Fleas Hatch When Central Heating Goes On

Fleas Central Heating
Fleas Central Heating

Fleas hatch when the central heating goes on.  It is well known that fleas peak in the Summer, but there are two peaks in flea infestations.  The second peak is when the central heating goes on typically in September and October.

Knight & Doyle technicians are knowledgable about all kinds of insect infestations. Fleas are one of the most common that we deal with.

Flea eggs can lay dormant in your carpet for up to a year and eggs, larvae and pupae are moved around your home on the soles of your shoes and slippers. Eggs hatch and after about a week turn into larvae.  Larvae love dark, warm places like your carpets, upholstery, cushions and pet bedding.

When Fleas Hatch In The Home

Because flea eggs are so small, about half a millimetre long, so you can’t usually see them with the naked eye. You don’t know you’ve got a problem until they start to hatch and you or your pets start to scratch. After about a week of the right conditions the eggs hatch and the larvae emerge.  Flea larvae feed on dead insects, skin particles and the droppings of adult fleas.  The next stage is they pupate and become full grown fleas.  At this point they are about 2mm in length, they can jump 20cm and will jump around 10,000 times searching for a host.

Homes With No Pets Get Flea Infestations

Fleas hatch when the central heating goes on and in response to vibrations from a passing host. So, if you are moving into an unoccupied property once it is reoccupied there can be a mass hatching.  Even if you don’t have a cat or a dog, humans moving about will activate the fleas. We’ve already mentioned how long flea eggs can lay dormant, so if you are a landlord with an empty property or you let a holiday home it is well worth getting your carpets and upholstery professionally cleaned on a regular basis.

We do a lot of carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning for landlords, not only to remove stains and rejuvinate carpets but to ensure there are no lurking flea eggs deep in the fibres of carpets and furniture.

Getting Rid Of A Flea Infestation

First and foremost if you have a pet, the pet needs a flea treatment following the advice of your vet or groomer. Pet bedding needs to be treated or replaced. Then call us.

We use two main cleaning methods to eliminate a flea infestation. Both require cleaning and sanitising as two separate processes. Depending upon the severity of your flea problem and the type of carpets and upholstery to be treated we use either hot water extraction (HWE) or HWE plus Ozone Sanitising.  HWE removes pesticides you may have tried, fleas, flea droppings, dead flea bodies and eggs. In most cases HWE should be sufficient.  However, if you have a very severe flea infestation after the HWE treatment we will use Ozone Sanitising.

Ozone Sanitising is an environmentally safe way to sanitise a room from floor to ceiling. It treats every surface including soft furnishings. It is 3000 times more powerful than Chlorine and it is safer than pesticides.  For more information about Ozone Sanitising visit our web page.

Use Knight & Doyle When Fleas Hatch In Your Home

Our technicians are trained, experienced and qualified in a wide range of carpet and upholstery cleaning methods.  We use multiple cleaning methods because no single process is suitable for every cleaning job. We are Woolsafe approved.

Our advice is free of charge and we will always give you a firm quotation following a site visit.

We are carpet cleaners and upholstery cleaners providing our services to both residential and commercial customers.  Our head office is in Aldridge and we have branch offices in Lichfield and Cannock.

Please contact us.