How To Get Rid Of Carpet Fleas
It’s raining cats and dogs outside, and you decided to let your pets in for the night. The next day, as your pets roam free in your backyard, you take a minute to relax in the comfort of your living room. Suddenly, your peace is ruined by a really itchy feeling on your legs. You guessed it right; your pets brought along all sorts of pesky vermin when you let them sleep inside for the night.
Many people have problems with fleas making a home out of their carpets. Like animal hair, fleas find carpets very cozy. Carpets are perfect places for fleas to live, breed, and multiply. Fleas then get their food from animals or human beings that enter the living room (For more information on carpets, read The guide to carpet). Carpet fleas and other house fleas may also harbor many diseases that cause everything from skin rashes, diseases like typhus, and parasites like tapeworms. Here are some ways that you can get rid of fleas.
Don’t Let Pets In
Fleas are carried by your pets through their fur. Even if you do treat your pets for flea infestations, they can still get the pests from outdoors or from other animals they interact with. The best way to prevent flea problem on your carpets is not to let pets in at all:
Keep your dogs tied to a leash in their own kennels.
Do not let house cats out of your home.
If you do need to let your pets in your home, make sure that they are absolutely free from fleas or other pests. If you’re not sure, tie your dog to a leash and make it stay on a dry spot on the porch.
Use Flea Powders or Insecticides
Once fleas have made their way into your carpet or on the fur of your pet, you need to get rid of them before they multiply and breed like crazy. Fleas are very resilient pests. The insects can withstand many home remedies and even physical force because of their thick carapace and ability to move around very quickly. Flea powders and insecticides are your two best weapons to get rid of the fleas.
Flea Powder
Many inexpensive flea powders come with active ingredients that kill fleas, ticks, and other parasites on contact. Unlike topical lotions, flea powder is inexpensive and can be used to cover even those areas of fur that you think do not have fleas. Here are some things you should keep in mind when buying or using flea powder:
Check the package to see if it’s safe for use on animals. Some flea powders on the market have high concentrations of toxic ingredients that kill fleas, but are also dangerous for pets and humans.
Gypsum and talc are both used as a base for many flea powders. Make sure that the proportion of the powder base and the active ingredients retain the potency of the active ingredients.
Make sure that your dog does not inhale or ingest flea powder. It helps to attach a muzzle to the dog while you wait for the flea powder to take effect.
Insecticide
A liberal sprinkling of flea powder works wonders for the flea problem on your carpet, but the best way to get rid of the insects would be to use insecticide. Insecticides are toxic, and may cause many respiratory problems or infections. It’s very important to quarantine the living room or the bedroom for a full day when you apply insecticide.
Sprays are the traditional resort for killing insects. Remember not to spray the insecticide directly on the carpet, because you may end up ruining some of the delicate dyes or fibers. A little spray goes a long way, so make sure that you don’t end up wasting a full canister of insecticide just to get rid of the fleas.
Coils are usually remedies to get rid of mosquitoes, but the scent of a mosquito coil can also block some of the sensory receptors of the fleas. Do not light a mosquito coil near a curtain, a stack of newspapers, or at any place in your house that may catch fire.
Vacuum the Carpet
Fleas lie dormant deep inside the nap of your carpeting until they sense food or prey. The problem with flea powders and insecticides is that they don’t set in deep enough to kill the insects that have nested and bred deep within the nap and the carpet fibers. The best way to get rid of the fleas is to force them out of the carpet. You can do this with an ordinary vacuum cleaner.
When using a vacuum cleaner, make sure that the suction power is strong enough to suck out the critters from the nap of the carpet. Some vacuum cleaners may have brushes and other attachments that lift up the fibers of the carpet fabric. Remember to clean the brush and suction attachments of the vacuum cleaner when you’re done vacuuming the carpet. (Tips on how to vacuum)
Use an Incense Stick
One way that you could block the sensory receptors of fleas is to wave incense sticks along the length of the carpeting. On your hands and knees, wave the lit incense stick on top of the carpet and coax out the vermin. Incense also helps deodorize your home. While it will take a while before the fleas jump out and head for your yard where there’s plenty of fresh air, it’s a better and more appealing alternative to lit mosquito coils.
Fleas are annoying pests that should be removed quickly. With these simple ways to get rid of carpet fleas, the itchy feeling of blood-sucking fleas biting on your legs does not have to bother you anymore. For more information regarding this article, read how to get rid of fleas.