Biting insects in sheepskin coat?

bigsmoke

Hi All

not sure who to ask about this then thought that if anyone would know it would be the OS boarders!

With the cold snap over christmas I resurrected my old sheepskin coat from my parents. Last friday I got 2 'insect' bites on my arms (whilst wearing only a short sleeved shirt under the coat). I hadn't noticed any bites up to this point and hadn't had any more until yesterday, when I wore the same short sleeved number and got another 2 bites.

Is it likely that whatever is biting me is living in the coat does anyone know?

I bought the coat from a charity shop about 10 years ago and it has spent the last 6 years or so unworn in a wardrobe at my folks' house.

If it is the coat, any ideas how I could encourage my new friends to move on?

thanks very much

BS x

newleaf

Have you or your folks got cats? Could be cat fleas, they can hang around in wool carpets and other cosy places for a long time, the larvae eat the wool, and when they hatch into fleas they suck blood.
You can get cat flea treatments (powders & sprays) at the supermarket in the pet care dept.

BitterAndTwisted

A pedant writes: actually, cat-flea larvae do not eat wool, they consume the flea-dirt the adults have helpfully partly-digested for their offspring. Can cat-flea pupae survive for six years without hatching? I'm not absolutely certain but I would hazard a guess and say "no".

If you wanted to be absolutely certain that your reaction is to flea-bites and not some form of allergic reaction to the sheepskin or products used during manufacture you should treat it with a cat-flea insecticide like Acclaim. I would also suggest that in the meantime you get it out of the house.

Were these "bites" just on your arms beneath the sleeves on this short-sleeved shirt or elsewhere?

bigsmoke

Thanks guys. My parents do have a cat and it did have fleas in the summer so perhaps this is a possible explanation. I didn't realise that fleas could live without a 'host'.

Yes, the bites are just on my arms where they were bare underneath the sheepskin. I'm fairly certain they are bites as have swollen up in the same way that I do with midges/mossies and they have a 'point' in the middle.

thanks again

bs x

newleaf

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

A pedant writes: actually, cat-flea larvae do not eat wool, they consume the flea-dirt the adults have helpfully partly-digested for their offspring. Can cat-flea pupae survive for six years without hatching? I'm not absolutely certain but I would hazard a guess and say "no".

I bow to your superior knowledge

sandraroffey

in the 70's i had one of those afghan coats - the sort that smelt like dead dog when it rained on it!! i left it in a cupboard for a year then got it out and all manner of things were living in it. binned it!!!!

Dippypud

If you really want to keep it after reading that. :eek:

Put it in a large binbag or recycling bag, get most of the air out so that it fits into the freezer, put it in there for 48 hrs or more this will kill all your bugs, works for soft toys as well.

cavework

You could get it dry cleaned.. that will def kill the little blighters

bigsmoke

oooh, sounds like dry cleaning might be the easiest option (not the most moneysaving but I don't have a freezer that a coat will go in unfortunately!)

do fleas just make the odd bite, or do they bite in lines like bedbugs?

BitterAndTwisted

As far as I know neither fleas nor bedbugs bite in lines or rows. I have experience of the former but thankfully not the latter. *shudders*

Dippypud

It's probely(?) in the seams or joints of fabric. IYKWIM