How to Eliminate a Flea Infestation in Your Home

A comprehensive guide to getting rid of fleas

Last Updated: February 1, 2023 References Approved

If your pet is scratching excessively, losing patches of hair or developing scabs and hot spots, then your pet could have a significant problem with fleas.^{[1]
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Trustworthy Source
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Leading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty
Go to source} And if fleas are on your pet, then they're going to be in your house and in your yard — and probably on you. Fortunately, you can take steps using synthetic chemicals and natural products to both protect your pets and rid your home of fleas.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Treating Your Pets

1
Start with a good bath. Bathe your dog or cat using a gentle shampoo or a citrus-based dishwashing liquid. You can also use a commercial flea dip. Fleas don't grasp onto your pet's hair shaft, so they will fall into the water and drown.^{[2]
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- Bathing is unfortunately not enough to stop a flea infestation. Other fleas in the environment may jump back onto your pet once they are dry. It is important to follow the bath with medication as well.
- After the bath, comb your pet with a flea comb. You'll also want to use a flea comb every time your pet is treated for fleas.
- Ask your groomer to clip your pet's hair or shave it shorter prior to other treatments. That way, the insecticide can reach your pet's skin where the fleas live and can make the flea comb more effective.
- Talk to your vet about sprays and spot on that you can apply to your pet's skin.
2
Treat all your pets using either oral or topical medications. Different medications will come in different forms (oral medication your pet must swallow or topical treatments you apply to their fur) and they will do different things. For instance, Program doesn't kill fleas but prevents them from breeding, and is therefore best for a mild infestation. Oral products such as Capstar and Nexgard kill fleas, but Capstar only works for 24 hours, whereas Nexgard is effective for 30 days. Ask your vet which treatment is best for your pet.^{[3]
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- Be sure to use the correct dosage made specifically for your pet, as your pet can have a serious reaction to an overdose.^{[4]
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  Research source} Never use dog flea prevention on a cat, as a cat's nervous system can only handle feline flea preventative.
- Give the flea preventative on the same day that you treat your house and yard for fleas for maximum effectiveness.
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3
Wash your pet's bedding as well as any cloth items that have been on the floor. Washing will significantly reduce the number of flea eggs and larvae on the bedding and cloth items and will make your insecticide more effective.^{[5]
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- The wash cycle will not kill the fleas, but it may eject some of the eggs through the drain. The dry cycle, on normal for over 30 minutes, will kill the eggs and any fleas remaining on the cloth.
- Do this all at the same time, removing everything at once and wrapping it in tied-up sheets. Keep the clean items wrapped in clean sheets or garbage bags until 12 hours after you've treated your house and your animals to prevent fleas from crawling onto the clean items.
4
Allow your pets to roam freely around your house after treatment. Fleas will smell your pet and will jump onto their fur, and they will be eliminated soon after they bite your pet's skin.
5
Consider keeping your pet indoors as much as possible for the first 30 days. This may help you bring an infestation under control. If your animal must go outside, keep it away from long grasses, fallen leaves, gravel areas or sandy patches.
- If you have a dog and you need to walk the dog, try to stick to pavement for this first month. While your dog or cat is toxic to fleas jumping on them, you are trying to eliminate a nasty infestation, and you don't want to introduce new fleas to your pet when you are trying to kill off the old ones.
- If possible, keep pets inside during the winter months, especially cats. Quarantining your animals can save you money because after your infestation is eliminated, you don't need to re-treat them unless you notice more fleas.
6
Continue treating your pets with flea preventative every 30 days. If your pet stays inside, then you can probably stop the flea preventative treatments after four months. However, if your pets are going outside, you need to continue the treatments.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Treating Yourself, Your House and Your Yard with Chemicals

1
Use mosquito spray containing DEET. Apply the spray to your socks, ankles and the cuffs of your pants every single day to prevent flea bites.
- If you've treated your pet, the fleas will be killed on contact with its blood. However, you haven't been treated with flea preventative, so your blood will still make a tasty snack. Fleas only need a single blood meal to lay more eggs, so you want to deny them their food.
- After 30 days, you can probably stop worrying about applying the DEET mosquito repellent to your ankles. If you no longer see fleas jumping around, then you are definitely safe. However, if you still see visible fleas or have bites on your ankles, then continue spraying with mosquito spray.
2
Clean your floors thoroughly. This cleaning should include carpeted surfaces as well as smooth surfaces.
- Vacuum all carpets, rugs, and upholstery. Place one entire complete flea collar (chopped up) in the vacuum bag. Vacuuming not only sucks up fleas, eggs and larvae, but the vibrations from the vacuum cleaner also cause fleas to hatch from their cocoons. Since insecticides can't kill fleas in the pupa stage, getting as many of them to emerge as possible gives you a great chance of killing more fleas. Throw the vacuum bag away in an exterior garbage container after you're done. Follow this up with turning the vacuum over and spraying the roller head with a spray lysing agent
- Mop smooth floors. Use a cleaning agent like Pine-Sol or undiluted apple cider vinegar to cause the fleas to emerge from holes and cracks so that they are more exposed when you spray or fog your house.
3
Carefully use a flea control spray or fogger. Read the instructions and make sure you have enough to completely bomb your entire square footage of every room. You need to make sure that the product kills flea eggs, so look for one of these active ingredients: methoprene, fenoxycarb or pyriproxyfen.
- Spray your carpets, rugs, furniture, baseboards, along walls and on your pet's bedding. Make sure to follow the directions on the can.
- Don't miss door edges, corners, floors with cracks and underneath furniture and furniture cushions. Flea larvae love to hide in dark places even if your pet is too large to crawl under your furniture.
- If you use a fogger, you still need to spray the areas that the fogger can't reach. Follow the instructions very carefully, making sure you and your pets leave the house while the fogger is working. Consider treating your house one room at a time and stay out of that room for at least several hours.
4
Treat your yard if your pet spends more than five percent of its time outdoors.^{[6]
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services
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- Remove debris like fallen leaves, grass clippings or other organic items before treating your yard.^{[7]
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  Research source} Also, mow your lawn before you spray.
- Make sure to spray all shaded or partially shaded areas. These can include inside dog houses, beneath trees, shrubbery, and bushes or beneath your deck or porch.
5
Spray your house again two weeks after the first treatment. Many of the fleas in your house may still be in cocoons, or in the pupal stage, where insecticides can't reach them. Spraying a second time ensures that you'll catch the fleas that were in cocoons during your first spray.
- You may also consider asking your vet about environmental products that have a persistent action for six to 12 months. When the cocoon hatches, the larvae come into contact with the chemical and die, and you will only have to repeat the application every six to 12 months as necessary.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Using Natural Remedies to Eliminate Fleas

1
Keep your home as cold as possible when you are not around. Fleas don't survive well in cold environments. Keeping your house as cold as possible while you are not there will force the fleas to migrate to your pets, where they will die.
- Purchase an electronic programmable thermostat that can turn your heat down or off while you are at work or asleep.
- Leave windows wide open while you are out of the house whenever possible.
2
Place covers on your furniture after you treat your house. Doing this will keep fleas from hiding inside your cushions, under pillows or under throw blankets.
3
Rub your pets' fur with citrus. Squeeze the juice out of an orange or a lemon and rub the rind over your pets' fur. Your pet will smell great, and your pet won't be harmed if it licks the citrus juices from its fur.
- Note that concentrated citrus oil is toxic to pets if licked, so only use the juice — never essential oils.
4
Use natural predators in your yard. You can purchase "beneficial nematodes" from a pet shop, a gardener's supply store or a store that focuses on organic lawn care. Beneficial nematodes consume flea larvae, which prevents the next generation of fleas from invading your home. Don't worry — these aren't the nematodes that can cause your pet to have heartworms.^{[8]
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5
Use apple cider vinegar. Add one teaspoon of vinegar for every four cups of water in the dog's water bowl. As your dog drinks the water, the vinegar gets into their system and make their blood taste bad to the fleas. It will take two to three bowls of water before you start to notice a difference, but it works great once the vinegar gets into the dog's system.^{[9]
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- There is no scientific evidence to back this method, though some people report having luck.

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Question

Do fleas die off in the winter?

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Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

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The adult fleas die off but eggs remain dormant. Thus, if there's a warm spell, the eggs can hatch out into larvae and another generation of fleas comes along.
Question

What home remedy kills fleas?

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

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Killing fleas without chemicals is difficult. Flea comb every day, which removes adult fleas feeding on the pet (a small percentage of the larger flea population). Sprinkling diatomaceous earth on the soft furnishings helps to kill eggs. But be prepared for this to take a long time.
Question

How long can a flea survive without a host?

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Expert Answer

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An adult flea can live around 100 days. However, eggs lying dormant in soft furnishings or flooring can survive for years, to hatch out and cause a fresh infestation once a host returns.

Warnings

Using an oral treatment such as Capstar (contains Nitenpyram) kills adult fleas on your pet within 30 minutes of ingestion. You can then follow up with a spot-on treatment.

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If your pet does go into a seizure from the wrong dose of flea preventative, contact your veterinarian immediately.

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Some dog products contain permethrin which can cause seizures and death for cats.^{[11]
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Research source} Only use dog medicine for dogs.

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If your pet has pale gums, is listless and has a cold body, then the fleas could be causing significant blood loss, or a potentially fatal condition called parasitic anemia. This is especially dangerous for small animals, puppies or kittens and should be handled by your vet as soon as possible.^{[12]
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Don't bother with Frontline or other products containing fipronil as fleas seem to have developed a resistance to this chemical.^{[13]
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PubMed Central
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