How To Tell If Fleas Are Gone From The House

Last Updated on August 6, 2023 By Emma W. Thomas

To check if fleas are gone from your house, watch for these signs:

• 1) No more bites or itching
• 2) Pets stop scratching
• 3) No flea dirt on pets or bedding
• 4) No flea sightings for several weeks
• 5) Vacuum regularly and treat pets to ensure complete eradication

6 Easy Ways to Determine Whether Fleas Have Been Eliminated from Your Home

To determine if fleas are gone from your house, follow these detailed points:

1. Monitor Bites and Itching: Pay attention to any new flea bites or itching on yourself and your pets. A significant decrease in bites and itching suggests that fleas might be under control.
2. Observe Pet Behavior: If your pets were infested with fleas, monitor their behavior. If they stop scratching and seem more relaxed, it’s a positive sign that fleas may be gone.
3. Check for Flea Dirt: Flea dirt is the feces of fleas and looks like tiny black specks on your pet’s fur or bedding. After treatment, the absence of flea dirt indicates a reduced flea population.
4. Look for Fleas: Examine areas where fleas are commonly found, such as pet bedding, carpets, and furniture. If you don’t spot any adult fleas jumping around, it suggests progress in eliminating them.
5. Vacuum Regularly: Continue vacuuming your home frequently, especially areas where pets spend time. Dispose of the vacuum bag or empty the canister outside to prevent re-infestation.
6. Treat Pets: Ensure your pets are on regular flea prevention treatment to prevent new infestations and to help eliminate any remaining fleas.

How To Check For Fleas

It is necessary to know how to identify fleas in your home to help eradicate them. The following tips will help you to check if there are fleas on your premises:

Check Your Dog

Fleas are normally associated with pets such as dogs. To know whether these creatures are there, use a comb on your dog to determine if there are some on the skin. You can also try checking the dog’s kernel to see if you can see any fleas jumping.

You may also apply some jelly on your dog’s skin to see if the organisms will stick out.

Inspect Your House

Check for the following signs in your house to know if there are fleas;

• Hopping creatures on your furniture, drapery, or carpet
• If your pets are scratching, biting, or licking their fur
• Whether you can see multiple dot-like organisms on your pet’s hair

How To Get Rid Of Fleas From Your Home

A flea infestation can lead to infections in your family as well as your pets. However, there are a simple steps that you can apply to get rid of this menace, which includes;

Cleaning Your House

Start by cleaning your house and yard to eliminate all the adult fleas. Use water and the right cleaning agent to clean every area likely to have the hopping creatures. You may also set up a trap to capture as many fleas as possible then kill them using a suitable chemical. An example of a good trap is leaving a bowl of hot soapy water under a lamp throughout the night. This trap will help capture a few of the fleas.

You can also buy a flea trap from the stores to help catch as many of these annoying insects as possible. This device attracts more fleas and from a larger area than the hot soapy water.

 Use a vacuum cleaner on your carpets, drapery, and furniture to remove any dirt that is likely to be trapped here. In case your vacuum cleaner has a bag, dispose of it immediately you are through with vacuuming. But if you are using a bag-less one, make sure that you empty the canister after every session and rinse it with hot water.  

Treating With Suitable Pesticides

 It is hard to eliminate fleas by just cleaning your house.  The next step will be to spray with suitable chemicals to kill the remaining fleas and their eggs. You can choose natural products that effectively eliminate the hopping creatures but which are harmless to your pets and family.

Make sure to spray every area that is likely to be infested with the fleas to prevent them from coming back. You need to spray even the carpets, rugs, furniture, beddings, and any other area that fleas can hide in. Ensure that your house is well ventilated after spraying to minimize the side effects on humans and pets.

Preventing Fleas From Invading Your Home Again

After cleaning your home and treating it to eliminate fleas, the next step will be to prevent re-infestation. You can do this by treating your pets and your yard directly. You need to look for good products from the stores that sell them and apply them to your pets regularly. This way, you will protect your pets and ensure the creatures are kept at bay.

How Long Will It Take For Fleas To Be Gone?

After treating your house with the right products, the adult fleas will die within a few days. However, it would be best if you avoided vacuuming, sweeping, or washing the treated areas for at least two weeks. Flea eggs will still be present and continue to hatch. When you avoid sweeping or cleaning the areas, the fleas hatched will soon be killed.

You will likely find fleas appearing on your premises 10-14 days after treatment since the eggs keep hatching. You need not worry if you don’t vacuum or clean the place for two weeks since the insects will feed on the pesticide and die.

If You Still Find Fleas After Two Weeks, The Chances Are That;

• Your pet or someone picked up fertile fleas from other places
• The treatment was not effective, and you need to call in a pest control officer
• Your pets were not treated effectively
• There is poor house management
• Your premises was vacuumed before the expiry of 14 days

What To Do Before Spraying With Insecticide

Before spraying your house with pesticides for eliminating fleas, it is necessary to carry out precautionary steps that include;

• Cleaning, sweeping, or vacuuming the premises.
• Covering properly any foodstuffs or storing them well
• Removing your dogs, birds, cats, or any other pets from the area you intend to treat. Ensure that they do not come back before the places are well-ventilated after treatment
• Ensure that you cover the fish ponds, if any,  before treating the premises as the pesticides can kill your fish

After treatment, it is advisable to keep off the area for at least 3 hours to avoid inhaling the insecticide. Ensure that you open all windows on returning to ventilate all rooms. Do not remove the residue from your floors or carpets for at least 14 days for effective eradication of the insects.

Why You May Find Fleas In Your House If You Don’t Have Pets

You May Find Fleas In Your Home Even When You Don’t Keep Pets Because;

• Fleas survive outside during summer months and can be carried into the house.
• You can carry them from a friend’s house to yours.
• You may transport them from a public place that is infested.
• Fleas that are in the pupae stage can be dormant for a long period and hatch when you move into an empty flat or house.

References:

https://animals.mom.com/how-to-know-if-you-got-rid-of-all-of-the-fleas-12491853.html
https://www.cdc.gov/fleas/getting_rid.html