How to Get Rid of Fleas

Fleas can transmit disease and cause tapeworm, so getting rid of fleas on your pet is a must for a healthy animal and a healthy home. Fleas prefer warm and humid conditions and is therefore more than a seasonal problem in some parts of the country. Follow these steps to help your pet and learn how to get rid of fleas.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Washing machine
• Flea/tick pet shampoo
• Hot, soapy water
• Flea/tick spray or powder
• Prescription flea-control medication
• Pet flea comb
• Vacuum
• Veterinarian

1. The best way to get rid of fleas is by prevention; fleas thrive in heat and humidity (and are most active in summer and fall), so assess your pet and his environment frequently.
2. Help prevent fleas indoors by vacuuming your home thoroughly and frequently, paying close attention to corners, cracks, crevices and basements. Dispose of vacuum cleaner bags conscientiously, as adult fleas can escape. Also, choose your pet's friends wisely; avoid animals you suspect may carry fleas. Dog parks are fun, but a move-able feast for fleas!
3. Remove any fleas from your pet using a fine-toothed pet comb designed for flea removal, and drop the fleas into soapy water to drown them.
4. Wash pet bedding in hot, soapy water weekly; this is the most likely site for flea eggs and larvae.
5. Prune foliage and keep grass trimmed short to increase sunlight, as flea larvae cannot survive in hot, dry areas. Remove any piles of yard debris close to your home.
6. Bathe pets weekly, if possible, to get rid of fleas. If bathing is not an option, speak to your veterinarian about appropriate alternatives.
7. Watch your pet for signs of flea trouble: excessive scratching and biting, especially around the tail and lower back, and possibly raw patches where the animal has been biting and scratching himself. Also watch for 'flea debris' (black, granular dried blood) and fleas themselves on your pet's skin.
8. Talk to your veterinarian about various treatments for your flea-plagued pet: a flea adulticide applied monthly to the skin; a monthly pill that prevents fleas from reproducing but doesn't kill adult fleas; and multipurpose products that prevent flea reproduction and control heartworms, hookworms, whipworms and roundworms. Also consider flea collars and flea powders.
9. Look into chemical flea-treatment products to apply by hand around the environment in spray or powder form. Ask your veterinarian for a recommendation on the best product and how to use it.

Tips & Warnings

• Veterinarians are skeptical of homemade flea remedies such as garlic, vinegar, vitamin C and kelp.
• Call on a professional exterminator to get rid of severe indoor and outdoor flea infestations.
• Be very careful with all insecticides to be used on pets or around your home. Read directions carefully.
• Never apply a flea product to a cat or kitten unless it is labeled as safe for cats. Cats are very sensitive to insecticides.
• Be diligent in your exterminating efforts. A flea pupa, while in the cocoon, is impervious to treatment and can live for eight months without feeding, and an adult female can lay one egg per hour for every hour of her life (usually three months).
• Ingesting fleas could give your pet tapeworm (see related eHows about preventing worms).