GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

Jeff Layman[_2_] · 18-05-2012, 11:00 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 18/05/2012 10:28, wrote:
Jeff wrote:
Get a can of Johnsons House Flea Spray Extra Guard. This will deal with
the fleas and anything which hatches from their eggs. We don't have any
pets, but brought some of the unwanted guests back with us after we
stayed with some friends who keep cats. It took several weeks to
eradicate the pests!

I thought cat fleas couldn't live on human blood for a significant length
of time?

From Wikipedia:
"Humans can be bitten, though a long-term population of cat fleas cannot
be sustained and infest people. However, if the female flea is allowed
to feed for twelve consecutive hours on a human, it can lay viable eggs".

It's the "viable eggs" bit which is the problem! The spray I mentioned
- apart from having pyrethrins to deal with the adults - has an agent
which interferes with the development of larvae into pupae, thus
blocking the life cycle.

--

Jeff