rae asked 7 years ago
Hi we have been to Spain on holiday. Unfortunately we went to a derelict farm house where a goat herder had kept his infested goats. It wasn’t long before the kids ran about screaming they had fleas on them and we all then became covered up our legs,in our shoes. We tried to pick all off before entering car but my 7 yr old jumped in too soon and a few got in with him!! We all stripped off before going into holiday home and left clothes outside over night (as told to do!) but for the rest of the holiday we kept finding more bites and fleas! On return home I opened the case of washed clothes to find one adult jump onto my foot!! I emptied one case and found lots of tiny hatched bugs in a small bag..which went straight in washer. We bought powder and spray and covered cases..I now plan to wash all items when I can without my toddler around! I am worried they are in my hair as I’m very itchy! Can goat lice/ fleas live on humans or will they eventually dies out? We have no pets. Will I need to get my house fumigated if they spread?
Adam Retzer Staff answered 7 years ago
Rae,
I am not too familiar with goat infestations. After some quick research I’ve read that the species of fleas that infest goats are cat fleas (C. felis) and sticktight fleas (E. gallinacea). This website is focused around cat fleas, and I am only slightly familiar with sticktight fleas.
You shouldn’t have much to worry about without any pets in the home. The fleas aren’t be able to live or reproduce on human blood. The only species that can reproduce on human blood are human fleas (P. irritans) and chigoe fleas (T. penetrans). Fleas also don’t live on humans or their hair (even human fleas). They only jump on people temporarily to feed.
Edit: I just did a bit more research on sticktight fleas. They can attach to humans and stay there. Still, they can’t reproduce on human blood.
You shouldn’t have any issues. If some fleas did make it home with you, they should die out in about a week. The sanitation efforts you’ve already done probably helped speed this up quite a bit.
Warm regards,
Adam
