heat source and fleas

QuestionsCategory: Flea Infestationsheat source and fleas
franglogrec asked 7 years ago

wanted some confirmation please
we were very close to finishing a loft conversion ( wooden floors) when my wife found a pregnant cat, and had it living with it kittens in this room,
 
Now we have been able to re home the cta nd the kittens, I want to continue with the painting etc, but there was a huge amount of fleas, we have bombed it a few times, and it is now down to what seems a mild infestation. but am worried that whilst working, door open and workers having to go through the house from outside to the room that until i can end the infestation i will infect the rest of the house.
I thought about hiring a heating unit , if I was able to get the temp up to 100 how long would it need to be maintained at that temp, a few hours? longer?
 
thanks in advance

1 Answers
Adam Retzer Staff answered 6 years ago

Franglogrec, I sincerely apologize I couldn’t answer your question sooner, as a timely response would’ve been helpful.

The fleas may jump onto people going in and out of the room, and get transferred to other rooms. However, this shouldn’t cause any real issues if there aren’t pets in the home. The fleas won’t be able to survive or reproduce on human blood. So, no new eggs will be laid in other areas of the home. The infestation can’t continue without a new generation.

Trying to alter the climate in homes isn’t a particularly good control method. This is because fleas develop in hidden refuges within the environment. These micro-environments have their own regulated micro-climate that isn’t affected much by the surrounding conditions. Because of this I’m uncertain as to how long it would take to heat up the room to kill fleas, if it would even work at all.

Warm regards,
Adam

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