Fleas aren’t just a nuisance for pets. These small insects can invade your home, leaving behind itchy bites and potentially spreading bacteria. Even if you don’t have pets, you can still end up with a flea infestation through clothing, furniture, or a visiting animal. The good news? You can often get rid of fleas without calling an exterminator.
Regular cleaning is one of the best ways to remove and prevent fleas from your home. Since fleas lay eggs in hidden areas like carpets and pet bedding, clearing clutter and vacuuming frequently can help reduce their breeding grounds. Washing linens, clothing, and furniture covers also helps. In this guide, we’ll cover all the steps to do-it-yourself (DIY) flea removal and recommend the best pest control companies to use if you have a significant infestation.
What Do Fleas Look Like?
Fleas are typically brown in color and smaller than one-eighth of an inch. Fleas are more attracted to animals than humans, and you can often find them in your pet’s fur. However, fleas can hop onto nearby humans or transfer to clothing, carpets, and bedding. Females fleas can lay up to 50 eggs per day and live 2–3 months. To completely get rid of fleas, you’ll need to eliminate both the adult fleas and their eggs.
How To Get Rid of Fleas in Your House
In order to get rid of the fleas in your home, you must stay vigilant about vacuuming, steam cleaning, washing, and drying bedding—especially pet bedding. You’ll need to vacuum and do laundry several times a week until all the fleas are gone.
Vacuum
Vacuum the rooms in your home thoroughly, going over every inch of floor space and using attachments to tackle corners, edges, cracks, and baseboards. It’s also a good idea to use the vacuum brush to go over all furniture fabric, especially areas where your pet likes to nap. Pay extra attention to any areas of your home that have accumulated pet hair. You should also go over linoleum, tile, and hardwood floors with your vacuum.
Vacuuming helps get rid of fleas in a variety of ways. First, the force of the suction will kill or trap many of the adult fleas. The vacuuming also stimulates fleas within their cocoons, forcing them to emerge prematurely. Vacuuming can also interrupt the flea life cycle, as it removes flea feces and dried blood, which developing fleas use as a food source.
If the flea problem is particularly bad, vacuum every day. Each time you finish vacuuming, place the vacuum bag in a Ziploc bag and seal it tightly before taking it outside and putting it in a garbage can. There may be some live fleas remaining in the vacuum bag, and you don’t want them escaping back into the house.
Steam Clean
Use a steam cleaner on pet bedding, carpets, and upholstery. Fleas don’t stand a chance against the combination of soap and heat. Many hardware stores and even grocery stores rent steam cleaners by the day.
Do Laundry
Even though you’ve already steam cleaned and vacuumed your pet’s bedding, you should still wash it and dry it on the highest heat settings possible. Wash and dry your own bedding as well, just to be safe.
Apply Chemicals
Do some research or speak to a pest control professional before starting flea treatment in your home with insecticide. Choose an insecticide that’s safe for use inside the home and around pets. Read the manufacturer’s instructions before applying the insecticide and follow the directions carefully. There is no benefit to using more than the recommended amount of insecticide, which can pose potential risks.
However, you’ll likely have to apply multiple treatments. At some stages of their life cycles, fleas are immune to insecticide, so you’ll need to re-apply insecticide as directed. Continue vacuuming and washing throughout this time, as all of these steps are necessary to get rid of a moderate to severe infestation.
How To Get Rid of Fleas on Your Pets
If you have pets, treating them for fleas is every bit as important as treating your home. This should also help prevent future infestations.
Take Care of Bedding
As noted before, steam clean, vacuum, and wash your pet’s bedding. You should wash it every couple of days for the first week to help eradicate any surviving fleas. We don’t recommend taking the bedding to a dry cleaner. You don’t want to expose other people to the fleas, and the chemicals used in dry cleaning may not be pet-friendly. Well-made pet bedding should be washable.
Use a Flea Comb
Purchase a fine-toothed flea comb, and comb through your pet’s fur—especially near the neck and tail. After each comb through, dunk the comb into a bowl of warm, soapy water to trap and drown the fleas.
Bathe Your Pet with Flea Shampoo
You can purchase flea shampoo from your veterinarian. These shampoos are safe for use on pets. However, many essential oils are not pet-safe, so never use them on or around your pet without first talking to your vet.
Use Flea Medicine
You can ask your veterinarian about any possible treatments, like flea collars, oral tablets, sprays, dusts, dips, or topical gels applied to the back of your pet’s neck. Some of these treatments kill existing fleas and prevent future infestations. Starting your pet on a flea and tick prevention medication is often worth the expense. Talk to your vet about finding the right product for your pet’s size, age, and health.
How To Get Rid of Fleas in Your Yard
Getting rid of the fleas in your home and on your pets is just the beginning. You need to make sure you don’t have fleas lurking in your tall grass, just waiting to hitch a ride on your pet or your pant leg. Fleas like to hide in warm, shaded areas, so follow these tips to make your yard less hospitable to them.
- Mow regularly—fleas can’t hide as well in low grass.
- Clear all debris, like twigs and fallen leaves, to reduce hiding spots.
- Dethatch your turfgrass and avoid overwatering your lawn. Damp thatch can provide the perfect breeding ground for fleas.
- Use outdoor pesticides selectively. Some flea killers can be harmful to wildlife and beneficial insects like bees.
Professional Flea Control
The most efficient way to get rid of a significant flea infestation is to hire a pest control company that can send a trained specialist to assess, treat, and monitor the situation, as well as employ preventative measures.
Our top recommendations are Terminix, Orkin, and Aptive Environmental. We always recommend getting multiple quotes before making your final decision.
FAQs About Getting Rid of Fleas
How do I get rid of fleas in my house fast?
The fastest ways to get rid of fleas on your own are treating your pet, vacuuming and steam cleaning floors, washing bedding in hot water and drying it on high heat, and applying indoor-safe pesticides. Or, consider hiring a professional pest control company.
How long does it take to get rid of fleas?
It will depend on the degree of the infestation. Eradicating all the fleas in every stage of the life cycle could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Continuing to vacuum, wash, and treat is key.
Will vinegar kill fleas?
Vinegar does not kill fleas. You will need to wash and dry infested items, treat pets with medication, and vacuum regularly.
Does baking soda kill fleas on dogs?
Although some say baking soda can dehydrate flea eggs and larvae in carpets, this takes time, and it won’t stay in a dog’s fur long enough. Treat fleas on dogs with a medicated shampoo and preventative medication.