How do you get rid of fleas in home?

Question: Our house is infested with fleas. What does Orkin do to get rid of them? Is there anything we have to do in preparation for your treatment?

Eliminating fleas from homes can be a difficult, time-consuming process because fleas have a long life cycle. It generally involves more than one control procedure. Successful flea control efforts begin with an inspection of the premises by an Orkin Pro who will determine the flea population's locations and the flea species causing the problem. Once the flea inspection is completed, your Orkin Pro will begin a procedure that involves the following:

1. Sanitation. Thoroughly cleaning areas where fleas frequently breed. This includes washing pet bedding and rugs and thoroughly vacuuming and sweeping floors and carpeted areas along the edges of walls. Continue to vacuum for several days after the carpet has been treated. Remove and discard the bag from the vacuum cleaner outside the home each time you do this.

2. Pet treatment. Every pet in the home must be treated. Your Orkin Pro will recommend that you thoroughly bathe pets with soap and water, then comb them with a flea comb. Pay careful attention to face and neck regions, and the area in front of the tail. Soap will act as a gentle insecticide to kill adult fleas. Talk to your veterinarian about choosing the right flea control product for your pet. If your pet has a history of fleas, use a flea comb to groom them at least once a week until you are confident that both your home and pet are flea-free.

3. Home treatment. Begin home treatment at the same time as pet treatment. This keeps all treatments on the same timeline and helps disrupt the flea life cycle. Your Orkin Pro can help you determine which products are best for inside your home. Additionally, ongoing vacuuming and sanitation practices should be maintained throughout this period to ensure the removal of any remaining eggs and juvenile fleas.

4. Outdoor treatment. In general, your Orkin Pro will focus outdoor treatments on shady areas and places where pets spend the most time. However, the homeowner should always show the Orkin Pro where children spend their time playing outdoors in the yard.

5. Follow-up. Fleas have a complex life cycle. At certain stages of their life cycle, fleas may be resistant to control products. To eliminate fleas at all stages, two or more follow-up treatments are required within 5-10 days after the initial application. Your Orkin Pro will provide information related to control follow-ups.

Signs Of Flea Infestation

• Adult fleas biting occupants and pets

• Pets grooming, scratching, or biting at their fur, appearing more agitated and edgy than usual, and experiencing hair loss

• Seeing fleas or flea dirt on your pets, in their bedding, and in areas where they spend time. Flea dirt, consisting mainly of dried animal blood, appears reddish-black upon close examination.

• Observing fleas when walking across carpets or sitting on upholstered furniture

How to Treat Pets for Fleas

In addition to the flea control program provided by your Orkin Pro, lukewarm water and mild soap, can help get fleas off your pet's fur and skin. The dish soap can help to drown adult fleas. If you're thinking about using a flea shampoo or something similar, talk to your veterinarian first. It can strip oils from your pet's fur and dry out their skin.

Pet Safe Flea Treatments

This is a general checklist to help ensure a safe flea treatment. Before using any of these treatments, contact your pet’s veterinarian and get approval:

1. Kill fleas with an approved oral prescription.

2. Kill fleas with an approved topical prescription.

3. Kill fleas with a natural pet-safe spray.

4. Wash your pet's bedding with hot water and flea shampoo every few days.

5. Use a flea comb to remove fleas.

6. Schedule regular vet checkups

7. Let your pet groom itself.

8. Flea collars can be a preventive measure but are not always the best solution for flea control. It’s best to check with your vet to determine if a flea collar will be helpful.

While many vet-approved or prescribed sprays and topicals are generally safe, some pets may still be sensitive to their ingredients. Stop any treatment if you notice it irritating your pet's skin or causing another type of allergic reaction. Inform your vet if your pet has any known sensitivities to medications or ingredients.

How To Prevent Future Flea Infestations

If your pet has a history of fleas, comb them with a flea comb at least once a week until you are certain that both your home and pet are flea-free. If weather permits, take your pet outside to comb them, ensuring that any fleas removed will likely remain outdoors.

Professional Flea Control

Contact your local Orkin Branch Office for more information about our flea control services. An Orkin Pro will thoroughly inspect your home, inside and out. Once an assessment is made of the extent of the infestation, your Orkin Pest Specialist will develop an effective treatment plan that is customized for your situation. While discussing the plan, your Orkin Pro will provide instructions to help you prepare for the flea treatment.

Read more: More information on flea control

Related Questions

Orkin used the information above to also answer the following questions submitted by Orkin.com users:

Question: What pesticides do you use to treat a home for flea infestation? How exactly do you do it—what methods? What are the dangers of the chemicals to small children? I assume you would only come once. How much would that cost?

Question: We have had problems with fleas for some time now. We live in a home that was built in the 1800s. The house has wood floors that, from what I have read, harbor fleas. What would it take to treat our home? Would it require treating the yard as well? What’s the average price to treat this situation, and how often would treatments have to be applied?

Question: How do you eliminate fleas in our home with it being safe for my two infant children?

Question: Hello! Recently I noticed a flea in our living room. I only saw it for a second, but I’m positive it was a flea. Since then my two-year-old has been having bites on him (no one else in the family however has had any bites). I have been running the vacuum frequently. Is there anything I should be doing to prevent them from getting worse? Can I use the flea powder you put on animals and sprinkle it on the carpet? Do you have any home remedies that might work? Am I suppose to throw away the vacuum bag after every use? The animals each have a new flea collar on. I didn’t think you could get fleas in the winter. We live in New York and have snow now. Any suggestions on how I can try to get rid of them would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Question: My boyfriend and I are looking at a town home in Davison, Mich. The “model” that was shown to us had fleas in it. Is this a treatable thing, or would you suggest NOT moving there?

Answer: It is treatable, but probably something you want done before you get there. The best solution would be to remove and replace all the carpets, second choice is to have all (all!) the carpets shampooed—this will kill the flea larvae that are in the carpet.

Question: I unfortunately moved into an apartment that was infested with fleas. I don’t have any animals, and Orkin has treated the place twice. I’ve been doing a lot of vacuuming, and I haven’t seen a flea for a week. Does that mean that they’re totally gone now? When can I be confident that they are totally gone? Is it possible that there are still eggs in the apartment that could hatch weeks and months later, or can I assume that all the eggs have hatched by now?

Answer: There are no eggs that will hatch months later; if you’re still worried you can shampoo the carpets … this kills any larvae that are in the carpet. The issue is not with the eggs or even the larvae, but the pupae. The pupae can remain dormant close to a year. Fleas will often pupate in hidden locations like under carpet edges, tack strips, under baseboards, and so on. Using the vacuum cleaner will trigger emergence from the dormant pupa.

Question: How long will a flea treatment continue to kill fleas?

Answer: If carpet was treated, the residual activity would be about 2 weeks.

Question: How much of the yard will the Orkin Pro treat for fleas? We have 1.16 acres…must all the grass be cut short in those areas?

Answer: Fleas do not usually live outdoors and surely don’t survive long outdoors; treating a wide area outdoors for flea control would be unnecessary…it is indoors that fleas survive.