Treat Your Home for Fleas

1. Vacuuming: The household should be thoroughly vacuumed 1-2 times weekly. A vacuum with a beater is more effective in open carpeted areas. Special attention should be given to areas where the pet lounges or sleeps and high (pet) traffic areas. Areas to be considered: under beds, under couches, closets (for those cat owners), areas in front of the doors, and stairs. Don't forget to vacuum the furniture! The vacuum bag should be emptied or discarded after each vacuuming. Do not put moth balls or flea collars in the vacuum. That may result in toxic fumes being emitted from the vacuum.

Note: This is hard work! Vacuuming is intended to pick up flea eggs, larvae, and adult fleas, so it is necessary to be diligent in your vacuuming. Vacuuming may also result in adult fleas emerging from the cocoon, so it is best to spray the carpet with an insecticide with good knockdown properties after vacuuming.

2. House sprays: As mentioned above, I prefer sprays to foggers. Sprays should contain insecticides with good knockdown properties and an insect growth regulator (e.g., KnockoutTM,Virbac; Siphotrol Plus II ® VetKem). Unfortunately, most house sprays contain insecticides with excellent residual action but poor knockdown. It may be necessary to find one of each. Knockdown sprays should be applied after each vacuuming. Sprays with residual insecticides and insect growth regulators should be applied every 1-2 weeks. Read and follow label recommendations.

Note: Small rodents (pet variety), birds, and fish should be protected whenever sprays or foggers are applied in the house. Read and follow label recommendations.

3. Special considerations:
* Areas of high use require special attention. This includes any area where the pet spends a lot of time, such as next to the master's easy chair, under the bed, or next to the back door. Stairs or steps also should be aggressively treated, since the simple act of going up or down stairs can dislodge flea eggs from the animal and lead to accumulations of eggs and larvae in those areas.

* Area rugs, floor mats, and astroturf at entrances or in entryways can be a source for continuing infestation. Be sure to clean those items and treat with insecticides/growth regulators.

4. Foggers (aka bombs): Foggers are primarily useful in large open areas like unfinished basements or garages. They do not adequately distribute the active agents under furniture (common places where flea larvae may be found). When used, foggers should contain an insecticide and insect growth regulator of some kind. (e.g. EctoKyl®,DVM or Siphotrol Plus®, VetKem)

5. Exterminators: Professional exterminators may be helpful in some situations. However, most of the insecticides applied by exterminators are available to the public, or appropriate options are available. Exterminators are most helpful in situations where the pet owner is unable to perform the vacuuming (to the degree required) and spraying. If you choose to use a professional exterminator, be sure to get the name of the products applied (in writing) and avoid using the same products in other forms of flea control. Otherwise, toxicosis could result from cumulative effects of some insecticides.

6. Borate Carpet Treatments: The borates include sodium polyborate and boric acid. The borates are available as powders 1) for application by commercial companies, who will come into your home to apply the material, and 2) as raw borates sold by the same companies or, in some cases, over the counter at hardware stores, for application by the home owner. The borates are applied to carpeted areas, where they are worked into the carpet. Residual powder is then removed by vacuuming.

The borates work by two mechanisms. First, they are known to be intestinal poisons upon ingestion by flea larvae. Second, they may act as dessicants, drying up the micoenvironment of the flea larvae in the carpet , making it an unfavorable environment for survival.

The efficacy of these products appears to be quite high when properly applied to flea infested environment. Anecdotal reports and some studies have supported these observations. From the standpoint of effectiveness, this form of home treatment appears to be quite successful.

The toxicity of the borates is unclear. The products are definitely not the totally safe form of flea control advertised by some companies. Kidney and liver damage can result from acute toxicosis from the borates. Clinical signs may include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, and loss of appetite. Overall, the risk of danger to pets appears to be low, unless the animal directly ingests the powder. However, the long-term health effects (to pets) of chronic exposure to low levels of borates is unknown. Risks to humans, including infants, is also unknown, but appears to be low. Since the borates can cause toxicosis in humans, the application of these products in homes with infants is not recommend by the author. Safety appears to be increased when the material is applied by a trained professional.
Reference: Current Concepts: Searching for safe methods of flea control. JAVMA 1995:206;1137-1143.

7. Power carpet cleaners: I don't recommend power carpet cleaners or steam cleaners for flea control, although you might get a real clean carpet. Residual water dispensed by the cleaners and scrubbers will increase the humidity in the microenvironment of the carpet, and thus, could potentially increase the suitablilty of the environment for flea reproduction.

Households with Infants

Special considerations should be given before flea products are used on pets and in the environment around infants, toddlers, senior citizens, or chronically-ill humans. The safest flea control is physical removal only....vacuuming, flea combing, etc. The next safest for the humans would include use of the oral systemic insecticides, although special caution should be taken to avoid the possibility of children handling or ingesting these products.

Products considered relatively safe include: insect growth regulators, microencapsulated insecticides, and citrus derivatives. However, all of these can be toxic (although they would require ingestion of large amounts of product). So, always exercise caution and consult with your veterinarian before applying flea control products.

More Information:

Content provided by Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine for educational purposes only.

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