For spot treatments like the upholstered furniture, apply PRECOR 2000. It comes out as a light aerosol that can be sprayed lightly over these areas. Ideally suited for furniture, tiled flooring and even carpets, Precor 2000 will kill both the adults and egg stages.

Now since it’s an aerosol, you’ll need to use it 1-2 a month till the problem is gone. So if you want something more “permanent”, go with the once a year FIRST DEFENSE which is a dry, granular product ideal for carpeting. It can be applied under cushions too but since it won’t kill adults, the Precor 2000 should be sprayed over the top to help with current activity. The big advantage with this product is that it will last up to a year or more making it easy to use and very efficient.

Lastly, setting out some FLEA TRAPS in the home can really help. They’ll monitor the areas alerting you to any problem areas you may have missed during the treatment. They’ll also catch a bunch of fleas which will no doubt make it easier for your pets and anyone living in the home. And these traps can last for years so you can keep them working as your first line of defense for future issues.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Precor 2000: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/precor-2000

First Defense: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/first-defense-20-ounce-jar

Flea Trap:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

Flea Article: http://www.flea.net/flea-control

Yes. Flea eggs develop rapidly in the mother flea. And though the normal cycle is for the egg to hath once laid, if a female full of eggs dies just before she was about to start laying them, there is a good chance some could very well complete their growth in her decaying body. From there they could easily get enough nutrition to flourish and cycle to the adult stage.

Flea Article: http://www.flea.net/flea-control

First, not vacuuming will no doubt keep the fleas in their pupae stage longer. That means if you stop vacuuming, the flea problem will continue to persist.

Second, why is your service company asking you to not vacuum anymore? Probably because if the fleas aren’t hatching, it’s less likely you’ll call him to come back and retreat.

Third, how long will the problem persist? Well, as our article explains, as long as it takes for the flea pupae to run out. So if you have 500 flea pupae and they’re hatching at a rate of 5 a day, it would take 100 days. Keep in mind there is no practical way to tell how many pupae you might have so realistically, there is no way to know for sure.

Forth, as our article explains, flea pupae prefer pets over people. And in fact, they’ll hatch 50-75% faster when pets are readily available. So by removing your pet you’ve effectively made you and the family the sole target for the developing pupae. That means you’ll bear the brunt of every flea that hatches since there is no pet available. More importantly, the pupae really don’t want people so they’ll wait extra long to hatch compared to when a pet is around. This just adds to the length of time the problem will persist.

Fifth, our FLEA TRAPS are only sold here in the states. But we do sell them abroad and for anyone located outside the US, you can order them through our International Shopping Cart:

Flea Trap:  http://inter.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

(US residents order here: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap)

In summary, you are no doubt making this problem worse than it needs to be. In my estimation, it would not surprise me if the problem is active for another month or two. Keeping several pets around would effectively stop the problem for people immediately. And though spraying over and over will help, this will pose more and more of an unneeded health hazard to the people and pets inside the home. No doubt Flea Traps will help but they’re not as good as a pet. Still, they might be your only savior save the spray. And the vacuuming most go on because if you stop that, I’m afraid the problem will be able to sustain itself even longer than it should.

Sorry for the bad news but I don’t think I’m telling you anything you didn’t already know from our article.

Flea Article: http://www.flea.net/flea-control

We just moved into a rental property where the previous owners had had pets and when we moved in we found that there was a bad flea infestation. The main living room is carpeted but the bedrooms are hardwood. We tried simply flea bombing the whole carpeted area but as expected from reading this sites articles they returned worse than ever within 3 days. 

3 days ago the property manager got an exterminator to come and he sprayed the whole carpeted area and we haven’t since noticed any fleas on this. We dont intend to vaccuum until we have to, how long should we wait to vaccum to minimise the possibility of the fleas hatching and returning? 

Also me and my friend havne’t had times to move our beds into our rooms yet so we’ve just been on mattresses in the floor. I’ve read that they don’t live on beds but is it an exception when the mattresses are just on the floor? I had been spraying bug poisen around my bed and sheets but just reccently found several fleas living underneath my mattress and im worried that they may have crawled under my sheets and laid eggs on the mattress itself. If this is the case, what is the best way to make sure my mattress is egg free, will bug spray/vaccuming be enough to deal with this? 

Thanks in advance if you have time to reply.

After reading the first part of your message regarding the use of total release aerosol bombs, I thought maybe you had read our entire article. But when I got to the part that says you want to “wait to vacuum to minimize the possibility” of fleas hatching and returning, I realized you probably hadn’t read the important sections.

In our FLEA CONTROL article, we talk about the flea cycle. What’s important to understand here is that you CANNOT KILL FLEA PUPAE. Therefore you cannot get rid of a flea infestation with one treatment. This applies to sprays and aerosols. The only time the flea problem will be over is when all the pupae have hatched out. Now how long will this take? As our article explains, most cases take 2-4 weeks but we’ve seen where it can take 1-3 months. As our article explains, the pupae can lay dormant for up to a year and avoiding them means they’ll just lay around waiting. So you must take a pro active stand to get them to hatch and this means lot of vacuuming and lots of movement throughout the entire residence.

Furthermore, there are certain things you shouldn’t do if you want to expedite the process and one of them is to remove the pet. When no pets are around, the pupae are slow to hatch making the process take more time. So if you don’t have a pet, expect the process to take way longer than normal.

So for the time being, you have must decide if you wish to wait it out until all the flea pupae hatch or move away. To help speed up the process, setting out some FLEA TRAPS are strongly suggested. They can be a big help as explained here:

http://www.flea.net/bad-infestation/flea-control-in-rental-house.html

And spraying will help too because it will kill the adults that have most recently hatched. Spraying with some PRECOR 2000 or PERMETHRIN over all the flooring where fleas are found will no doubt help by killing the ones most recently hatched out. Just as long as you understand that within a few more days, more will be hatching so you’ll need to spray again.

Expect to be doing this twice a week till the problem is done. Of course, you can have someone do the work for you or handle it yourself but the point here is that this is the only way you’ll minimize the local population during the time it will take for them to run out. Now you might wonder why doesn’t the previous spray kill the fleas after they hatch? Well, it would  if enough time elapsed during the time they hatched and when you see them. So when a flea pupae hatches, if you’ve sprayed properly in theory it should land on a treated surface. Well, that treatment would in fact kill them but the dying process will take 3-4 days. And since flea pupae only hatch when they see a target close enough to them so they know a blood meal is close by, it’s rare that they’ll hatch and not get on you well before the treatment can kill them. This is a big reason why flea problems can remain so long after treatments start.

Lastly, sleeping close to the floor will no doubt put you into the “flea range” meaning pupae will be able to see you as you sleep. This will cause them to hatch and attack. But you don’t have to worry about them living on or in the mattress. As our article explains, they only want on people or pets and since it sounds like you don’t have any pets, they’ll be targeting you and your house mates indefinitely. My suggestion here is to elevate the mattresses as high as possible and place a flea trap under them. This way they find the trap before the bed and the bed’s occupant.

Hope this helps explain what’s happening and what to expect for the next month or two. And here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Trap:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

Precor 2000: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/precor-2000

Permethrin 10:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/permethrin-10

Flea Article: http://www.flea.net/flea-control

It sounds lіkе thе spray you’ve bееn uѕіng іѕ killing adult fleas but nоt gеttіng flea eggs оr thеіr larvae. Thіѕ іѕ critical tо solving flea problems. Mоѕt аnу organic liquid spray won’t lаѕt long аnd thеrеіn lies thе problem. Fleas аrе vеrу hard tо kill іn thеіr egg stage аnd thе thіrd stage іѕ knоwn аѕ а pupae whісh іѕ еvеn tougher tо kill. Fеw іf аnу products аrе effective аt killing thеm  which іѕ whу fleas саn lаѕt а long time оnсе уоu gеt them. I’m сеrtаіn whаt уоu hаvе happening rіght nоw іѕ thе fleas thаt аrе іn thе thіrd stage аrе maturing аnd hatching оut whеn еvеrуоnе settles dоwn tо watch ѕоmе tv. And untіl they’ve run out, thе problem wіll persist.

So tо gеt thеm tо run out, уоu muѕt treat wіth ѕоmеthіng thаt wіll lаѕt longer thаn thе spray you’ve bееn using. A great choice fоr thіѕ іѕ thе MOTHERS EARTH DUST. Thіѕ іѕ а vеrу fine, highly refined diatomaceous earth. It’s 100% pure аnd vеrу safe fоr uѕе аrоund people аnd pets. Thе great thіng аbоut thіѕ dust іѕ thаt іt wіll lаѕt fоr ѕеvеrаl months іf left untouched. But іf nееd be, уоu саn uѕе іt оvеr аnd оvеr wіthоut posing а danger tо аnуоnе оr аnу pet іn thе home. Thіѕ wау іf уоu choose tо kеер vacuuming аnd mоѕt оf thе dust gеtѕ removed, уоu саn reapply іt wіthоut worrying аbоut оvеr applying.

To treat, apply 2 oz реr 500 sq/ft. Dо thіѕ bу lightly puffing іt оut оvеr thе carpet, undеr furniture cushions аnd undеr аnу tables аnd оthеr places pets оr pet hair mау accumulate. Onсе applied, “rake” іt іn attempting tо gеt thе product dоwn tо thе nap оf thе carpet whеrе аll thе flea eggs, larvae аnd pupae tend tо hide. Thе dust ѕhоuld kill thеm аll wіthіn а fеw days. And іn dоіng so, nо  new flea pupae wіll bе аblе tо develop whісh іn turn wіll stop thе cycle.

The ѕесоnd thіng уоu nееd tо dо іѕ install ѕеvеrаl FLEA TRAPS thrоughоut thе home. Thеѕе dо а great job оf gеttіng flea pupae tо hatch аѕ wеll аѕ alert уоu tо аnу places іn thе home уоu mау hаvе missed аnd nоt treated wіth thе dust. Mаnу times people аrе surprised whеrе fleas аrе vеrу muсh active аnd I suspect thеrе іѕ ѕоmе place еlѕе you’ve bееn neglecting thаt іѕ breeding them. Onсе installed fоr а fеw days, thеѕе flea traps wіll pick uр аnу fleas thаt аrе wіthіn а 20 foot radius ѕо іf mу hunch іѕ right, you’ll bе аblе tо target thеѕе оthеr locations аnd gеt thеm treated too.

And ѕіnсе Mothers Earth іѕ ideal fоr cement (liquid spray gеtѕ absorbed аnd doesn’t lаѕt аt all), it’s а great product fоr basements аnd garages. Thеѕе аrе common flea problem areas ѕо don’t forget tо treat thеm too.

Here аrе direct links tо thе information аnd products listed above:

Mothers Earth Dust:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/exempt/dust/mother-earth-dust-8-oz

Flea Trap:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

Forget the spray and aerosol products. If you take some time to read through our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn several key things to get rid of fleas in the basements or any part of the home and right now you’re doing all the “wrong” things.

First and foremost, removing the pet from the area is usually the worse thing you can do. Once removed, the fleas will do nothing but lay dormant waiting. And since they can stay in their third stage for several months, the problem can remain for up to a year if you leave it the way it’s been. Pupae fleas don’t have to hatch. And they won’t unless they know food is close by. So when the pet or people are no longer around, they’ll just sit there waiting.

And since no spray can kill the pupae, all the ones down there will just wait and live no matter how much you spray.

Second, you’ll need something appropriate for the floor and rarely is this a spray or aerosol. This is especially true for bad problems. In our article there are two options that work great for basements.

If the area is carpeted, you’ll need to put out the ONCE A YEAR FLEA GRANULES. But if it’s cement, you’ll need to dust with DRIONE. And immediately afterwards you’ll have to set out 2-3 FLEA TRAPS.

The Flea Traps will be key because they’ll be perceived by the flea pupae as a small pet. This will get them to hatch which in turn will break the cycle. But until you get them all to hatch AND have a good treatment in place so when they hatch they can’t continue the cycle, this problem will go on forever like it’s been doing.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

First Defense: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/first-defense-20-ounce-jar

Drione:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/drione-dust

Flea Trap:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

Flea Article: http://www.flea.net/flea-control

First, there is no need to “kill the grass” or put you or your pets in any danger by over exposing them to something too strong. A proper flea control program can handle any problem and not pose a threat to people, pets or the environment. As our FLEA ARTICLE explains, the secret is dealing the problem directly. And though treating the pets can help, rarely will this alone solve the infestation so in the end what we find is that most people fail to handle all the problem areas that will need attention which is why the fleas persist.

Second, you don’t cite the size of the yard but I’m assuming the area the pets stay is in the fenced area. Treat this with BIFEN GRANULES first. Next, spray over the top with ESFENVALERATE and NYLAR. This combo will get immediate results and if you treat every 30-45 days, nothing will be able to live or develop in the treated area.

Lastly, if the pets come inside you’ll need to treat with one of the options we have listed in our article. Over the years we have found that people will many times treat the pet and the home but neglect the yard. In other cases we’ve seen where they’ll treat the yard and the home but neglect the pet. In all these cases, the fleas have remained and that’s because these people weren’t treating all the potential problems. So if the pets come inside, you’ll need to treat in there as well.

In summary, if you stay the course with the products we have listed in our article (which are all professional grade pest control products), I’m sure you’ll get the desired results. The key is treating all areas and treating on that 30-45 day schedule. In all cases of ongoing problems we find that people aren’t treating all the areas, they’re not treating frequently enough or they’re not mixing the products at the right rate. In this case I’m leaning toward not enough and not all the areas as the main cause. So if you keep up the Frontline for the pets but step up the effort in the yard and home, I’m sure you’ll knock the fleas out sometime in 2012 for sure.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Bifen Granules:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/granule/bifenthrin-g-25-lb

Conquer: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/conquer-esfenvalerate

Nylar: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/igr/igr-nylar

Flea Article: http://www.flea.net/flea-control

When it comes to fleas, you should always be “concerned”.  As you know, flea problems can be a nightmare. To avoid another fiasco, get some FLEA TRAPS set up. They’ll work for you night and day and no doubt will catch fleas way before a full blown problem gets established. That being said, if you’re only finding 1-2 fleas in the trap per month, I would follow the treatment schedule you’ve been on. 1-2 fleas would be “normal” for any pet owner – especially during flea season – and finding a flea on any pet that goes outside doesn’t mean you’ve got a new situation that needs treatment.

But if you “all of  sudden” noticed 2-3 fleas in one week, I’d consider doing something. Surges are usually a sign something is developing inside the home. Since you’re pets seem to be protected, its not likely they’re dropping healthy flea larvae or eggs. That means if something was to develop in the home, it would have to be happening in an area you’ve not treated. And several flea traps set throughout the home will no doubt help to alert you should a new problem start to develop and based on what flea traps capture the fleas, you should be able to isolate the area needing treatments.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

Flea Control Article:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control

If you read our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn fleas will gladly hitch a ride on any person that comes close to them. So if you have cats living under your house with fleas, they no doubt forage around the house and when they do, fleas will dispersed everywhere they go. In other words, they’ll be dropping flea eggs, pupae and adults where they walk. And this means when you pass a location where they’ve been, you no doubt will be in the range of getting a flea to jump on you.

At this point the flea will stay with you as long as they’re comfortable. So when you go inside, they’ll probably stick on you till you relax on a chair or couch or bed. So seeing them in your bed is no surprise and to be expected as long as you have cats living under the house and no flea treating is being done outside where it no doubt most matters.

To stop the problem, you’ll have to treat the key nesting locations (where the fleas are reproducing). This is true whether you get rid of the cats or not. You see, fleas will most likely thrive where a bunch of cats are living but they don’t need them to survive; they’d do fine on their own. So even if you were to remove the cats, you’ll still have the fleas and you’ll still have to treat. This is why almost half of our customers are people who don’t have pets!

So how do you need to treat? Several options listed in our article could be employed given your situation. For starters, I’d get as much of the are under the home treated. If you cannot access the area directly, use a HOSE END sprayer to spray the ESFENVALERATE and NYLAR. Do this every month and once the problem is under control, you can move to a once a quarter treatment so they don’t return.

For the home, I’d start with nothing more than some FLEA TRAPS. This way you can monitor the activity inside to determine if you do in fact have to treat. In our article we talk about vacuuming hardwood floors as a sure way to get rid of any adults, eggs and pupae so if you follow that regime, you should be able to keep them under wraps without having to spray. But if your traps start picking up more than 1-2 fleas a week, it would mean you’ve got something happening inside which would warrant a treatment.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Control Article: http://www.flea.net/flea-control

Hose End Sprayer:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/sprayers/gilmour-20g-390

Esfenvalerate:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/conquer-esfenvalerate

Nylar:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/igr/igr-nylar

Flea Trap: http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

You could have a flea infestation. And what I mean by “could” is that yes, fleas could be reproducing in the home. As you no doubt you understand from reading our article that fleas will commonly infest carpeting and furniture. Once this starts it’s safe to say you’ll have fleas and most definitely a flea infestation but the one thing I can also say about a flea infestation is that one can usually tell. That means if they’re actively living and breeding in your home, it would be easy to find one. Heck, it would be easy to find a lot! And here’s how you can try.

Simply put on a pair of white socks and walk around the home for a while. Do this on a day you plan on being around the house for a few hours. Don’t wear shoes but instead just the socks. No doubt any pupae waiting for a blood meal will hatch at some point or any adults in the living space will surely jump on you and if you’re wearing a pair of long white socks, they’ll end up getting stuck in the fabric and will be easy to see.

Why? Because fleas aren’t active only at night.  They’re active all the time. So that means if you’re experiencing something only when you’re on or in the bed, this pattern could be duplicated anytime of day. And to see if they’re in fact fleas doing the biting, try the white sock approach.

I also recommend setting out some FLEA TRAPS. These will work even better than a pair of white socks because they’ll work 24/7. So if you do in fact have fleas developing in the living area, one of these two approaches will alert you to the problem and from there, you can decide what to do.

The one mistake you don’t want to make is to assume you have fleas because you find some kind of skin irritation. There are so many things that can cause a skin irritation and randomly thinking one insect or another will not prove logical in solving the problem. So for now, you need to find  an insect of some kind before you do any kind of treating. This will enable you to use the right product applied at the right location. More importantly, it will insure you actually need to treat in the first place.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

Flea Control Article:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control

We have been dealing with a flea problem with our small dog and in our house for over 3 weeks. We first discovered several fleas on her over three weeks ago – I can’t be quite sure how long she had them. We immediately gave our dog a bath in flea shampoo but still saw fleas return to her immediately. We haven’t dealt with this before so weren’t sure how to handle and thought that would be enough – boy we were wrong!

After they returned, I then started by washing bedding (and anything she came into contact with), vacuuming the entire house from top to bottom, gave her another flea bath and treated her with Frontline. We still saw them return a few days later. We repeated this cycle three times.

We then got her an appointment to get a flea dip and while she was out of the house we did a flea bomb/fogger in our home – upstairs and downstairs. Left it the appropriate amount of time and then aired out the house and came back home with our dog.

That was this weekend and today (Monday) we just found a few more fleas on the dog! We are at our wits end and aren’t sure what to do.

We would appreciate any advice you can give us on where to go next as we thought a flea bomb was kind of a last resort and should solve the issue. We really just want to be rid of the fleas for once and for all.

Thank you!

For starters I suggest you read through our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE. This will help you understand just what’s happening in your home. It’s pretty obvious you have Flea Pupae throughout the home and they’re hatching. This is perfectly normal and to be expected. But if you don’t deal with them directly by treating the carpets and flooring, this problem will go on and on.

In our article you’ll learn that all the vacuuming is actually helpful but not until you have something like our ONCE A YEAR FLEA POWDER applied. You’ll also learn that total release aerosol’s aren’t going to offer much help either so save your money and time by skipping that process. All they do is spew chemical all over the home which is a huge waste. And since Flea Pupae will be hatching withing a day of using them anyway, you’ll find the fleas returning indefinitely until you have something in place that will control the eggs and larvae like our Flea Powder. So for the best overall treatment option, go with the Once A Year Powder. It’s odorless, easy to apply and works.

Lastly, at some point in time you should get some FLEA TRAPS installed since they’ll both alert you to any new activity as well as help to get flea pupae to hatch. Flea Traps won’t solve an infestation but they no doubt can help make the process of getting rid of them manageable.

Also in our article you’ll learn about just how long this can go on; sorry to be the one letting you know but on average, most homes will take 4-8 weeks to get under control once fleas are active. And this is after it’s been properly treated. So even though it’s been three weeks for you and the current problem, I’m afraid this could easily go on for another couple of months because only until it’s been properly treated will this vicious cycle end.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Control Article:http://www.flea.net/flea-control

Flea Pupae:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control#pupae

Once  A Year Flea Treatment:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/first-defense-20-ounce-jar

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

We have been using this bi-weekly and treating our cat monthly with revolution. I have not seen a live flea in a few weeks but I do see bite marks on my children and myself. I know it is finally slowing down. I guess my question is if we are doing the right things (treating the home-spraying everywhere by moving furniture and our indoor cat), how long do you think it will take to be gone with it? We let our cat roam everywhere and we’re in each room daily. It is so much work, just want them gone for good.

Based on the information you’ve provided, I would expect your problem to last around 3-6 more weeks. I say this because from what you included in your message, it would appear that you’re doing most everything you can and that you’re making positive progress. Your pet is still in the area, you’ve treated the home, you’ve treated the pet and for now, you seem to be content in letting the products do their thing. At this time it’s anyone’s guess just how many pupae are still left in your home developing and getting ready to hatch. And as our article explains, this is important.

Now in case you didn’t yet read up on the FLEA CYCLE, I suggest you do so. In this reading you’re learn about the four stages of fleas along with how we’re able to get quick control three stages but not all four. In fact it’s that third stage, the FLEA PUPAE, which enables the flea to be so persistent and problematic. And I’m sure it’s this third stage you’re still dealing with for the time being. The good news is if the products that have been applied to the pet and home were used properly, no new fleas should be developing. And in the end, this is critical if you want to break the life cycle of this pest.

Regarding the flea bites you and your kids are still seeing; it’s quite possible this will continue to happen for the next few weeks as the last of the pupae hatch. As our reading explains, the pupae will only hatch when they sense a target and people will no doubt provide a good blood meal for any flea. But since there isn’t a lot of good areas for a flea to live on a person, they commonly hatch onto a person, bite and leave. In the end the only evidence they leave is the bite mark. Unfortunately this will continue to happen until the last of the pupae hatch but again, if they’re not able to successfully develop in the home or on the pet, pupae hatching won’t matter. They’re just a pain you’ll need to deal with for a short time but soon they too should be gone.

Now once they jump off you and onto the floor, the treatments you stated are in place should handle the rest so in theory, they should not be able to repopulate.

Hope this helps and better explains what to expect regarding this nasty pest. In closing, you may want to get some FLEA TRAPS installed throughout the home. These do a wonderful job of monitoring the premises so should a flea problem begin to develop, you can see evidence of it long before it becomes a major ordeal.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Life Cycle:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control#flea_cycle

Flea Pupae:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control#pupae

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

My first question is that if there are no fleas in a trap and it has been 3 weeks does that mean that room has no fleas? No. FLEA TRAPS are a great tool to help monitor and even reduce local populations. But their range is limited. If you don’t catch any fleas for 4 days, move the trap 10-15 away from where it’s been and repeat the process. Only after you’ve moved them throughout the entire house for 8 weeks with no fleas having been caught can you safely know they’re done. But the key here is that during these 8 weeks, you will have been moving the traps as described above and not just letting them stay in one position.

Second question is … could we take the fleas on our clothes and have someone elses home infested or our car? Yes. Since 25-40% of our customers are people who don’t have pets, it’s clear that fleas will jump onto a person, take a blood meal and then lay eggs where this person resides. So it only stands to reason that if you had a flea hitching a ride on you during a trip to the other part of your home or even during a visit to someone elses home, you could carry a pregnant flea. But remember, the reverse is true. In other words, anyone that enters your home or your car could do the same whether they own a pet or not.

Third and final question is that we are planning on steam cleaning the carpet and have gotten mixed opinions on whether to do it or not, will it help? Steam cleaning will definitely help the fleas but not the “flea problem”. In other words, fleas need moisture. And when you steam clean your carpet, you’ll be both destroying all the chemical you’ve applied as well as added moisture to where they live. The end result is that they’ll be able to develop faster and thrive. So yes, steam cleaning will help the fleas. But my guess is you were asking if it would help stop the flea problem and the answer to that question is no.

…and if we do treat the carpet/area rugs can we put powders (fleasbuster) down afterwards? How dry does the carpet have to be? It needs to be completely dry. On average, it will take 1-2 weeks for the carpet to dry enough before any ONCE A YEAR FLEA GRANULES can be applied.

Also, if we do steam clean the carpet does that mean fleas will hatch sooner and we can come home to a swarm of fleas afterwork? There is no way to tell whether there will be a surge or not. Surging populations are dependent on when the pupae are ready to hatch so if there are lots of fleas ready to hatch following a steam cleaning then yes, you’ll see more.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/traps/electric/flea-trap

Once a Year Flea Treatment:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/first-defense-20-ounce-jar

Flea Control Article:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control

If you read through our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn fleas don’t want to be on people other than to bite and once they get their blood meal, they’ll leave. So where do they go? Usually a dog, cat or some other animal. And though fleas can get on your clothing, they won’t stay on it. So there is no need to wash your clothing other than what you normally do.

As for fleas living in your bed; this doesn’t happen either. Fleas live on host animals which will be an animal and though they can get in a bed, they’ll quickly die if they don’t get onto a mammal of some kind. So there is no need to wash or do anything to your bed or bedding other than what you would do normally.

Now will the fleas move with you to your new home? Not likely. But as our article explains, it only takes one flea to infest a house so if you don’t pre-treat it with one of the flea control options listed in our article, the risk will be there. Since 25-50% of our customers are people who don’t own pets, it’s clear to us that any home can develop a flea problem. And if you’re moving from a location which had a flea problem, the potential for a new problem to develop is no doubt enhanced. To prevent this from happening, I suggest doing some spraying or the ONCE A YEAR TREATMENT we have listed in our article since it’s so easy.

Flea Control Article:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control

Once A Year Treatment:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control#once-a-year-treatment