How to Get Rid Of Fleas in Carpet

If you’ve got a furry pet at home, it’s likely that your carpet is infected with fleas. We’ll tell you how to get rid of the fleas in your carpet.

We’ve carried out the research so that you don’t have to, and we’ll share with you the most effective tips and techniques that you can use to ensure that your carpets are flea-free.

Its best for both you and your pet that you eliminate fleas from your carpet as soon as possible. To get rid of fleas, you just need to follow any of these three simple methods:

Thoroughly vacuum the carpet
Steam clean the carpet
Treat your carpet using flea killers

Disinfect the Items On the Carpet

Gather all the cushions, pet bedding, and other fabrics that are lying on or near the carpet – with or without a host. Wash thoroughly and dry them off at the highest setting. The fleas that are hidden in the items will get killed from the heat of the washer and dryer.

In case you can’t wash an item, properly vacuum it. Don’t forget to vacuum the underside of the furniture. Remove the cushions from the upholstered furniture, wash and dry the covers at the highest setting and vacuum all of it.

Put in some extra effort and steam clean it – the heat helps to kill the fleas as at any stage of their life as they can’t endure temperatures over 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The dormant flea pupae also wake up because of the heat, making it easier to kill them.

Do this and you can get flea free carpets- Almost 95% of the flea infestation resides in the carpets; hence disinfecting the carpet when they’re in their developing stage is necessary to permanently get rid of them.

Related: Flea Bites vs. Bed Bug Bites

Disinfecting the Carpet

Method 1: Vacuuming

Your vacuum cleaner is the most important tool when it comes to getting rid of fleas in carpet. It’s not only the simplest but also the best method to disinfect the carpet of fleas.

The vacuum is powerful enough to suck up adult fleas, their eggs, larvae and most of the pupae as well. Vacuuming not only eliminates the adult fleas but fleas from all stages of their life.

It also sucks up the disgusting pre-digested blood feces that appear like coarse ground black pepper.

Moreover, the vibrations the vacuum cleaner creates can cause flea pupae to come out of their cocoon, making it easy for the vacuum cleaner to suck them up.

Cocoons are hard to kill or eliminate as they’re insecticide resistant and usually attached to the base of the carpet fibers. Bringing them out is the most effective method when dealing with them. When vacuuming, make sure you cover every inch of the carpet in the room.

Spend some more time and effort on the corners, or dark, humid parts of the room and areas where your pet spends time. Make sure you empty out the vacuum bags outside of your home, to prevent them from sneaking back. Do this each day for at least 2 weeks.

Method 2: Steaming

Like we mentioned before, fleas cannot bear temperatures above 95 degrees. Steam can kill the fleas hiding in the carpet or at least cause dormant flea pupae to leave their cocoons, making them vulnerable and an easy kill.

If you’ve got little ones around and are looking for non-toxic cleaning methods, steaming can eliminate fleas and sanitize the carpet in a natural way.

You can get buy or rent a home steam cleaner or hire a professional cleaning service. The steamer creates strong hot steam that can be used over unholstered furniture and carpets. Continue vacuuming to capture the new born fleas that emerge after the steam cleaning.

Method 3: Use Different Flea Killers

You have plenty of options to choose from which you can use to eliminate fleas in carpet. Your choice depends on whether you want to opt for a natural or chemical method.

Also, on how extreme the infestation is or the sensitivity of your pets. These are some of the options you have at hand,

1. Baking soda and salt: It’s a natural and safe way to deal with light to medium infestations. Sprinkle a thin layer of baking soda and salt on the carpet and leave it for 24 hours. Check on the situation to see if most of the fleas are killed, after which you can vacuum them up. If you don’t see a lot of progress, let it stay for about a week.

2. Diatomaceous earth: Other than severe infestation, this method will work in all the situations. Get hold of food-grade diatomaceous as it is natural and safe.

Scatter a thin layer of it over the carpet, with high concentration in your pet’s favorite hangout spots and beneath furniture. Let is rest for a good 4 to 5 day period and then vacuum it all up.

3. Natural flea spray:The spray is also a safe and natural way to deal with light to medium infestations. Spray the flea treatment on your carpet and let it do its work. Vacuum it once the spray has dried off.

4. Insecticides: These are packed with chemicals and come in different levels of toxicity. Insecticides work best when you’re dealing with severe infestations. Adulticides are specially made to kill adult fleas but won’t work for others.

If you want to wipe out the infestation, you must kill fleas from all stages of life. So, get an insecticide that has both adulticide and insect growth regulators in it. A combination of these will kill the adult fleas and the larvae as well.

Although boric acid works well against fleas in carpets, it can be toxic for your pets and cause discoloration, so it’s best to not consider it as an option.

5. Lemon Spray: You can use lemon as a natural home remedy against fleas. In order to eliminate fleas from your home, you need to make a citrus spray which can be sprayed over the infested furniture and carpet.

Just add thin slices of a lemon to a small quantity of water and bring it to boil.

Allow the citrus solution to rest overnight and place it in a spray bottle. Spray this solution all over the infested areas in your house. Make sure that you only dampen the carpet and not soak it with the solution. Vacuum up the residue after a few days.

6. Fogging: This technique is the most effective way to get rid of fleas quickly. The fog manages to reach even the tiniest of cracks and crevices, wiping out the infestation completely.

Professional pest controllers use this method in case of severe infestations. It needs to be carried out more than once. The downside of this method is that the fog is extremely poisonous, and you will have to vacate the house for a few hours along with your family and pets.

Ensure that food items and utensils are kept covered. Close all the windows and doors and put off the smoke alarms momentarily. Once the process is over, open the windows and door and let it ventilate for a couple of hours before you step in. Along with fleas you’ll find other dead pests as well.

Surveying the Situation

Carrying out any of these methods can help you to successfully eliminate fleas in carpet. Leave out flea traps on the carpet so you can keep check on the situation.

It’ll help you measure the rate at which the flea infestation is getting destroyed as you’ll be able to see the number of victims the traps have collected every day.

It’s quite simple, as you only have to place them on the carpet and keep a regular check and obviously replace them. Make your own flea trap by mixing dish soap with water in a bowl.

Related: Best Flea Spray For Yar

How to Prevent Fleas on Carpet

We’re sure you don’t want to repeat the whole process if you’ve cleaned everything already. That’s why you must prevent fleas from infesting the carpet again.

You need to continue spraying the carpet with a natural flea repellent, in places such as beneath the furniture, areas where your pets love to stay, and dark and damp places.

Make sure you not only disinfect the carpet, but the yards, and your pets as well.

Another easy way is to keep specific plants at home which repel these biting pests. There are a few plants that contain certain chemicals, oils and compounds that fleas seem to hate and would not like to come close to.

Use any of these plants at your home that’ll naturally help to repel fleas from your home

Chrysanthemums
Spearmint
Penny Royal
Lavender

Conclusion

To get rid of fleas in your carpet, it’s important that you carefully carry out each step. Following these steps will help to eliminate fleas in your carpet.

Make sure to take preventive measures after disinfecting your place to keep them at bay. Run checks from time to time, so that you or your pets don’t have to bear them again.

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