Ridding Your Pets and Your House of Fleas

If your pets spend a lot of time outdoors they will most likely become infested with fleas. This is something you don't want to happen because fleas can be harmful to pets and can cause such medical problems as, hair loss due to scratching, tape worms, flea allergy dermatitis, secondary skin infections and even anemia. Fleas can also infest your house and if that happens, they can be hard to get rid of.

If you aren't sure if your pet has fleas just take a white towel or sheet and rub it across your pet's fur. If your pet does have fleas you will see little black specks appear on the cloth. Once it's determined that your pet has fleas, it's time to take the necessary steps to get rid of them.

First, you'll want to treat your pet with a flea shampoo, which can be found at pet stores. After bathing your pet you'll want to use a flea comb and comb through your pet's fur and if you find fleas you should drop them in a cup of water mixed with alcohol and then flush the water down the toilet when finished. Most flea shampoo only kill the adult fleas, so you may want to use a flea foam or even a dip, which are more effective in killing all fleas, but could contain harsher chemicals than the flea shampoo.

After ridding your pet of fleas, you'll want to thoroughly clean your house as it may have become infested with fleas as well. Below are a few steps to take to ensure your house is flea free.

Make sure to vacuum all rugs, floors, and furniture, especially the areas where your pet is the most, such as sleeping areas, resting areas, eating areas, etc. and wash all bedding.

Steam clean your carpets and then apply boric acid or a borax and salt mixture to your carpets. This mixture will kill fleas by dehydrating them and their eggs. Leave the mixture on your carpets for about 24 hours and then vacuum your carpet again. Be sure to throw out your vacuum bag afterwards.

There are also insecticide sprays you could purchase to rid your house of fleas and their larvae, however, most of these contain harmful chemicals that could be hazardous to you, your family, and your pet, so it's safer in the long run, to follow the steps mentioned above.

You will want to follow these steps a couple of times each week as the life cycle of a flea and its larvae is about 14 days so you could experience a reinfestation if you happen to miss a few the first time.