How to get rid of Fleas

You love pets and love playing with them but pets also love to play with someone and sometimes bring those unwanted friends home, these are little, pesky, blood-sucking fleas. No one wants these troublesome pests around in their house. It’s not easy, but you need to know how to get rid of fleas immediately to erase them from your home.

You need to be tricky and efficient to make this happen because the moment you noticed their existence on your pets, they have already infested your house and it’s just 5% of the fleas’ population on the pets and rest of them will be residing in the fibers of carpets, on furniture and bedding. Follow along to understand how you can effectively remove the existence of fleas from your house.

Finding the source of fleas

The first step towards flea removal is finding the source. Don’t mislead yourself into believing that only pets are responsible for causing the flea infestation in your home. Even if you don’t have pets at home, you can face a flea invasion. You alone can be the one bringing fleas into your home. Fleas can jump on you from anywhere, your yard, or a simple walk home, and come back inside with you.

Besides humans, any other mammal can serve as a host to fleas and bring them to your home. This could be even ferrets or rodents residing in your kitchen or attics bringing fleas to your place and providing them new hosts to feed on. Even after removing all rodents, ferrets or even pets from your place, fleas won’t be eradicated automatically. They will be surviving on you and your family’s blood until treated correctly. You need to follow a proper flea removal program to protect your house get rid of fleas once and for all.

Treating your pet for fleas:

The major source of bringing fleas home are the pets. Check your pets immediately the moment you notice fleas in your house.

Here are some ways you can treat your pet for fleas:

Flea combs

• Use a special flea comb to locate them on your pets’ hairs, they will run in other direction when pets’ hairs are parted. Comb your pets’ hairs in a backward direction and check if any flea got stuck in the teeth of the comb. Dispose of them immediately in a bowl of soapy water before they fall off the comb and spread. If you find a huge population of fleas on your pet, it’s time to follow other remedies than just combing their hairs.

Flea shampoo

• Give your pet a bath with a flea shampoo. Harsh insecticides or pesticides will be harmful to your pets, it’s best to try natural flea irritants like rosemary oil, citrus oil, eucalyptus oil, cedar oil or tea tree oil. These oils will help you get rid of fleas on your pet without harm but do check with your vet first before applying any such thing on your pet.

Wash your pet’s face

• When giving your pets a bath, wash their face, head, and neck first. This will protect your pets’ face from fleas because fleas run towards dry and shady places when water is applied. Lather your pet for up to 15 minutes to completely kill the fleas on their skin. Rinse them off with lukewarm water.

Home Remedies for Killing Fleas:

Before you take a ride to the nearest market to grab some flea killing products, check your kitchen first. There are several household products that can eliminate a flea problem. 

Here are six ways to get rid of fleas using natural household products:

Dishwashing soap and water

• Make a thick solution of dishwashing soap and water. This solution is toxic to fleas and if fleas jump into it they will die. Pour the solution in a low height plate or bowl and put it on the floor so that it would be easy for fleas to jump inside. To attract fleas put a strong white light around it, something a bit stronger than a night light as fleas are attracted to light. The solution will turn into a flea-cemetery soon.

Vinegar

• Vinegar is extremely effective against fleas as fleas can’t stand its smell. Give your pets a vinegar bath. Mix 2 quarters of water with one cup vinegar and add a mild dish-washing liquid to it. Lather your pet for 15 minutes with this mixture. Rinse it off with lukewarm water and pat your pet dry with a towel. Another way to use vinegar is by soaking your pets’ bedding in a vinegar solution to kill fleas there. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray your pet and its bedding every now and then.

Baking Soda

• Take up baking soda and generously spread it on your carpet and furniture. Then with the help of hard brush rub it into the fibers of your carpet. Thoroughly vacuum your home afterward to get rid of these pesky creatures.

Salt

• Salt is also much effective against fleas. Just like baking soda, put and rub salt into your furniture. Let it sit there for up to 48 hours and then vacuum the fleas out.

Plants

• There are plants which prove to be excellent repellants for fleas. Plant them, as they won’t harm you or your pets and will eradicate fleas from your house. Plants which the flea hates are: Penny Royal, Chrysanthemums, Lavender, and Spearmint. Plant them and deal fleas infestation in the most natural way.

Keeping your home clean:

The most important step in your struggle to get rid of fleas is cleaning your home. Without doing this, you won’t be able to completely deal with fleas’ infestation.

• Start by washing your pets’ bedding and everything your pet loves to sit on like the rug, floor mat, sofa cover, etc in the washing machine. Deeply spin it to chuck out fleas hiding in them. Don’t forget to wash your pets’ toys as they could be holding fleas’ eggs.
• Throw away any pet item which is full of dirt as mere washing won’t be able to kill flea larvae and eggs in them.
• Wash your upholstery and beddings too.
• Vacuum the carpet and sweep the floor and tiles

Attacking the carpet:

Fleas love dark places, and fleas, larvae, and eggs usually lay deep in the fibers of carpets. Vacuum them again and again for fleas’ extermination. Start from the dark areas and vacuum every nook and corner of your house. When the vacuum bag is full, seal it in a trash bag and throw it away because the flea pupae will hatch inside the bag. Vacuum 2 – 3 times a week.

Killing fleas in the yard:

Last but not the least, the final step towards complete fleas’ extermination is killing any existent flea in the yard. Because even after shielding your house, fleas in your yard can enter your house by sticking to your pet or on you.

• Use specialist outdoor flee extermination sprays and products as directed to kill them.
• Trim grass and expose hiding fleas and their larvae to sunlight, it will kill them.
• Look for dark and moist places in your yard, check them and expose them to sunlight.
• Put cedar wood chips or Eucalyptus leaves on the affected area, fleas hate them and will leave your place immediately. You can even plant eucalyptus bushes if desired.

Fleas are a continuous nuisance for the people in the home and are a big threat to both pets and humans. It’s essential to get rid of them instantly the moment you find traces of them in your house. Start with cleaning your house and pets, vacuuming your carpets and thoroughly cleaning the yard. With little effort and proper follow-up preventive measures, you can protect your house and pets from fleas infestation.

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