How To Get Rid Of Fleas

How to Get Rid of Fleas on Dogs & Cats? 

How to Get Rid of Fleas on Humans? 

Waking up with flea bites is the worst way to find out you have a flea problem. This is problematic because bites that appear out of nowhere while you sleep can also indicate bed bugs. That said, if your pet is also showing signs of irritation, there is a good chance you are being bitten by fleas. Getting rid of fleas so they stop biting you in your sleep requires a thorough cleaning of all bedding, towels, and curtains. This needs to be done on regularly on high heat to kill any fleas, larvae, and eggs. Steaming your mattress for any remaining fleas should kill off any left-over fleas but this process should be repeated frequently until signs of flea bites stop.

How to Get Rid of Fleas in Carpet & Furniture? 

If fleas have hitchhiked a ride in on your pets, it is safe to assume that they have found their way into your carpet, furniture, and bedding. Fleas will be shaken loose and the fiber like material make it perfect for fleas to breed. A combination of steaming followed by vacuuming is effective against fleas and should be repeated on a regular basis until signs of flea activity have stopped. Steaming kills fleas, larvae, and most eggs on contact and vacuuming removes the remains. Vacuuming also play a critical role in removing flea waste which feeds the larvae and stimulates the remaining eggs which causes them to hatch. Fleas will be the most heavily concentrated around areas surrounding their hosts so focus extra attention on areas by pet bedding and other areas where pets are known to rest. Be sure to wash any bedding and pet bedding on high heat to ensure that fleas in all stages of their life cycle are killed and removed.

Utilizing chemical treatment options inside is also another option but should be done by a professional to ensure the safety of your pets and family. The use of local spot treatments will help expose heavily infested areas to growth regulators that will prevent the development of larvae once eggs hatch. This will ensure that follow up cleanings will catch the remaining fleas that were unable to reach maturity. 

How to Get Rid of Fleas in Yard? 

The other step in minimizing the potential of a flea infestation is to treat the areas outside where your pets may be picking fleas up. Fleas like to hide in places that are dark, humid, and warm so be sure to clear out shaded areas where your pet might rest from dead leaves and debris. Keeping grass short and removing all dead leaves, branches, and undergrowth to expose any shaded areas to sunlight is a good way to prevent harborage areas for fleas to thrive. Using residual pesticides and growth regulators are the final step in flea prevention. Chemical treatments should be applied by a licensed professional to ensure the safety of your family and pets. 

Follow Up

Flea’s life cycle makes them difficult to manage because any remaining eggs that hatch after treatment can jumpstart another flea infestation. Permanently eradicating fleas will require some follow up inspection to ensure that flea populations do not make a comeback. 

How to Spot Fleas? 

Finding fleas inside is usually done by noticing signs of fleas on your pets. Adult fleas will latch onto hair follicles and “flea dirt” are tiny specs of flea waste on the skin of your pets. The other indicator would be signs of aggressive scratching where fleas are biting your pet. Using a flea comb on your pets is usually the easiest way of finding fleas in your pet’s coat.

Spotting fleas outside can be done by simply walking through your yard with white socks on. Walking through areas that are likely to have fleas will likely result in fleas jumping onto your legs which can be seen against the white socks. Any indicator of flea activity inside or outside of your home is a good sign that treatment should start to prevent an infestation from getting bigger. 

How Long Can Infestations Last? 

Flea infestations can last indefinitely if not treated appropriately. Even after treatment starts, an infestation can last over a couple months if treatment is not applied properly. This is because a flea’s life cycle makes them much more difficult to treat. Flea eggs can take up to 2 weeks to hatch and can be left behind by even the most thorough cleaning. This can cause a flea problem to reappear shortly after initial treatment. A flea also starts laying eggs as soon as 24 hours after its first blood meal and will lay up to 50 eggs every day. Professional help is generally recommended for flea infestations to increase the likelihood of success after the first treatment. Even if there is an on-going issue, EcoGuard’s flea control guarantee promises that our services will be successful, or we will have another technician out right away. 

Things You Need to Remove Fleas 

Prepping your home for flea treatment will increase the effectiveness of treatment options. Ensuring that areas are cleared for steaming and vacuuming will expose as much of the carpet as possible. This includes areas that might be overlooked during normal cleaning, like inside closets and under beds. 

How to Get Rid of Fleas Naturally 

Dish Soap – Dish soap works by reducing the surface tension of water which allows fleas hydrophobic shell to sink which results in fleas drowning. Dish soap is commonly used in homemade flea traps which are designed to catch fleas. These traps are only effective at finding instances of fleas and are not an effective treatment method.

Baking Soda – Baking soda is an effective desiccant that dries out fleas, larvae, and eggs. Sprinkle baking soda into the carpet prior to vacuuming.

Lemon Spray – Lemon juice spray is an effective homemade repellant that can be used in conjunction with other treatment methods. The citrus spray is essentially lemon slices that has been boiled in water and allowed to sit for 24 hours.

Diatomaceous Earth – Diatomaceous earth is a powder that acts as a desiccant but is non-toxic to humans. Apply to carpet and furniture 2 days prior to vacuuming for peak effectiveness.

FAQs About Getting Rid Of Fleas