Why fleas are uncommon in the Square Mile
Fleas need a resident pet or a lived-in carpeted home to establish, and with the City's stock overwhelmingly commercial - offices, banks, trading floors - there's simply very little of that housing here. Almost every flea job we do in the City is in the Barbican Estate.
How an empty Barbican flat still has fleas waiting
Flea eggs laid in carpet develop into pupae that can sit dormant inside a tough cocoon for months once a flat stands empty between tenancies. It's movement and body heat that trigger the next generation to hatch, sometimes within days of someone actually moving back in.
Is it really fleas?
A flea bite tends to appear low down around the ankle, and unlike other insects a flea jumps instead of crawling; its droppings turn reddish when dabbed on damp paper - the same pattern holds near Aldgate, where offices and food premises close to the eastern edge of the City boundary. A bite pattern higher up, in a row along an arm, points elsewhere - see the City of London bed bug guide for that instead.
Clearing the carpets
- Pull furniture away from the walls so every edge of the room is reachable
- Vacuum thoroughly and empty the vacuum straight into an outside bin
- Wash any pet bedding on a hot cycle
- Keep using and vacuuming the rooms after treatment rather than closing them off
Booking flea treatment in the City of London
A flea job in City of London costs £180 for the first room and £60 for each additional room, and since around Aldgate, where offices and food premises close to the eastern edge of the City boundary, telling us how many rooms are carpeted and whether pets are part of the household when you book flea treatment helps, with the full detail on the City of London flea treatment page.
