How to remove fleas from an apartment quickly and effectively?

How to remove fleas at home: 5 mandatory steps

So, we honestly warn you - you will need a lot of effort and time. But it's worth it. We will tell you how to quickly, effectively, and most importantly - without expensive means of extermination, get rid of fleas once and for all.

But for effective control, you need to know where fleas come from - this way we will identify the main causes and sources of their appearance in the house.

Where do fleas come from:

Pets, cats and dogs that bring fleas from the street;
Your outdoor shoes and clothing (it's easier than you think to bring in flea eggs with dirt on the soles of your shoes or on your clothing);
Neighbours. If they have fleas or bed bugs, they will crawl to you without much difficulty.
A basement or attic where rats live and carry rat fleas.

If fleas are actively living and breeding in your home, then it is possible that they have been there for a long time. For example, the previous owners of your home may not have completely eradicated them. Or there is already a colony of fleas in your backyard that has moved into the house.

As you can see, fleas can come from absolutely anywhere, so you need to methodically eliminate the causes of their possible appearance. One of the most obvious steps is to first make sure that your home is not infested with pests and that you do not need to get rid of rats. You should also check with your neighbors to see if they have a flea infestation.

So let's begin! Choose a free day off and get started. Have you already realized that you need to prepare for general cleaning in all rooms? This is the first and most important step in clearing your home of fleas. So, get ready:

Wash: bedding, blankets, curtains, all your pet's bedding, children's toys, pillows and blankets - it is better to dry clean them. This measure will also help identify bedbugs that are clearly visible on the mattress and upholstery. Wash at a temperature of 50 degrees, or better yet, more: fleas are very tenacious.
Clean carpets and furniture . Did you know that flea bites are most often on the legs? Precisely because most fleas live and breed in the carpets on which you walk and in the furniture on which you sit, therefore you need to monitor their cleanliness very carefully. Pay special attention to the rugs lying in front of and after entering the house, if any. Don't forget to vacuum the bathroom rug too. Once you're done, put the contents of the vacuum cleaner in a sealed plastic bag and immediately throw it in the trash can so that the nimble fleas don't have time to return home.
Wash the floors . We hope that you already do this regularly, but it would be useful to remind you: fleas lay their eggs absolutely everywhere, so the floors in the house also require frequent washing. Do not ignore corners, baseboards and areas under cabinets and other furniture.
Throw it away . If you find that your mattress is full of dirt, eggs and dead insects of various origins, then it is better for you to part with it, because you will not destroy all this evil on your own. Of course, you can use the services of professionals, but believe me: you can get rid of fleas from your home yourself - and then use the money you save to buy a new mattress :)
Wash outdoor shoes . As mentioned above, your outdoor shoes can be an excellent carrier of flea eggs. Therefore, you should wash all shoes, boots and boots that you have recently worn to prevent further infection.

Attention! Do not forget that if your cat or dog has fleas, then until you destroy the insects from them, your house will be occupied by fleas. There are many products you can choose from: from auxiliary tools like special brushes to powerful long-lasting anti-flea drops. Using the same drugs for both cats and dogs can be dangerous for their health, so we consider them separately in our reviews:

After general cleaning of the house, it’s time for the big artillery – flea control products for the home. The list of products for killing fleas is very wide. The main ones include traps, sprays, bombs (foggers). Read about them in our full review: The best anti-flea sprays, traps and foggers

Tip to help: Fleas are afraid of the smell of many harsh chemicals and products, including glue, paint products, cement and putty.
So if you are planning to renovate, now is the time!

How can you get fleas out of a carpet?

Fleas prefer to live in carpets, where they can hide in the pile, and there are always someone's feet walking nearby that they can bite. If you take a magnifying glass, you can clearly see adult fleas in light carpets, and eggs and larvae of fleas in dark carpets, but we do not advise you to waste time examining carpets with a magnifying glass, but to immediately start getting rid of fleas. These insects reproduce quickly, so every day is precious.

Cleaning the carpet with a vacuum cleaner . This is the first and most important step that will help assess the extent of the problem and eliminate most of the flea eggs and larvae. After cleaning, throw the contents of the container into a plastic tight bag and immediately take it directly to the trash can (not the garbage chute!).

Next, you should use special flea products. To kill fleas in carpets, various anti-flea sprays and powders are most suitable - both industrially produced and homemade liquids:

Diatomite This is a natural insecticide in powder form, harmless to humans and pets. But it is fatal not only to fleas, but also to “all insects with an exoskeleton. This includes insects with six legs and non-insect arthropods with eight or more legs,” according to information from the Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Diatomite needs to be scattered over the carpet, but this is a rather dirty method - a whole cloud of dust from the powder rises into the air. To avoid this, you can use a special anti-dust tool, like the $11.95 Powder Insecticide Sprayer. The next day, the carpet needs to be vacuumed and the procedure repeated until the fleas are completely defeated.

Insect growth regulators . A fairly powerful category of products that are diluted with water in strict proportions and then need to be sprayed on the carpet, or are immediately supplied in the form of a ready-made aerosol. As the name suggests, sprays in this category inhibit flea reproduction, usually for several months: for example, the popular Precor IGR Insect Growth Regulator promises to “kill flea eggs and larvae for up to 7 months” - until you shampoo the carpet or clean with a steam generator. Note that this will not kill adult fleas, so use other measures as well.

Killing sprays . These sprays kill on contact and usually have a wide range of “victims”: bed bugs, fleas, spiders and others.

We recommend using proven products like Hot Shot Bedbug and Flea Home Insect Killer for $17.90. This product promises to kill both flea eggs and adults.

Anti-flea shampoos for animals . Insecticidal shampoos for dogs and cats are effective enough to remove fleas from carpets. Treat according to the instructions, leave for a while, and then clean the carpet by combing the pile. We advise you to use universal products like Adams Plus Flea & Tick Shampoo with Precor for Dogs and Cats to avoid harm to the health of animals in the house.

How to get fleas out of the house using folk remedies?

Here are a few folk recipes that our grandmothers used before the invention of insecticides.

Mix 100 ml of kerosene with a bucket of water and spray the carpet with this terrible mixture, then leave the room and let it take effect. Afterwards, it is recommended to wet-clean the carpet and clean it of dead fleas. Caution : Kerosene is flammable, use gloves, do not sniff it or smoke near it!
Mix salt and baking soda in equal proportions (about 2-3 tablespoons each) and rub it thoroughly into the carpet, then leave overnight and then vacuum.
Mix boric acid and some warm water and treat the carpet with this solution. Or use it pure, like Diatomaceous Earth. And finish everything off a few hours later with a vacuum cleaner. Borax powder is more harmful than DE - it is not recommended for use in a home with children or pregnant women, but it shows excellent results in controlling fleas by dehydrating them.
Mix alcohol and water in a spray bottle and follow the same procedure as in the recipes above.
You can make homemade flea traps . To do this, you will need a round mold, soap (or dish soap) and water. Pour soapy water into a mold and place it in the area where fleas live. They will get trapped and drown. Change such traps every day to prevent mosquitoes from infesting such stagnant water.
Knowing that fleas are repelled by the smell of garlic, you can also prepare a homemade carpet repellent : mix brewer's yeast and garlic pulp and apply it to the carpet. This recipe is not for the faint of heart as the garlic smell will be quite noticeable, but let the mixture work and after a few hours clean the carpet of any remaining organic matter and flea eggs, you will see the effect.

Final advice : if suddenly you see that you have tried everything, and the carpet cannot be saved, fleas still live in it, roll it up tightly and throw it in the trash.
It’s better to buy a new one than to waste energy and nerves on saving an old thing.

How to remove fleas from humans?

We come across this question so often that we decided to finally answer it: people don’t have fleas ! These could be lice or other insects. It is more correct to say that a person can be bitten by fleas, but they do not live on the owner (human, dog, cat, etc.) permanently: after a bite, they drink blood and immediately jump away. The life cycle of a flea does not imply its permanent residence on the host’s body, and their larvae generally do not develop on the surface of the body of warm-blooded animals, since the insect throws eggs at high speed in all directions from itself.

Fleas are not selective, and a person can be bitten by either dog or cat fleas or by a human flea, which differs from its relatives only in its larger size and flattened body.

Remember that flea bites are an important signal of an impending increase in their number in the home, according to the US National Park Service. “Females lay eggs in groups of 1 to 18 in a pile after they have sucked blood.” You should not let the situation take its course; after the first bites, start getting rid of fleas immediately.

If you decide that you have been bitten by fleas, you should make sure that it is they, and not mosquitoes or bed bugs, and then think about the correct treatment for the bites - our material “Flea bites: how to determine what they are and what to do with them” will help you with this to do with them?

Damage from fleas

There are a huge number of different insects that live in residential areas, and fleas are one of them. This is an insect similar to a louse or bedbug. The size of the flea does not exceed 4 mm; the insect itself has a light brown color, a body flattened on the sides, covered with bristles. With the help of bristles, the flea clings to fur or clothing. One of the characteristics of the parasite is the ability to jump high and far. The length of his jump is hundreds of times longer than the length of his body.

There are no fleas that live only indoors, on animals or on humans. These insects, entering the house, first settle on animal fur and then spread throughout the room. It is the pets who will “tell” that there are fleas in the house, as the insects will begin to bite them. This is the first sign that fleas be removed , and immediately, before they spread throughout the house and closets with clothes.

The danger of fleas lies in the fact that they are highly viable and multiply quickly. One adult female lays more than 5 hundred eggs at a time, from which larvae and then parasites appear within 2 weeks. Almost all eggs and larvae survive.

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Fleas are insects that feed on the blood of humans or animals. To get this blood, they bite the victim, and severe, sometimes fatal diseases are transmitted through the bite:

typhus;
plague;
salmonellosis;
fever;
brucellosis;
pasteurellosis;
tularemia;
hepatitis;
encephalitis.

If a person is susceptible to an allergic reaction, a flea bite can lead to serious consequences, even anaphylactic shock.

How to remove fleas from your yard

As we said earlier, fleas in the house can appear due to the fact that they are already firmly established in your yard. As you understand, fighting nature is more difficult than controlling your personal “microclimate” in the house, but it is still possible. Your first priority is to kill fleas outside so that your animals and you don't accidentally bring them into your home.

So, in order to get rid of fleas in your yard, you need to be persistent:

To start, remove rat fleas from outside in your yard if you have them. Rats carry rat fleas, which can take up residence in your yard and then in your home.
Clean the porch and stairs to your home regularly. You can also spray the entrance to your home with citronella or rosemary oil.
Wash dog and cat bedding left outside frequently.
Use special flea-killing sprays for lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers and other landscape elements, but carefully study the active ingredients in the composition. For example, the popular Adams Plus Flea & Tick Yard Spray and Cutter Backyard Bug Control 32 oz Ready-to-Spray Hose End Insect Repellent Concentrate is best not used in homes with cats because they contain pyrethroids and permethrins, which cats can be especially sensitive. According to the BBC, cats can even die if they are treated with permethrin (acaricide) products intended for dogs. Therefore, we do not recommend using such sprays at all in the house, on the porch or in the yard if you have a cat.

It is important to approach the issue of getting rid of fleas in the yard in a comprehensive manner, because the use of one measure will not solve the problem. Fleas multiply quickly and will not leave your home and yard until you shoo them away.

Who should carry out flea control?

They organize and carry out disinfestation in residential premises, private houses and apartment buildings of the enterprise, which has employees who have undergone appropriate training. These specialists know what measures need to be taken to prevent and kill fleas, how often this needs to be done, and what medications to use. Experts in the field of pest control will not only solve the problem, but also ensure the safety of residents and pets.

We, the sanitary and epidemiological service "Dezcenter-Rus", can offer the above services.

How to remove fleas from your home using natural means?

Natural methods of eliminating fleas were widely used both 100 years ago and today. Many of them are strong enough to compete with industrial chemicals and are suitable for getting rid of insects both indoors and outdoors, for example:

- wormwood. This plant has been valued as a powerful repellent for many, many years. You can plant it in your yard or sprinkle it generously on the floors and rugs of your home. It does have a slightly bitter smell, but many people like it.

– essential oils of citronella, rosemary, tea tree, mint and citrus. There's a reason they're included in many insect repellents—they can also repel fleas. But don't get carried away with using them in the house: excessive concentrations of them in the air can cause headaches, and some oils, such as tea tree oil, are dangerous for cats.

– pine and cedar sawdust. The strong scent of these trees also repels fleas. You can make cute pads for your dog and outdoor furniture filled with sawdust to keep the fleas away.

- lemon juice. It can be mixed with water (sliced lemon per 0.5 liters of water) and sprayed on furniture, floors and any surfaces.

– extreme cold/heat. Fleas love moderate heat, and strong temperature fluctuations kill them. Therefore, it is so important to wash all contaminated items at a temperature of 50 degrees and, if possible, place the carpet/furniture/mattress in direct sunlight. The cold works in a similar way: if the temperature outside is sub-zero, take everything you need out into the cold and let nature do its work.

Prevention

Prevention is the final stage in the fight against fleas. It helps to consolidate the achieved result and prevent insects from entering the house in the future. As preventive measures, it is necessary to periodically perform the following actions:

Carry out wet cleaning of the premises.
Maintain order and avoid clutter.
Dry wet things and ventilate the apartment as often as possible.
Treat your animals periodically or purchase a flea collar for them.

In order to prevent neighbors' fleas from entering your home, you can use insecticidal chalk. They are used to outline the contour of the doorway, as well as ventilation ducts and baseboards. Existing through gaps must be sealed.

Additionally, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with a review of modern means with which you can clean your home of fleas. And from this video you can learn interesting facts about fleas, as well as ways to get rid of them:

Anti-flea control: how to prevent infection

It is easier to prevent a flea infestation than to later get rid of these blood-sucking insects. Preventive methods are quite simple and require only cleanliness and forethought from you:

Clean the house more often, vacuum carpets, floors and furniture, keep the porch clean;
do not wear dirty shoes around the house, wash shoes from previous seasons and do not store them dirty;
After walks, wash your pets’ paws and inspect their fur, and change flea collars on time.
You should not pet street animals: they may share fleas with you;
do not visit dirty abandoned premises, from there it is also possible to bring flea eggs or adult individuals;
when going outdoors, wear long sleeves and long pants - to avoid flea bites on the legs and ankles (fleas rarely bite the upper part of a person’s body, they cannot reach it), use repellents with a high percentage of diethyltoluamide (deeth), for example, Repel 100 Insect Repellent Pump Spray for ~$7.97.
fight rodents and bats in the house as sources of rats and other fleas;
be wary of things and furniture purchased at fairs, flea markets or second-hand - all of this can be infested with fleas;
mow the lawn and take care of your yard, plant useful repellent plants (such as garlic, citronella, lemongrass, tansy, wormwood) - this will make it less likely that fleas will appear in the yard;
If your neighbors have a flea infestation, don’t waste time, but start using safe products like diatomaceous earth to “defend” your home - this will protect you from a sudden invasion of nasty insects.

As you can see, you can get rid of fleas without professional extermination, but only on your own, knowing the basic control methods and little tricks. Be persistent - and fleas will have no choice but to leave your home forever.

Preventive measures against the appearance of fleas in the house

In order not to be tormented by the question of how to get rid of fleas in the house yourself, try to prevent their appearance in a private home. To do this, you just need to comply with certain conditions. Here are some of them:

all pets kept in the house must be promptly treated for parasites and get rid of larvae, following the instructions for using sprays, gels and shampoos;
in warm weather, when parasites activate their vital functions, animals need to be bathed more often;
in order not to fight fleas in the house in the future, do not allow disorder, cluttering the space with unnecessary things, especially clothes and rags;
It is advisable to plant strong-smelling ornamental plants around the house;
When cleaning premises, be sure to add soap and essential oils to the water.