What are wood lice, how long can they stay dormant before hey die. They are orange in color.?

Question

I brought some to my new house on my rats and I am afraid that my carpet may be infested with them. I know that fleas die after 6 months of not having anyone to jump on to feed, maybe thats wrong also.

I just want to know what wood lice are, if they live forever, and is my dog in danger from them because they killed my rats off very quickly.

Thanks for everyone's response in advance.

Answer 1

Wood lice should not trouble rats - and are not orange! They are dark grey, and they look like this:
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/kennedyh_1153973388_359.jpg They're about a centimetre long.

Individual fleas don't live as long as 6 months, but they lay eggs which can lay dormant for a very, very long time. Once fleas are present, the infestation never goes away without treatment.

Anyway - woodlice eat rotting wood, they are not a danger to animals. I don't think your rats have woodlice - as they're orange, they may be harvest mites. Take the rats to a vet so the vet can identify the bugs and give you something to get rid of them.

Chalice

Answer 2

Are you sure they were wood lice? This is all I could find on them: http://www.geocities.com/millipedes_uk/Woodlice/woodlice.html

http://www.oxford.gov.uk/files/seealsodocs/23139/Woodlice.pdf