How to get rid of fleas (methods)

Fleas are blood-sucking insects (parasites) that live mainly on the skin and fur of animals; your pets (rabbits, dogs, cats) are no exception.

More than five hundred varieties of these parasites are known in our country, thirty of which can live in apartments.

Damage from fleas in your apartment

The most common fleas are house fleas, ground fleas (basement fleas), and bed fleas. A particular danger is that they can cause enormous harm to humans. A fed flea often leaves and begins to look for a new victim, thereby creating the risk of transmitting various diseases and infections, including severe ones and even fatal ones (for example, hepatitis, plague, typhoid, anthrax, encephalitis). They carry parasites that cause the development of helminthiasis.

If we talk about humans, they choose hair as their habitat.

If you find yourself with strange bites (usually in the form of a chain), try placing clean white sheets around the apartment. If after a while you see black dots on them, it means that you have fleas in your apartment.

As for the apartment, these are fleecy surfaces, mattresses, pillows. Fleas can breed even in a very clean room. Pets contribute to this. There is also a possibility of bringing them in with already contaminated items. They can get to you from basements, entrances, and possibly from neighbors (and they are also carried by various rodents).

If fleas are detected, measures to destroy them must be taken immediately, this is due to the fact that they multiply very quickly! Too fast!

Options for the appearance of fleas in your own home

Here the reasons for the source of where fleas come from in your own home are similar. The only difference is that the owner of his house himself is able to regulate the flea population by carrying out regular prevention inside the house and in his yard.

Attic and basement

Poisoning of rats and mice, the absence or limited access of cats, provokes fleas to look for another habitat.

Either poison the rodents so often that there are none at all, or allow the cats to regulate their numbers naturally. In the first case, the basement and attic in the house will be clean of rodents and parasites, in the second, fleas will live there, without leaving these limits.

Compound

If the farm has poultry and animals living in a barn, shed, cages, or aviary, then preventative regular pest control is mandatory! Otherwise, flea families from animals will end up in a residential building over and over again.

Careful and frequent treatment of their home and yard is also important, because a flea is capable of laying eggs even outside the “owner’s” home, but also in places where he often walks and feeds.

So it’s better not to be lazy and treat feeders, pens, and enclosures more often, and then the likelihood that unwanted “guests” will settle in the house will become minimal.

Do not neglect the appearance of lovers in your home to suck your blood! In addition to nightmares with bites and itching, you will get rid of the danger of hepatitis, typhus, tularemia and even the plague! Immediately begin searching for the source and mercilessly fighting fleas, clearing your home of this scourge. Don't shy away from preventive measures!

How to remove fleas from an apartment

So, you have fleas in your apartment - what to do now? The process of removing fleas in an apartment is quite a costly task, both in terms of time and effort. Because of their structure, fleas cannot, like many other parasites, eat poisoned food. Therefore, other methods are used to destroy them.

First (preparatory) stage

Currently, many highly effective drugs and techniques have been developed to do this. If you carry out this procedure correctly and carefully, then one time will be enough to achieve the desired effect.

Having decided to start this procedure, you must first figure out where the fleas came from. If this issue is not clarified, there is a danger that they will appear again.

As mentioned above, most often the carriers are pets. This means, firstly, you need to examine them, if necessary, take them to a veterinarian and get rid of fleas.

This is also interesting: Instructions: How to remove fleas from your home

The absence of fleas will also serve as protection against the helminths that they carry.

If you do not carry out this procedure, then after you destroy the fleas in the room, they will breed again. If possible, this should be done at the same time as disinfecting the home. This will give great guarantees that the parasites will be completely destroyed.

If it turns out that insects entered the apartment with contaminated things or objects (clothes, shoes, furniture), they must first be disinfected.

After identifying and disinfecting the main insect habitat, you can begin treating the entire apartment.

Products for removing fleas from pets

Today there is a wide range of drugs developed for these purposes. The choice depends on your preferences.

If your dog has been found to have fleas, we recommend reading the article on how to remove fleas from adults and dogs. If your dog is itching, but you couldn’t find any parasites, try the options here. And this article concerns cats and cats, in which the veterinarian gives a comprehensive answer to the question: where can fleas appear on domestic cats.

Insecticidal agents

Modern drugs of this type are low-toxic and do not harm the pet itself, but are fatal to insects.
You just need to treat the animal's fur with them. There are several types of these funds

Drops
Shampoos
Sprays

Anti-flea drops for pets

They are affordable, but it is worth familiarizing yourself with some of the contraindications they have. If all rules of use are followed, they do not pose a danger and are highly effective; they are applied mainly behind the animal’s ears.

Flea shampoos

If your pet often walks outside, then shampoo will be more suitable for him. Parasites completely disappear after the first use, and its effect can last up to a month.

Special aerosols (insecticidal)

They also remove fleas the first time and are ideally combined with simultaneous treatment of the animal and disinfection of the premises.

Anti-flea collar

Very reliable and effective in fighting fleas. The fact is that its effect lasts throughout the entire wear, that is, the pet is constantly protected.

Sometimes injections, tablets, and traditional medicine are used for these purposes.

When choosing medications, you should still consult your veterinarian.

Main stage

If pets are cleaned and contaminated items are disinfected, you can begin removing fleas from your apartment. Since they live at a height of up to one and a half meters, this area must be treated especially carefully. First of all, you need to decide how you will do this.

For this you can use help

Aerosol

Before use

There should be no animals or people in the room who are not involved in the process
Collect and throw away all unnecessary garbage
Move the furniture aside so that there is access to the walls; if there are carpets, remove them
Spray all pieces of furniture (both outside and inside), clothing, and bedding. It is good to fill the baseboards on the floor and all kinds of cracks
Close the windows and doors tightly in a few hours and leave the apartment
Upon returning, you need to ventilate well and wash the treated area, clean fluffy surfaces with a vacuum cleaner or shake out. Wash clothes and underwear thoroughly.

This is also interesting: Earth fleas: how to get rid of them? Preventing their occurrence in your home

Types of sprays

There are several types of sprays

Professional (for example, Sinuzan). They are very effective, but have a pungent odor. When working with them, it is necessary to use a respirator, gloves, and safety glasses. Used mainly by disinfection specialists
Household anti-flea aerosols (for example, Master 250)
Sprays for killing flying and crawling insects (for example, Raptor, Raid). The absence of any odor and the ability to remain in the apartment during treatment (non-toxic) make it very convenient to use

Sprays are a very effective product, as they allow you to remove both adults and their larvae in one use.

Powders

Cleaning an apartment of parasites using powder will require a lot of time. So how to remove fleas from an apartment using powder products? They (powders) are simply poured into places where insect larvae accumulate (plinths, cracks, corners). In addition, they cause the death of adult individuals when they come into contact with their bodies.

The most popular today are

Phenaxin;
Pyrethrum.

In general, the effectiveness of powders is much lower than aerosols, but at the same time they do not require isolation of residents and their pets from the premises.

Temperature treatment of the room against fleas

This method consists of either lowering the room temperature to minus 20 degrees, or burning out fleas at 50 degrees. This method is only available to specialists when using heat guns.

Calling a team of specialists

This is perhaps the most effective method of killing fleas. Experts will determine how infested your home is with insects and select the best means to combat them. All you have to do is prepare the apartment in accordance with the requirements of the exterminators.

After any treatment, fleas may appear again after a few days. This is a common occurrence - they hatched from a larva or got out of a deep place. Don't worry too much. They will die if they come into contact with the treated surface. This may continue for a month.

Selecting the right type of product

Flea treatments are always chosen according to the specific situation:

To prevent infection of the animal, collars and drops on the withers are suitable. These flea control products have a fairly gentle effect on the pet itself, rarely lead to side effects, but at the same time reliably repel fleas.
If the animal has few fleas, the best remedy against fleas is a collar or drops.
In case of severe parasite infestation, it is necessary to resort to the use of special flea sprays or shampoos.
For pets that regularly go outside but live in the city, collars are suitable. You can remove them at home, and the animal’s skin on the neck will not be irritated.
Animals that are taken to the country for a long period of time need to have drops applied to their necks.
Kittens and puppies over the age of one month can be bathed with special shampoos. Grown-up cubs can be treated with drops and put flea collars on them.
It is not recommended to use any insecticides at all on lactating and pregnant cats and dogs. Only if the infection is too severe, threatening serious damage to the offspring, can you use special drops or bathe the animal with shampoos.

In general, shampoos are the best products for cats. A feature of high-breed animals is the excellent appearance of the coat, and the use of collars and drops can lead to its deterioration.

Important!
The least allergenic are shampoos and aerosols. Collars and drops can cause serious skin irritation, including dermatitis. Aerosols and shampoos are single-acting agents, and therefore rarely lead to skin reactions. Shampoos should be used for animals with particularly sensitive skin.

Brief summary

Aerosols are the most effective flea repellent. Suitable when you need a quick one-time removal of parasites from a seriously infected animal.
Drops on the withers are the most universal means for killing fleas. Provides relief and protection from parasites.
Flea shampoos are products for getting rid of fleas from puppies, kittens and animals with very sensitive skin and coat.
Flea collars are easy-to-use products for preventing flea infestations.

And only now, when it is clear what type of product is needed, can you begin to choose a specific product.

Traditional methods of fighting fleas

There are also traditional methods for killing fleas, both in pets and in the apartment.
If you are concerned that chemicals may harm your pet's health, you can try the following recipes.

Grate a quarter of a bar of baby soap, dilute it in water and cook until a jelly forms. Add grated onion and egg yolk to it. This makes an excellent shampoo against parasites. Apply this mixture to the animal, wrap it in a towel, hold it for 15-20 minutes and wash it.
You can also wash the animal in a soap solution with the addition of decoctions of calendula or nettle.
You can also use saline solution for washing. Dissolve salt in water in the proportion of one pack per ten liters. Leave your pet in it for five minutes and rinse. You can also use a decoction of wormwood or tar soap, which also relieves inflammation from bites
Take wormwood, tansy or eucalyptus leaves (your choice). Steam and let it brew well. Then simply rub in the resulting decoction. Fleas cannot tolerate the pungent odor of these plants .
Carefully wash your animal's pillow or mattress, dry it well and stuff it with pine sawdust or fresh pine needles. You can prepare a decoction of them and bathe your pet. Fleas cannot stand their smell and leave

This is also interesting: Flea bites on humans: how to identify and how to get rid

The following methods are used to remove parasites from a room.

Take equal amounts of salt and soda, mix and sprinkle all the places where fleas may accumulate. After a day, thoroughly clean the apartment using a vacuum cleaner. Repeat cleaning after a few days to remove remaining insects.
To repel fleas, you can place calamus, garlic, and peppermint in furniture, cracks and baseboards. The peels of various citrus fruits can be used for the same purposes.
Having made a decoction of the above plants, you can spray it on the places where fleas most often live.
Caucasian (Persian) chamomile contains substances that kill fleas. But it should only be used fresh; when it dries, it loses these properties. To achieve the desired effect, you need to periodically lay it out in the room.
Rinse the floors with water with the addition of essential oils (for example, eucalyptus, orange) or acetic acid.

All these remedies are most likely preventative; they may not kill fleas, but they will make their existence much more difficult and they will leave your territory.

Flea sprays - speed and reliability

Sprays are used in critical situations, when the animal is too heavily infected, or there are no other means at hand. Almost always, the spray turns out to be the most effective flea remedy from the entire range. But it also requires particularly careful adherence to the instructions: if used incorrectly, the animal may be poisoned.

It is also useful to read: Getting to know Comfortis flea tablets

It is advisable to treat a cat or dog with gloves and a cotton-gauze bandage. The pet’s entire body except the face is sprayed, after which it must not be washed for some time (up to several hours, depending on the product) to allow the active ingredients to take effect. During this time, you should not let your pet lick its fur. Afterwards, the animal must be thoroughly bathed.

The most well-known flea sprays are the following:

Hartz, represented by a large number of lines for adult cats and dogs, as well as for kittens and puppies.
Frontline is a very powerful flea remedy, which, however, causes the most side effects and is toxic to humans. Depending on the type of product, Frontline costs from 600 to 800 rubles.
Bolfo-aerosol, which can be used to treat both the animal itself and the bedding on which it sleeps.

When used correctly, flea sprays retain their protective effect for several weeks even after bathing.

Review
“The specificity of burrowing dogs is this: they sit in a kennel for two weeks, and then go into the burrows for one day, and if they come out, they are covered up to their ears in fleas. There's nothing you can do about it. The men and I even tried to buy them collars, but it was useless. There are so many fleas in the fox hole that they don’t notice the collar. But my dogs are used to the fact that the next day after a hunt I spray them with Frontline. And their booth too. Then all that remains is to sweep away the fleas with a broom.”
Alexander, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

How to cure flea bites with folk remedies

A flea bite is invisible at first. The fact is that she produces special pain-relieving enzymes that allow her to drink blood without any special obstacles. The bites appear mainly on the arms, legs and stomach as red spots (fortunately, house fleas are not as ferocious as sand fleas).

Inflammation, severe itching, suppuration, rashes and tumors that form at the bite sites cause a lot of inconvenience and discomfort. In some people, flea saliva causes severe allergies.

If bites are detected, the following measures should be taken immediately:

Wash the bitten areas with laundry or antiseptic soap.
Treat bites with vodka or alcohol using a cotton swab.
Apply ice to relieve swelling.
Lubricate with any available antiseptic.

Drops on the withers

The main advantages of drops on the withers are ease of use and long-lasting effect. The drops are either applied to one spot at the base of the animal's head or dripped along the spine. After this, they need to be rubbed into the skin, and they themselves will gradually spread over the entire surface of the body.

At the same time, flea drops only in exceptional cases cause allergies or skin damage.

After applying the drops, the animal will be reliably protected from parasites for a period of one to two months, depending on the brand of the drug. In most cases, drops on the withers are the preferred (best) flea remedy for pets. One pipette of the product costs from 50 to 300 rubles. It is enough for one time and about 1-2 months of protection.

Stronghold drops are very popular. This line of products also includes drops for dogs and puppies from one and a half months of age, which almost never cause poisoning.

The Hartz and Frontline drop lines offer drops for withers for both dogs and cats.

All flea drops should not be used on pregnant or lactating animals.

Review
“No matter how many flea remedies we tried, we liked Hartz drops the most. They do not extinguish parasites as much as other aerosols, but they work for a long time. I dropped one dropper, rubbed it, and completely forgot about fleas for a month. They even have drops for puppies, which is good news for serious breeders. At any pharmacy you can buy a choice of Hartz for animals of different weights and different ages. So don’t bother and take what’s proven.”
Ilya, St. Petersburg

It is also useful to read: Anti-flea collars for cats and kittens

Prevention Tips

To prevent the subsequent appearance of fleas, you should adhere to the following rules.

Clean twice a week (wet), especially hard-to-reach places.
Buy flea collars for your animals.
Use special crayons to clean the entrance to the apartment and ventilation holes.
Ventilate the room regularly.
If possible, dry blankets, pillows, and mattresses in the sun.
Wash soft toys and clean furniture as often as possible .
Carry out at least minor cosmetic repairs, removing all cracks in floors, walls, door openings, and windows.
Do not allow other people's animals to enter your home.

By disinfecting your apartment and following preventive measures, you will get rid of fleas and prevent them from appearing again.