Flea infestation is horrible. The pesky parasites invade your home and garden. They torment your pets and even you. Once the infestation has gotten hold, it’s hard to rid yourself of these disgusting creatures if you lack knowledge on the subject. This article aims to get you up to speed.
Flea Bug
Ok, Let’s begin by going through how the infestation takes a firm grip on your household:
Your Pet Gets Infested
Your pet might lie down on the spot somewhere where fleas happen to hang out. The parasites jump onto their host and catch a ride into your home. They now start feeding, sucking blood off your pet.
The Rest Of The Home Gets Infested
Once fully fed, the fleas start laying eggs. Some stay on your pet, and some jump to places where your pet hangs out; the couch, carpets, bedding, the garden, and so on. Each flea lays several eggs, so growth rates are exponential.
You Get Bitten
Once the fleas are on the couch and other places you spend time, it won’t take long before they start tormenting you. Worst case scenario: They’re in your bed, and you wake up with bites every morning.
Flea Elimination Steps
So how do you get rid of fleas once the infestation has gotten this far? I’ll tell you right now, and it’s not an easy task. It takes A LOT of work. Please note that order is essential. There’s no point in vacuuming the couch if your dog is full of fleas, right? Here’s what you need to do, step by step:
First Step: Get Rid Of The Fleas On Your Pet
There are a lot of different products for doing this, and they each work differently. Some prevent, some treat, and some do both. Make sure the product you buy contains an insect growth regulator so that it kills eggs and larvae as well as adult fleas. Don’t stop treatment too early. Read the label on the product carefully. You can check out the flea treatment for dogs and flea treatment for cats pages for details.
Second Step: Decontaminate The Yard
Find the hot spots in the garden. These are your pet’s favorite spots, such as a dog house. Treat these spots with an insecticide that contains both an adulticide and an insect growth regulator.
Third Step: Wash Everything
Put every textile that may have come in contact with fleas in the washing machine. Please sit down, make a list of everything you need to wash, and then do it. Here are some pointers: pet bedding, your bedding, blankets, couch pillow casings.
Fourth Step: Start A Rigorous Vacuuming Program
Here’s where it starts to get really tough. You have to vacuum clean your house every day for at least a month. Be meticulous, and don’t forget the dark, tight places. It’s also essential to vacuum the couch. Do you transport your pet in the car sometimes? Vacuuming may not always be enough to get rid of the fleas in the house. There are insecticides for use indoors that can help and other products as well.
Vacuum Cleaner
Fleas In House
It’s not very hard to determine if you have a flea infestation in the house. If everyone in the family, especially your pet, is running around scratching like crazy and exhibiting red bumps on their body, fleas are probably the cause.
If you have read guides for flea removal, then you know that a rigorous vacuuming program is essential to take control over a flea infestation. You also need to wash all textiles that could have fleas, eggs, and larvae on them. But sometimes, this is not enough, and you need to do more to kill those disgusting parasites. It is hard to eliminate fleas in-home, but it is not impossible if you have a little knowledge on the different products you can use.
This article aims to introduce you to some of the products that are available out there. We’ll be going through the following products:
- Flea traps
- Flea sprays
- Foggers
Flea traps
Flea traps can be a perfect choice as there are no chemicals involved. It’s a safe product. The way they work is that there’s a sticky plate with a light source generating heat attached to it. The fleas mistake the warmth from the plate for a host and jump onto the plate, thus getting stuck. Once there, they can’t feed and so eventually die. Flea traps will, of course, not kill eggs and larvae.
Flea sprays
Flea sprays are an inexpensive alternative, but as with flea traps, they only kill adult fleas, not eggs and larvae. If you plan to use only flea sprays, you will have to keep treating for several weeks to kill all batches of fleas.
Foggers
Foggers are chemical products that are very effective, but you should be careful since these chemicals could potentially be harmful to humans and pets. Ensure you remove food and dishes from the house before treating and be very meticulous when cleaning your home after the treatment is done. Vacuum and wipe down everything.
When it comes to ridding your house from fleas, the important thing is that you don’t give up or stop treatment too soon. Vacuum clean your home often for a long time. It’s well worth the extra work to avoid having to do everything all over again.
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Flea Bugs in Yard
So you’ve been hit by a flea infestation. You bought some flea shampoo for your pet, you started a rigorous vacuuming program, you’ve washed all the textiles, and everything seems fair. A couple of days or weeks later, the fleas are back, on your pet, on your carpets, and even in your bed.
What happened? What did you miss? Well, do you let your pet out in the garden sometimes? Is there a dog house in your yard? There you go.
Fleas are also adapted to survive in outside environments, you know. A not so well-kept garden that doesn’t let in a whole lot of sun is a pretty ideal environment for these parasites. All they have to do is wait for a suitable host to pass by and jump.
So how do you get (and keep) your garden flea-free? Before you go buy flea-killing products, you need to do some general clean-up in your garden. This involves:
- Cutting the grass really short (golf course short)
- Cleaning out all weed
- Making sure it’s as hard as possible for stray and wild animals to enter your garden since they often carry fleas
- Getting rid of any debris or rubbish, you might have in your yard
These steps make sure the fleas don’t have anywhere to hide and that they’re in a non-comfortable environment with a lot of sun coming in.
Once this has been done, you should use some sort of flea-killing product. Be sure to use one that contains both an insecticide that kills the adult fleas and an insect growth regulator that takes care of the eggs and larvae. You can also use flea traps for the place where you don’t want chemicals.
Lawnmower Yard
Remember, when it comes to battling fleas, less is not more. It’s better to do a little too much than to do a little too little and have to start all over again. There’s one crucial exception to this rule, though; never overdose the flea treatment on your pet. Follow the instructions on the label.
I hope this article is helpful and that you now feel that there’s a way to stop those disgusting creatures!
