What is the best way to get of fleas in the house...besides getting rid of pets and burning the house down. :D
Question:We have dogs that WERE indoor/outdoor and they are now outdoor since we noticed the fleas. We also have an indoor/outdoor cat. We're not sure who was first. And we want the little buggers out. What's the best way? Thanks!
Answers:
No foggers or bombs!!
You have to treat everything including the pets all at one time! Contact a local exterminator and purchase their most organic/earth friendly liquid flea spray. Contact your vet and get the liquid flea drop that you apply down your animals body. Do the spray and the animals in one day. You should leave the house even if the product says you don't have to...you don't want to take any chances with you or your pets. If you have the money, drop them off at the groomers to be de-flea-ed (don't know how to spell it!) before you put on the drops. Vacuum carpets 3x a day for 3 days and if it has bags, change the bag daily. Make sure you follow the directions to your flea spray thoroughly! You should be fine in about two weeks after the adults have died off. They tend to take a little longer.
Hi, I've been lucky enough to never have the flea situation, but I think flea foggers are probably your best and least expensive bet. Otherwise, you probably need an exterminator.
I have had much luck with the Raid Fumigator. Unlike a fogger, it is more like a smoke so it gets into every crevice and doesn't leave that sticky residue everywhere. Also, spray your yard with flea killer...the liquid kind you attach to a hose and it will also kills other critters. Finally, put Advantage on your pets. DO NOT buy the kind you get at a pet shop. It is cheap and rarely works effectively.
They make bug bombs that you put throughout the house. They take about two hours to clear out but follw the directions. Give your animals a bath with flee and tick shampoo and let it sit for about five min. They also make tubes of stuff you put on there neck. Put that on every month or so and and continue to give the dogs a bath everry two weeks.
The best remedy that I have found is to purchase the fogger flea bombs. I believe they are the Raid brand. Use one for all of the major rooms. You will need to leave for a few hours and keep all the pets out. It would be a good day to get all the pets vacations of to date. Make sure no food is left out including the cat/dog dishes. Check the label to see how much time is needed before pets can safely re-enter the home.
I've been told that green walnut leaves will run the little buggers off.
This is what we found to work for us.
We had a dog that was and indoor/outdoor pet but one day we noticed that he was coming in more and more with fleas and we found a couple in the house.
After talking to our vet and various tack shops in the midwest that we deal with we did a two part solution(actually three).
First we took out dog to a shop and had him dipped.
Second we purchased from our vet the flea drops that you put on your dog/cat on the back of the neck.
Third for the house we went and rented a steamer and in the regular mix added about 1 cup of pinesol disinfectant, seems fleas hate pine.
Within a week we were finding dead fleas on top of bookshelves where I guess they went to get away from the burn of the pine and then starved.
Since then we now own our own hoover steamer and do the carpets about every other month. We have not had fleas in the house since.
I hope this helps as a long term simple solution that is much less of a hazard than those bug bombs.
Lots of vacuuming. Despose of the bags ASAP.
I bought "Enforcer Flea Spray for Homes" at Home Depot. And sprayed that all over. Not too offensive.
Repeat those first two items often.
Get Frontline Plus or other treatment for the animals from your vet. These treatments will kill the live fleas as well as eggs and larva.
You probably ought to treat the places where your pets hang out outside as well. Got some Sevin concentrate and a sprayer (also from Home Depot.) Sprayed problem areas outside. Then followed up a week later with some granules.
If you have a pest control contract, call them and they will help out, too. After I did all this, my "bugman" asked me why I did not call him to start with.
If you want the fleas in the house gone immediately, call a professional. If you want the cheapest way, just go to the vet and get Frontline orAdvantage. All you do is treat the animals. The fleas die without any spray. It takes about 2 weeks before they are all gone. Continue treating the pets until the first hard freeze. This really works. Talk to your vet.
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