Fleas. Horrible little things. They appear in your home and they can be a nightmare to get rid of. And, if you are a pet owner, they seem to come as part of the package if you have furry friends. But don’t worry, I am here for you. This is not my first rodeo.
What are fleas?
A flea is a small insect that wants to suck your blood! That is their sole purpose. They have a tough exoskeleton that is hard to crush and they have flat bodies so they can slip through fur and feathers. That also means they can slip easier through carpet fibres too. There are things that like to eat fleas such as ladybirds and spiders. Simply put, they are a tiny, annoying bug that likes to bite you and your pets (they aren’t fussy) and live off your blood. When they do bite you, they leave an itchy mark on your skin. And trust me, they will bite you.
Why are they a problem?
We should all be honest here, most people don’t want any bugs in their home. Flies are bad enough in the summer but you can get a bug zapper and fry them. Spiders can go up the hoover (don’t judge me, I hate them). Wasps make a delightful noise when you smack them with a magazine. But fleas . . . they are hard to kill. They say that if you see one flea in your house, there are 100 more that you can’t see. That’s not great news, is it? Plus, they are hard to kill. Unlike the bug zappers, they bounce away and are more attracted to your silky skin than the blue light of the bug zapper.
Infestations are getting worse.
Let me be clear, I have been a pet owner for most of my life. We had a family dog growing up, I have rescued four dogs, and I currently have two cats and two pups. I KNOW how to handle fleas. 10 years ago, a simple treatment from the local pet shop was enough to keep fleas at bay. The bad news is that these over the counter flea meds for our pets don’t have the welly that they used to have. Fleas are developing a resistance to these weaker meds and we are paying the price for it.
The steps to remove fleas and stop them from coming back.
These are the exact steps I use to ensure that fleas are not an issue in my home.
- Treat your pets with a proper flea and tick medication. I’m talking about vet level meds. Once a month, I weigh my animals and order the medication based on their weight. Let me be clear, this is not cheap but it is worth it to ensure that they are properly covered for pests.
- Treat your home with pesticide. I used to be a big fan of foggers. All you had to do was set one up in each room, shut the doors, go out for the day, and hoover up the dead bodies while dinner was cooking. For the last couple of years, I’ve noticed that foggers are not working. The only thing I will use is this flea spray. Why? Because I have sprayed in on fleas and watched their death with my own eyes. This stuff works. Does it provide the “6 months of cover” that it claims on the tin? No. But, if you spray in on your carpets it will kill any little beasts hiding in the fibres.
- Wash your pets and their bedding. My dogs hate getting bathed. But guess what? I don’t care. Once a week they get their sorry little butts under the shower and get a good scrub. Sometimes I use flea shampoo, sometimes I use regular dog shampoo. The important thing is to get them under the water, give them a good scrub to remove any fleas and eggs, and comb out their fur with a flea comb. The same thing happens to their bedding. On the day they get washed, their bedding goes through the washing machine and the tumble dryer. Remember, heat kills fleas and their eggs so make sure you you treat them with a high temperature.
- Hoover daily. This is one that people struggle with because it can be a pain in the ass to get the hoover out everyday, especially if you have had a log day at work and the kids have left their toys at their butts. But please, hoover and do it properly. That means the carpets and sofas. Another big issue can be the daily emptying of the hoover. If you have a Dyson, it is easy enough to take it outside and dump it straight in the bin. If you have a bagged hoover, the thought of changing the bag every time is enough to make you weep. If you have a bagged hoover and don’t empty if, any live fleas can jump up the hose and into the house again. But here is a life hack for you, grab a condom and pop it over the end of the hose. I always put some flea powder down at the start and the end of the hoovering to try and kill them in the bag, and them I pop a condom over the end of the hose to make sure any live ones can’t escape again. Look, if a condom is supposed to catch sperm (which are super tiny) I think they should be able to keep fleas in your hoover. They don’t need to be expensive ones, Savers or pound shops sell condoms for a pound per pack.
- Wash clothes and bedding at 60 degrees. There has been some debate over the years about the correct temperature to wash your clothes to kill germs and save the environment. In this case, you need to wash at higher temperatures. A 60 degree wash will kill fleas and germs, so it’s a win-win. And don’t forget to wash your duvets and pillows. Fleas will lay their eggs anyway and your bed can be the perfect place.
- Invest in a carpet cleaner. Hoovering your carpets will ensure that you are collecting the little beasts daily. But a carpet cleaner, it gets so much deeper than the hoover. Using a carpet cleaner every six months will ensure that the life cycle is broken, especially in the winter months when eggs are lying dormant in colder temperatures. In theory, the eggs can’t survive in temperatures lower than 13 degrees, but when was the last time your house was under 13 degrees? The winters in the UK are so mild, opening the windows when you go to work won’t cut it. Wash the little suckers away! I have a Shark Pet-Duo spot cleaner which is great for the sofas. I have been known to get down on my hands and knees with it and clean the carpet too. It’s hard work but worth it.
- Invest in a steamer. Going back to the heat thing, a steamer can be your best friend. Fleas can’t survive temperatures over 38 degrees. What temperature is steam? 100 degrees. But don’t just flick the steam over quickly, move slowly to make sure that the eggs and fleas get hit with a good blast of heat. Instant DEATH!! You can use a steamer anyway including your sofas and beds. And, if you want to be really extra, take your iron into the bedrooms and “iron” the bedding every day. Blast steam to get rid of any wrinkles and bugs.
- Grab a tub of Vicks. This is a weird one but hear me out. Fleas HATE the smell of Vicks. But they love the tender young flesh of children. And you. If you are in the middle of a flea invasion, rub Vicks on you and your kids, especially at bed time. Fleas love to bite your kids while they sleep so rubbing Vicks on them helps to keep them away. This is not a cure for fleas but it will help you stay sane while you are battling them. Plus, Vicks has anti-fungal properties so rubbing it on feet can help prevent foot fungus.
And there you have it, my tried and tested method for getting rid of fleas and making sure they don’t come back. If you have spotted fleas, you need to deal with them. All in all, using my system will have your home flea free in under 2 weeks. Yes, it does take time, that is the only sucky thing about this. But the only way to get them gone in one go is to hire a professional pest control service, and that service is not cheap. Once you have the fleas under control, you need to keep doing all of this. I’m sorry but it is the only way to make sure they don’t come back.
So, grab your hoover, your steamer, your carpet cleaner, and a tin of flea spray. You got this. Show no mercy. I believe in you.