How to get rid of fleas in your house

Stop fleas at home.

Getting rid of fleas in your home helps the health of your pets and family. It also prevents the further spreading of fleas. Using common household products and topical medication, rid your home of fleas. You must use both, as simply removing fleas without eradicating them from your pet does not stop the cycle of reproduction. As a result, fleas will continue to infest your home unless you both eradicate the current fleas and work to stop more fleas from growing.

Things You'll Need

• Vacuum cleaner
• Table salt
• Flea insecticide with IGR
• Pet flea treatment
• Laundry detergent

Instructions

1. Vacuum your entire house. This includes anything with carpet or upholstery. Vacuum in the corners and around the floor boards of the room and under and behind furniture. Vacuum your pet beds, rugs or their favorite spot to lay in the house.

2. Use the hose nozzle attachment of your vacuum and vacuum your furniture. Turn over the cushions, and get into every nook and cranny. If your pets use the furniture, vacuum everywhere they like to rest.

3. Sprinkle table salt around the baseboards of your room, in corners and on the carpeting. You do not want to actually see the salt grains in your carpeting, but spread the salt around enough to fully cover your entire floor area. The salt creates a hostile environment for flea eggs and pupae.

4. Spray all carpets, rugs, floors and places your pet sleeps with a flea surface spray that kills flea eggs, larvae and emerging adult fleas. Use a home flea killer product that contains Insect Growth Regulator, or IGR, which contains a protein stops fleas from developing to maturity so they cannot lay eggs. Get into every nook and cranny and spray all baseboards, under your furniture and your rugs. Spray the furniture to kill any fleas that you may have missed when vacuuming.

5. Tackle your yard and garden to make sure that your pets are not brining the fleas back into the house. Using the same spray that you used for the house, spray where the pet sleeps outside, in gravel and sandy areas, patios, verandas and the kennel for your pet, if you have one.

6. Wash all of your pets' bedding and soft toys. Shake them well and hang them in the sunlight to dry

7. Treat your pet. Use top-spot treatments that are safe for both pets and humans. Apply the medication to the skin of your pet between the shoulder blades so they cannot lick or wipe it off.

8. Watch your cat or dog for tell-tale scratching for any signs of fleas. Re-apply the top spot if you see a flea as fleas multiply very quickly.

Tips & Warnings

• Expect to see a few new fleas emerging for up to two weeks. These will be the fleas that were in the pupal stage during treatment.

• IGR is short for Insect Growth Regulator. IGR is Birth Control for Fleas. This protein works on the developing flea eggs and larvae and stops fleas from developing to maturity so they cannot lay eggs.

• Flea bombs and flea foggers containing IGR are very effective at killing fleas but the insecticide does not always reach under beds, furniture and rugs. Flea bombs and foggers are designed to be let off in the middle of a room. Be sure to move what furniture you can so as to enable the spray to penetrate carpets and flooring beneath. Always read instructions on flea bombs as these are toxic and can harm your and your pets health.

• Use a flea bomb or fogger as a last resort if you have a really bad flea problem. Get all living creatures out of your house before you do this, as the bombs will kill your pets if you leave them in the house.

References

• "The Daily Puppy"; The Best Way to Get Rid of Fleas in Carpet; Alicia Bodine