Bathing is unfortunately not enough to stop a flea infestation. Other fleas in the environment may jump back onto your pet once they are dry. It is important to follow the bath with medication as well. After the bath, comb your pet with a flea comb. You’ll also want to use a flea comb every time your pet is treated for fleas. Ask your groomer to clip your pet’s hair or shave it shorter prior to other treatments. That way, the insecticide can reach your pet’s skin where the fleas live and can make the flea comb more effective. Talk to your vet about sprays and spot on that you can apply to your pet’s skin.
Be sure to use the correct dosage made specifically for your pet, as your pet can have a serious reaction to an overdose. [4] X Research source Never use dog flea prevention on a cat, as a cat’s nervous system can only handle feline flea preventative. Give the flea preventative on the same day that you treat your house and yard for fleas for maximum effectiveness.
The wash cycle will not kill the fleas, but it may eject some of the eggs through the drain. The dry cycle, on normal for over 30 minutes, will kill the eggs and any fleas remaining on the cloth. Do this all at the same time, removing everything at once and wrapping it in tied-up sheets. Keep the clean items wrapped in clean sheets or garbage bags until 12 hours after you’ve treated your house and your animals to prevent fleas from crawling onto the clean items.
If you have a dog and you need to walk the dog, try to stick to pavement for this first month. While your dog or cat is toxic to fleas jumping on them, you are trying to eliminate a nasty infestation, and you don’t want to introduce new fleas to your pet when you are trying to kill off the old ones. If possible, keep pets inside during the winter months, especially cats. Quarantining your animals can save you money because after your infestation is eliminated, you don’t need to re-treat them unless you notice more fleas.
If you’ve treated your pet, the fleas will be killed on contact with its blood. However, you haven’t been treated with flea preventative, so your blood will still make a tasty snack. Fleas only need a single blood meal to lay more eggs, so you want to deny them their food. After 30 days, you can probably stop worrying about applying the DEET mosquito repellent to your ankles. If you no longer see fleas jumping around, then you are definitely safe. However, if you still see visible fleas or have bites on your ankles, then continue spraying with mosquito spray.
Vacuum all carpets, rugs, and upholstery. Place one entire complete flea collar (chopped up) in the vacuum bag. Vacuuming not only sucks up fleas, eggs and larvae, but the vibrations from the vacuum cleaner also cause fleas to hatch from their cocoons. Since insecticides can’t kill fleas in the pupa stage, getting as many of them to emerge as possible gives you a great chance of killing more fleas. Throw the vacuum bag away in an exterior garbage container after you’re done. Follow this up with turning the vacuum over and spraying the roller head with a spray lysing agent Mop smooth floors. Use a cleaning agent like Pine-Sol or undiluted apple cider vinegar to cause the fleas to emerge from holes and cracks so that they are more exposed when you spray or fog your house.
Spray your carpets, rugs, furniture, baseboards, along walls and on your pet’s bedding. Make sure to follow the directions on the can. Don’t miss door edges, corners, floors with cracks and underneath furniture and furniture cushions. Flea larvae love to hide in dark places even if your pet is too large to crawl under your furniture. If you use a fogger, you still need to spray the areas that the fogger can’t reach. Follow the instructions very carefully, making sure you and your pets leave the house while the fogger is working. Consider treating your house one room at a time and stay out of that room for at least several hours.
Remove debris like fallen leaves, grass clippings or other organic items before treating your yard. [7] X Research source Also, mow your lawn before you spray. Make sure to spray all shaded or partially shaded areas. These can include inside dog houses, beneath trees, shrubbery, and bushes or beneath your deck or porch.
You may also consider asking your vet about environmental products that have a persistent action for six to 12 months. When the cocoon hatches, the larvae come into contact with the chemical and die, and you will only have to repeat the application every six to 12 months as necessary.
Purchase an electronic programmable thermostat that can turn your heat down or off while you are at work or asleep. Leave windows wide open while you are out of the house whenever possible.
Note that concentrated citrus oil is toxic to pets if licked, so only use the juice — never essential oils.
There is no scientific evidence to back this method, though some people report having luck.
