How to Get Rid of Fleas
There’s an important fact to keep in mind about fleas that is critical to effective flea control.
The life cycle of the flea goes through four stages; egg, larva, pupa and adult. Treatments that kill adult fleas may not be effective in killing eggs or larva. If you’ve struggled with flea infestations in the past, and thought you’d succeeded only to see the fleas return, this could be part of the problem.
In order to kill fleas through all four stages of their life cycle, so you don’t just kill the adults and leave eggs and pupa in your carpet, you need to use flea bombs and sprays that contain an insect growth regulator (IGR). We list many of these products in our helpful flea product guide, so be sure to check that out when you’re ready to shop.
But first, let’s break it down. There are basically three steps to effective flea control:
- Get rid of the fleas on your pet.
- Kill the fleas in your home.
- Continue to treat your pet, and follow the program in your home, until you’ve gotten rid of all the fleas, their eggs, larva, and pupa to prevent reinfestation.
For the most part, it’s pretty easy to treat your pet. Convenient flea drops, such as Frontline Plus and Advantage, are very effective at killing the pests on your pet, very easy to apply, and will usually protect them quite well for up to a month.
There are other products you can try, of course, such as flea collars and shampoo, not to mention natural flea control methods. For most pet owners, however, flea drops will be the best solution.
Of course, the first thing to do is determine of your pet has fleas to begin with, or if he or she is scratching for some other reason. There are numerous reasons, such as skin allergies or mange, that your pet could be scratching, so make sure it’s fleas before treating them.
Treating your home for fleas is quite a bit more labor intensive to do correctly and effectively, but it’s really the foundation of good flea control. Obviously, unless you really get rid of the fleas in your home, you’re just wasting your time.
I will be honest at this point and say that for people with particularly bad infestations, it may be necessary to consult a professional pest exterminator. In some cases, the infestation is so tenacious that the home owner using over the counter products is just not going to be effective. Fortunately, these professional services will usually provide a free estimate, as well as a guarantee.
But, before investing in a professional pest control service, do your best to get rid of the fleas in your home on your own. Not only will this save you a lot of money and inconvenience, but you will learn the skills you’ll need in the future to both identify and get rid of fleas.
So, without further ado, let’s move on to step one – get rid of fleas on your pets.
My dog had fleas. I gave hime to shampoos and flea treatments in the last week. I haven’t seen any fleas on him or in my house. Is it a good idea to bomb anyway. It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve treated him but I am afraid to those creepy crawlies.
Hi Nikki,
As we state on this page, flea bombs are not particularly effective. You’re better off following the steps on this website, washing bedding, vacuuming carpets, etc.
If you need to spray, concentrate on the specific areas that are infested. Use a spray that contains both a growth regulator and an insecticide in order to kill both adult fleas and their eggs. Both Knockout and Siphotrol brand sprays are suitable, and available from Entirely Pets.
Just another update! I last wrote in on the first of August and have now been flea free since that date. I will still continue to vaccumn every day even tho I don’t see or feel the fleas any longer. I am just going to stay a step ahead in this hot Texas weather to make sure I don’t get them again. As far as seeing eggs like one of the writers inquired about, I have never seen one, but just vaccumn just in case for a while. It is constant attention for a while but the results will be worth it! VACUUM, VACUUM, VACUUM!!! Spot spray as needed. It worked for me and its all I did to get rid of them, but I did it everyday for 2 weeks. Good luck. I am going to get some Nematodes at the merchantile too.
I have been flea free for a month now. The daily vacuuming is the ‘key’ to this after spraying your carpets for the fleas. I know had I not vacummed everyday I would more than likely still be having the problem. You can’t just wash & expect them to go away. You have to treat your carpet & vacuum. I never did anything special to clothing other than keeping up with the laundry, so that nothin was laying around for them to gather in. I feel you are fighting an endless battle if you don’t vacuum. James you can live in the tub, but the moment you get out, if your not doing the the previous steps, then you being clean isn’t doing a thing to rid your home of these pests. Good Luck…barefoot & flea free
I hve 2 dogs and a cat, I ahve been having a flea problem for a whle. Both of my dogs continue to get the pests/ I vacuum everyday sometimes more than once I have used 3 shampoos, sprays, frontline and somethings I am sure I just don’t remember/ nothing has worked! I don’t know what else to do!
Put out moth balls all thru your house or apt. Been there done that with what you are going thru. Your clothes will smell like moth balls, but hey who cares if the fleas are gone. I just left mine out until the smell went away—works really fast and its really cheap. Hope this helps
Is it ok to put the moth balls where the dogs sleep?
We found fleas in our home, but we don’t have any pets. It’s probably from neighbours cat (she used to sleep on our door mat and now it’s sprayed with anti-cat thing). What’s the best way to get rid of them? We vacuum quite often so I consider extra, natural methods, due to a fact that we have a 6 mths old baby. What herbs/oils are the best to help prevent fleas?
Hi Marcin,
Many people comment on this site with the same complaints you have, i.e. they homes are infested by fleas brought in by other people’s pets. The best you can do is concentrate on vacuuming, and washing any infested bedding or other items you can.
For natural methods, see our natural flea control page for info on using diatomaceous earth, borax, etc. If you’re careful, you might also consider some spot treatments of heavily infested areas with Knockout or Siphotrol brand sprays, which are available from Entirely Pets. These sprays will kill both eggs and adult fleas, and they’re purported to be harmless to humans. At the very least, perhaps you can use them on the areas of your carpets that might be most heavily infested.
i have used baby powder and it work real good for fleas on my dogs or use wet tea bafs and rub on your pets and it will help with the itching.
Our dogs got fleas last year for the first time in 20 years. I had brought them to get their nails cut and 2 infested kittens had been there before them and that is how they got them.
Anyway, I freaked out and started researching as I dont use chemicals and feed a raw diet.
I bought a 50# box of perma-guard food grade diatomaceous earth online and used this on my dogs. It was a pain as I had to reapply often cause my dogs swim in the summer but it was worth it.
I bought mule team borax at the grocery store and used this on my rugs, in the cracks of my wood floor, under furniture in any rooms the dogs go. I sprinkled it evenly on the rugs and then swept it in evenly even more. I did the same things on the wood floors so it would get in the cracks.
I also vaccummed often but not when I first put the borax down. I bought natural flea spray and used this on the beds.
No more fleas–Yeah. We also had the winter in our favor so they couldn’t get anymore outside. I never got nemotodes as they werent in our yard to begin with. So far they dont have any fleas this season and I dont go to the groomer anymore I do their nails myself. If they did get fleas I have all the supplies from last year.
beyondfleas Says: as we stated on “this page”
May 5th, 2009 at 1:35 pm – page not available –
host not found – ? would like to see if we can find it.
Thanks
Dear Barefoot -
What did you spray your carpet with?
Thanks
I need to know if I use white vineger or apple cider vineger on my cats for flea control and how much. my cats do not go outside. thank you
Melissa,you want to use white vinager on them.But I will tell you that it dosnt work as well as what I thought it would when I used ut on my dogs.It works for about a day or so and then the fleas will be back.
Hello. i have a real bad issue. I have fleas on my cat. and its spread to my dogs. i spent over $200.00 on flea supplys. and it seems to work and then just comes right back. I havent washed my cat. but i have sprayed him with a flea spray for cats. and my dogs. they are now staying outside until i get this under control. but i have washed them. and they seem to be fine. but i have bombed several times. i havent vacumed though. and i have bought all types of chemicals to help. but im lost at this point. can anyone help?
i just moved into an apartment where im guessing the previous tenant had a cat with fleas. we do not have any pets but there are fleas in my apartment. what is the easiest most effective way to get rid of these fleas for good?
i just moved to the country and got a puppy. she is on frontline has a flea collar and gets bathed once a week in a flea and tick shampoo. still i went in my garage and found fleas everywhere today. they arent visible in my house yet there is hardly any carpet in the house pretty much all hardwood. most of the remedies seem to be for carpet. what would you recommend for the hardwood, garage, yard, etc….
I moved to a house that had fleas, the neighbors had cats they kept outside as well as inside and they pretty much took over the apartment building. We bombed, mopped, washed, called exterminators and nothing worked… so we moved. We bombed prior to moving and had the place exterminated. Now in the new place I’m having the same issue. I’ve used Flea Busters, sprayed with precor, and vacuum almost everyday….. I’m doing something wrong, but what I am not sure. I think its time to pull in the big dogs and have Terminix or Orkin on the payroll….. any thoughts? Anybody
Any comment will do
We have just moved and our new house is clean and so are our pets, but our previous house is infested to the point we can’t even walk in without 20 or more on us. There are no animals there and hardwood floors. No one has been to the house in a month and you can see them on jumping on the floors. How do I get them out? Bombed 3 times already.
Sorry for the delay in responding to these questions…
@melissa – Vinegar may very well be a good solution. It can be used one the animals coat, mixed with dish soap as a shampoo, and also internally by mixing a small amount in their drinking water. Check this link for more info:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf262770.tip.html
For the rest, I’m not sure I can offer any other solutions than are in the pages of this site. I would again suggest using a spot spray, such as Knockout or Siphotrol, instead of bombs. These sprays are available from Entirely Pets, and they contain both an insecticide and a growth inhibitor to kill eggs and larva. Many of the sprays you buy in the pet stores are not effective against both.
On hardwood floors, I would vacuum every day, and spray corners and the edge of the floor with an area spray such as Knockout or Siphotrol. If you want to avoid sprays, try some of the natural methods; Borax, diatomaceous earth, salt, etc.
If all else fails, try one of the professional exterminators. But first, be sure to try the methods mentioned in this site. Don’t waste time and money on cheap products. Treat your pet with Frontline or Advantage Multi, or natural methods and regular bathing. And, treat your home with Siphotrol or Knockout, lots of vacuuming, or natural methods.
Cheap flea products in pet stores, flea collars, Raid, etc. or at best going to be minimally effective. Read the information in this site carefully and use the right products.
I don’t know how well any of the “Home Remedies” work for eliminating fleas in your home…but I do know that for your pets, feeding garlic (liquid fill capsules) daily helps keep the flea infestations down. However, you will not rid your pets completely from fleas, but it will certainly help a great deal. I am in the professional pest control industry and from our knowledge and experience, there is a definite way to rid your home of fleas. With professional flea control. Fleas are not an easy pest to eliminate. They lay eggs which may lay hidden and dormant for fairly long periods of time. As long as fleas have a food source (pets or humans, or even rats, mice or wildlife) they will thrive. My suggestion if this is an ongoing problem is to enlist professional pest control services. I would and I have. Orkin is probably your best resource as they have the expertise and guarantee to stand behind the services.
Thanks for your input, Myra. From the comments posted here, I tend to agree that sometimes consulting a professional extermination service is the best way to go.
But first, be sure you’ve tried all the methods for both your home and pets described in this website. I don’t know exactly how much professional extermination costs, but I’m sure it isn’t cheap.
Help. My dog ran away. And brought home fleas. And they are in my hair. HOW DO I GET RID OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To get rid of your fleas use Borax. I sprinkle it on my carpet and the next day I vacum. There is something in it that kills them. Old timer gave me the advice. I know for sure that it works.
for 6 weeks i used, diamataceous earth,salt,borax,flea powder,essential oils of lemon,lavendar,cinnamon,citronella,cedarwood,neem,patchouli, and for 6 weeks i suffered. i finally bombed the apartment with raid flea killer and used raid carpet spray and am getting some relief
help i’ve put liquid between my cats shoulds, ive shampooed her, ive washed the linens and nothing has changed!!!!
Hello I was just wondering if u cld give me some advice as I jave read ur view on cat fleas an I have 1 dog an 2 cats my cats seem to have fleas an there getting bad my dog seems clear but treated them all 5wks ago with bob martin spot on it didn’t work so went to vets last week an got R.I.P flea spray for house hold which on my sofa its working but everywhere else its not! I also have treated my animals again with frontline from vets its what they reccomended an this morning I had one jumping around plz help an tell me what u used to get rid of them I hovver everyday an still dosnt seem to work xxx
I have tried everything!!! I have flea bombed my entire house. My 2 dogs and my 3 cats have all been treated every which way possible for the fleas and nothing seems to work. I went out and got the spray that you use for furniture and that hasn’t worked either. I am running out of options on how to get rid of them. PLEASE HELP ME I am DESPERATE!!!!! Diane
i still have a problem in my carpets with the fleas after bombing. However, my cat seems to be flea free after giving her capstar pills, which you can give your animal once a day for like 6 days until you don’t see any fleas on them. Then you put the a topical liquid on them for futher prevention. I used two capstar pills and did not see any more fleas on my cat and then put advantage on her. She is confined to a room in the house that does not seem to have any fleas and she is fine. I am going to try the baking soda/salt treatment in my carpets tonight and if that does not work, i am going to try bombing again. The fleas are biting me too.. so it is just a frustrating thing… it seems like it is an all out war to get rid of these little pest…
How well does Raid Fleas work? Is it affective if a wide area is sprayed or as a spot spray? My cats are suffering and I need solutions. Also, would a vet help??
Raid Fleas should kill eggs and larva, as well as adult fleas. Your vet would have Frontline or Advantage for your pet, if you can’t find them elsewhere. You can also buy them online through the merchants listed in the upper left of this page.
my dog and i moved to canada my wife and i think the fleas have emerged now i do belive we have a new strain of fleas they ar very aggresive and bite we have tried all of the normal flea control here in canada they havent seen fleas like thses before is there and 1 doing research on fleas here in canada
@rastlynn
That’s very interesting. I haven’t heard anything about a type of flea specific to Canada, but please come back and let us know if you find out anything.
It’s no wonder people are confused about what to do with fleas. Vets tell you the topical solutions sold by them or in pet stores is perfectly safe, yet you read where they can cause cancer, and you witness either tumors or worse, convulsions, etc in your own pet. They frown on using garlic, or other natural remedies saying they can be harmful to the pets. I have 3 dogs and several cats and live in Florida which provides a perfect arena for fleas. I have used the borax on carpets, which works with patience, and I’ve filled a pan with hot soapy water and placed it on the floor with a lamp and found that to be successful. But you have to keep doing it until the pan becomes flea free to be effective. I tried using apple cidar vinegar, and didn’t find that to be effective, but then I gave up on putting it on my dogs food after about 6 weeks. I made a spray solution with white vinegar and found that works to deter fleas from jumping on your pets in the first place, but it must be reapplied frequently.
Ridding your pets, home and your life of fleas can be a challenge and I have discovered if you are going the natural route, you need alot of patience and perserverance to come out ahead. But it is possible to do so.
I’m stil struggling here with no solution. I’ve tried putting down the Flea Buster’s powder and even have an exterminator come out, but it seems like the more I vacuum, the more I get bitten. I know that the vacuum brings them out, but I can’ spray every time I vacuum.
Anyway I think I’m going to just have the company out and put down the Flea Busters powder. They can do a better job and probably have a lot more powder than I could purchase. I know they work and that it takes time, but if I have the Flea Busters come out and the exterminator I should have them out by the holidays? Right?
Need a little help as this is going on 2 months now. I’ll take any and all suggestions.
I have found that the Frontline and Advantage are less effective than they used to be. Only working for about a week or two at the most before having to reapply, therefor being real expensive. I wash my pets with Sergents flea shampoo (from the dollar store) every three or four days and use a spray on the carpet and bedding as needed during the bad flea seasons. Usually in the spring and late summer when they are all trying to hitch a ride inside before it gets cold. The spot on flea treatments you can buy at stores work just as effective as the ones from the vet and are about 1/4 of the price. Good luck and keep fighting!
I had fleas in the house and sprayed 3 times with a week between each time and it got rid of them. I put IGR in the gallon of home spray. Now I have them extremely bad in the garage. I have sprayed about 10 times day after day with Demon WP, bombs, house sprays and still can’t get rid of them.
I called 1800 pet meds for more frontline and the lady told me that there has been a really bad resistance to frontline that apparently started in Ohio. Well, she recommended Advantix and it has worked! For the dogs only. We seem to have an infested basement! I am going to try borax and will let you all know how it goes.
I first noticed fleas on my dog (via flea dirt) in July 2009. They were especially bad for the next month or so. I put Frontline Plus on her immediately and bathed her with Seargeant’s Gold shampoo after the Frontline dried (3 days). I used the sprays on the furniture and carpet and tried Borax treatment for the carpet. I only started to see a difference when I used the flea treatment carpet and upholstery powder. You sprinkle it down on all the carpets and into the furniture. You have to then sweep it into the rug (make sure that you’re pushing it into the rug, not into the air) and let it sit for about 24 hours. It’s alot of work, but it seemed to be the only thing that worked for me. I was not interested in “bombs”. Once you sweep it into the rug, you should not be able to really even see the powder any more (that’s how you know it’s down into the carpet). The next day, vacuum well, especially around the baseboards and into the cushions of the furniture. You can use the spray to augment, but only spray the pillows and things you can’t wash. Wash all your bedding and especially the dog’s bedding in hot water and dry in the dryer on the high setting for at least 45 minutes. I put all my pillows and mattresses in the anti-allergies covers because it prevents anything from getting into them. I also use a lint roller to check where my dog had been resting to help me gauge if the amount of flea dirt or of the treatment has worked. It’s now been almost three months since this nightmare started and I think we’re almost through this. I do sometimes see a little flea dirt every 10 days or so because the pupae that are protected from the flea treatment hatch, but they go away after a day or so when they come in contact with the carpet powder or the Frontline on the dog. Be aware that Frontline does not kill fleas immediately and can sometimes appear that it doesn’t work because there are still fleas on your pet. But if it takes up to 24 hours to kill the fleas that are on your pet, new ones may have jumped on and then it takes 24 hours for those to die, etc., etc. Therefore, you HAVE to treat your house, too. I didn’t treat my yard because my dog probably picked up the fleas from her walk, because she doesn’t hang out in my yard very much. I feel all of your pain, but I HOPE that this is now behind me. I will never forget to put on her Frontline again! Good luck to all of you!
i just found out about 5 days ago that my cat had fleas and ticks. i put him in a room and i treat him there. i washed him with shampoo for fleas and ticks. they seem to be jumping off him. i have been washing and vacuuming everything regularly ever since i showerd him. but there’s fleas and ticks everywhere in my house. i was wondering if i can use the powder meant for pets on my carpet? leave it in there for a few hours and vacuum it up? please help. i’ve had my cat for 3 years and this is the first time this has ever happened. any help would be greatly appreciated
I have just discovered that my indoor cats who have never been outside have fleas. Im going to the vet to get the advantage and start them on it immediately. Im just wondering what to do next. I cant see them anywhere in my place nor have I been bitten. I have tile and wood floors throughout and was just wondering how to treat them besides vaccuming. Another question, If they are on treatment monthly (Advantage) will this eventually help kill leftover fleas tha may be lingering around even after cleaning everything? Any advice would be great I am germ crazy as it is and this flea business is freaking me out. Thanks
Howdy Yall,
My names Colby and I have done a LOT of research on killing the spawn of Satan himself – fleas that is.
I’ve come up with an Multi Step Process to rid myself and my home from Fleas forever. Here it is
1 Vacuum the entire house and your room heavily 3-4 times a week
2 Bathe twice a day with no exceptions, this is critically important.
3 Ice – FTW – Fleas cannot stand freezing temperatures – Hell Yea
4 Flea Shampoo – when Showering use it – buy at Petco – Buy this one
http://www.petco.com/product/12133/Natural-Chemistry-De-Flea-Pet-Shampoo.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
5 Under-water, off the radar – Fleas die like bitches if your completely submerged in water – wear earplugs
6 Lavender scent
7 Eat more garlic to strengthen you immune system
8 Launder your clothes twice do the whole cycle twice because drying makes the eggs hatch,
also if possible soak laundry seeing as being in submerged in water kills the bastards
9 When Vacuuming be sure to periodically throw the bag out because they will live fine in the bag
10 Wash the rugs in your apartment
11 Wash you sheets and comforter with Eucalyptus oil added to the washing process
12 Replace air filter in your apartment
13 Mint Plant in your window and home to ward off fleas
14 Wear Socks around the house at all times
15 Be strong and persistent, it will take time
because it is not instantaneous
16 Take out all trash regularly but especially in the fight against fleas because they tend to breed and congregate around the trash bin in my experience.
17 A great solution for anyone hell bent on ridding your-self of these bastards – Use the scent of Lavender, put lavender scent on your clothes and spray it in your home. Fleas can’t stand it
18 Lavender and Mint Plants as well as Eucalyptus Plants all ward of fleas
WARNING – Eucalyptus plants are poisionous to Dogs AND Cats. So if you have dogs and or cats that like to gnaw on random stuff better to probably use the other two plants.
Hope this helps
Sincerely
Colby
My housecat got out for a few days and now my house in infested with fleas. Did the capstar yesterday and am now waiting 36 hours to do the Revolution. However, I had dreadlocks and had to cut them off since the fleas took up home in my hair. Problem is, they still get in what’s left of my hair. I thought fleas didn’t attach to humans. HELP!
Hello, We got fleas in our house about 3 weeks ago, We are pretty sure my kids got them on there clothing like larva or something because we noticed them in our house roughly 2 weeks after the yard work.. Well we were flea free for about 1 1/2-2 weeks and now i will find like 8-10 a day take or give a few.. and i vaccumm every day. I have laundry in bags that I need to wash, I found a flea or two in my daughters drawer of clothing.. What do i need to do.. I am going to watch the clothes but should I wash them several times then dry them and then re wash them again to make sure that if any eggs were to hatch in the dryer then they will die in the washer again?? PLEASE help me.. I am one parrannoyed person about these stupid fleas.. I WANT THEM GONE!!!! HELP PLEASE
Also need help with getting rid of fleas. I have read almost every comment on this site and basically have tried most of it, except for fogging, which I really don’t want to do. We have noticied fleas on our 7 mo. old cat since Aug, when we let him stay at someone else’s house. They have never been “Bad” but I can’t stand even seeing one or 2 on him. We got frontline and have put that on him for 2 months and it doesn’t seem to be working. When we see any fleas on him, we usually confine him, start vacuuming, then give him a bath. They all seem to die after the bath then I don’t notice any, sometimes for a day or 2, sometimes for a week or so. We mainly have hardwood in our house, and carpet in our bedrooms, which we try to keep him out of there as much as possible. Lately, I have only seen fleas on him, none around the house. I don’t know what to try next, but its driving me nuts. Help!
My daughter and family came to stay and bought along some unwanted guests…fleas! They had no clue and we assume they were in the lavae stage because low and behold I found a flea on each of my 3 dogs! Being the germaphobic person that I am, I went into panic mode! Within 15 minutes of finding (3 fleas, one on each dog), I had them treated with Frontline Plus and had a professional company come out and spray the entire house along with outside. I wasn’t going to even risk finding anything else. I put everything soft in the dryer on high heat for 20 minutes and have vacuumed over and over again. I’m sure I’m probably doing overkill, but I don’t want to even risk it. I live in the northwest and was led to believe that fleas are not a problem here! Ha! It’s only been 4 days since the discovery and I’m freaking out by reading all these comments that say that frontline doesn’t work, etc. The company I had spray recommended another spraying in 30 days which I am going to do and my dogs will be re-treated with the frontline…wish me luck. Oh, one of my poor dogs, who has many allergies was allergic to the chemical sprayed in the house and had to have steroid shots!!
I strugle to clean my house of fleas and I found this article on my “researces”.
Today I put on my entire house baking soda (logicly, is made to “grow”) and I found one dead flea in my bed! I am tired of all the chemicals.
Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:11am EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vacuum cleaners kill fleas just as well as any poison, surprised U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
They said a standard vacuum cleaner abuses the fleas so much it kills 96 percent of adult fleas and 100 percent of younger fleas.
So no need to worry that a vacuum cleaner bag may turn into a fleabag breeding ground for the pesky, biting creatures, said Glen Needham, associate professor of entomology at Ohio State University.
Needham studied the cat flea, or Ctenocephalides felis, the most common type of flea found in households.
“No matter what vacuum a flea gets sucked into, it’s probably a one-way trip,” Needham said in a statement.
Writing in the journal Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, Needham suggested that the vacuum brushes wear away a waxy outer layer on insects called the cuticle. Without it, the fleas, larvae and pupae probably dry up and die, he said.
The findings were so surprising that the researchers ran their experiment several times.
“We didn’t do a post-mortem, so we don’t know for sure. But it appears that the physical abuse they took caused them to perish,” Needham said.
Fleas spread diseases such as plague and can transmit worms.
“There are all kinds of ways to manage the problem, but how people feel about insecticides and how much money they want to spend factors into what they’re going to do for flea control. Vacuuming is a great strategy because it involves no chemicals and physically removes the problem,” Needham said
Fleas in my Hair!! help!!!!
I have been using DeFlea Concentrated Shampoo. I have been washing my hair q-day with it. It kills some of the fleas but not all of them. Does perma-guard food grade diatomaceous work? Will it kill the fleas in my hair if i rub it on my scalp?
My sister in law says Pert Plus – shampoo and conditioner – works beautifully!
But I also noticed that over-the-counter Lice shampoo has permethrin in it -which is used to kill fleas, so you may want to try that.
Guess dogs found a bunny and now there are fleas. I know how to deal with the problem but would like to know if anyone has a product they like better than others. Also do u need to strip all human bedding and all washable items? Like go to the laundromat to address the problem? Thanks. rebecca
I wrote back on November 19th and here it is December 19th and I wanted to report we have never seen another flea in our house, dogs, nowhere!! Yeah!! If I had to give anyone advice, I would say, don’t bother trying sprays, bombs, etc…go straight to the pros! A little expensive, but honestly, having the peace of mind is really priceless! I did treat my dogs with frontline on the 16th and plan on treating them every month from here on out! Happy flea free holidays!!
one of my rental homes had been so flea infested you couldn’t even walk in the door, without being jumped and bitten by at least several dozen fleas… tried all the sprays and bombs you can buy… double the amount “needed”…. NOTHING!!! i called the pro’s, and voila’ THEY ARE GONE!!!
one week of H…, and about $250,– in products… versus $130,– and 2 days for the pro’s…. YOU DO THE MATH!!!!
i also have 3 dogs, now they have fleas… we were on vacation and they were at a friends… my dogs are just about clear, my house is good… but i found them in my daughters hair, who of course hugged and played with them as soon as we got back, and we didn’t know… still find one or two every couple of days…. i’ve seen other posts about this, but no responses… how do i clear my daughters head?
hello i sprayed my house with flea spray 3 days ago and im still seeing fleas on my clothes and jumping around on my kids clothes… they are also still on my dog… i used the drops on her she has had one month so far out of 3 month treatment…. how can i get these to go away!
I have a problem with fleas.They are living outside of my house.Does anyone know how to get rid of fleas in the yard?I need help really bad. !THANKS!
Hi Maribel,
Check out our page on flea control for you yard.
Hope that helps.
I’ve used so many all natural methods and products on my cat and on my carpet . Vaccuming 2 times a day essential oil sprays powders . cat 1-2 a day with natural flea shampoo. I never thought I’d say it but I think I have to go for the bomb. Me and my child are bit 50 times over. I feel that we are more likely to get ill from contracting a disease from fleas then very, very responsibly using a bomb. Sorry mother earth.
Hi Theresa,
I understand your frustration. However, instead of using a bomb, you might consider a spot spray, such as Knockout or Siphotrol. These will kill both eggs and larva, as well as adult fleas, and you’ll be able to spray them on the specific areas that are infested, as opposed to fogging your entire home. If you haven’t tried these before, it might be worth a shot. They’re both available from Entirely Pets.
Hi, I use REGULAR Dawn dishwashing liquid to bath my cat and dog it DOES kill fleas as soon as the suds gets to them. I highly recommend the dawn detergent and it doesn’t dry your pets skin.
I moved to northern CA from CO in June of 2010. Never had a flea prob. at all. Three weeks ago, found fleas on my dachshund. I applied a topical control from neck to tail on 11/22/20, have given her flea baths, washed her bedding every other day, flea collar, used vets best natural flea spray, (rosemary and cedar oil), sprayed the carpet as well. Still see fleas on her, I am at my wits end, and freaked out! Please advise with any suggestions.
I have fleas in my house, but don’t have pets. what can I do to prevent them from being here?
There’s a lot of information on this site in answer to your questions, Cindy. Check out the pages on home flea control and fleas in carpets, in particular. Hope that helps.
I have flea treatment on my cat and have vacuumed the house several times, but I can’t seem to get rid of the boogers.
Is there another way, beside bombing, to get rid of fleas???
Thank you,
Lo
Great post, very informative and very helpful! Though you have listed some pretty good products, do you know of any natural flea remedies? I’ve been looking around and I actually found out that it is much more difficult to get rid of fleas while they are in the earlier stages of their life cycle, so i would like to do so without chemicals
http://dogfleas.org/how-to-get-rid-of-fleas
Hi my cat pepper has a bad case of fleas. We bought him advantix but a couple weeks later they came back. Will the fleas go away if we shave him? He is an inside and outside cat.
Hey Pepper,
Shaving your cat is no guarantee that you’ll get rid of his fleas. The remaining short hair would be plenty to conceal fleas and eggs. Better you follow the steps for your cat and your home which are detailed in this site.
We have been using Fronline Plus on or cats and dogs for several years with fine results. However, as of last summer it doesn’t seem to be effective any longer. We’ve spent a fortune on the stuff and there is no let up in the fleas on the pets. Looks to me as if the fleas have adapted. I won’t be squandering any more of my hard earned funds on that product!
My biggest concern has been all the chemicals that come with any flea killing medication. I can’t imagine it is healthy for my pet, my nieces or myself. I found this book on how to control fleas without insecticides and found it helpful.
Super cheap so if you have a problem it’s worth it.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005AO94HQ
I really need help on getting rid of these pest they are driving me and my husband crazy. We just move into our apartment we have been about a month, no pet and we are infested with flea, spiders we have call professoral and we have both all kinds of raid,hotshot, and did home remedies like putting salt down to dry them up but nothing has gotten rid of them dang on fleas i want to say something else but I will keep it clean. Could some one please help me my email is boydsedalia@yahoo.com you can email at anytime i really want to enjoy my new home.
thank again
flea infestation apartment
We don’t have pets but we have flees in the 4 unit house we have bombed twice but the neighbors will not bomb one neighbor has cats and we don’t know what to do we are on a budget and dont have much to spend on getting rid of them plus we dont own the house
I have a terrible case of fleas in my home. I had a kitty in the home and when i noticed a few fleas she has been outside ever since! i bombed the first time and it was not effective at all. the next time I was very thorough washed every article of clothing and bedding first cleared rooms did everything i was supposed to and used twice the amount of bombs and the next day it seemed the bombs did absolutley nothing! What do I do now, I have no animals in the house and have cleaned and washed everything but the fleas are sooo bad and the bombs are not working HELP
I got three kittens but I didn’t know they have fleas and now I’m getting bitten up on my legs and I need to know how to get rid of them in my home for good I’m caucious what I use cause I have five small children
Hi I just bombed my house and I came back and it seemed to have gotten worse idk what to do im about to take everything out of the house and hose it down lol I need some advics on what to do its driving me crazy
Help both my dogs has they scratch
All night long try everything nothing works
My short haired dog showed up with a flea and I used Hart’s drops and left it @ that. A month later he has another flea and again I do the same thing. Then he becomes infested with the lil suckers and I still use the drops again. My sister’s dog comes to visit and she gets em and I treat her with the same drops…ok, so the drops aren’t working. Both of them get a bath with flea shampoo…it just kills the fleas that are on the dogs. I treated the yard but still no relief for my dog. The people at the pet store say to use K-9 Advantix ($62). It really helps keep the infestation away. I have found 1 flea on him about every other day but it is easy to get off of him. I’ve used Sentry Home spray and carpet powder and Adams carpet powder and those really help. But I’m going to try the Borax as the powder dust gets in my eyes and nose when I vacuum. My dog loves to be
outside and the neighbors dogs are badly infested with fleas. He put a very strong odor flea collar on his dogs but that doesn’t help. I continue to wash his bedding and vacuum constantly. I will use the Advantix next summer before the fleas can get inside the house. Good luck to everyone fighting this battle.
Hi so I have a flea problem and it bothers me cuz of my 4 month old son, now I wasnt sure on bombing my home because I live in an apartment on the bottum floor, and wasnt sure if it wpuld leak to any other apartments, is there anyother way? I have no pets, its just in my home.
Hi my dog fleas an we can’t figure out how she got them but now they are all over my house an is gettin in my kids hair pls help me what can I do right away to kill them all I’ve tried the dawn dish soapan I thought I got all of them but no luck what can I do pls help
My pets have had fleas for about two weeks. I have two cats and a dog. I have been using this natural herbal shampoo for them as I do not use the chemicals. I have been
bathing them twice a week and cleaning like crazy with natural flea spray, and have been combing my pets fur with a flea comb. This is the first time they have had fleas and I can’t get rid of them. I’m now starting to find them in my hair! Please help, thanks,
Liv
so we just moved into this house we bomed the house because i got bit by fleas (im very allergic). well it seems that my room is the only one still left with fleas i bombed it agian yesturday, and it seemed they were dead but i woke up and put jeans on then there were more i sprayed my clothes with raid although that is probly not good they were just washed the day before i dont know what to do..
I have two dogs a English bulldog and a Pug. I have never had a flea problem before. I have a new roomate with no pets is it possible he brought them in? Secondly I use Frontline as recomended vacume every two days. I have lived here four years and this has never been an issue. I saw the first few bites on the pugs belly two weeks ago both have had three baths since. I saw the first one tonight on me and freaked me out it was half the size of the tip of a ball point pen. I have done everything from what I mentioned above also cleaned all the clothes in the house and treated the capet. How do I treat a microfiber sofa and should I bomb the house? Please Please Help! I don’t have alot of money so I can’t hire an extirmenator whats my next move!
You can buy as spray and spray it all over your clothes in your carpet in your curtains in the furniture or get a bomb it was only 1495 at com walmart the spray was only 6 dollars and I have a 1 bedroom home did the whole house they also say when you vacuum if you have a bag cut up a flea collars so whatever you suck up will kill the fleas inside the bag I have a canisters I sprayed the whole canister good luck
Two weeks ago I found fleas on my indoor cat. I immediately took him to the vet and he was treated with advantage. The next day I had Terminx treat my house. Afterwards I have seen a flea or two here and there but they seemed small and weak. I have been vaccuming everyday, had my couches cleaned and washed everything in my house. Now its two weeks later and today I’ve found several fleas, one that was biting me
a few in my daughters bed. I’m so frustrated, did they come back? Did I do something wrong? Do you have any suggestions? How long before an infestation is over? Any help would be great.. I can’t take it anymore!!!!
Hi,
I have a very dark brown, gold and black cat (what a combination). I find it extremely hard to find fleas on him, even though I see him scratch and I find fleas all over the house, and for some strange reason they only bite me. What’s worse I get a bad reaction to the bites, and instead of the normal attack around the ankles, I get bitten absolutely everywhere. Everywhere.
Evidently my cat is the cause, and I have tried all sorts of products from Bob Martin to Frontline but to no avail, he still scratches. I comb and comb him but I can never get any fleas out, he wears a flea collar which doesn’t seem to be working as he continuously scratches, I bathe him, I vacuum the carpets and sheets and beds and anything that stands still, but nothing works.
I need some serious help, any advice would be mega-appreciated.
PS. I am a full time student who doesn’t have the time to vacuum more than once a day everyday, and all my family work full time. So something that isn’t time consuming would really be helpful.
Thanks.
I just got a puppy and she has been treated with frontline plus since the day I brought her home. I live in an apt building and everyone has multiple cats and dogs. I have noticed yesterday that my dog now is covered in fleas. I gave her a bath in dish soap and gave her another treatment of frontline plus. We have left the apt for a few days and I am going to bomb my place tomorrow. My question is if I do get rid of them from my place will they come back thanks to my neighbors?
Hi Everyone
I recently moved and seemed to disturb something and hey presto, my grown-up daughter was getting bitten and mostly when in bed at night, as she would wake up with massive bites on her legs and thighs. Cos it seems they only bite one person, probably because after one bite they can smell the blood?
These are the best most effective methods to get rid and now they are gone, and yet frustratingly we never saw one flea.
Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum! And then use a whole can of R.I.P. available from your Vet. Always get flea products from the vet. I got a huge can for £20 sprayed it mostly all over the whole house and haven’t been bitten since.
If you are very really infested get the professionals in, bombing doesn’t seem to work.
well what i did was put oil on my dog it did not work so i tried to wash him alot that did not work so get him a flea collar from petsmart they did the trick
Had a flea infestation for 6 weeks..been to the vet and used strong hold spot on, and r.i.p.flea spray for the house 2 weeks ago..today ive been but + I seen a live flea on my car..how long till it works.. Thanks very much..x
The only thing that works on my mini schnauzer is a pill called Comfortis. It is about 20.00 per pill–but worth every dime. It kills every flea on him in 30 mins. and works for 30 days. About 3 years ago my brother gave me his 3 year old German Shepherd. She is a wonderful dog and love her to death. She is my Guard baby as my husband drives a truck and is gone at night. On her first trip to the vet with us we discovered she had the beginning stages of heart worms. We had her treated 800.00 and the vet said she had to stay in the house for 30 days after the treatment. If you put them back outside and they run to much they can have a heart attack. She would be in the house all the time if not for the shedding. We were so smart –it never dawned on us she had fleas. We were infested–tried everything. Was even spraying my legs at night so they would not bite me in my sleep. We did 3 different sets of flea bombs, got stuff from the vet that was guarnteed to work–nothing. Finally someone told me to put moth balls all thru the house. It worked !!!! What a cheap fix, as we had spent almost 300.00 on flea bombs, and other products. I have also heard they keep snakes out of your yard, garden beds etc. The smell was not praticulary great–but the fleas were gone and have stayed gone for 3 years. Thank GOD
I was wondering if after putting frontline plus on my dogs do the fleas jump off of them and on me on my bedding I wash on my bedding in hot bleach water I sprayed the whole house the curtains the carpet the bed the rugs the pet beds I’m worried I didn’t do it in the right sequence or right at all please let me know thank you
Ive tried everything both professional & on my own & I’m infected & miserable
we have used comfortis which dogs had a bad reaction to, still had fleas. We have used advantage, still have fleas. Have bombed the house, dogs still have fleas. we bathe them in a flea shampoo and conditioner and added more tea tree oil to it, still have fleas. These are very pampered healthy one year old cocker spaniels which live inside. Desperate, don’t know what else to do for them or us. Our house is very clean, with very little carpet, mostly wood floors.
Please, advise as what to try next. thanks you.
Hello everyone! First off, I would like to say thanks to the people who developed this site and to everyone who have posted comments with information. Every bit of information helps. I have a few questions that I am desperate to have answered, and they aren’t the usual “I have fleas, what do I do” questions. I’m hoping someone will know something because I really can’t afford talking to a professional. I’m just getting back on my feet after being homeless for several years. Anyway, my story in a nutshell is, you guessed it, I have a flea problem. I had never seen a flea in my entire life until about nine months ago. I had a new kitten whom I love very much and lived in the car with me. He had to be walked multiple times every day, but I had lived in North Idaho most of my life until about a year ago, when I moved to Oregon, and never even thought about fleas. My kitty caught fleas nine months ago and we used a flea comb and liquid medication, which over time got rid of them. Now my cat never goes outside since I have an apartment, but he has caught them again. This time is much worse.
The fleas I am dealing with now are pretty crazy. They are HUGE! They’re so big it can be hard to pick them out of the comb. It’s just me, my cat, and my fiance in our studio apartment and I’m the only one getting bitten; my fiance has maybe had ten bites total whereas I have had hundreds. My cat is having a hell of a time. I’ve caught around a dozen fleas in the comb with one swipe through his fur before. Here are my questions:
1) Am I looking at health problems? And if so, what? I am not overexagerating when I say that the tops of my feet and entire ankles are almost a solid cluster of bites. They’re getting me everywhere, but from the knee down is a battle zone. The only way I can keep my sanity is to rub cortisone cream onto the bites all the time to stop the itching and pain. Most of the bites are huge and the areas around the bigger clusters is numb. When the fleas really freak out on me I get a deep, aching pain that I’m pretty sure the bites are causing. Another thing that is freaking me out is that I’ve been having phantom sensations of bites and fleas crawling on me when there is definately nothing there. This happens everywhere, not just around bites, and I’m not sure if this is mental or not. I’m starting to get very worried. I was just wondering if anyone else had heard about anything like this and what happened. I want to know if I should be worried or not. I can’t really afford seeing a doc right now, but if this is serious I’ll figure out a way.
2) Is it safe to treat a cat with two different types of medication at the same time? I am very nervous about this because I would be devistated if anything happened to my cat. I used a cheap liquid treatment that helped the last time he had fleas, but he was smaller then and the formula was for cats under 5 pounds. This time the medication is doing nothing and I was wondering if it safe to use one of the powders or sprays before 30 days have passed. Please keep in mind that I become abnormally attached to animals to the point that seven years after one of my previous cats died I still cried when I talked about it. If you don’t know for sure, but have an idea please make sure you state that because my cat means the world to me and is pretty much the equivelent of a son to me. I almost cry when I accidentally step on him or hurt him. What can I say, I’m a sucker for orange eyes and cuute meows. Anyway, please be clear whether your answer is a certain fact or speculation.
Thanks everyone,
Katy
Hi Katy,
I’m sorry you’re having such a horrible time with your infestation. That amount of itchy bites can almost drive you nuts, as anybody who’s experienced it knows.
In answer to your first question, yes, fleas can carry diseases such as bubonic plague, but that is relatively rare. Here’s a run down on flea borne disease though:
http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/f/flea/intro.htm#whatis
As to the second questions, I can’t recommend you use another medication before the 30 days have past. But, I will say you’re much better off staying away from the cheap drops and springing for a better treatment such as Frontline. I realize they’re much more expensive, but the cheap drops are just not that effective.
Otherwise, you can always wash your cat if he’ll allow it. Dawn dish soap works pretty well, and combined with a flea comb, which you already use, you can probably get rid of the fleas on him pretty effectively.
But, you’ll really need to focus on getting rid of the fleas in your apartment. Since it’s a small studio, that ought to be doable. Here’s the page on this site to refer to:
http://www.beyondfleas.com/home-flea-control
The basics are washing or getting rid of everything you can that might be infested, spraying carpets or using a borate based powder on carpets. Borax also works, or salt. And, the best free technique you can do is vacuum every day. That’ll break up the carpet fiber and flea pupa. Also, spray carpets and drapes, or anything else that might be hiding fleas, eggs or larva.
It’s important that you use the right products though. Be sure to get a spray that contains an insect growth regulator to kill eggs and larva. You might also consider a flea bomb, since you have a small studio. If you can leave for a day with your cat, set off the flea bomb inside, you might at least get on top of the problem.
I hope that helps, and best of luck.
Travis,
Thank you for your quick response. The information you gave me was very helpful. I’ve been having problems with lethargy lately, but have been diagnosed with Bi-Polar, so I had no idea which one might be causing it. Now I know exactly what to look for.
I had read in another comment that someone had used baby powder on their pets and that it helped so I tried that rather than risk more pesticide. For anyone else who wants to try this method, it DOES work, but you wont start seeing results for a few days. One thing I had an issue with when using baby powder was that my cat got a little confused since the powder completely changed his scent. Since cats are big on scents, and mine hasn’t been neutered yet (he’s smart enough to know better than to spray so I’m giving him some extra time with his kitty manhood), so he had two accidents on the bed the day after I powdered him. That is one thing you need to watch out for when using baby powder on cats. Always remember that cats will spray, both male AND female, whether they have been neutered or spayed or not. Getting them fixed just lessens the chance a bit that they’ll start spraying. Anyway, the good news is that the baby powder does work over time, and I’ve only powdered him once about 4 days ago. The number of fleas I pull off him is drastically smaller. They’re also mostly young fleas, instead of mostly adults like before.
The second treatment I used is Sergeant’s Flea-Free Breeze. This stuff works really well and also has an odor control bonus. It doesn’t smell bad at all, but you still have to ventilate where you use it or it gets hard to breathe, and that stuff is very bad for any lungs, pets and humans alike. It has insect growth regulator, among other bug killers, and takes out ticks, too. The bottle says that it can kill fleas for up to 210 days. The bottle also says that you should vacuum first, but I did things a little differently. Before I vacuumed I sprayed in the areas that have been the worst and waited two days. Then I vacuumed and sprayed every bit of floor I could. I don’t have any kind of fabric curtains and my apartment is pretty bare so it didn’t take much time. I haven’t had a new flea bite since I sprayed all the floors and that was last night. I’ve had a few land on me, but they were pretty weak, so easy to catch. This stuff works really well (it better since it’s $12 for a bottle barely big enough to treat my tiny apartment twice) and I would recommend it to anyone. The only difficulty I had was keeping my cat from walking on the carpet since I don’t have anywhere else to put him.
The flea trap is also a good idea. I stubled apon the idea on my own, but the trap in the article HERE is probably more effective than mine. I had a glass with a small amount of water sitting on the floor and after a while noticed that a bunch of fleas had jumped into it, so I started setting glasses of water everywhere and caught a bunch of fleas. I added soap to the water after reading the article on this site and now don’t have to worry about a bunch of them trying to climb back out. Now they just drop to the bottom, squirm a bit, and die. I don’t use a light, though.
I hope that my experience can now help others. Good luck, everyone!!