Flea Infestation in The Home

Fleas are tiny, wingless parasites with a horizontal flat shape and dark red color. They have a strong piercing mouth and feed themselves on blood sucked from humans and animals. Each female flea can lay around 50 eggs in a day. They often choose the soft fabric of carpets in our homes for laying eggs. Other areas of flea infestation in the home are furniture items, like, sofas, tables, vehicle upholstery, etc. Fleas badly affect your cuddly pets by infestation into their thick fur. When the fleas stay in the fur of the pet, they suck up blood from the pet and cause various diseases, like, anemia. Fleas can bite humans too and cause different types of infections.

How to Get Rid of Fleas?

Flea extermination is not at all an easy task. You need to invest a lot of time and effort before you can achieve success in destroying them.

Vacuum Cleaning: There is no better treatment for active flea infestation than vacuum cleaning. It can pick up both the adult forms as well as the pupae forms of fleas. You can put a few moth balls in the vacuum cleaner bag before installing it into the vacuum cleaner for best results. Vacuum clean the carpets, bare floors, upholstered furniture, mattresses, cushions, rugs, drapes, everything. Also do not spare any nook or corner of the house. After every use of vacuum cleaner, make sure you remove the vacuum cleaner bag and dispose it off in a trash can outside the house. You should vacuum clean your house in this manner as frequently as possible. Read more on how to kill fleas in the carpet.

Diatomaceous Earth: Those fleas that were missed out by your vacuum cleaner can be killed with the help of diatomaceous earth. It is easily available in any farmer supply stores in powdered form. Sprinkle a little amount of this powder on carpet, mattresses, area under the chairs and all other places where your pets sleep. It dehydrates the fleas and thus they get killed. Do not use it in excess amount because if inhaled, it is harmful for both humans as well as pets. Therefore, you can use table salt instead as it is a safe option. To know more refer to:

• Home Remedies for Fleas in House
• Flea Control Home Remedies

Wash the Linen: All linen that comes in contact with the pets should be washed in hot water and detergent powder. It includes pet bedding, scatter rugs, throw pillows and even your car seats. It is also very important to dry them under the sun. This is because the fleas are unable to survive in hot condition.

Clean up the Pets: Try to comb out fleas from the fur of your pet as much as possible. Immerse a few pieces of lemon in boiling water overnight. Spray this solution all over your pet, particularly the armpits, back of the head and behind the ears. Then bathe your pets with a good quality flea shampoo. There are herbal flea collars available for the pets that gives off the scent of herbs which in turn keeps fleas away from the fur. However, it is advisable to consult your vet prior to the use of such type of collars on your pet. You might like to read more on dog fleas.

Preventive Measures

Finally, when you have gotten rid of the flea infestation in the home, it is important to take certain measures so that they do not come back. Eucalyptus leaves act as good repellents for the fleas, at the same time, they do not cause any harm to children, pets or the environment. They are available in drugstores and health food stores. Spread these leaves in various locations in and around your house. The smell of the leaves will prevent the fleas from entering your house. Boil some of the eucalyptus leaves in water and let it cool down. Use it in the bath water of your pet. Your carpets can be prevented from flea infestation by spreading borax on them before vacuum cleaning them. All the concrete floors where your pets sit or sleep should be washed with water into which vinegar has been added.

Many people use flea bombs for the purpose of flea control. The ingredients of these bombs inhibit the reproduction of the fleas and thus get rid of flea infestation in the home. However, it is not safe for children and pets. Therefore, it is advisable to use the safer options given in this article.