Ugh. Just moved into country home. They have fleas inside, apparently. How to get rid of them, please!

[Dianne-TX]

This is not okay, AT ALL!  Please tell me this can be taken care of quite quickly.  I want them gone!  I know they multiply and it's hard to get rid of the eggs.  Previous owner said he fogged.  Didn't work apparently.

[Ethel Mertz]

If previous owner fogged, I'd call a pest control person (or whatever they're called). Tell me you don't have pets who will also pick up the fleas...

[Dianne-TX]

Yes, but all outdoor pets.  They do not come in.  Is that better?  Hope so. 

[Dianne-TX]

Having four children living with fleas makes me feel icky and livid!

[In The Great White North]

DIatomaceous earth earth worked here.  Spread everywhere, especially in between the hardwood floor pieces, in upholstery, etc) and vacuumed up.  I spread it in the evening, went to bed and vacuumed when I got up. Every day for about a week, then every few days for a few more weeks.

 

All gone.

 

And we had four cats and a dog at the time.

[Ethel Mertz]

Having outdoor pets, rather than inside, will speed things up. I take it you've already moved into the house?

[Susan C.]

It happened to my friend when she moved to the country.... she contacted the county extension agent to get a formula to spray. It took a few weeks to work, they did not move in until the fleas were gone.

[texasmama]

I got food grade DE at Tractor Supply.

[texasmama]

I bought a twenty pound bag for $12.  It was a large bag. I was generous with it and have plenty left.

[texasmama]

Now that's reasonable! They quoted me $6-8 for their 2 lb. bag.

I thought so.

[Dianne-TX]

Thank you, everyone!  We've already moved in, unfortunately.  So just sprinkle the DE on everything and everywhere and then vacuum?  Would calling a pest control company help, too, or just use the DE?

[OneStepAtATime]

Either way, if there are fleas in the house there are fleas in the yard.  Get the animals treated, get the yard treated and treat the house.  And the eggs are going to hatch unless you are really successful at drying them up like mentioned upthread.  When they hatch you need to treat again, before they mature enough to lay more eggs.  It will take diligence and some time.  Upthread ideas are good ones.  But you may have to hire a professional, depending on how severe the infestation and how easy it is to get to the fleas.  Try the DE first, though.

[Dianne-TX]

Sounds good.  Thanks so much.  Ugh.  Like I have time for this!  LOL!

[Pawz4me]

I've never had to try it, but my understanding is that Borax works exactly like DE.

 

And yes, you may need to treat the yard with something, too.

 

My vet friend highly recommends Siphotrol products for fleas.

[Starr]

If I had just moved in and the whole house was infested I would call the professionals and be done with it. Your animals should probably be treated so you don't bring more inside. I hate fleas.  :grouphug:

[texasmama]

It is difficult to get rid of fleas, and they can lie dormant for a very long time in the egg stage.  I know way more than I ever cared to about this due to our cat bringing home a flea from the vet.  Pretty soon we had them in the carpet.  We never had a horrible infestation, but I went through a LOT to get rid of them.  The cat got Capstar and then three treatments of Frontline.  I will treat her through the fall.  She is indoors only so I did not have to treat our yard.  Our dog is mostly outdoors and already gets treated monthly.  I used the DE, left it overnight and then vacuumed.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Our cat is white so the fleas and flea dirt are easy to spot on her.  She has been clean for about a month now.  She is not longer allowed upstairs in dh's office because it is very cluttered up there and difficult to get in the nooks and crannies.  We did find several fleas on the carpet up there before we treated.  The whole process cost us money and time, which irritated me.  I did not want to use so many chemicals so I went the DE route.  Our cat is older with an autoimmune condition so I really didn't want to load her with chemicals, but the alternative was living with fleas.

[Ellie]

You must fog the house *and* spray the yard, at the same time. Then you have to do it again in 10 days (breeding/life cycle of the critters). If you have pets, you have to treat them at the same time, as well.

[In The Great White North]

 

 

So just sprinkle the DE on everything and everywhere and then vacuum?  

 

You have to leave it a few hours, to give the feas  time to wander through it.  We left it overnight.

[Tanaqui]

Food grade DE and a vacuuming regimen. Fogging is a bad idea with insects because they just hide deeper in the crevices and avoid the poison. For the DE, get a puffer if possible. That's a simple device that spreads the DE evenly instead of in clumps. If you leave clumps, the insects will walk around it instead of through it. (At least, roaches will. I don't know if that applies to fleas, but it probably does.)

 

I would be wary about using DE outside the house because it will also kill beneficial insects. If you feel you have an outdoor flea problem as well, I'd look into flea controlling nematodes for your lawn, or simply get frontline for the animals.

 

 

 

[mamakelly]

Oh yeah you can make some homemade traps, too. Like a dish of Dawn liquid soap with a light pointed on it. They will hop toward the light and drown in the dish liquid. I don't remember how long you are supposed to leave the DE out before vacuuming but it may be like a day or so rather than just an hour or so. Give it time. They can only hop on it about 10x before it kills them (many insects are unable to walk on it). Run a search on it and see what others recommend as far as how long to leave out, etc.

 

One summer we had fleas really really bad. I used a combination of DE, sprays and the soap traps. I left bowls of soap with a lamp in every room for a week, and it took care of all of the live fleas.

[ChristyB in TN]

I handle a LOT of rental property and DE works SO MUCH BETTER than anything an exterminator can legally use. Why don't they use DE? I just don't know. Fogging is terrible for your sweet family, don't do it. Spread the DE around lightly, you really don't want to breathe it. Leave it for a few days and vacuum. I buy DE at Home Depot and sometimes at the feed store. My mom uses it for her chickens. When we get a house with roaches or fleas or both, we simply use liberal amounts of DE and it works like a charm. My husband didn't trust it in the beginning, I proved it by using DE in a house we had fogged and sprayed 3 times in a month and STILL couldn't get rid of the fleas and roaches. The DE worked i n3 days! 

[Mommy_of_4]

We had luck with getting rid of a bad flea infestation in the carpet by putting salt on the carpet. Use a broom to sweep it to make sure it gets below the surface. I left it on 2-3 days then vacuumed and retreated the carpet with salt again. It took a week or so to get rid of them completely. We had them bad too.

[kwickimom]

Don't mess with it- call the pest guy. We had to have our house and furniture and yard treated twice to get rid of fleas one year.

[Tammyla]

You will likely need to treat inside and outside the home.  If they are bad, I would call a pro and get a guarantee.