How to Kill Fleas on Carpet & on Your Pets

When pets have fleas it is extremely annoying, as fleas multiply quickly and tend to embed themselves in just about anything they can. They lay their eggs in the fur of dogs and cats, driving them crazy from itching. These pesky critters have a habit of getting into fabric such as carpeting, making it difficult to see where they are hiding and lay their eggs. Fortunately, there are ways that you can eliminate them from the carpet and prevent a reinfestation.

Step 1

Fleas love to hide in and lay their eggs in carpeting.

Credit: carpet close up image by isatori from Fotolia.com

Give your pet a bath in some dish-washing liquid, as it is known to kill fleas. It is important to do this around the same time that you treat the carpeting throughout the house in order to avoid a reinfestation of both the pet and the carpet.

Step 2

Sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) liberally throughout your house, over the carpeting and around the parameters of each of the rooms. Leave it on the carpet overnight. The fleas will eat this substance and then it literally eats them, making holes in their bodies.

Step 3

Sprinkle the DE over your pet, avoiding his face and leave it in his fur. The food-grade version of DE will not harm humans or pets if a small amount is accidentally ingested and is safe when it comes in contact with the skin.

Step 4

Vacuum your the entire house, making sure to get up all of the DE that you had scattered around the night before.

Step 5

Repeat the process of sprinkling DE over your carpet each night and vacuum it up each morning for the following two weeks. (This will ensure that there will be no re-populating of the eggs that may still be in the carpet).

Step 6

Sprinkle some DE around the outside of the house and around the yard in any areas that your pets might go. Pets that have fleas often drop them off of their bodies into yards and grassy areas, where the fleas proceed to lay more eggs. This will keep fleas from jumping back onto your pets from the outdoors and getting back into the carpeting inside.

Step 7

Start your pet on a monthly flea prevention medication program. These products come in small tubes and are available for both dogs and cats. Once per month you just squeeze the little tube onto your pet between their shoulder blades and they are good to go. This will prevent a re-infestation of fleas on your pet and thus, your carpet for the long term.

Step 8

Put a small amount of garlic in your pet's food. Fleas absolutely hate garlic and are repelled by it, thus, they are much less likely to choose your pets as one of their "victims".

Things You'll Need
-Food-grade diatomaceous earth
-Vacuum cleaner
-Monthly flea treatments
-Dish washing liquid
-Salt
-Garlic powder

Tips
-Brewers yeast can also be added to a dog and a cats food in small amounts, which is also a natural flea repellent.

Warnings
-Avoid putting a flea collar on your pet, as these are known to cause chemical induced illnesses in both dogs and cats.
-When using garlic for a pet, only use a very minute amount, as too much can be toxic to dogs and cats.

References and Resources:

http://www.crbeagles.com/misc/fleas.htm

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/flea-terminator-dog-treats/Detail.aspx

http://all-pets-info.com/fleacontrol/Home-Remedies-For-Killing-Fleas-on-Dogs.html