Can you vacum the room that had ticks and fleas in it?

Thats what a customers asked me to do today. She apparently traveled and brought home fleas and ticks in her suit case. The room has had a couple of treatments of pesticide and she is not supposed to get that room wet for  a couple of months.

She didn't want that room cleaned just vacuumed. I refused, I told her I didn't want to transfer that to my vac. I asked her to wait until it was OK to clean all the areas but she wanted the other rooms cleaned. She claims the other rooms were not infected.

Am I just being paranoid? What would you have done? Im sure we clean placed that have fleas and ticks they just don;t tell us about it.

1st thing I think when I read that is it's a PITA customer, and I'd probably avoid also.

I was thinking about that same subject today due to a house my pastor friend has the opportunity to use for a mens home. He said the thing is infested with fleas. I told him to exterminate under the house in the crawl space and under pad and who whole grounds. Start fresh but if the carpets are in good shape well have to make sure everything is exterminated. Dog fleas are different then cat fleas they like to stay on you, and the question I havnt studied yet is what about head lice. Major issues.

I made the mistake of scheduling this job. We'll see how it goes Im getting the itchies already

NO-NO-NO-NO!

The ticks aren't going to be a problem, but fleas sure will be. There is no way that the fleas are contained to just certain rooms...they don't 0perate like that. If there are fleas infested in one room, they are in every room.

They don't want to vacuum or wet clean those carpets and upholstery as it will remove the pesticide powder used to kill the fleas in the fist place. It can take months to kill off fleas completely, wait until they are done, then wet clean everything.

IF you want to help them, suggest an Ozone shock treatment. That will help kill off the adult fleas and ticks in a faster fashion.

This is a time for a good up-sell...."ozone shock treatment". Dress out in full tyvek suit and shock the house with ozone. Easy work and good money to be had. Just don't track anything into your home.

Before someone asks, this is but one source....but I like using them.

http://maxblasterusa.com/

Thanks Rob I just called and cancelled. He said they would just call someone else. My itchies are gone now.

I feel bad for the "someone else"....fleas can drive you mad.

milspec6 wrote:Before someone asks, this is but one source....but I like using them.

http://maxblasterusa.com/

Very cool..........Thanks for the info!!

milspec6 wrote:Before someone asks, this is but one source....but I like using them.

http://maxblasterusa.com/

Pricing is reasonable for those 02 generators.

^I can see it paying for itself on the first job!!

I think I'll be getting one soon.

Rob, when you said "you like using them", do you use them at pet odor homes always or when they pay extra for them ? If they pay extra, would you mind sharing how much you charge for them ? In PM is fine too if you don't want to share here, also which one did you buy ? The highest output one ?

I thought it would be more expensive than a fogger

I get a lot of usage out of these machines, auto interiors, smoke odors, etc. I normally charge them by the hour as each situation will be slightly different.

You really don't need the most powerful version, it just reaches the shock levels faster and can cover more area. I generally use one for each level of the house....takes just a couple of hours usually.

The real estate agents are my best customers for this service and often ask for it with each listing. On average, it is another $100 - $300 per home listing.....$25 per auto interior.

They pay for themselves pretty fast.

Mo wrote:I thought it would be more expensive than a fogger

They can be in the thousands depending on the brand, but ozone is ozone and you just need a machine that can get you shock levels. You don't need to spend hundreds on a built-in timer (my watch works just fine).

Keep it simple and save some cash.

milspec6 wrote:I get a lot of usage out of these machines, auto interiors, smoke odors, etc.  I normally charge them by the hour as each situation will be slightly different.

You really don't need the most powerful version, it just reaches the shock levels faster and can cover more area.  I generally use one for each level of the house....takes just a couple of hours usually.

The real estate agents are my best customers for this service and often ask for it with each listing.  On average, it is another $100 - $300 per home listing.....$25 per auto interior.

They pay for themselves pretty fast.

That sounds like a sweet deal, providing this type service.

Which models do you use?

Thanks again, Rob!!

4 reasons why u shouldnt mess with it

shell prob just show you to the room in question instead of the "other rooms" she wants cleaned hoping youll just rinse out pesticide and bugs

she can vacuum herself just fine

she might be lying and its actually bed bugs which are more "contagious" and very hard to get rid of

and shes a red flag

Funny thing about bed bugs, they still need oxygen. Shock treatments of ozone has been used to kill off bed bugs. It hasn't been shown to be 100% effective, but I have seen reports of a 60% decline....not bad for a set it and forget it device.

Still wouldn't take the flea job unless it was a friend or a big check was involved.