Please keep anonymous &email private asked 8 years ago
I moved into a rented property in july 2013 & i initially thought it was scabies due to using the landlords bed as we were itchy&then there were bites. Around november 2013 i saw something brown jump so called a company to come in&have a look. Under the cushions of the landlords couch larvae was found in amongst pet hair&we were advised it was fleas. We have never had a pet so likely the landlord\\\’s or previous tenant.We moved out in the november and after tumble drying clothes at a high temp stored our stuff. We stayed with relatives then moved into a new place in january 2014. We took our clothes etc out of storage and again we had similar problems with being itchy&bites then there was nothing. I took the last of our clothes etc out of storage early 2015&again we were itchy&had bites&a flea was caught in a trap in april 2015. A company said it was likely a cat flea. Since april 2015 we have tumble dryed at high temperature all our clothes etc&bagged up, have had around 7 professional treatments plus i have been hoovering, spraying&bombing frequently and we are still getting bitten. It quietened down in the winter with the colder weath. I have been unpacking our clothes this week and again we are very itchy with bites. I have a photo of the bites on my arm if you want to look? Please help as v stressful!??
Adam Retzer Staff answered 8 years ago
Hello,
Sorry to hear about your problems.
It certainly sounds like you have fleas based on your description. However, some aspects don’t sound like cat fleas. You may be dealing with another pest, perhaps bed bugs.
Without a host (cat or dog), emerged adult fleas can’t live for more than a couple weeks. At a maximum, pre-emerged adults within their cocoons can survive for around 6 months in a dormant-like state. Additionally, fleas can’t lay eggs without host blood, and human blood isn’t sufficient.
Fleas don’t usually bite people in their beds while they’re sleeping. This is more of a trademark of bed bugs. Fleas bites on humans are incidental to the infestation on the primary host. Typically fleas bite people when they walk on carpets (where fleas develop). The fleas jump on the nearest warm-bodied moving target. After feeding, fleas leave people. However, they’ll stay on dogs and cats.
Laundering your clothing and drying at the highest heat setting will kill any fleas. Plus, it’s unlikely there were fleas on your clothes in the first place. Fleas don’t live or lay eggs in clothing. It’s improbable that the clothing is the source of the fleas (but it may be some other kind of pest).
It sounds like you have taken a lot of the right steps to eradicate a flea infestation. Your problem is perplexing.
It’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on based on the details you’ve provided. Feel free to include an image of the bite. Pictures are always helpful. However, many insect bites look similar.
The surest way to diagnose the problem is to catch the pest biting you. Then you can identify it.
Sorry I couldn’t pinpoint the issue, but I hope this helps.
Adam
P.S. The email requirement was only to automatically notify you when there was a response to your question. Unfortunately, it’s not working right now. All information is kept private.
anonymous
replied 8 years ago Thanks very much for getting back to me.just to clarify how did i find the flea in the new place april 2015 when i had left the landlords flat nov 2013? Thats why i thought i was transporting the fleas in the clothes as the problems strted again when i took the clothes out of storage after putt them there in nov 2013. Will send photo. Thanks again
Adam RetzerYou finding a flea 2 years later is strange. Most likely it’s an entirely new infestation from an entirely new source. Fleas are ubiquitous in most areas. Still, it’s a bit puzzling. There may be a connection between the two incidences, but it seem unlikely.
anonymous
replied 8 years ago Thanks Adam. Couldnt send photo for some reason. Maybe this type of flea not a cat flea and able to reproduce/survive on human blood? Is very puzzling.
You can try uploading the image to imgur.com and then posting the link here. There are essentially only 4 species of fleas that live on pets or in homes. The cat flea (C. felis) is by far the most common flea found within homes, followed by the dog flea (C. canis). Neither live on humans or their clothes, and can’t reproduce on human blood. Human fleas (P. irritans) are rarely found inside homes or on pets. They are more associated with livestock (pigs) and wildlife. The “poultry sticktight flea” (E. gallinacea) is rarely found on domestic animals. It’s more commonly found on ground-birds.
anonymous
replied 8 years ago Thanks Adam. Will post the photo
anonymous
replied 8 years ago Hi Adam still getting bitten. Do you think it is possible they are reproducing on our blood as per your article? Says they can reproduce at a slower rate? Thanks
It’s highly unlikely they’re reproducing on human blood, but not impossible. They need to feed continuously for hours. Most likely you would notice the fleas on your body if that was the case.
Where are you being bitten? Lower legs and feet? This is where fleas usually to bite people.
Are you being bitten in your sleep? I would suspect the culprit is bedbugs if that is the case.
The only sure way to discover what’s going on is to catch the pest biting you.
