All summer long, while Bailey the Rabbit retreated from the heat into the basement and tried to chill, he began suffering from a growing flea problem. I could see the growing problem of the fleas and their larvae, but Bailey's reticence when dealing with people prevented quick action.
Eventually, in September, Bailey's reticence broke, and he began allowing people to touch and pet him, but it was still difficult to effectively put flea powder and flea medication on him.
Early in October, I noticed that the number of fleas was increasing. Then, I left Sacramento, and traveled to New Mexico and Arizona for ten days....
While in New Mexico, I received a voice mail from E. It went something like this:
MMMMMMAAAAAAARRRRRCCCCCCC! The fleas! They are jumping! I went into the basement, and they are crawling on all my clothes! They are on my socks! They are on my pants! They are in my hair! Bailey panicked too! Bailey ran out of the basement. He's in the yard now. MMMMMMAAAAAAARRRRRCCCCCCC! It's crazy! MMMMMMAAAAAAARRRRRCCCCCCC! MMMMMMAAAAAAARRRRRCCCCCCC!Typical E. overreaction, I thought.
When I returned from New Mexico, E. wasn't at the house, so I went into the basement, late at night, to assess the problem on my own. In the darkness of the basement, it was hard to see the fleas, but in the quiet, I could clearly hear the fleas jumping - everywhere! Needless to say, I was instantly covered, head to toe, with fleas. It was also clear that, when it came to matters of pestilence, E., if anything, was a master of understatement.
What to do with a population explosion of fleas (or whatever these bugs are)? And not just the bugs either, but their crawling larvae? The crawlers are worse than the hoppers. I endeavored to treat Bailey more thoroughly with powders, sprays, and medication.
Bugs started showing up on my body when I was at work, or elsewhere in society, threatening my exalted status as a functioning member of society with instant humiliation. Whether people knew it or not, I was a vector for disease. My legs were getting pocked with bites. Not just my legs either. Typhoid Mary of the Sacramento Valley!
So, I had to take showers more frequently, but the bugs often showed up in the house anyway, lurking in my bed, feasting on my blood at night, and jumping on my body in the day, especially while I was naked while preparing to shower.
I tried to stay out of the basement, hoping that the flea numbers would eventually drop because of a lack of mammalian blood down there, but that effort proved futile. There were nearly as many bugs there as before. I don't know how they survive - maybe there are enough traumatized mice down there to support an army of vampires - but whatever the mechanism, the bugs continued to thrive.
So, more action was required. I set off a bug fogger bomb (featuring pyrethrins, today's bug poison of choice), and left home for a few hours.
Over the next two weeks, the problem improved, but there were still quite a few bugs left anyway. I decided to release two more bug fogger bombs, but then realized there was a problem. The furnace and the hot water heater, which both feature ignition points, are also in the basement. Probably it was only by chance the house didn't explode in a fireball when I used the first bug fogger bomb. I'd better not use more.
So, this weekend, I tried more cleanup. I did more vacuuming than I ever have before of the dirt areas, even vacuuming loose, bare dirt, particularly in those areas where Bailey used to frequent. Still, the basement is too large to get it all, but at least it might help. Then I laid down pyrethrin sprays. Once again, the basement is too large, but maybe it will help. From the distance of the garage, Bailey watched (and hopefully approved). And I had to be careful to shower up afterwards too.
I hope this problem can eventually be corralled. I don't want to die of weird diseases, like hantavirus, or whatever else the local wildlife supports these days.
Forgive me: I know it's just psychosomatic, but I itch just everywhere right now!
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