Dealing with a flea infestation can be a real challenge, both for your home and your furry companions.
These relentless pests can quickly take over your living spaces and make your pets miserable.
If you’re looking for practical and fast ways to eliminate fleas, you’ve come to the right place.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore effective methods to get rid of fleas in your house and on dogs, even when other solutions have failed.
Contents
How to get rid of fleas at home? Discover effective and safe natural methods for flea control in dogs and homes. Keep your pets and environment pest-free with our expert tips.
Identifying flea infestations: Signs and solutions
The first step in tackling a flea problem is identifying it.
Be on the lookout for telltale signs such as excessive itching by your pets, tiny brown insects leaping around, and itchy red bites on yourself or your family members.
Once you’ve confirmed the presence of fleas, it’s time to take action.
Rapid home cleanup: Key to flea control
Fleas can lay their eggs in various parts of your home, including carpets, upholstery, and bedding.
Swift and thorough cleanup is key:
- Vacuuming vigilantly: Your flea prevention technique
Regularly vacuum your carpets and upholstery, and promptly dispose of the vacuum bag or clean the canister to prevent fleas from returning.
- Hot water wash: Eliminating fleas and their eggs
Launder your pet’s bedding and your own in hot water to eliminate fleas and their eggs.
How to get rid of fleas at home: Treating your beloved companions
Fleas often find their way onto your beloved pets.
To provide relief for your furry friends and prevent further infestation, consider these steps:
- Effective flea shampoos
Opt for specially formulated flea shampoos to give your pets a thorough bath.
- Flea collars
Invest in high-quality flea collars that offer long-lasting protection.
- Topical treatments
Seek advice from your veterinarian about spot-on treatments for effective flea control.
Here, all those solutions are chemical pest shampoos.
But they should be avoided if health is one of your major concerns.
Harnessing the power of Lemon Essential Oil for flea repellent
For my part, the most effective was to use an organic neutral shampoo and lemon essential oil (ad) at the rate of ten drops per 100ml.
However, this trick is only for dogs, as essential oils should be avoided for the cat.
So choose the lemon hydrosol for your kitty.
Lemon essential oil is a very effective repellent against fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes, and is also antibacterial and anti-infective.
But it should never be used purely because it is very aggressive to the skin.
Specialized products for targeted flea control
- Flea sprays
Apply flea sprays to household surfaces, following manufacturer recommendations.
- Flea bombs
In severe infestations, use flea bombs with care and follow all safety instructions.
Multiplying at the speed of light in wet places, the flea resists many chemical treatments.
Advising placing flea bombs in an apartment or house to spread a highly chemical insecticide that is supposed to stop an invasion of these blood-sucking insects is illusory.
It will take only one survivor for the problem to continue.
But in the meantime, you will have to leave your house so you don’t breathe a toxic product that will still have deposited in the four corners of each room!
It’s up to you…
If like me, you are very unused to this method, then you will be interested in diatomaceous earth
How to get rid of fleas at home: Diatomaceous Earth
Using Diatomaceous Earth: A safe approach to flea control
This powder actually takes its name from diatomite, a silica sedimentary rock that is both organic and fossil.
Diatomaceous earth is a variety of diatomite and contains fossilized diatom remains from marine microalgae.
Its action is insecticide because it causes internal damage to insects when ingested and external damage to the limbs and shells of pests.
It is inert and non-toxic to humans and animals and can be treated inside and out.
What interests us here is to reduce once again the population of fleas in the habitat.
To achieve this, start by getting a diatomaceous earth food grade – and only food! – also called amorphous silica in an organic store.
Once equipped with your powder, spread it along the baseboards in every room of your home or apartment and let it act for 5 days before using the vacuum cleaner.
Diatomaceous earth food grade (ad)
Sustainable victory: Winning the flea battle
Your doggie thanks you for its soothing bath, your house seems sanitized, and the battle is won.
Make no mistake, it’s just a truce!
Remember, it only takes one flea to start again very quickly.
Personally, I have managed to completely eradicate an impressive invasion by spraying a natural pyrethrum-based insecticide (ad).
We pulverize the whole habitat, we let it act, we rinse. It’s over.
This insecticide works by contact, just spray it two or three times and the invasion is stopped.
Natural pest control: An eco-friendly approach
Since this massive invasion of fleas, I have decided to use grapefruit seed extract and I am very satisfied.
I put 6 days a week, two drops of this natural extract (for about 6kg of weight) in their bowl.
The grapefruit seed extract is one of the best natural antibiotics but its peculiarity is that it does not weaken the immune system, on the contrary, it stimulates it.
Thus, it helps to fight all infections including intestinal, all allergies, all eczema and restores energy in record time.
I let you discover this product, the GSE properties, and virtues
The Grapefruit Seed Extract revolution for flea control
A grapefruit seed extract has radically changed the way I approach the problem of dog parasites as far as I am concerned.
My dogs are happy to find it in their bowl six days a week (I stop one day a week so that the body does not get used to it).
They are happy, they no longer scratch, including the youngest who suffered from eczema!
Then during the walks, they are also happy to find it simply diluted in water (about ten drops for 50ml) and sprayed on the coat with a good emphasis on the legs, belly, and back.
They even noticed that although mosquitoes still swirl around them, they can’t bite them!
Note that grapefruit extract can also be used for cats.
It has the same virtues as for dogs and can also help fight infections such as coryza or gingivitis, intestinal problems, skin diseases and acts as a dewormer.
How to get rid of fleas at home: Extending flea control to your outdoor spaces
And as the war on fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes really never stops, consider treating yards for fleas by spraying once a week a mixture of black soap and water (one black soap cap per liter of water).
Make sure the black soap (ad) is pure and biodegradable.
Well known to gardeners, black soap is a natural repellent that has an insecticide effect on small insects such as aphids, scales, whiteflies, mites, and fleas of domestic animals, as well as on eggs and larvae.
And if you want to keep mosquitoes away, both for you and your dog, regularly spray a water-cedarwood oil (ad) mixture (a cap for 2 liters of water), the most effective repellent ever tested!
Essential oils for flea repellent: A safe blend for dogs
I also add a blend of vegetable oil and essential oils that proves very effective as a repellent on dog’s hair ↓
Essential oils for fleas on dogs:
- 10ml vegetable oil of your choice
- 5 drops of Tea Tree essential oil
- 5 drops of lavender essential oil
- 3 drops of Cinnamon essential oil
Plus, it smells very good!
How to get rid of fleas at home?
Fighting off fleas can be a formidable task, but with the right strategies, you can achieve a flea-free home and ensure the well-being of your pets and family.
Whether you’re dealing with fleas in the house, on your dogs, or in your carpets, these fast and effective solutions will help you reclaim your living spaces.
When nothing else seems to work, persistence and the right approach can make all the difference in winning the battle against these pesky pests.
Your pets and your peace of mind will thank you for it.
Frequently Asked Questions about fleas and their control
How long do fleas live?
A larva can survive up to 2 months without food, which is why it is so difficult to break an infestation.
The adult flea, on the other hand, lives for 6 to 12 months.
Fleas are sensitive to heat and die when exposed for a long period to temperatures above 102,2°F / 39°C
Do fleas live on humans?
Human beings are also potential victims of these ectoplasms.
However, flea bites, although very irritating, are benign for them.
The insect’s speed and leaps allow it to escape resistance from its host.
Where do fleas hide in the house?
Fleas prefer dark and humid places.
To get rid of larvae and fleas, it is necessary to treat carpets, curtains, beds, sofa, cushions, under parquet planks, or under baseboards.
Every space is susceptible to infestation.
What scent repels fleas?
Essential oils can have a flea repellant effect.
You can try lavender, clove, tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus radiata.
You can also synergize two or three of these essential oils diluted in vegetable oil as natural pest protection for your dog.
Note that essential oils should not be used in cats.
Why are fleas in my yard?
Most of the time the fleas found in the garden have been brought in by hedgehogs, mice, cats, dogs…
They like dark places, shady areas, tall grass, and lawns.
Are there fleas in winter?
Even though fleas do thrive when the temperature rises above 68°F / 20°C, nymphs in their cocoons can stay there for 30 weeks at 51,8°F / 11°C.
On the other hand, it does not survive the cold whatever the stage of its development, egg, larva, nymph, adult.
This does not prevent winter invasions as they appreciate the hot and humid hiding places in your home.
