Flats above shops in Soho and Pimlico
Living above a shop in Soho or one of Pimlico's stucco terraces often means the flat has passed through several tenancies with pets over the years, and fleas laid down in the carpet by an earlier resident's cat or dog can still be waiting when you move your own furniture in.
How an empty flat still has fleas waiting
Eggs laid in the carpet develop into pupae that can remain dormant in a tough cocoon for months once a property is left empty, much as it does near Mayfair, where grand stucco terraces. The next generation hatches once movement and body heat trigger it, occasionally within days of someone moving back in, whether that's near Marylebone, where georgian terraces and mansion blocks around the high street and the park, or elsewhere in the borough.
Is it really fleas?
Low down, near the ankle, is where a flea bite usually shows up, and the insect jumps rather than crawls; dabbing its droppings on damp paper turns them reddish - the same pattern holds near Marylebone, where georgian terraces and mansion blocks around the high street and the park. A bite pattern higher up, in a row along an arm, points elsewhere - see the Westminster bed bug guide for that instead.
If you let a property out
With nothing to move and nobody home to be bitten, the gap between tenancies is the simplest time to treat fleas, as anyone near Pimlico will recognise, where stucco-fronted terraces and squares close to the river. Either a pet the previous tenant kept, or flea dirt spotted at check-out, is worth acting on before anyone new moves in - the same pattern holds near Paddington, where mixed housing near the station.
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 Westminster
A flea job in Westminster costs £180 for the first room and £60 for each additional room, and since around Paddington, where mixed housing near the station, 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 Westminster flea treatment page.
