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Fleas seem to be one of the most annoying insects to infest your home. No other insect that infests your home, other than bed bugs, depends on feeding on any and everything with a pulse.  There are many unfortunate ways in which fleas can infest your home. Fleas can live on squirrels, rats, mice, dogs and cats.  If your flea problem is caused by rodents, it is almost impossible to ever completely get rid of the fleas without first controlling the underlying problem of rodents.  Dave’s Pest Control has a program to eliminate the rodents and the fleas simultaneously from your home.  Such methods for rodent control may include snap traps, glue boards, poison and exclusion of holes or entry points where the rodents are gaining access to your home.

Fleas on pets can also be a cause of a flea infestation inside the home. Don’t worry we are not going to get rid of your dogs or cats, but there are some steps to follow to ensure your furry friends never cause a flea infestation. There are also things you can do with your pets if you already have an infestation. A liquid flea treatment is recommended (see more information on liquid flea treatments below). It is not a good idea to allow animals to always freely come between the inside and outside of the home as they wish. Flea drops or a flea collar is a must, but these products cannot keep fleas from hitching a ride on your pet just long enough to get inside and jump to your carpet unscathed. Keep your grass and weeds cut to avoid flea nesting sites. Do not bring bedding inside that has been sitting outside for any length of time. Regularly give your pets flea baths, and vacuum your house on a regular bases to remove per hair and dander and to capture fleas that may be lurking. Any time you vacuum, if possible empty the bag outside to avoid fleas coming out from your vacuum cleaner.

Several methods may be used to eliminate fleas in and around your house. In Birmingham, AL Dave’s pest control has several houses for which we treat the yard on a regular basis with an insecticide that constantly kills fleas living anywhere near the house. This treatment can be done with liquid or granules depending on what the situation calls for.

Inside the house foggers can be used. Dave’s pest control typically recommends against fogging for fleas because of safety and quality of service reasons. Any time fogging is needed always remember to shut off all gas and electrical appliances, turn off heating and air, hot water heaters, and the stove.  Also all food needs to be properly sealed. The best method that we recommend is a liquid treatment, whereby we apply an insecticide directly to the carpet. You would not have to turn off any electric or gas appliances.  Along with our liquid treatments, we add an IGR (insect growth regulator) to our formulation to be sprayed on your carpet.  This IGR keeps any newly hatched fleas from laying more eggs, thereby stopping the life cycle.  However you must wait up to 4 hours until anyone or pets are allowed to walk on the carpet. After 4 hours when reentering the house the customer must inspect their carpet to make sure it is completely dry. Once chemical has dried, it is completely safe to re-enter the house.  An important thing to remember is that no pesticides can penetrate the existing flea eggs; therefore, adult fleas eventually emerge up to 3 weeks after the initial treatment.  These adult fleas that emerge will be affected and eliminated by the existing pesticides in the carpet.  This is not the sign of an ineffective treatment, just the fleas living out their life cycle.  In some cases, upholstered furniture needs to be treated as well.  Flea control cannot be attained without full help from the homeowner.  Clutter and debris must be removed from the inside and outside of the house, as mentioned before.  A thorough vacuum job should include vacuuming all upholstery and all carpeting under the upholstery (such as chairs, sofas, beds etc.).  Fleas like to hide in the dark, so under these furniture items are the very areas they are most likely to be found.