How to Get Rid of Fleas in House (4 Steps)

For a pet owner, no infestation is more dreaded than fleas. These tiny blood-suckers can rapidly infest every space in your home, cause your pet serious discomfort, and even transfer disease to you and your family. They’re not just a serious nuisance, but a potentially dangerous housemate.

If you have signs of fleas, it’s time to eradicate them. Read on to learn all about fleas and how to get rid of fleas in the house.

• What are Fleas?
• Signs of Fleas
• How to Get Rid of Fleas in Your House
• FAQs
• Final Notes

What are Fleas?

Fleas are one of the most common parasites in the world. As adults, fleas look like tiny, brown insects and survive by eating the blood of animals and humans alike. Their flat, round bodies glide easily through feathers or fur and their long legs have flexible spines that enable them to grab a tight hold. Once they’ve latched on, they pierce the skin of their host and freely feast on their blood.

Fleas’ short lifecycles and rapid proliferation makes them a homeowner’s nightmare. An adult, female flea can lay anywhere from 15 to 50 eggs each day. Depending on conditions like humidity and more, flea eggs can hatch within days, cocoon in about a week, and become an adult another week later. In just over two weeks, one adult flea can become 50.¹

Even worse, fleas are excellent at spreading disease to both animals and humans. Fleas may carry diseases like:²

• Plague: Believe it or not, plague is still around, mostly in rural areas of the western United States. Fleas directly spread plague through their bites, but people can also contract plague by handling an animal that’s been bitten by an infected flea.
• Murine typhus: Also known as flea-borne typhus, this disease is most commonly spread by cat fleas. Murine typhus causes flu-like symptoms, vomiting, cough, stomach pain, and sometimes rash. In the US, it’s mostly reported in Hawaii, Texas, and California.
• Cat scratch disease: Cat scratch disease is contractible by both cats and people, but in cats it typically doesn’t cause symptoms. In humans, however, cat scratch disease can cause a fever, pustules, and more.
• Parasites: Fleas can become infected with parasites like tapeworms. If a pet accidentally swallows the flea during grooming, they swallow the tapeworm along with it. Even small children are at risk of swallowing tapeworm-infected fleas, as they spend time close to the ground.

Animals with fleas are also susceptible to infections from scratching flea bites to the point of open wounds and more. Some are even allergic to flea saliva, a condition known as flea allergy dermatitis.³ Cats and dogs with this condition may have extreme discomfort from even a single flea bite.

Signs of Fleas

Worried you may have fleas in your house? You can look for signs of flea infestations on animals, humans, and in your home.

Signs to look for on your pet include:

• Excessive biting, chewing, or licking, often to the point of raw skin
• Hair loss at the base of the tail or back of the legs¹
• Small, raised bites in straight lines or clusters
• Tiny, brown insects on their body that look like seeds

If you suspect your pet may have fleas, try combing them in the bathtub or on top of a light-colored surface. Check the comb and the area beneath them for flea eggs or flea dirt (flea feces that looks like brown dirt).

Signs to look for on yourself include:¹

• Small, itchy bites on your ankles or feet that are surrounded by a red halo
• Allergic reaction, like shortness of breath or hives
• Signs of infection, like fever, body ache, or rashes

Signs to look for in your home include:

• Flea dirt, especially in the places your pet spends the most time
• Flea eggs, which look like tiny white grains of sand
• Flea larvae, which look like little white caterpillars and most commonly hide in carpets and cracks in floor boards

How to Get Rid of Fleas in Your House

Once you’ve identified fleas, it’s time to get rid of them. Getting rid of fleas in your house can be a challenging process. When fleas infest, they infest everywhere.

Flea eggs can’t stick to your pet’s fur in the same way adult fleas can. Despite being laid on your pet, flea eggs end up falling to just about every surface.

Fleas’ life cycles can also make it difficult to get rid of fleas in your house. Fleas need to be eradicated differently based on where they are in their life cycles. For instance, adult fleas that live on your pet can be tackled using a good bath and flea medicine for dogs or cats. Flea eggs, on the other hand, are fairly impervious to flea medications thanks to their protective shells and require different tactics. On top of that, whatever methods you choose to get rid of fleas in your home need to be repeated several times, as new fleas may be hatching at any minute.

While it may be a pain to get rid of fleas in your house, it's a necessary process. Use these techniques for complete eradication.⁴

Step 1: Clean Your Home

The first step to getting rid of fleas at home is to sanitize everything. Fleas can easily sustain themselves by living on fabrics, so it’s important to wash any linens, pillows, rugs, and more. Pay extra attention to places your pet spends the most time, like their bed or their favorite spot on the couch. A soak in the washer can kill eggs, larvae, and pupa.

Vacuum all flooring and along the edges of your walls, in case larvae have burrowed into their nooks. A thorough vacuum can suck up any flea eggs or larvae. It’s a good idea to empty your vacuum directly into your outdoor trash can or dumpster. That way, you’re not reintroducing fleas you’ve just collected.

Step 2: Treat Your Pet Against Fleas.

The next step in getting rid of fleas in your house is to treat every pet in your household, whether or not they’ve shown signs of fleas. Bathe them with a flea shampoo to wash fleas off, then comb them with a flea comb to get rid of any stragglers. You’ll need to comb thoroughly, paying extra attention to the face, neck, and base of the tail. These are the spots fleas love most.

Once you’ve rid your pets of fleas, use a flea medication for cats or dogs to ensure that they don’t become re-infested. Your vet can help you select the right formulation for your pet’s needs.

Step 3: Bring in a Professional

Next, it’s time to let the pros tackle your situation. Water can easily tackle eggs, larvae, and pupae, but adult fleas can survive up to 24 hours in water. They need a more serious solution.

Consider hiring a pest control professional to help you come up with a regular treatment plan. They’ll be able to recommend products for inside and out. The CDC recommends beginning home treatment and pet treatment at the same time, so that everyone’s on the same schedule.

Step 4: Repeat

In order to treat fleas at every stage in their lifecycle, you’ll need to repeat treatments in your home multiple times over the next week or so. It’s also important to continue to vacuum and sanitize regularly, spending extra time in places where your pet hangs out.

FAQs

How do I get rid of fleas in my house fast?

Getting rid of fleas in your house is a multi-step process and, unfortunately, there’s no good way to get rid of fleas in the house fast. Rushed pest control is likely to result in reinfestation, which will set you back to square one. Rather than focusing on speed, complete each step thoroughly. We recommend hiring a professional to do the job right.

How long does it take to get rid of fleas in a house?

Because fleas need to be treated at various different stages in their lifecycle, it can take several weeks to get rid of fleas in your house.

Why can’t you squish a flea?

Thanks to their sturdy exoskeleton, fleas are fairly impervious to any level of squishing or smushing. Not only do fleas have hard outer shells, but their shells have the ability to contract and expand, allowing them to absorb even the strongest impacts.⁵

Final Notes

Fleas are no fun for you or your pets. Fortunately, they’re a problem that can be solved. Getting rid of fleas in your house is a big task, but with the right tools, it’s one that’s very doable – and important!

Of course, the best way to treat fleas is by preventing them altogether. Protecting your pet with year-round flea treatment from Dutch is the best way to do so. Become a Dutch member today to get unlimited access to licensed veterinarians who can help find the right flea solution for your pets’ needs. Best of all, Dutch members get free shipping on all pharmacy orders.