Chemical treatments using approved insecticides by Flick will eradicate fleas from the home. Proper hygiene is important – vacuum thoroughly and wash your pet's bedding regularly to remove flea eggs and larvae.
We use multiple pesticides to target the different life stages of the flea. Using an adulticide we can eliminate the adult stage of the fleas which are causing most of the nuisance. An IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) is also used to exterminate the larvae by sterilizing them and preventing reproduction.
Fumigation involves filling the affected rooms of your property with an insecticide that suffocates the fleas. In preparation, a trained pest controller will seal the property thoroughly, to ensure that no chemicals escape.
Step 3: Disinfect the house
In most cases, it takes three to four months to completely get rid of a flea infestation since it takes fleas this long to go through their life stages, according to the American Kennel Club.
In order to get rid of fleas in all stages of the life cycle, two or more follow-up treatments within 5-10 days after the first application are needed. Additionally, vacuuming and sanitation practices should be ongoing throughout this period to pick up all remaining eggs and juvenile fleas.
Vacuuming does work, at least in terms of reducing the severity of the infestation. But fleas breed quickly, and in the case of severe flea infestations it's unlikely you'll be able to remove all of the fleas from the carpet. In addition, flea eggs are sticky and attach themselves to carpet fibers.
You might be asking yourself will fleas eventually go away? While some could last 2 – 3 weeks, they could also live for up to 12 months on the host it finds, so it is unlikely they will go away on their own. Fleas can also reproduce very quickly by laying eggs in carpet, bedding, or garden prolonging the infestation.
Flea larvae can remain dormant in your home for months, so new fleas may continue to emerge — even after treatment. These fleas will quickly die after hatching if you've treated your home and kept up with regular flea preventive for your pet, but it can take a while for all the existing fleas to hatch and be killed.
Most successful flea treatment programs require at least 2-3 treatments at 14-day intervals using both an insecticide for the adult fleas and an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) to prevent immature stages of fleas from developing into breeding adults.
Spray carpets, pet sleeping areas, carpeted areas beneath furniture, baseboards, windowsills, and other areas harboring adults or larvae. Fleas will continue to emerge for about 2 weeks after treatment, because the spray doesn't kill pupae. Continue to vacuum, and don't treat again for at least several weeks.
Flea bombs treat indoor flea infestations through indirect application of chemicals. They are designed to be left alone to release pesticides into the room and kill the fleas.
Adult fleas will be killed within a few days but the floor should not be vacuumed, swept or washed if possible for one week after treatment because there will still be eggs which will continue to hatch. As the eggs hatch and develop, you might find fleas reappearing 7-10 days after treatment.
You should never stay when foggers are about to be applied because your children and pets can inhale the chemicals or fumes that flea bombs release. The emitted chemicals will not only be bad for your skin but your respiratory system as well so exposing your family and pets is never good.
Frontline Plus Flea & Tick Treatment
Frontline Plus is an advanced “vet-strength” formula. Fleas are killed within 24 hours and ticks within 48 hours. Unlike some flea treatments, Frontline Plus not only kills fleas, but also their eggs and larvae, stopping their eggs from hatching and infesting the home.
Fleas cannot fly, but they move by jumping from object to object. It can take up to 3 months to break a total flea life cycle by using monthly flea treatments. For indoor flea control, vacuuming all floors, carpets, baseboards, pet bedding and furniture will help remove adult fleas and eggs.
The closest pet owners can get to immediate flea relief is by treating their pets with Nitenpyram. Common brands of Nitenpyram include Capstar® and Bestguard® which can be purchased through a veterinarian, online, and over the counter.
Prior to spraying, vacuum your home thoroughly. This allows the spray to penetrate deep into carpet fibres. The vibrations and warmth from the vacuum cleaner also create a stimulus for adult fleas to emerge from the otherwise impenetrable pupae, allowing them to be exposed to the spray.
It's important to note that there's a good chance you may still find fleas for up to four weeks as fleas were likely in different life stages at the time of your treatment. Eggs and pupa may have escaped the insecticide treatment and are now adults.
So, do flea bombs work? Yes, but unfortunately, they're usually not 100% effective. That's because the chemicals often fail to reach concealed or protected areas where fleas can hide, such as underneath furniture or inside closets and cabinets.
The good news is, the fleas in your house are most likely to be cat or dog fleas, so although they will bite humans, they don't consider us a suitable host to live and breed on (they prefer dogs and cats). This means, eventually they'll just die off.
And for many, it's now a year-round concern. Summer is typically thought of as peak “flea season,” but milder winters, along with central heat and carpeting, have led to more fleas, more often.
Fleas also sometimes carry diseases such as flea-borne spotted fever, plague, typhus, and cat scratch fever. While this is more likely to become a problem if you do have pets, fleas in a house without pets can cause serious problems for your family.
- As a general rule if you can pick fleas off an animal relatively easily; they are already slowing down and are busy dying. Healthy fleas are too fast to catch. Nothing can stop new fleas jumping from the environment onto a flea treated animal, and it can be hard to tell where they have picked them up from sometimes…
However, fleas can only live up to one to two weeks without a host on your bedding or mattress. While fleas sometimes bite humans to eat, pets and wild animals are typically the favored hosts for fleas. So, it's important to keep your pet away from your bed if they are suffering from a flea infestation.