If you take some time to read through our extensive FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you'll learn the most favorite place for fleas to stay is on the "host" animal they target. Amongst the favorite host's for fleas will be dogs, cats, squirrels, rats and mice. In fact, pretty much any animal in the yard could have fleas during the summer or warm months. But as our online article explains, fleas don't want to leave their host animal as this is where they get both food and shelter. In fact most fleas will live their entire life on whatever animal they first find. Additionally, this life is quite short and in most cases will be less than a week. All the while they'll be laying eggs on the pet which will live out their life cycle right there under all the fur and pet hair.

So if your pet isn't getting them from the yard, where then are the fleas coming from? Well, the answer is the pet itself. As explained in our article, the pet and the inside of the home are the two most likely places for fleas to be breeding. The pet is actually number one with the house being a close candidate for second place because it's usually infested by the time anyone living there realizes what's happening. In fact the least important area to treat is the yard so I would say to forget it for now and instead focus your attention on the pet.

What usually happens in cases like this the pet will get 1-2 fleas. Once they feed they'll start laying eggs. Most of the eggs will at first stay on the pet. Over time if the problem is allowed to develop without treatments being done, the pet will get so filled with fleas the eggs and larvae will start dropping off them which is what leads to homes getting infested. In many cases it's the pet causing the problem in the yard too.

So at this point it's important that you make sure your pet is being bathed and treated weekly. Using the TRIPLE PY SHAMPOO and some PETCOR should stop the flea cycle on the pet and for now, I'm willing to bet this is the main reason why your problem is continuing to have a problem. If you actually had fleas in the yard or home, you and anyone else living or walking around there would be attacked just like the pet. But when it's just the pet that's getting them, it usually means the pet is the main "flea generator" and only after you take a direct approach of treating it will the problem subside.

Second, if the pet has full access to the house, you should also set out some FLEA TRAPS to make sure they aren't established inside. If you find the traps are catching fleas, treat with our ONCE A YEAR FLEA GRANULES which is by far the safest and most effective method for long term protection. It goes on dry and lasts 6-12 months no problem. Combine this with the direct pet treatments I outlined above and I'm sure you'll be flea free in a few weeks.

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

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

Triple Py Shampoo:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page247.html

Petcor:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page2011.html

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page22.html

Once a Year Flea Granules:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page23.html

First, some good news. I do believe you're at the end of this vicious cycle and unlike most situations I comment on, yours is actually in "good" shape and should be over sooner rather than later. Additionally, it seems as though you have read our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE which goes over all of the problems you're experiencing so you're observations and reasons for what is happening are mostly in line and correct.

Second, the things you might be missing or misunderstood from our article… It's actually the third stage, what we call the pupae, which is the flea we're not able to kill (and not the fourth stage which you listed). This third stage is impervious to chemical and can lay dormant for long periods of time (upwards of a year). As explained in our article, rooms which are void or left empty without people and pets are likely to harbor this stage for a long time. Additionally, cool temps in dark environments tend to prolong their existence. Basements are notorious for such conditions and I've seen fleas survive for more than a year in many different homes so what you're experiencing is not nearly as long as it can go on. From your message, the problem is only 4-5 months old which isn't that long in "flea time".

Additionally, the fact you're going down there and vacuuming is a good thing. But will that get the fleas to hatch? No. As our article explains, the vacuuming serves to remove debris, larvae and even the notorious pupae themselves but it won't help to hatch them any faster. As for the fogging with aerosol bombs; that's definitely not doing anything so you can stop wasting your money and time with them. As explained in our article, you can only kill a flea once it's hatched and at this point, the only time anything in the basement will take a risk and hatch is if you're close enough for them to "get on". So by the time you set out any foggers, they'll already be on you and I don't think the aerosol will be able to find any still around to kill once you leave. But there is one thing you seemingly missed which we list in our article: FLEA TRAPS. You should definitely deploy some of these throughout the basement as they'll help get pupae to hatch for sure thus breaking the cycle that much sooner. We've had vacant homes with nothing but our Flea Traps deployed with tremendous results so they do in fact expedite the process once set out. This video shows some of the results:

http://www.flea.net/flea-traps/rental-property-with-fleas.html

Lastly, the main problem is probably more due to the animal involved than anything else. Cats are usually more inclined to go in "other areas" compared to dogs. They tend to jump and move into cracks and tight spaces. All these locations could be involved here and I wonder if you may have missed some of these when vacuuming the basement. In other words, if the cats were jumping up on a work bench or some shelving, there could be fleas up there now. Eggs, larvae, pupae – all stages could easily find what they need in the confines of the average basement so anywhere the cats may have gone would be prime places to vacuum and inspect. Window ledges, crawl spaces, tops of boxes – any and all of these places are prime locations for our Flea Traps and should be considered. The point is you shouldn't look on the ground only; be sure to look up at all levels present in the basement as they could all be involved with this problem.

In summary, if you continue to treat the pets and the upstairs like you said you did and don't see any fleas up there, I doubt that area of the home is a problem. As for the basement, if you deploy 2-4 Flea Traps, I'm sure you'll break the cycle there too. Lastly, be sure to treat the yard as it warms because undoubtedly there was a problem outside last year that seemingly was missed. Failure to treat this year means almost certainly that activity will be coming back and most likely will be more robust than ever. Get out some granules now, before the season starts, and you should be able to hold it off and prevent a replay of what you experienced this winter inside the home.

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

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

http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page22.html

jonathan

www.bugspray.com

It's fairly common to have a cat which gets some fleas so don't feel too badly. The key is to take care of the problem once it starts so the pet doesn't have to suffer needlessly. The ONCE A YEAR FLEA TREATMENT is a great way to treat the house. It's easy to apply, safe to the people and pets inside and lasts a long time. When done properly, treatments should last a year or more.

FLEA TRAPS should be installed if you're seeing fleas throughout the house which you didn't mention. As explained in our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, the pupae of the flea cannot be killed so seeing some following the treatment is to be expected. A few fleas would be tolerable but if you think there are too many around, set out some traps to help minimize this last phase of the problem. Usually within a few weeks the average problem is handled and no longer active.

Fleas have been quite active the past month so you're not alone. If you have a pet that goes outside, there is a good chance that it will be bringing in some fleas. If the home isn't pre treated with one of the products we have listed in our FLEAS ARTICLE, an infestation could blossom.

Clearly the ONCE A YEAR FLEA GRANULES are one of the best and easiest things you can do to treat the problem. They're both easy to apply, long lasting and highly effective. But since they don't kill adults, they do require some patience as you must wait for hatching pupae to run their course before the activity subsides. This can be quite painful if you have a lot of fleas.

To help deal with the current adult and hatching pupae, it's perfectly OK to spray over the top with some PERMETHRIN. This will offer immediate relief and won't affect the granules. Setting out some FLEA TRAPS can also help reduce the activity and is strongly recommended. In the end, it's usually a combination of both that will do the trick for fast results even though the granules by themselves will do the job over time.

Lastly, it should be OK to spray any furniture where fleas have been seen. If the fabric on the furniture is smooth, a good vacuuming on it will usually get rid of all the fleas, eggs and larvae so you shouldn't have to spray it but if you insist, test it first by spraying the underside of a cushion to see that the fabric is OK getting wet. Remember, it's mostly water you're spraying so if the fabric can withstand water, it should be fine. Good luck!

Flea control is all about egg control as explained in our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE. Once you understand what is happening, you should understand that using either the FLEA GRANULES or the PERMETHRIN with NYLAR will be required. And based on what you're describing, I expect you'll have to treat 2-3 times to get rid of them once and for all. FLEA TRAPS will probably help too since they get flea pupae to hatch out that much faster.

Fleas can be active pretty much anytime. It is true that outside, in the yard, they will go dormant when local temperatures get cool. But in the house they can live quite comfortably all year long. And since so many people have pets, fleas can prosper in someone elses house and be brought to the work place where other people can pick them up. For this reason it's smart to be aware of the local flea status if you are a pet owner and have had flea infestations in the past as our on line flea control article explains.

Based on the limited information provided above, it sounds like you have a bad problem which will require a lot of flea treatment to be done to break the current flea cycle. For situations like this, we always suggest you use the Permethrin and Growth Regulator. With the Permethrin, you'll be able to apply a fresh amount of adulticide out over and over which in turn will provide adequate control of the adults and make the situation more manageable. Be sure to apply enough. Most homes will need 2-3 gallons applied if they have a lot of carpet; 1 gallon per 500-1000 sq/ft should do the job. Use the growth regulator with the first tank mix and then again 2 months later but in between, spray with the Permethrin as much as is needed to make the home tolerable to all who live there. It would also be wise to set up some flea traps as they will help reduce the local population too.

Once the problem is under control which will only happen following some heavy flea carpet treatments are done, you can then change over to the once a year flea carpet granules and rely on them to provide a good long lasting flea treatment. The problem is they don't work quickly and based on your situation, I don't think you'll be happy if you use them now. And don't forget the pets. If you keep them flea free by paying them some attention daily, you will be able to get this problem under control eventually. Good luck!