You’d Better Bait

Posted on: 5 January 2022

Finding fleas in your home can really cause the alarm bells to start going off in your brain. These pests might be tiny, but they are a big nuisance. Fleas are also notoriously difficult to get rid of once they've moved into your space, but if you follow the tips below, you should have better luck.

Don't Wait

Sometimes people see one or two fleas in their home, but figure they'll wait and see whether it's a bigger issue before they do anything. This is a huge mistake! If you see a couple of fleas, there are probably many more you have not seen yet. Fleas also reproduce really quickly. Waiting a few days to start exterminating them could mean you're dealing with many more fleas by the time you get around to it.

Treat Your Pets, Too

If you have pets, you need to treat them for fleas at the same time you treat your home for fleas. Otherwise, your pet will keep introducing more fleas to your home. There are topical, flea-fighting treatments for both dogs and cats. Some are available over-the-counter, but those sold via prescription at the vet's office tend to be more effective. You will likely need to keep applying the flea medication monthly to keep your pet safe from these pests.

Use Flea Bombs

The best way to remove fleas from a home is often with flea bombs. These are treatments that emit an aerosol pesticide that lands on your surfaces, killing fleas in the process. You can buy flea bombs at many home goods stores and use them according to the instructions on the package. However, pest control companies also bomb for fleas in a similar manner, and their professional treatments tend to be even more effective. Whether you flea bomb the house yourself or hire a pro, you'll need to leave the home for a day or two while the pesticides do their thing.

Treat Your Whole Home

It's common for homeowners to assume the fleas are only in certain rooms — maybe a room your pets spend most of their time in. But fleas are really mobile, and they generally find their way through your entire home. If you don't treat the whole home, the fleas in the untreated rooms will survive and move right back into the rest of the home post-treatment. So, whether you flea bomb the house yourself or hire pros, make sure the whole home gets treated at once.

Exterminating fleas is not easy, but if the above tips may help. Reach out to a professional flea exterminator for more information.