[escepticos] OT: Malas pulgas (Help!)

[Gabriel Rodríguez Alberich]

2010/8/3 José Á. Morente <joseangel en morente.org>:
> ¿Alguien tiene alguna sugerencia que me pueda ser útil, y que no sea
> cambiar de vivienda, ni comprar un perro que haga de cebo?

De la Wikipedia:

«Combating a flea infestation in the home takes patience because for
every flea found on an animal, there could be many more developing in
the home. A spot-on insecticide will kill the fleas on the pet and in
turn the pet itself will be a roving flea trap and mop up newly
hatched fleas. The environment should be treated with a fogger or
spray insecticide containing an insect growth regulator, such as
pyriproxyfen or methoprene to kill eggs and pupae, which are quite
resistant against insecticides. Frequent vacuuming is also helpful,
but the vacuum bag must be disposed of immediately afterwards.

Diatomaceous earth can also be used as a home flea treatment in lieu
of acetylcholinesterase inhibitory treatments or insecticides which
carry with them a risk of poisoning for both humans and animals.
However, diatomaceous earth is at least potentially dangerous to pets
and people when inhaled, so care in use is recommended.

Dried pennyroyal has been suggested as a natural flea control,[19] but
is not recommended in homes with pets due to its high toxicity to
mammals.[20]

Borax is sold as a "Natural Laundry Booster" and can also be used as
another home treatment for flea infestations. Borax contains boric
acid which kills fleas by dehydrating them, but its safety for pets is
untested.[21]

Using dehumidifiers with air conditioning and vacuuming all may
interrupt the flea life cycle. Humidity is critical to flea survival.
Eggs need relative humidity of at least 70-75% to hatch, and larvae
need at least 50% humidity to survive. In humid areas, about 20% of
the eggs survive to adulthood; in arid areas, less than 5% complete
the cycle.[22] Fleas thrive at higher temperatures, but need 70° to
90°F (21° to 32°C) to survive. Lower temperatures slow down or
completely interrupt the flea life-cycle. A laboratory study done at
the University of California showed that vacuuming catches about 96%
of adult fleas. A combination of controlled humidity, temperature, and
vacuuming should eliminate fleas from an environment, and altering
even one of these environmental factors may be enough to drastically
lower and eliminate an infestation.»

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flea#For_the_home

-- 
Gabriel Rodríguez Alberich