If you are worried about fleas in your home or on your pet, there are definitely steps that you can take to protect yourself from fleas. While many people only think of an itchy in convenience that can make their pets miserable, fleas do pose a serious risk to both your pets and your family members. Ticks can spread diseases like cat scratch fever and tapeworms to your pets. Fleas are also known carriers of diseases like the plague and typhus that can make people sick. People without pets can also end up with flea infestations. Here are the steps you can take to keep your home safe from fleas.
1. Keep Up with Your Yard Work
Fleas will wait in the long grass to jump onto their next victim. If you can make your home less hospitable to the flea, you will lower the chance of accidentally bringing the fleas into your home on your clothes or on your pet. Keeping the grass short allows the ground to dry out much more quickly, which means that the fleas will not hide there as much. This same principle applies to keep your shrubby trimmed and your flowerbeds clean and neat.
2. Create Effective Flea Barriers
Fleas do not want to cross areas that are not friendly to them. If you create barriers along the perimeter of your yard, then the insects are a lot less likely to get in. Cedar chips as a mulch or gravel will work to create the barriers. They need to be at least two feet across since fleas can jump more than a foot. Changing the cedar chips every few years is important to keep the ticks out.
3. Treat Your Yard
Another step you can take is to treat your yard. An exterminator can apply a barrier treatment to your yard that should stop any fleas from coming in. This treatment is also effective against mosquitoes and ticks. There are organic and conventional options available. These treatments can be applied periodically through the spring and summer months. This treatment can be beneficial for everyone in your family.
4. Protect Your Pets
You can prevent fleas in your home by protecting your pets from picking up fleas. A flea collar is one method, but there are also drops that you can use to protect your pets. Your vet may prescribe an oral medication that is effective at treating fleas and ticks. Talk to your pet about the pest option for your animals. It is also important to clean your pets’ bedding on a regular basis. Many people remember to do this with indoor bedding, but may forget about anything that is stored in an outdoor dog run or dog house.
5. Make It Friendly for Predators
Birds are natural predators for fleas and other small insects. If you make your home friendly for these animals, you have a natural defense system in your yard. You can do this by setting up birdhouses and bird feeders in your yard. There are plants that will naturally attract hummingbirds like lupines, and hollyhocks.
Dealing with Fleas in Your Home
If you find if you have fleas in your home, you need to take action immediately. The first step is to treat your pets with a medicated flea bath, but then you will need to clean your by vacuuming your carpet and furniture. Then you will need to apply a flea treatment. Flea eggs do not stick to your pets, they fall off, which means they may be scattered throughout you home. You will need to treat the carpet and wash all bedding in hot water and dry it in high heat.
Many of the home remedies for fleas are messy and ineffective, since they will only deal with adult fleas and not the eggs. A flea exterminator can help you effectively treat your home for fleas. This may include a set of instructions for cleaning your home just prior to or after the treatment to make sure that the eggs do not develop into adults and lead to a second infestation. Following these instructions carefully is the key to avoiding a lot of work in the future.
