Quick! We Must Flea!
Four South Bend, Indiana police officers investigating a burglary got a nasty surprise. No, they didn't get into an altercation with the burglar of anything like that. But they had to flee the building when the fleas attacked.
The tiny, biting attackers were so overwhelming that the South Bend patrolmen had to be decontaminated and ended up being sent home early from their shifts.
"They were all over the place — in our socks and even in our shorts. It was disgusting," said Cpl. Ken Stuart.
To avoid infesting their squad cars, the police station or relatives, Stuart, Cpl. Chris Slager and Patrolman Paul Strabavy endured a lengthy flea decontamination process.
A van took them back to the station, where the men showered with flea/lice shampoo and soap. A wife of one of the officers brought them spare clothes.
Everyone shudder! I can actually attest to how disgusting this is. Way back in the day when I was reading meters, I had the misfortune to read the meters in a house where the humans kept a very large herd of cats. The smell was bad, but the scores of fleas running up my legs were worse. I was out in a rural area at the time and had to finish the route. So I went to a nearby store and bought a can of Deepwoods Off and sprayed the living heck out of myself. When I got home I showered until my skin was raw. My skin was still crawling for days afterward, though. It's a creepy feeling.
By reliapundit, Friday, 19 October , 2007 @ 4:55 pm
love the new look
By Callimachus, Friday, 19 October , 2007 @ 9:46 pm
You were a meter-reader, too? Damn, that’s eerie. My books were mostly in the cities or inner suburbs. But there always was That House. I picked up the trick early from the other guys to buy dog flea collars and wear one around each ankle.
By Gaius, Friday, 19 October , 2007 @ 10:30 pm
I started in the inner city but got really lucky. A guy moved on to another job and nobody senior wanted his rural books - I loved them. I still have some of my best stories to tell at parties from those days!
My wife also read meters, by the way.
By feeblemind, Saturday, 20 October , 2007 @ 10:39 am
Taking a bath with a cup of Clorox added works well on chiggers. Probably work on fleas too.