Overkill is my Middle Name | Do Try This at Home: Overkill is my Middle Name

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Overkill is my Middle Name

Here's a picture of my gal holding a hairless rat at our friends Gigi & Lee's house:And here she is vacuuming near the baseboards in our apartment:She's vacuuming because she found two fleas on "that other cat you never talk about". Yes. TWO. One, two.

Because of those two fleas we also:

-Vacuumed all carpeted surfaces in the entire apartment including moving the beds

-Washed all bedding

-Vacuumed the couches and couch cushions

-Vacuumed the area rug...and then rolled it up and put it away, because what the heck? I've been wanting to see how that space looked without it anyway

-Vacuumed that little part where the baseboard meets the carpet. I never knew that part got so dirty!

-Vacuumed the bookshelf and the book spines

-Vacuumed a lamp

-I even vacuumed that grate looking thing that covers the a/c filter, 'cause who knows when I'll drag those little vacuum cleaner attachment thingies out again. Probably not until next summer break.

At any rate, there shouldn't be a single flea or flea egg anywhere in this whole apartment. I'm pretty convinced I got every last dust mite, not to mention any lone lice or scabies that might have hung onto us from the airplane blankets on our trip.

So we're like all kinds of infestation free here at our house if you feel like a visit.

Unless there might be another flea on the cat himself that is. Because the flea poison that I bought was all natural and kid friendly. So how could something that smells that good be toxic enough I ask you?!?!?!?

My gal typed up this newspaper article about it on a manual typewriter she bought with her bat mitzvah money:Just in case it's not legible, here's the translation (loosely edited for punctuation):
THE DAILY NEWS

Cats With Fleas!

In the -- household two fleas were discovered late this morning. Nimue, who the fleas were found on, quotes "meow meow meow meow!" Sugar, the cat who no fleas have been found upon replies, "No comment." "It was really gross," claims Cassie, the finder of the fleas, "but killing it by flushing it down the toilet was fun." Jared, quoting the popular song, says, "There ain't no bugs on me, there ain't no bugs on me, there may be bugs on summa you mugs but there ain't no bugs on me!" Well said Jared!

The cats will be treated later this afternoon with non toxic flea repellent and killer. The exact time is unknown. Says Jill, "I'll get to it when I get to it! We just got home. Let me rest a second!"

Breaking news! The flea repellant was just applied. Surprisingly, Nimue moaned and complained while Sugar was quiet and still. Both cats were held down by Cassie, and the goo was applied by Jill. Jared watched in awe.

Right now everything is being cleaned and washed. Later tonight the family is going to the -- house for dinner. The --s will also be attending. On the menu is pasta. The -- family hope they will still be invited in spite of the flea mishap.

That's today's news!
For the record, we were still invited to Gigi's despite the two flea infestation, which is how Cassie got to hold a hairless rat. So we had a good time. And, just because this post is five times longer than usual, I might as well leave off with these two pictures of last time we were at Gigi & Lee's:

23 comments:

Beth said...

OK, there are these pills you give your animals, they protect them from fleas and also heartworm, they are no threat to the kids and therefore, toxicity is not an issue. That said, they actually work, much unlike those healthy natural remedies that never quite do the trick. Can you say Revolution? google it, last time I checked you could even buy them right from Australia for only $5 shipping and no prescription. As for that typewriter, well, it appears Cassie has not exactly perfected lining her paper up and using white out huh? she told me last night that it would be "no problem" LOL!

Beth said...

Oh I forgot to ask why you didn't just vacuum the cats while you were at it? isn't there an attachment for that?

Unknown said...

All those vacuums have made the Universe unstable. The end is nigh! Repent ye fleas!

Jill said...

Beth - You think Petco or Petsmart have those? The kids really wanted me to vacuum the cats. The problem is, I think I would need like a beekeepers suit or something. They're both terrified of the vacuum cleaner and Sugar (googler of 666) can be really vicious.

And yeah, on the typewriter - she tends toward confidence, doesn't she?!? But in all fairness, it really ISN'T a problem for HER. It's a problem for the reader! I explained before she bought it that she really wouldn't be using it for homework because of just what you were talking about. It's still a neat thing though, for them to get to see how a manual typewriter works.

SJ - If there's a remaining flea anywhere in the house, I'll make sure he or she attends YOUR church. :-) :-) :-)

Heather said...

I would have done all that vacuuming and fumigated too! I don't find it overkill!

My Patterned Mind said...

Oh I feel for you on the fleas situation. I had to bust on my vacuum yesterday for the same reason. I also armed them (my kittens) with two new flea collars. I'm thinking about a giving them a bath with some flea killing shampoo also.

Janet said...

Holy cow...fleas, hairless rats, and snakes all in one post. :-) I remember one time (in our other house, with our other cat), our cat got fleas. We bought this 3-part stuff to treat the cat, treat the house, and treat the patio. We sprayed everywhere and everything and the fleas lived on...

Hey, thx for the note on the subscription! I replied on 2ps but in case u miss that...a friend told me about that prob last week and i fixed it. Not sure how it got set that way! But u should be able to subscribe now. I use Google Reader and it works fine on that. If not, LMK!! :-D Janet

Anonymous said...

The lesser known silver rule: There is no overkill when it comes to fleas.

Bruce Johnson said...

You do not have normal pets do you?

Lily said...

ick on the rat thing. Don't mind snakes but rodents creep me out. 'Cept for our sweet little guinea pig, of course. We did a once a year flea service 8 years ago and heaven't seena flea since. They even put nematodes in the yard

What's a typewriter????

Anonymous said...

Hey Jill...if Cassie liked the manual typewriter...she may like trying the manual vacuum I have...
No joke...it was my great grandmothers...
And why would you vacuum a lamp????

Noelia said...

I couldn't possibly or even pet those critters...ewwww Your kids look gorgeous as usual though :)

ALF said...

That is the cutest newspaper article I've ever written.

And that snake is scaring me.

Krissynae said...

Good luck with the fleas. Hopefully you got all those little suckers out of the house.

delmer said...

Your gal has a nice writing style and a good sense of humor.

What kind of snake was that? Does it eat cats?

Maureen said...

Yes, but did you Vacuum the Vacuum???

And I have to ask; the people with huge snakes also have a rat? Isn't that also considered "snake food"????

Curly Glamour Girlie said...

Firstly Cassie rocks for buying a manual typewriter. Now you need to buy her an old-timey hat with a tag that says "Press" on it. Because that's how her news article read. It sounded like a flash news report from the 40's.

Secondly, I guess you don't need to worry about anyone picking up fleas from a hairless rat, right?

Jill said...

Heather - We're twins then!!! Too bad it didn't work though - found two more. Guess we have to go for the toxic stuff.

Pattern Paper - I was hoping to avoid the flea collar thing, 'cause we always pet their necks, but I may have to go that route. :-(

Janet - Yeah, no fun! Going to try again on the subscription!

Funny Kristine!!!!

Lotus - Unfortunately for my kids, it's only in their wishes & dreams where we have exotic pets. It's my friend Gigi who's got an entire zoo.

Lily - Well that worked! I didn't really think I needed any kind of flea service, because my cats don't go outdoors. But I guess I was wrong. :-(

John - I dunno, vacuuming the lamp was over the top I guess. Just figured I'd attack any dust I could find I guess. Manual vacuum cleaner?!?!? Is that like one of those push sweeper things with the brushes on a roller that swipes up stuff? Or is there actually suction on the thing? Like a one of these things?

Thanks Noelia, Alf & Krissinae!!!!

Thanks Delmer! Ummm...it's an albino boa maybe? Can't remember. All I know is it it prefers eating the super plus tampons...KIDDING!!!!

I hadn't thought of that Maureen! They didn't mention anything about him being dinner for Sunshine, but then again I didn't think to ask.

Curly GG - Yeah we didn't have to worry about fleas from the rat, that's for certain! And yes, she'd look all kinds of cute that way! :-)

Anonymous said...

No...this vacuum is older...like this one (Second photo down)
http://www.vachunter.com/plunger.htm

Jill said...

Wow! That's a neat site! After reading some of it, I'm actually surprised the modern vacuum ever got invented - those things seem like way more trouble than they're worth!!! Let's hear it for persistence I guess...

Disa said...

i think i picked up fleas from an aeroplane seat this past week! ick.

that snake is like buddah (not the fat dude with the big belly, the "i cant believe it's not..").

Jill said...

Disa - I don't know why the airplane blankets & pillows scare me more than the seats themselves, but for some reason I always think all the lice & scabies and fleas are hanging out on the airplane blankets! Maybe that's 'cause you took the ones that were on the seat with you last week. :-0

Ingrid said...

That article is priceless! Fleas....ugh!

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