Flea Problem

[Katherine Rossell]

Yesterday I was talking with my tenant and he said that he was getting attacked by fleas. In conversation he explained that the fleas must have stayed in eggs in the house before he moved in because before he lived there the owners of the duplex had dogs. While we were standing outside several fleas jumped up on my leg. This duplex sat for two Vermont winters with no heat. I am pretty sure that all fleas and their eggs would be killed in that temperature. Please let me know if I am wrong. We allowed him and his two roommates to move in with one cat. They asked if they could have a dog and we said no. Recently I have had the suspicion that they moved a dog into the house anyway. I have heard it barking while I am working on the house and I stepped in dog ****. 

My biggest concern is that we have a great tenant who lives above him with no animals and I do not want her house to get infested with fleas. My lease doesn't say anything about fleas, it just says that they are responsible for keeping the house clean. Can I tell him that he can choose to flea bomb the house and spray the outside or we can do it and he has to reimburse us for the money? 

I am also going to tell him that the dog has to go. I don't want the animals to continue to bring fleas into the house.