If you own any cats or dogs, you’ve probably been wondering how to prevent bringing fleas and ticks in house. They are often found on pets, and they can cause health problems as well as getting into carpets and hair.
Sometimes when a pet gets fleas bites, they can suffer negative consequences, such as skin irritation resulting from allergies. These can take time to heal. Beyond this, certain infections can occur in your pet when they’re bitten by fleas. These include inconvenient and harmful parasites invading your pet’s body, such as tapeworms. This is why it’s important to learn how to keep fleas out of your house.
You and your relatives can also be adversely impacted by fleas. Pests can get into your furniture and linger there for months or even years. Preventing fleas and other pests from multiplying inside your home can be a headache if you’ve already got an infestation. They can take a long time to get rid of fleas completely. Certain bacterial diseases are also carried by fleas, such as Bartonella.
Therefore, it’s clear that if you own a dog or a cat, you’ll want to be aware of the best home fleas prevention techniques. That way you’ll know exactly how to prevent fleas from occupying your residence. Before we list how you can do this, it’s worth being aware that you’ll want to get ready in winter. Fleas are at their worst in the summer, and if you haven’t taken action by then, flea prevention in home is much tougher.
Now that you know why removing fleas is crucial, here are 10 techniques that will show you how to keep fleas away.
1. Keep Your Garden Trimmed
You should ensure that your garden is not overgrown and that all of your plants are neat and orderly if you care for your property. Fleas need a place to hide, and making sure they’ve got no options is a great way to repel them from your home. Keeping your garden organized also prevents other animals from coming in and depositing fleas. Whilst you do this, don’t forget to pick up any food bowls and take them indoors.
2. Spray The Garden With Flea Repellent
If, for any reason, you are particularly concerned about fleas entering your home, or you think there might be flea infestation in your garden, spray it with a flea killer. This will remove any that are present and stop any more appearing. Sprays also help to purge any fleas that might be hiding on you before you go back indoors. Also, some flea sprays have the added effect of getting rid of other airborne pests too.
3. Use Flea Protection On Your Pet
When you visit a vet, they can share details of flea pet treatments you can apply to your pet to repel fleas. There are flea collars, flea creams, and similar options available. These are worth using if your pet has a lot of fur. You can also buy powders that make the skin of your pet inhospitable to fleas.
4. Clean Your Home
Even if you’re sure that your home is as clean as can be, you, your pet, and any visitors can still bring in fleas from outdoors. They can then migrate to your carpet and begin an infestation. Therefore you should use a vacuum cleaner every week, and after you do so, you should change the bag inside so that no fleas remain.
5. Deal With Infestations
Fleas do not appear by themselves, out of thin air. There are multiple parts of their life cycle, and you will need to eliminate all of them. That means the eggs, the larvae, and the fully-grown fleas. To ensure this is done, you’ll need to deep-clean all of the soft possessions and fixtures you own. That means pillows, cushions, curtains, carpets, and more. Sometimes hiring a professional is the best way to do this.
6. Wash Your Pet Frequently
There are specially formulated shampoos available for the treatment of pets with flea problems, plus you can use natural remedies like lemon juice mixed with water. If you plan on using these, it’s worth making sure that you use it regularly. A one-off is not good enough. You will need to keep going until your home is free of fleas. Any eggs that are left will lead to a new infestation occurring.
7. Spray The Carpets
One of the favored hideaways that fleas have is the carpets. This means targeting them is a great way to purge fleas from your home. You’ll be able to find a wide range of carpet sprays on the market, and you’ll want to find one that deals with fleas at every stage in their life cycle.
8. Fogging Your Home
If you’re dealing with a severe flea infestation, then you’ll need to deal with it comprehensively. One way to do this is by fogging. It can protect your home for over 6 months, and also eliminates any other pests resident inside your home.
9. Use Hot Water For Washing
To reduce the chance of your pet catching fleas another important step is to wash your pet’s bed. This is a place where your pet spends a lot of their time, and it can quickly become unclean. When cleaning it, you should do so as you would with your bedding. Using water that’s hot, mixed with soap, is the best way to kill fleas at any stage of life. It will also stop your dog from being uncomfortable at night.
10. Comb Your Pet
For a more manual approach to flea removal, you can use flea combs. These will drag fleas out of their fur and give them some instant relief. You should do it outdoors so that none land on your carpets. To make it easier, you can use a cup of hot water with soap to dip the comb in after every brush stroke. Lastly, focus on the neck and tail of your pet, as fleas are often found there.