Pet bring back unwelcome guests? Here’s how to get rid of fleas in your home

Key points

• Fleas can transmit diseases and infections to pets and humans, including plague, cat scratch disease, typhus and tapeworm.

• Resolving a flea infestation usually demands multiple remediation methods that target fleas at all points in their life cycle.

• Prevent fleas by using repellents and minimizing your pets’ interactions with other animals.

Fleas bite pets and people and can cause severe itchiness and allergic reactions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fleas can also transmit diseases to and from humans and pets, including typhus, plague and cat scratch disease (CSD). The CDC also maintains that getting rid of fleas is complicated, as flea treatments aren’t always effective at every stage of the insect’s life cycle.

According to Ray Hess, an associate certified entomologist (ACE) with the Entomological Society of America and region technical training manager at Arrow Exterminators, vacuuming is a good place to start. “[Vacuuming] stimulates the pupal stage to hatch, and consequently, vacuuming can remove all adults, larvae and eggs,” he said. “The best course of action is to have your property professionally treated by a pest control company.”

Below, we explain how to get rid of fleas in your home for good and when to call in a professional for assistance.

How do you get rid of fleas in your house fast?

Flea prevention is the best method to avoid flea-related illness and discomfort, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC). If you already have fleas in your home, though, you can employ a few methods to get rid of them. Multiple modalities may be needed in combination for the best results.

Clean your home thoroughly

One way to disrupt the life cycle of the fleas in your home is to get rid of the eggs that adult fleas lay. Doing so can help prevent a more severe infestation. Fleas typically lay eggs in the hair or fur of their host, but they can fall out and accumulate elsewhere. Enlist the following cleaning methods to get rid of flea eggs:

• Vacuum floors regularly, focusing on corners of rooms and soft surfaces, such as carpets.
• Vacuum upholstery and other surfaces the host (your pet) frequents. “Once finished vacuuming, ensure the bag or bin is emptied outside of the home and not in the kitchen trash can,” said Hess. “Emptying the contents inside of the home could potentially cause a reinfestation.”
• Wash your drapes and bed linens in hot water.
• Wash pet bedding and plush toys in hot water or dispose of them.
• Keep other animals that could bring in a reinfestation away from your property. “Controlling stray animals, wildlife and rodents around the structure is crucial,” said Hess.

Treat your pets directly

Adult fleas usually feed on the blood of cats and dogs, so treating pets directly reduces the risk of flea bites and resulting irritation. Flea larvae also feed on dried blood and fecal matter — called flea dirt — left behind by adult fleas on your pet’s fur. Here’s how to treat your pets for fleas to interrupt the fleas’ life cycle:

• Bathe all pets in your home regularly until the fleas are gone. Brush your pets with a flea comb in soapy water to remove fleas from the fur. Dish soap can kill fleas regardless of the life cycle stage, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• If your pets aren’t on a preventive flea treatment, start them on one. “Treat the infestation both on the pet and the environment,” said Dr. Christina Fernandez, a certified veterinarian at Chewy. “All pets in the household should be on regular routine flea prevention, regardless of whether they go outdoors or not,” she said. “Once an infestation has been treated, it’s important to keep pets on regular routine flea prevention all year round.”
• Consider using flea collars, at least temporarily, on all cats and dogs in your homes. Flea collars can prevent new flea eggs from hatching, further disrupting the pest’s life cycle, but they shouldn’t be used as a stand-alone treatment.

According to the CDC, all pets in the home should be treated, even if they aren’t showing signs of irritation from flea bites.

Get professional flea treatment

The CDC recommends environmental treatments for flea extermination, including having a professional apply an insecticide in your home or yard. According to the best practices detailed by the University of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, targeting problem areas using spray insecticides is more effective than using whole-room or whole-home foggers.

The EPA warns homeowners about the use of non-EPA-approved pesticides and the dangers of using some over-the-counter flea treatments. For fast and safe treatment, it’s best to have a professional pest management company treat your home.

What are the best natural home remedies for fleas?

Some homeowners may be leery about using insecticides around pets or children and might instead opt for natural (nonchemical) home remedies. “Natural remedies for premises can be effective, but they are more labor-intensive and usually take much longer for results,” according to Hess.

Vacuuming, cleaning and regular pet baths are the best natural treatments, but there are some other pest management options that don’t involve pesticides.

Flea traps

Flea traps produce light and warmth, which naturally attract fleas, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Once inside the trap, fleas stick to a glue board, which you can then remove and replace periodically. Glue traps generally only capture adult fleas, so they shouldn’t be used as stand-alone treatments.

Natural spot treatments

You can also make use of natural desiccant dust, such as diatomaceous earth, to help with flea control. This substance is naturally occurring, although breathing in the dust can be harmful, according to the University of Minnesota. 

“Powders like diatomaceous earth and others can be applied to carpets, raked in and then vacuumed to help eliminate fleas,” said Hess. “However, these methods are labor-intensive, and many people are hesitant about the potential inhalation of these powders.”

If you feel comfortable using desiccant products, you can dust areas where you note flea activity. As a desiccant, the dust dries out oils on the fleas’ exoskeletons, killing adult fleas. Since this product doesn’t work on all flea life cycle stages, it shouldn’t be used as a standalone treatment.

What is the most effective way to treat fleas on pets?

The most effective way to get rid of fleas on pets is to combine several methods for reducing the number of adults, eggs and larvae in the home and on your pets. These include vacuuming areas where your pets frequent, providing flea treatments to all pets in the home and hiring a professional pest control company to treat in and around your house.

When it comes to treating pets directly, speak to your vet. “There are a variety of options out there for controlling and preventing fleas on pets,” said Fernandez. “It’s best to consult a veterinarian on the best products to use for your particular pet.”

According to Fernandez, there are dog- and cat-specific treatments that you can apply orally (by mouth) or topically (on the skin and fur). Treatments vary in frequency and can be monthly, daily or every eight to 12 weeks.

For advice on which insecticides to use, speak with a licensed pest specialist. “The best course of action is to have your property professionally treated by a pest control company,” said Hess. “The professionals should treat the inside and outside of your house, mostly the part of the yard where people and animals routinely occupy. Ideally, during this treatment, your pet should be taken to the vet for their own treatment, ensuring they return to a pest-free environment.”

How to prevent your pet from getting fleas

“The best way to get rid of fleas is to prevent them from getting established in the first place,” advised Hess. There are a few things you can and should do to prevent fleas from infecting your pets and taking up residence in and around your home.

First, you can give your pets preventive flea medication, which includes repellent collars and topical applications that prevent fleas from biting. Permethrin is a common chemical in these treatments that repel and kill fleas, according to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Applications containing permethrin can also repel ticks, mosquitoes and other insects.

You can also limit your pet’s outdoor access and prevent them from coming into contact with other domesticated or wild animals that could be harboring fleas. Regular brushing and looking for signs of fleas can help you detect these parasites and intervene early.

How do fleas reproduce?

Adult fleas mate and lay eggs shortly after feeding on a host. “The flea life cycle can vary, but typically, once an adult female flea lays eggs, it can produce other adult fleas within a week to several months,” said Fernandez. “The eggs are laid on the pet but can fall off and contaminate the environment.”

Once the fleas fetch, they enter into the larval stage of their life cycle. The larvae feed on dried blood on the host, the feces of adult fleas and the molts left behind during the hatching process.

The larvae will then create a cocoon that protects them as pupae until they have developed into adult fleas. “The pupal stage is more concealed, and their cocoon is typically too resilient for pesticides to penetrate,” said Hess. This is a major contributing factor to the challenge of getting rid of fleas.

Once the adult flea recognizes a nearby host, it emerges and begins feeding, which starts the reproduction cycle over.

Are fleas dangerous?

Fleas can be dangerous to both pets and humans because they are parasites that can spread bloodborne illness and cause skin irritation.

Flea bites are itchy and can lead to infection and allergic reaction if flea feces or transmitted bacteria enter open wounds from scratching, research shows. The risk of infection can be especially serious if the host has a suppressed immune system. In fact, the CDC recommends that these individuals avoid adopting young cats under one year old, as kittens are more likely to contract CSD from fleas and other infected cats.

According to the CDC, fleas can also be responsible for spreading the following:

• Plague
• Fleaborne typhus
• Tapeworms from animals or humans that accidentally ingest an infected flea

What’s next?

If you have a flea infestation in your home, your best course of action is to employ as many methods as possible to exterminate these pests. That includes thoroughly washing your bed sheets and your pet’s bedding, vacuuming floors and furniture and beginning a regular bathing regimen for all pets in your home. It’s also a good idea to call a professional pest management company to assess your property and determine if an insecticide would be helpful for a fast resolution.

To avoid future infestations, consider preventive flea medicine for your pets, keep your pets away from wild animals, limit interactions with other domesticated animals and look for signs that indicate the beginning of flea activity. These include excessive scratching, bites on your pets or humans in your house and seeing fleas in your living area.

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