How to Get Rid of Fleas –
Several Solutions You Can Try

Do you know how to get rid of fleas? There are several options, and you may need to use them in tandem to help eliminate these pests.

Going to the Source of the Infestation

The most likely source of fleas in the house and yard are your pets. Fleas will jump from animal to animal, whether your dog was sniffing the behind of another one, managed to catch that flea bitten squirrel at last or curled up by its friend at the dog park. When the fleas get on your pet, they’ll quickly move to the carpets and furniture, making them even harder to eliminate.

If your pet has fleas, the first step is a flea bath to kill the fleas on the pet. You’ll want to use a flea comb to find and remove live fleas on the critter as well as dead ones trapped in the fur. After the pet has been treated, a flea collar will dissuade them from returning to the pet.

Don’t Forget the Human Factor

It doesn’t matter if you know how to get rid of fleas on your pets. You are a warm blooded animal, too. If your pet has been jumping in your bed, you need to throw all your blankets and sheets in the washing machine for a long, hard, hot wash. Treat it as aggressively as you would bed bugs, since they are all blood sucking vermin that you don’t want to come back for more. Don’t forget to wash jackets, hats and gloves that may give shelter to these vermin.

Carpet Bombing, Or Less Literal Solutions

While fleas like to live on warm blooded animals to suck their blood, they know that animals will scratch, swipe and bite at them. This is why treating your pet is only the first step. You will need to wash all of the linens, pillows, blankets and upholstery your pet has been on.

You need to treat the carpets with powders that kill them. Wait as long as the container says before you vacuum it up. While vacuuming the whole house at least once (and ideally twice) is time consuming, it avoids the hazard a fogger creates.

You could use foggers. At least one fogger is required per room, and you cannot forget to treat the laundry room the pet used as a sleeping area or crate in the garage where he spent part of the day. You will need to make sure that all pilot lights, decorative candles, smoldering cigarette butts in the ash tray and other flames are off, since foggers are flammable.

You could try spraying insect growth regulator that prevents larvae from becoming adult fleas. IGRs need to be applied in addition to foggers, since foggers may not reach the deep base of the carpet where flea larvae usually reside.

Turf Wars

Fleas can live in the vegetation outside of your home for several days at least. This means that treating your home does nothing to kill the ones waiting to jump on you or your pet when you go out tomorrow or even the day after. You can spray flea control compounds on the yard, while keeping pets and children out of the area. Or hire professionals to do it so you don’t risk getting these chemicals on yourself or any vegetables in the garden you might eat later.

The Last Resort

If none of these options work or the fleas return, call in the professionals at Foundation Pest Control. Foundation Pest Control can utilize any combination of methods you need to end this flea-bitten nightmare and restore peace to your home. They can use chemicals that won’t aggravate your allergies or simply apply these treatments without exposing you to the chemicals.