My pet has fleas. How do I deep clean my house to remove them?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The good thing is that there are many things that can be tried to help in this case. I highly recommend that you consider using a product called Capstar which helps to kill a lot of fleas at once and it can be given every day to effect. I would not give up on the Seresto just yet as it may be failed because of heavy flea exposure and it would otherwise work well. However, if this occurs again especially under regular circumstances then that would be the time to consider other flea preventative products such as Bravecto or Frontline day plus for example. The most effective way of cleaning the house is by vacuuming all the surfaces that have contact with Riley on a daily basis until no fleas are seen. You can now use a comb to remove any fleas or flea dirt. This is very likely going to help. I hope you find this information helpful. Good luck and have a great day!

If you are unable to vacuum, sweep the area thoroughly. Remove any unused fabric or clothing that can be used as bedding for fleas, eggs and larvae. Ventilation is important as well to keep humidity low and to regulate temperature. Treat all your pet's monthly for at least three consecutive months, preferably year round. You can also use food grade diatomaceous earth for the attic. Carefully spread it around, taken care to not breathe it in, leave it down for 6-12 hours then sweep up excess. Do this 2-3 times a week until the infestation is resolved. The DE will dessicate (or dry out) and flea eggs or larvae it comes into contact with. This works best in dry environments.

Fleas have a cycle of about two weeks. Adult fleas living in your house (usually in the carpets) would lay eggs and take 10-14 days to hatch however they can lay dormant and wake up when they think there is food to feed on. This is probably another cycle hatching. They can be difficult to get rid of as you need to kill adults, wait until the next cycle starts and kill the newly hatched ones before they have time to lay eggs and breed again. This will also depend of the type of product used to treat your house. Depending where you live grocery stores and pet stores sell flea spray/powders but some will only kill actual fleas, some will also kill the eggs. You need to vacuum very well everyday )be sure to get rid of vacuum bag after), wash all bedding and treat carpets, wash floors etc. It'll take some work but you can get rid of them.

Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas. Flea products: Spot-ons and/or chews Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Simparica, Nexgard Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well)

Fleas tend to live in the environment (your house, the garden, etc.) and will hop onto a cat or dog only when they are hungry, in order to bite. Once the flea has eaten, it will hop off again. For every flea you find on your animal, there may be 100 fleas in its surroundings! You will need to do thee following: So you need to treat all your pets as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). . Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and hoover your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the rubbish bin outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas. Flea products: Spot-ons: Many, if not all of those are only available from your vet. Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Stronghold Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well) House spray: Indoorex

You'll need to treat Chloe and the environment. You can use an oral or topical flea treatment to get rid of the fleas on her. Preventatives such as Frontline, K9 Advantix or Revolution are applied once a month. Oral preventatives, such as CapStar or Advantus, can be given daily but only kill adult fleas. The Seresto collar can be effective against fleas and other parasites for up to 8 months. Use a preventative for at least three consecutive months to break the flea life cycle. Year round use is preferred. Next, you'll need to treat the environment. Wash all bedding in the hottest water allowable by fabric and dry in the dryer, not outdoors. Vacuum everywhere Chloe has been and dispose of the bag or empty the canister outdoors immediately after. Use an area treatment, such as Knockout ES or Bayer Advantage Spray, to prevent reinfestation.

Fleas can be very frustrating to deal with! In my experience, Hartz products and other over-the-counter options like flea shampoos, diatomaceous earth, etc. are not very effective. First, I would recommend getting good quality prescription flea medication from your vet for Darwin and your two cats - you won't have any luck getting rid of the fleas in the house until all of the animals area treated. Nexgard or Bravecto are the best choices for dogs, and Revolution or Advantage Multi would be best for the cats. Once that's done, you can treat your house and yard with a premises spray like Knock Off to get rid of the fleas and eggs in the environment. If the problem is severe, you may need to have an exterminator come and treat the environment professionally. Keeping all of your pets on a good quality flea control medication year-around in the future will help to prevent this from being an issue again.