Estrella asked 5 years ago
Hi Adam,
Thanks for your informative site. I’ve read through much of it to try to gain some knowledge and assurance, but I’m still as worried as ever. I live in a house that has currently no pets (our last pet passed almost a decade ago). We have four carpeted bedrooms and the rest of the house is ceramic tile. On February 6th, I started noticing a bunch of fleas jumping on the tiled areas in front of the bedrooms and bathroom and they appeared as if out of nowhere. After several days, I noticed considerably less on these tiled areas (maybe five or less a day). I cannot tell how bad the infestation is on the carpet because I am afraid of getting bitten and try to avoid walking around if I can. On February 15th, I finally had the chance to spray a can of Vet Kem Siphotrol Plus II Premise Pest Control Spray, which just barely covered the bedrooms. The next day, I saw a resurgence of fleas in my observation of the tile around the house, and the only explanation I could think of was they were trying to escape the treated carpets. In panic, I ordered two more cans of spray along with BioSpot Carpet Powder, which I plan to use in the next few days — carpet powder first, then wait a couple days before using the sprays (on both carpet and tile this time). They did decrease a few days after the spray before resurging greatly in number again today, February 22nd, on the tile around the house.
I have no idea where the fleas came from in the first place. There are stray cats that like to hang out in our backyard, so I think it’s possible that someone could brought fleas into the house on their clothes. I tried to take some photos up close of one, and it looks like a cat flea to me, but I would appreciate a confirmation. I have uploaded a photo here.
I admit we haven’t been vacuuming as often as we should so far (only twice a week) because I thought they would die off relatively soon with no pet around. But they don’t seem to be showing any true signs of going away. I’m hoping the BioSpot, additional premise spray, and subsequent vacuuming will take care of it. Please tell me we could be near the end of our infestation!
Adam Retzer Staff answered 5 years ago
Estrella,
It’s strange that you have fleas in your home without pets. I can think of a few possible explanations, but you’ll need to do more investigation. (1) Somehow infested wildlife got into your home. Common examples are opossums, raccoons, and feral cats. (2) You have a mouse or rat infestation in your home, and they are infested with rodent fleas. (3) A visitor on this site had unexplained fleas in their home. They found out the fleas were coming from a window where there was a bird’s nest infested with fleas. (4) You are dealing with human fleas (P. irritans), which is the only species that can survive and reproduce on human blood.
Fleas can hitchhike on clothing, though this isn’t the common way they spread. It sounds like the number of fleas you are finding is quite large. It seems unlikely, unless the outdoor area is close to the door and heavily infested with large numbers of fleas.
The image you provided looks like it’s probably a cat flea (C. felis), based on the elongated head shape. And it looks fully fed and engorged too! However, I can’t make out the necessary details to make a positive identification. The defining characteristics are small details on the head. You will need to evaluate it yourself in person. Here is a page regarding species identification.
The spray you’ve applied should control fleas. The insect growth regulator (IGR) ingredient will prevent new eggs and larvae from becoming adults, and it will last 7 months. Vacuuming will help speed up the eradication process.
Unfortunately, even with everything done correctly and the host identified and removed, you will probably continue seeing fleas here or there for around 8 weeks. Fleas develop in protected micro-habitats, because larvae avoid light and move deep down into substrates. As a result, sprays, powders, and vacuums can’t reach all of them. Patience is required while these immature stages mature into adults, emerge, and die. However, with the environment treated with IGR, any new eggs that are laid won’t be able to develop. So you should be dealing with the last generation.
Eggs become adults in 17-26 days within home environments. However, some cocooned adults can elect to enter a quiescent (sleep-like) state for up to 5 months while waiting to detect a host (heat and pressure). The pre-emerged state drags the infestation duration out into the future. Vacuuming is a good way to simulate these host cues and force earlier emergence.
I hope this was helpful!
Adam
Estrella
replied 5 years ago Hi Adam,
I owe you a long overdue thank you for your answer to my question. I used the BioSpot carpet powder around the end of February/beginning of March and it did a really good job of taking care of the infestation. I hadn’t seen any more fleas since I used the powder…until now. A few days ago, I found one fully engorged flea in the hallway, and tonight I spotted a tiny (unfed?) flea on my bed. Is it possible these are the remnants of the last infestation from months ago? Do cocooned fleas automatically emerge after 5 months if they’re not stimulated earlier? I’m ready to go into treatment mode again if you think it’s a whole new infestation, but it’s a little frustrating considering I also used the Siphotrol spray with the IGR ingredient that is supposed to last 7 months.
Thanks for your help again.
Adam RetzerThe cocooned adults can emerge on their own any time up to the 5 months. When stimulated with heat and pressure they will rapidly emerge. After 5 months, they don’t have nutritional reserves to continue surviving and should die. Running out of the reserves may be responsible for causing them to emerge and look for a host.
I am not sure if the fleas are remnants from the old infestation or if it is a new infestation. The IGR should last 7 months indoors, preventing new eggs and larvae from maturing. Still, it may be wise to do a whole new treatment if you are seeing fleas again, especially engorged fleas.
