Pet Health Community

Got fleas in your home? That's easy to fix. Just move.

No. Just kidding.

But controlling fleas in your environment can be difficult and typically involves a few steps.

Step 1: Treat your pet for fleas -- and flea eggs -- continually.
Put flea product on all your pets regularly, for several months in a row. I know this sounds simple, but these products will kill adult fleas so that they cannot lay any more eggs. You also want to continue with the treatment for many months in a row, so that any new fleas that hatch on your pet or in your environment will be killed, as well. Check with your veterinarian about which product will work best for your pet. There may be certain products that are safer to use, depending on your pet's health.

Step 2: Treat all your pets.
If you only treat one of your pets, fleas can survive on the pets that have not been treated. Fleas have been around for a long time. So obviously they know how to beat the odds. As you can imagine, unless you treat all of your pets at once, the fleas can re-infest, and it will be extremely difficult to ever completely clear them from your environment.

Step 3: Treat your house.
Clean and wash all beddings or furniture where your pets sleep or spend lots of time. Live fleas drop their eggs in and around where your pets live. So if your pet spends a lot of time on her bed, make sure you wash that entire area. You will also need to clean and vacuum your house, paying special attention to the nooks and crannies under the couch or beneath the tables. Fleas like to lay their eggs in cool, dark places. So clean carefully in those areas. But use caution. There are many products available to help kill flea eggs. And before you use any of them, make sure they are approved by the EPA and that you're following the directions properly.

Step 4: Treat your yard.
Treating the inside of your home is important for getting rid of fleas. But you have to also treat the areas where the fleas live outside. Mowing tall grass and clearing out yard debris is a great way to start. Fleas like to live in moist, darker areas, like under brush, trees, and in crawl spaces. So start with those areas. Many people also treat their yards as well as their fence lines. Again, use an EPA-approved product. And read and follow the directions closely.

Step 5: Continue treatment after you stop seeing fleas.
Many times, pet owners will see that the fleas have been cleared with the above steps. So they may stop using the treatment. But then the fleas come back!

Remember, fleas have been around for a long time, so they are crafty! You have to keep up the preventative treatments for months after you've spotted your last live flea in order to prevent them from coming back. So remain vigilant and assume that fleas are out there even if you don't see them.

With persistence, you and your pets can emerge victorious.