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.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

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 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).
• 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.
• Ingesting fleas could give your pet tapeworm (see related eHows about preventing worms).

Who Can Help Sponsored

[clarie]

on 11/5/2009 Get a type of worm called nematodes, which feeds on fleas and can help you to get rid of fleas. You can sprinkle them around the garden and let them do the work!

[tripplover]

on 10/19/2009 We live out in the country and have tried some flea control methods... I have fogged my house, sprayed the yard and as soon as we did all this, we bathed all 3 dogs with flea and tick shampoo. It seems like a never ending story because there's so much open land it is impossible to treat it all for fleas. Does anyone know of another remedy to take care of that problem, or do we all just have to suffer with the infestation.

[rufusnsheba]

on 10/5/2009 We had a house that had been w/o a dog for 2 mos & the next tenant was eaten alive.GET AN EXTERMINATOR!!!!!One
w/ a GUARANTEE. You can call around to Narrow down a good price, but get the guarantee.

[srgtrock]

on 9/22/2009 You want to get rid of fleas from you dogs or cats forever? Here's a remedy that works 100% of the time, and is very cheap. Get a gallon of fresh water and mix in 5 tablespoons of white organic vinager. Mix it well and from now on, make sure that your pets only drink that instead of regular water from now on (especially if they go outdoors). Within a few days the fleas will leave and never return.

[cardsbaby]

on 9/22/2009 I have hard wood floors and a sun room that is carpeted. The dog has been gone for about 2 weeks now.I've bought over $100 bucks on products..I've bombed my house twice..sprayed upholstery..vacuumed rigorously rugs and couches..these things are still here. What am I doing wrong and can someone please help a desperate man. I have a 3 year old boy and I can't stand to see him scratch anymore.