How to Get Rid of Fleas in Your Home

Did you know the fleas you see on your pet only make up 5% of the total flea population in your home? Flea eggs and larvae hide deep in the fibers of your carpeting, furniture and even your pet's bed. Those you see are just a small fraction of the flea community making your home their home! These various stages of the flea life cycle are difficult to conquer. The sooner you take action, the safer your pet, home and family will be.
Follow the steps below to prevent a spring flea infestation!

Treat your pet

To immediately kill existing, biting fleas on your pet, try a fast-acting product such as Capstar. Using a flea preventative, such as NexGard Chewables each month can stop fleas from jumping back on your pet.

Kill fleas in your home & yard

• Sweep tile or wood floors, and vacuum carpets, rugs, and furniture.
• Use carpet spray - Spray carpets and upholstery in the home. Fleas love dark places, so spray under furniture and in crevices.
• Fog your house - Some foggers are effective up to 7 months, long enough to kill all the life stages of a flea in most cases. You may need to use 2-3 foggers depending on the size of your home. Learn how to fog your home.
• Spray your yard - Kill fleas with a yard spray before they come into your home on your shoes, clothing or pet with a yard spray.

Tip: In order to kill all the flea life stages, you MUST treat your home and yard again - 3 to 4 weeks after your first treatment.

Thoroughly clean your home

Cleaning your home is a very important step to eradicating a flea problem. Vacuuming, sweeping and mopping help get the eggs, larvae, and pupae out of your carpets, upholstery, tile, and wood floors.

• Throw away the bag each time you vacuum. Flea pupae will hatch inside the bag from the vibrations your vacuum causes.
• Sweep & mop tile or wood flooring. Since fleas love dark places, they can live in your baseboards as well.
• Wash your pet's bedding - Fleas love to nest in the same place your pet does to keep feeding on him or her. Don't just take the cover off of your pet's bed, since fleas can be hiding in the stuffing as well.
• Wash your pet's toys - Fleas and eggs will hide in your pet's toys. If you can't wash one of your pet's toys, it is best to throw it out.

Tip: Wash all of your and your pet's belongings in hot water to kill fleas and flea eggs.

...And don't forget to prevent it from happening again!

Flea infestations are very hard to get rid of. It's not uncommon to see fleas days or even weeks after treating your home. Keep your pet on flea preventatives to keep fleas and ticks at bay.
Choosing a heartworm and flea medicine for dogs will depend on if your dog spends most of the time indoors or outdoors. If your pet's exposure to ticks is unlikely, Trifexis (a popular flea heartworm pill for dogs) or Sentinel may be your two best heartworm and flea prevention options. If you're concerned about ticks, Revolution provides heartworm protection and will kill ticks, along with fleas and their eggs, roundworms and hookworms.