Flea powders used for pets contained insecticides, and there were several reasons they were less than ideal for getting rid of fleas on pets.

• It was hard to distribute the powder evenly over the animal. Fleas had a tendency to linger in one or more areas of the pet’s coat, and re-infest them after the powder wore off.
• There was no real residual effect to the powder itself. It tended to fall away over time, and not offer any long-term protection.
• To be effective, flea control treatments need to be comprehensive, and kill not just the adult fleas, but the eggs and larva as well. Powders didn’t accomplish this.
• Powders created a toxic cloud during treatment, which could be inhaled by both the pet and the person treating them.

For these reasons, it’s actually much more effective, not to mention convenient, to use a topical treatment. These can be applied once a month and protect your pet from adult fleas, as well as eggs and larva.

Flea Powders for Use on Carpets

There’s one application for which powders are quite useful, and that’s to kill fleas and eggs in your carpets.

These powders, such as the Fleabusters Rx for Fleas Plus, contain borate. Borate is non-toxic to pets and humans, and will penetrate your carpets well. It’s a very fine powder, and has the added benefit of being statically charged.

Being statically charged means that once it penetrates the carpet, it will cling to the fibers and provide protection against fleas for a long time, even through repeated vacuuming.

Fleabusters powder is also Ph neutral, meaning it’s neither acidic or alkaline. Many insects, fleas included, can sense a high or low Ph and will avoid the area. With this powder, fleas have no such warning and will crawl through it and die.

But, stay away from toxic powder on your pets. It’s more trouble than it’s worth, and not particularly effective.

Vacuuming, Steam Cleaning, and Effective Use of Sprays

The most effective and cheap carpet flea treatments is vacuuming. Vacuuming daily will suck up adult fleas, and also destroy eggs and larva. Try putting some diatomaceous earth, borax, or a flea collar in the vacuum cleaner bag beforehand. This will help kill live fleas that wind up in the bag, and prevent them from escaping back into your home.

First, any throw rugs or carpets that can be washed should be. The same goes for any pet bedding, upholstery, or pillows. Anything that can be effectively washed in your washing machine should be washed in hot water and detergent. This is one of the best ways to kill fleas at all stages of the life cycle.

Using pesticides on your carpet can be effective, but may leave a toxic residue you don’t want. Other ways to treat your carpet is with a non-toxic substance that will scratch the fleas exoskeleton and cause dehydration. Diatomaceous earth, Borax and salt will all achieve this purpose.

If you have a particularly nasty infestation, and you want to try using insecticides, make sure you use one that also contains an insect growth regulator. Both the Knockout and Adams brands contain both.

Steam cleaning, either by a professional service, or with a home steam cleaner, is also very effective. Basically, you want to get the carpet as clean as possible. Once that’s done, try to vacuum at least every other day, if not every day. Pay particular attention to the areas your pet frequents, and under chairs and sofas.

Be sure to dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag properly by sealing it in a plastic bag before putting it in the trash. Keep to your program of regular vacuuming, and treating your pet for fleas, and you should be well on your way to being rid of your infestation.

Inexpensive and Effective Flea Control

You will need:

• A wide, shallow bowl, such as a pie pan.
• Dawn or other dish soap
• A stable desk lamp with a warm, bright bulb.

Half-fill the bowl with warm water, and add a few drops of the dish soap. The dish soap will break the surface tension of the water and cause the fleas to sink, as opposed to floating.

Place the lamp over the bowl of water and turn on the light. The light and warmth of the bulb will attract fleas and make them jump in the water and drown.

Leave the trap out in an area that is most likely infested with fleas, such as near where your pets sleep. Be prepared to find many tiny flea corpses in the water the next time you check.

How to Get Rid of Fleas in Your Home and Stay Rid of Them

The first thing to do is gather up everything in your home that might have been exposed to fleas and which will fit in a washing machine. This can include pet bedding, small carpets, pet toys, throw pillows and the like.

Wash everything you can with detergent and hot water. Anything you can’t wash you might want to consider throwing away, especially if it’s likely to be infested with fleas.

The Importance of Vacuuming
Next, you’ll want to treat your carpets and floors. One of the best and easiest ways to do this is with your vacuum cleaner. Vacuuming alone will get rid of many adult fleas, as well as eggs and larva. It will also break up cocoons and make fleas more vulnerable.

Consider buying a flea collar and placing one in the vacuum cleaner bag before vacuuming to kill fleas that get sucked up. Move as much furniture as possible so you can vacuum those areas that aren’t usually exposed.

The more you can vacuum, the better. Every day is ideal, but if you can’t manage that, then shoot for at least every third day. There’s no way to overstate the value of vacuuming in flea control. It eliminates fleas and eggs, and will also break up the pile of the carpet and allow any sprays you use to penetrate much better.

Flea Sprays and Bombs or Foggers
If you’ve got a particularly bad flea infestation, you’re probably going to want to use some kind of spray on your carpets and furniture. As I mentioned before, the key to selecting the right spray is to find one that will control the pre-adult fleas as well as the adult ones.

The Knockout, Siphotrol and Adams brands of products are very good for killing adult and pre-adult fleas. Please see our helpful product guide for more information. We’ll give you the ins and outs of each product.

In general, sprays that can be directed on the most problem areas are the most effective, as opposed to flea “bombs” or foggers that are set off before you leave your home. Bombs can work well too though, and they’re certainly convenient and might be worth a try if your infestation isn’t too bad.

Stay With the Program

So, keep vacuuming, and keep treating your pet every month with the topical flea treatment you’re using. If there’s one secret to effective flea control, it’s being consistent and keeping at it.

There are basically three steps to getting rid of fleas:

1. Kill the fleas on your pet.
2. Get rid of fleas in your home, including eggs and larva.
3. Continue to treat your pet, to avoid re-infestation.

The Flea Life Cycle consists of four different stages, and fleas in the early stages are resistant to many typical flea treatments. In order to get rid of flea eggs and larva, you will need to use other methods. There are products that are effective at killing flea eggs and larva. Using the wrong products can be an exercise in futility. See our home flea control page for details.

The topical flea remedies for your pet

Some of the most popular flea medications for pets these days are the monthly topical treatments, such as Advantage and Frontline. These are easy to apply, provide excellent flea control, and don’t involve the mess of sprays or foams. They are usually applied once every month, and protect your pet from fleas for the entire month.

Long lasting flea control with monthly application

These flea medications are also applied on a monthly basis, and provide lasting protection against fleas. However, if your pet will be exposed to fleas on an ongoing basis, you will need to continue to apply the monthly flea treatment to protect them. At the same time, it’s important to make a concerted effort to kill fleas in your home, to avoid re-infestation of your pet.

When Other Flea Control Methods Fail

Flea extermination with guaranteed results

Professional pest control companies, such as Terminix and Orkin will not only provide professional service, but they also usually offer a guarantee. So, once you’ve paid for the service, you can generally be assured that your flea problem will be solved. If not, the pest control service will provide another treatment free of charge. However, be sure to ask the provider about guarantees before purchasing.

Once you request the extermination service, the company will do an initial visit to assess your needs, and determine the type of pest in your home, and their means of entry. In the case of fleas, before the treatment begins, you will most likely be requested to remove or wash all pet bedding, vacuum carpets, and do the other non-pesticide related steps described in the home flea control section.

In addition to preparing your home for treatment, you will of course also need to treat your pet for fleas. See our section on flea control for pets for more information.

Preparing your home for professional flea control

Once you’ve requested the professional extermination service, make sure that all outdoor areas, crawlspaces, and shaded areas are available for treatment. You will also have to arrange to be out of the house for several hours after treatment. Also, all pets, including birds and reptiles will need to be removed from the home as well. Fish tanks can be covered with a damp towell, and the air pump turned off.

An Important Part of Home Flea Control

If fleas are present in your yard, you should be able to see them on the socks, in contrast to the white background. If there do appear to be fleas present, you can treat them with the same sprays described in the home flea control section. Be sure to use a yard spray that contains chemicals to kill both adult fleas and their eggs and larva.

Don’t worry about treating your entire yard. Focus on the areas used most by your pet, such as kennels and doghouses, along fences, and next to building foundations. Natural flea killers, such as diatomaceous earth, can spread around these areas to kill fleas without toxic chemicals.

Sunlight kills fleas, so concentrate your efforts on shady areas. You can treat your yard with insecticides, or you can use natural methods first. Nematodes (microscopic worms), and other natural methods can be very effective. Simply flooding infested or suspect areas with water can be quite effective. See our natural flea control page for more information.