Paul and Brenda J. asked 8 years ago
I there Adam,
So my wife and I picked up a used car on the private market. The previous owner used the car until we bought it, and she has 3 dogs. On the way home, my wife walked into the house and immediately started itching. She identified several bites that she recognized as flea bites, so it appears in addition to a car we adopted a flea colony. As for her, she immediately disrobed, washed the clothes, took a shower (plenty of soap, wash, rinse, repeat), then returned and thoroughly vacuumed the couch where she sat down. I’m pretty confident that the problem is solved in the house, but the car is another story.
Now, I read in a couple of your articles about heat killing these guys. Conveniently, it’s still summer-like here in north-central Texas, with highs tomorrow expected to be near 100. I’m making an assumption that if the car is left in the sun, closed up, it will get up to around 130 degrees or so for I would guess about 4 to 6 hours. Can I expect that this level of heat for this amount of time will prove fatal for the lot of them, or will some survive? Do you have a more effective suggestion on how to deal with this swiftly and thoroughly? Thanks!
Adam Retzer Staff answered 8 years ago
Hi Paul and Brenda,
Yes, leaving the car outside in the sun should kill all the fleas. If temperatures inside the car exceed 100°F (130°F as you say), then no life stages will be able to survive. I don’t know the exact amount of time needed to kill the fleas, but I’d assume a day or two will do the trick.
As far as preventing your cat from getting fleas, it’d be a good idea check yourselves after getting out of the car and walking into the home. Brush yourselves off to ensure you aren’t bringing any fleas inside. Hopefully this didn’t occur on the first day. Just in case, you may want to run to the store and get a flea comb, and then thoroughly check your cat for fleas. Vacuuming more frequently for a week or two may help thwart off an infestation in case your cat acquired any fleas you didn’t notice. If you’re really worried that the cat may acquire fleas, flea drops, such as Advantage II or Frontline Plus, can be used as a preventative measure.
Hope this helps,
Adam
Oh. Also. We do not have dogs. I have a cat that has lived inside her entire life. I know she is fine now, but should I do something as a preventative measure for the cat and if so what?