How to Get Rid of Fleas in Your Home and Stay Rid of Them
Once you’ve treated your pet for fleas, it’s very important you get rid of the fleas in your home as well. This can be difficult if you have a bad infestation, but if you follow these simple steps and stick to them, you should be able to enjoy a flea-free home.
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
By far the most important thing you can do to get rid of fleas is to stick with it. Even if you’ve treated your home and pets, and the fleas seem to be gone, don’t let up. Eggs and larva may be laying in wait, and will hatch and force you to repeat the process all over again.
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.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Bengal flea spray is a decent help for fleas on carpeting and bedding. However, you must re-spray every three weeks. Its not a permanent solution but it will keep them off your ankles.
Vacuum the heck out of your floors & furniture, follow with a good spectracide spray, follow that with a good dusting of 20 Mule Team Borax and vacuum again every day – reapply spray & Borax. I have allergies so I use a dust mask for this. If your vac has a bag, throw it away. If not, wash the container out thoroughly & the filter as well. Swear a little & pray a lot but stay with the treatment. Doesn’t hurt to use bug bombs, too. Holes in the ground can be: crickets, ants, ground hornets, etc. Exterminators are higher than a tree and you will find they expect you to vac twice daily, too. I cannot reason wy God created fleas, flies, and ticks unless it was to give man something to gripe about!!!
About fleas & mattresses: I’d try vacuuming thoroughly & then putting a dustproof, dust-mite-proof zip-up cover on it. There’s got to be a way to defeat the little devils!!!
If you have problems with fleas like me, well guess what? Do I have good news for you. Try using Dawn dish detergent, and it will eliminate the fleas on your pet, and on and inside your apolstry. Well GOOD LUCK!
we were gone for 14 months out of the country and rented our home to neighbours who are renovating. We came home a week and a half ago to find juming fleas everywhere!!! Our tenants had 5 cats!!! The following day we had the Fleabuster guy in but he says that since we don’t have any pets we just have to vacuum everday and wait for the flea cycle to be finished. We are supplementing with bombs right now but the guy keep assuring us that the powder will work and he has a one year warranty and will come to redo the job if we still get heavy infestation. Just to help things a bit i had my husband order a fleabuster powder so i can apply it in areas that i feel can do with some more. It has static qualities so it sticks to the furniture and the carpet strands and the cracks and attacks the flea when it emerges from the pupae stage. I will let everybody know if in 4 weeks it works. Should be enough time for the cycle to go through. And it is very safe for children (we have 2)and you can apply it wiyth nobody getting out of the house.
Is there anything you can eat/take that would make humans & pets blood distasteful to fleas? I’ve bombed, Advantaged and vacuumed and I still get bit. I’m ready to cry.
AGW, I’ve heard that vitamin B-12, brewers yeast and garlic can all be effective if eaten. Still, if you have a bad infestation, there may be so many fleas that these methods won’t do much. I wouldn’t bother with bombs too much. It’s much more effective to spray directly on the most infested areas, with a spray such as Knockout that will kill the eggs and larvae, as well as adult fleas. There’s no real secret, it just requires a lot of work, vacuuming, and washing everything in sight. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Best of luck.
Oh yeah, I forgot to add that I called terminex today to get a ball-park figure on a home treatment. I was told it was $150 for and initial treatment and $75 for three more treaments over a year. Just in case anyone was thinking about this option…
I don’t know if this will help anyone but this helped me. I live in NC and have had a really bad problem with fleas this year. I have had to start with treating my yard every week with a product called Triazinon, I get it from Lowes. I purchase the liquid form so I can just use my water hose to put it on my lawn. For treatment of my animals, I called my vet and she recommended a dip made by Zodiac, Pet Smart I know carries this. They make one that can also be used for puppies and kittens also. For my house, Hartz puts out a really good carpet powder and 3 in 1 spray that I hhave used in my entire house. All of this together has made a big difference. It hasn’t gotten totally rid of the problem but it has at least made it to where I can live with it and I’m not seeing fleas every time I sit down in my house now.
We had fleas in our home. They were apparently dormant when we moved into the house and didn’t notice them at all…at first. I could describe the details of everything we have tried to do to get rid of them….BUT….I found this piece of information the most helpful…so I’m passing it along to any of you who are seriously desperate to find help….Here it is….Call a large and reputable hotel in your area…call a couple if you need to….although they might not first admit it…they have battled with fleas at some point in time…ask them who they used to treat the problem, the price, the results and so on. Most of them will absolutely tell you if the experience was good. Find their method of resolving the matter and you have just found one for yourself! Good place to start, anyway. It worked for us!!!
One thing I’ve not seen mentioned on this site is an easy treatment I personally have used for the treatment of fleas in your clothes.
Fleas get in your socks/stockings and suchlike. Most items of clothing can be folded up and put in a microwave oven. A short blast of about 30 seconds on socks/tee-shirts etc is enough to kill the fleas. I do it in the morning and again when I take my clothes off at night. If I see one on me I quickly fold the flea inside my clothes so it can’t escape, take off the item and put it in the microwave immediately. Only put dry clothes in and a short blast won’t harm your clothes.
I am currently fighting a massive infestation in my home, I will tell you that most of the sprays like Hartz in control and such just dont’ work. Me and wife have vacuumed and vacuumed but I will say that rubbing alcohol and or vodka surely works for temporary comfort in the areas of you home you like to chill while you let the professionals do the work, i would not recommend spending any money on those powders and sprays because guess what they don’t work…..spend 50 get the house treated and call it a day…my opinion
Yes! Big John mentioning alcohol reminded me.
Another mehod I found successful was to drink a bottle of whiskey. Then, sufficiently innebriated, sleep in the room where you suspect the little darlings to be.
You’ll get bitten for definite. But rest assured, the swines will die on the blood.
I did this over a period of time and killed more fleas than any spray or powder could have done.
Point being: alcohol kills fleas. I am sure there are a few methods – for the creative amongst us.
So you’re suggesting that I become an alcoholic?
Thanks, you’ve really solved my flea problem, and yet I was thinking of harsh street drugs!!
Get over it! a litle bite here and there don’t hurt anyone. I am a flea and I get sick when i see how much blood you all waste every month, and thousands of my childeren go hungry every day.
My house has hard-wood floors and the cats moved out months ago but we still have a pretty bad flea problem. Pest control has come by twice and I try to vacuum but as I travel for a living I can’t do it all of the time. I’m stressed out because I’ve spent so much money on pest control already. They keep assuring me that the adult fleas will die off and that I might see baby fleas around but that they will die off too. However, I keep getting bit by giant adult fleas. What should I do?
Fleas- I think I’m at the point where I ahve to get a new mattress (just getting a cheap, plastic air mattress for now). No matter how many times I wash or switch my bedding, I can’t seem to wake up without a few new bites on me. It’s so frustrating!
I used Frontline on my two indoor cats and the next morning there were dead fleas where ever my cats would sit and lay. That immediatly relieved me.
However, I was sitting on my couch last night and saw a tiny flea hopping around next to me. I then find a slew of them crawling around in my socks! I immediatly rinsed them for a while in really hot water, hopefully that killed them. I was mortified though! I just had to move the couch, vaccuum and spray this insecticide that I am not too keen on (hot shot home pest spray)
I am trying a product called Fleago. It’s pure Borate acid powder that is safe for use on a large scale. I’ve read nothing but good reviews on it.
Does anyone know how to get fleas out of luggage? I found my cat, to my suprise, in my closet where I keep a luggage bag of mine. I’m worried it’s contaminated…
I work at a medical facility and I have direct contact with people all day long. We recently found out that our office was infested with fleas and everyone was getting bit. I need some tips on how to get rid of these suckers. I found them in my house and even in my car. Everyday after work i go to the basement and wash my clothing, and take a long shower. But recently I found some black dots on my covers and when i googled it the images looked like flea poop. I have pets who have been bathe in flea shampoo and given flea medicine. I havent seen them on my dogs but i did see them in my car and house. I try to vacuum everyday and wipe furniture with water and vinegar. It serves as a repellant since its too acidic. Any other tips please let me know.
I was wondering if the bombs you talk about are flea bombs or just regular bug bombs
my roomie has 2 black haired dogs that come into my room and office all the time. all the sudden i was studying and felt something prick me, the bite was pimp size and it looked like it had a pin prick in the middle, the itching didnt last very long, and was totally gone by the next day. then the next night in bed im getting bit so i stripped my covers, and i really think its fleas but my roomate doesnt believe me… because she doesnt have any fleas in her room (where the dogs sleep) and that the dogs dont have any fleas (they get monthly stuff done)… so i went and bought massive flea spray to spray in my office and bedroom, vac’d, washed my bedding, and sprayed all over on the carpet near my bed under my bed, all over and then left all day. her bf asked if i could show him one, so i come home today to see if the spray worked and i have black dots all over my carpet but when i pull them off the carpet they just look like fuzz. sSO I GUESS I SHOULD GET TO THE POINT.. AFTER YOU SPRAY YOUR CARPET, IS THAT WHAT THE “FLEAS” are supposed to look like? little balls of fuzz? i would love someone to tell me what their fleas lookedl ike after they sprayed and if they looked at all like tiny black fuzz balls. :)
Will bengal harm my pet.
Thank you. This advice may come in handy. I do have a question though.
How would you treat a home that has wood flooring?
We are having an awful time with fleas. We have had a Professional Exterminator here twice now to spray, and they are still, just awful. Im ready to pack up and leave my home, I have a 6 month old baby I cant even allow her to play on the floor, However the few times she has they have bit her which is good but I dont want to take the chance either. Can you help?
Hi Denise,
I’m sorry to hear you have such a bad infestation. That’s sounds horrible, especially after two professional exterminations. Are you vacuuming regularly, and using a borate flea powder on your carpets? Those powders are non-toxic to pets and kids, so they should be safe to use. Check out our page on killing fleas in your carpet for more information. Good luck!
I have had a fearce problem with fleas for over a month now!! I have BOMBED, bathed, sprayed, dipped and even used Adams flea monthly repellant. Ques what…still have them. I’m at the point to where I just want to burn the place down to get rid of them. Worst part is when I visit mt family, I have to drown my pets in flea dip cause I’m so paranoid of getting even more.
Heidi,
Sorry to hear your fleas are so bad. You might want to consider a professional extermination service at this point. Are you vacuuming every day? That’s one of the most effective ways to get rid of fleas in your carpets, as well as using a borate based flea powder, which is non-toxic. Check out our page on killing fleas in your carpet for more information.
How did they get in my home?
Really helpful, constructive free advice. Excellent many thanks x