Hi all,
This sounds completely unreal, but I’m honestly freaked out. Over the past two days, I’ve noticed what look exactly like fleas hopping around my bathtub, and they seem to be coming straight from the drain.
We don’t have pets, and I’ve never dealt with fleas before, which is why this is so confusing. The bathroom is clean, and there’s no standing water. I tried flushing the drain with hot water, but they showed up again the next day.
Has anyone experienced something like this? Are fleas actually able to come up through drains, or am I misidentifying something else entirely?
Fleas don’t live in drains, so if they’re really coming from there, it might be another insect that just looks similar.
If you’re in an apartment, pests can travel through shared plumbing or wall voids. They don’t necessarily live in the drain itself.
I had something similar and it turned out to be springtails, not fleas. They jump and freak people out, but they’re moisture-related.
@DrainSidePanic Drains are more like highways than homes for bugs. They usually come from somewhere else and just appear there.
You don’t need pets to get fleas. They can hitch a ride on clothing or come from a previous tenant.
Check for leaks under the tub or behind the wall. Damp areas nearby can attract all kinds of insects that end up near the drain.
@SeenItOnce That was my first thought too. Fleas are usually harder to spot unless there’s an animal host around.
If they were fleas, you’d probably notice bites by now. That might help narrow it down.
Older plumbing systems especially can allow bugs to move between units without you realizing it.
I’d try to catch one and get a proper ID before panicking. A lot of bugs jump, but very few are actually fleas.