How do I get rid of fleas in my house?

Fleas live in two places at once, so you have to fight them in both. Adult fleas spend most of their time on the dog or cat, not in the carpet.^[5] A female flea can lay 30 to 50 eggs a day on its host, and many of them fall off into carpet, furniture, pet bedding and other places the pet goes.^[1] The eggs hatch into larvae that feed on dried blood left by the adults, then spin cocoons and turn into adults.^[1] Treat only the pet and the house stays seeded; treat only the house and the pet keeps laying new eggs. The plan below does both, in the order that works.

Make sure it is fleas

Fleas are small, 1 to 3 mm (about 1/13 to 1/8 inch) long, wingless, flat-bodied and dark brown.^[1] Part your pet's fur at the base of the tail or run a flea comb through it. The droppings, digested blood, show up as dark, pepper-like specks in the fur.^[5] On people, a flea bite is usually a small red spot with a red halo around it, often without much swelling.^[6] If you are not sure, compare them with what bed bug bites look like.

No pets? Fleas can still turn up, because rodents and wildlife can carry fleas into a home.^[1] That changes the plan; see the last section.

Treat every pet first

This is the step that ends the infestation. Ask your veterinarian which product suits each animal, then follow the label to the letter:

• Use a product only on the species and the size or weight its label names, and never put a dog product on a cat, or the reverse, because some pesticides are more toxic to one species than the other.^[3]
• Do not use a product on a kitten or puppy unless the label allows it.^[3]
• With more than one pet, apply spot-ons or sprays to one animal at a time and keep it apart from the others until the product dries, so they do not groom it off each other.^[4]
• Never treat a pet with a product made for carpets or the yard.^[5]

The oral tablets and spot-on liquids vets usually suggest kill adult fleas within 24 hours of them jumping on the animal, so they stop laying eggs in the house.^[5] As long as every pet stays treated, the fleas still developing in the house emerge, jump on a pet and die.^[5] An untreated pet keeps the cycle going.

Clean like you mean it

Daily vacuuming is the best first step for a flea infestation, because it removes eggs, larvae and adults.^[2] Cover carpets, cushioned furniture, cracks in floors, baseboards and the basement.^[2] Go slowly under furniture, beneath cushions and along room edges, and spend the most time wherever your pet sleeps. Vacuuming also prompts fleas to leave their insecticide-resistant cocoons sooner and lifts the carpet pile so a treatment reaches the base of the fibers.^[5] When you finish, seal the bag in a garbage bag and put it in an outdoor trash can.^[5]

Those eggs and droppings collect where pets rest, so clean those spots hardest:

• The hot steam and soap of a carpet steam cleaner can kill fleas in all stages of the life cycle.^[2]
• Wash pet bedding, and any family bedding pets lie on, in hot, soapy water every two to three weeks, and throw out old pet bedding if the infestation is severe.^[2]
• Comb pets with a flea comb, especially around the neck and tail where fleas gather, and drop the fleas into hot, soapy water.^[2]

Spot-treat where pets rest

Treating the house along with the pets speeds up the end of an infestation, especially a severe one where people and pets are being bitten.^[5] Look on the label's active ingredients panel for an insecticide that kills adult fleas, such as permethrin, imidacloprid or dinotefuran, together with an insect growth regulator such as methoprene or pyriproxyfen, which stops eggs and larvae from developing.^[5]

Treat carpets, rugs, under and behind beds and furniture, and beneath cushions where pets sleep.^[5] Hardwood, tile and concrete floors generally need vacuuming, not spraying.^[5] Pick up pet food and water dishes and cover fish tanks and turn off their aerators first, and keep people and pets off treated surfaces until they dry, which can take a few hours.^[5] Read and follow every label direction.^[1]

Expect a few more weeks of fleas

An insect growth regulator kills larvae but not pupae, so fleas can keep emerging for up to 2 weeks after you spray.^[6] Even after a good treatment, expect to see some fleas for a few weeks or longer.^[5] The cocoon is impervious to insecticides,^[5] which is why the answer is more vacuuming, not more spray. If adult fleas are still showing up after 4 weeks, the house, the pets or both may need treating again.^[5] Why fleas hang on after treatment covers the usual reasons.

What to skip

• Bug bombs. Total-release foggers are seldom effective against fleas, partly because the spray goes up into the air and does not reach the hidden places fleas develop, and the ingredients may be flammable near an open flame.^[5]
• Home remedies. Most home remedies have not been found to work against fleas in homes.^[1]
• Relying on traps. Light-and-glue flea traps catch adults and help you see whether treatment is working, but they will not end an infestation on their own.^[5]

Stop and call a pro if

• Fleas keep appearing after four weeks of treating every pet and vacuuming daily.
• You have no pets. When fleas infest a pet-free home, a raccoon or opossum family in the attic or chimney, or a skunk or feral cat under the house, is often the source, and the animals should be removed by a nuisance wildlife or pest control professional.^[5] See what animal may be living in your attic.
• A pet reacts to a flea product. If the pet seems wobbly or uncoordinated, vomits, has diarrhea, seems depressed or has a seizure, call your veterinarian right away; for a collar, take it off immediately.^[4]
• Someone in the home gets a fever after bites. Fleas spread murine typhus, which causes fever, headache and sometimes a rash, though most U.S. cases are reported in California, Hawaii and Texas.^[7] Call a healthcare provider.
• You want the house sprayed for you. Remember that in Virginia no one may apply or recommend a pesticide commercially without a pesticide business license and a certified commercial applicator on staff.^[8]

Getting help on Loclis

Whether you need an exterminator or just a treated pet walks through the choice, and what flea treatment costs in Virginia explains what goes into a quote. Browse flea and tick services, find pest control around Blacksburg or read more pest control answers. When you are ready, describe the job on Loclis so licensed pest control businesses can quote it.