Getting Rid Of Fleas
All You Should Know About Getting Rid of Fleas
Why should you worry about getting rid of fleas? Adult fleas live off the blood they suck from mammals. Their young feed on blood in the feces of the adults. That's not a pretty picture. Fleas need to be exterminated. Here's how to do it.
You need to destroy fleas and eggs in the overall environment. Eggs can be found in carpeting and beds, clothes and anywhere the host animal visits. Left unchecked, the eggs will hatch in a week or two and then the fleas will come out as larvae. They can live in carpets and the like for nearly two hundred days.
Step one in getting rid of fleas in the environment is to clean everything that may contain fleas, to remove as many larvae and eggs as possible. Quarantine infested pets, before treating the areas.
Collect the possibly infested bedding and rugs and wash and rinse them in warm and soapy water. This will kill the adults, pupae, larvae and eggs.
The next step in getting rid of fleas is to vacuum everything that you didn't wash. Furniture, carpets, anywhere that dust can collect, because fleas and larvae can collect there, too. After you're done vacuuming, remove the bag from your cleaner, and put it in an airtight plastic bag so you don't lose any of the critters you just picked up. You can put the bag in a freezer, too, to make sure you kill off any fleas that aren't already dead.
Have your carpets cleaned next, which will kill every stage of the fleas except the eggs. Warn the cleaners about fleas, and remove animals that are infested. If you'd rather do the work yourself, you can shampoo the carpet yourself or have a company use a heat treatment, which will kill all stages of fleas.
If your pet spends any time outside, you will also need to drench his usual resting area with water and soap.
The next step in getting rid of fleas is removing them from pets and people. This should only be done after the environment is cleaned.
Wash your pet with soapy water and use a safe flea shampoo to wash them thoroughly. After your pet is clean, comb him every day with a comb designed to pull out fleas. Throw any fleas you find in soapy water to kill them.
To be successful in getting rid of fleas, you also need to get them off yourselves. Bathe once or twice a day with soap. You can use an insecticidal shampoo, but soap and water should do the trick.
Next, move everyone back into your house and use flea prevention to eliminate the chance that you'll have to repeat the whole process.