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Having pets as part of your family can be a wonderful experience, not only can it teach your children how to care for animals, but they can also be loyal companions.
However, with pets can come problems such as fleas, which if left untreated, can cause serious issues. For a flea infestation, you need to work on a couple of areas to make sure they don’t return. Here are some of the best ways to tackle a flea infestation in your house.
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Don’t Panic
When you mention fleas to some people, the instantly start to feel itchy and worry that the whole house is infested. While having fleas can be difficult to deal with, there are ways to tackle the problem. People also associate it with a dirty house, but this isn’t usually the case.
Fleas can move into a clean house as long as they have a host to bring them in. It can also be easy to blame your pets for the fleas, and though they can be the carrier, it could also be the humans in the house. Any animal or person can bring in just one or two fleas that can quickly turn into an infestation.
Before you call the exterminator, try to eradicate them yourself; although it can take a little while, it can be done and will save you money.
Are There Fleas in the House?
Before you start trying to get rid of them, you need to discover if there are any in the house, or if something else is causing the problem. The easiest way to check it to examine your pet, even though they might not be the original carrier, fleas will target them because of their fur. When you part your pet’s fur, you will see the fleas run in the other direction. It is a good idea to check all over your animal, especially if you don’t see any straight away, just to be sure.
You might also be able to spot them on your clothing if you are wearing white as they are attracted to that color. As a test, wear white socks or stockings and take a walk around the house, you should see them jump onto you as you walk along.
Flea Combs
If you do spot any on you or your pet, then you need to try and get rid of them as soon as you can. As a temporary measure, you can use a flea comb to remove them from your pet’s fur.
It won’t kill them permanently, but it can help until you can get other products. With the flea comb, run it slowly along the pet’s fur from their ears to their tail, if there are any fleas present, they will become trapped in the teeth of the comb. Before they can jump off, place the comb in a bowl of hot, soapy water, this solution will kill the fleas. However, it won’t be able to destroy any of the eggs that may have been laid, so you will need to follow it up with other treatments.
Treating Your Pets
The best way to treat your pets is to apply a treatment to them directly. There are a couple of ways that you can do this, though one way might be easier than the other. One way is to apply a treatment to the animal.
They will attract the fleas and prevent them from reproducing. The treatment should last for a few weeks, though you should repeat the treatment as directed to make sure they are all killed. The other form of treatment is to give your pet a flea bath.
It is a treatment that you put into the water and bathe your pet; the only problem is how calm your pet is with water. With this type of treatment, it is usually better for dogs as they are easier to bath than cats.
Controlling Fleas in the House
If you have a big infestation, you might also need to treat the house at the same time. Even if you are not sure if the house has fleas, it is a good precaution to prevent your animals from becoming re-infested. There are a few products that you can use in the house, though some of them will be flammable so it is best to do it when you can have the windows open afterward.
Fogger
One of the treatments is a fogger, which releases smoke into the room that covers and treats the surfaces. It can be flammable, so there should be no naked flames when you are using it. You should also remove any fish or other animals from the area as well as any humans. You should make sure that the surface the fogger is placed on is protected by newspaper or cloth.
Once the fogger is activated, you should leave the house undisturbed for a minimum of two hours or as directed on the product. When the time is up, you should thoroughly air out the whole house so that none of the fogger remains. Only after this is done can you allow children and vulnerable animals back into the house.
Powders
Another way that you can treat the house is a little safer and environmentally friendly. It involves a powder that you can use on all the furnishings that can be a haven for fleas. Once you have removed all of the bedding, you should vacuum the carpets and then apply the powder.
Sprinkle it inside sofa cushions, along with the perimeter of the walls and cover the floor. Then, brush it into the carpet so that it gets into the pile where the fleas can hide. Once you have finished, vacuum the carpets and discard the bags if they are the disposable type.
With these ideas, you should be able to kill a flea infestation quickly, though you should still use the treatment on the animals even when they are flea free to prevent reoccurrence.
