was my mother's bike. She'd been on oxygen therapy 24/7/365 for half-dozen years.
I replied, "Keep it. It's mine."
"Oh, do you have a spare tube?"
"No." Do I look like a bike repair shop? If my bike has trouble, I take it to a bike shop. Again, my aversion to doing something half-assed when there are professionals to do it. ;D
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