How To Get Rid of Fleas in Hotel Rooms

Fleas are some of the typical pests you’ll deal with, especially if you have pets. And they can be very annoying.

They are small, can multiply fast, and have a nasty bite. But that is not even the worst part. They can also be a vector to deadly diseases like the plague and rickettsial diseases.

So, imagine if these nasty pests come into your hotel room. You will lose guests faster than you know it if you have an infestation, devastating your business.

That is why hotel owners do their best to ensure no fleas come to their establishment. But what if they are already in your hotel? Do you know how to get rid of fleas in a hotel room?

If fleas have infested your hotel rooms, the methods below should help you eliminate them.

5 Ways To Get Rid of Fleas in a Hotel Room

The typical hosts of fleas are your pets because they need animal blood for their life cycle. They’ll only drink human blood if they are desperate. So, if you don’t allow pets in your rooms, you’ll have a lesser chance of an infestation.

But fleas can hitch a ride on other things like shoes and bags. That is why some hotels suffer the wrath of these pests.

Fortunately, there are ways to get rid of them, like the ones below:

1. Heat Your Fabric

Since fleas are small insects, they can be hard to spot, especially when they hide in your fabrics.

So, the best solution would be to heat your fabrics by laundering them in hot water.

Fleas are sensitive to heat. And they can die when temperatures reach over 40°C (104°F). But if you want to ensure there will be no survivors, push temperatures further to 60°C (140°F). All pests will die rapidly at this temperature.

But wouldn’t it be easier if you heated the room? Try as you may, increasing temperatures to reach high enough to kill fleas if you just heat your room. You also risk infesting other rooms as fleas try to find new, cooler areas.

2. Place Flea Traps

Another way to eliminate fleas in your room is to use flea traps. You can find plenty of flea traps in stores. And you can place multiple ones in an infested room.

Flea traps work by luring fleas with a light to a sticky moat. Once they land in the sticky substance, they’ll not be able to escape and will die.

Depending on the flea infestation, flea traps can work for a few days to a few months.

3. Use Chemicals

Chemical insecticides are available online and in your local hardware store. And they can easily kill fleas and bed bugs. But, these products are dangerous, especially in indoor settings like a hotel room.

So, ensure to follow instructions and procedures and only use products with the following:

• If it has an EPA label.
• If it has the word fleas written on the can.

Some of the chemicals you can use to kill fleas are:

• Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids: These pesticides are the typical chemicals for killing pests like fleas. But there are reported resistance to these chemicals from the newer pests.
• Silicates: Dessicants like Diatomaceous earth dust (DED) can kill pests like fleas through dehydration by destroying their wax covers. And the good news is that there is still no reported resistance.
• Insect Growth Regulators: Products like hydroplane and (S)-methoprene cause infertility in pests. But they need to drink blood first.
• Carbamates: Bendiocarb, propoxur, and other carbamates are more effective than pyrethrins and pyrethroids. But cases of resistance are emerging.
• Neonicotinoids: Imidacloprid is one of these insecticides, and one of its benefits is it has no residual effect. Plus, there are still no reports of insecticide resistance.
• Pyrroles: The only pyrrole-based product in the US is chlorfenapyr. It’s slow acting, but it does not have any reported insecticide resistance.

4. Use a Powerful Vacuum

This method may not eliminate the entire infestation in your hotel room. But it will get rid of most of the fleas.

Use the powerful vacuum on your upholstery and mattresses. And ensure you reach those cracks and crevices where fleas typically hide and lay their eggs.

If you are using a bag, dispose of it immediately after use. If not, clean your vacuum outside your premises.

5. Call Pest Control

There can be times when publicly available insecticides and home remedies are not enough to kill an infestation. And if that is the case, you will need some professional help.

At first, pest control services will not jump the gun and use chemicals immediately. Only when they have exhausted other methods will they switch to chemicals.

Besides that, pest control professionals can:

• Locate the infestation.
• Determine infested areas.
• Combine non-chemical and chemical methods.
• Review the treatment.
• Provide preventive measures and suggestions.

Conclusion

Fleas are not something you want in your home.

So, it’s certainly not a good look if your hotel rooms have them. Your ratings could immediately go down if guests get bitten.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can eliminate fleas, like heat, flea traps, and chemical insecticides.

So, if you know anyone who doesn’t know how to get rid of fleas in hotel rooms, sharing this article should help.