The great flea kill (June 9--present, 2023)

This is what happens when you switch from effective flea drops on the neck (which the cats don't like) to flea collars that allegedly last six months. You end up with a flea infestation! We packed up all the carpets, a lot of pillows and cushions, etc. and put them in the greenhouse with the door shut. Fleas can't live above 132 degrees. The greenhouse gets up to 160 degrees. Die, fleas, die! We aren't bringing anything back inside until August, after the Costa Rica trip.

All bedding, curtains, towels, etc. were washed in hot water and dried on the hottest setting in hopes of killing whatever eggs/larvae/pupae/adults were there.

We're spraying each room and mattresses daily with Vet's Best, a plant-based product that is harmless to humans and pets but hopefully not harmless to fleas. A lot of great reviews on Amazon. 

We're vacuuming daily and throwing the bags into the outside trash can. We've also set flea traps not so much to catch fleas but to see if any fleas are left. As of the end of June we were still catching them. Tom catches them daily by wearing white socks through the house. They hop aboard, thinking the socks are a host. Tom's been dropping them into a bottle of rubbing alcohol. July Fourth was the first day we counted no fleas in the house. Happy Independence Day! But the vigilance continues until we are sure all eggs have hatched. Meantime, the cats are quarantined outdoors or in the sunroom.