Environmental flea control strategies
November 19th, 2009 | 
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The moist sandy ground under this house would be a perfect habitat for flea eggs and larvae.
If your pet seems to keep getting fleas despite regular flea control, there is a good chance that you have a problem with fleas in your environment. If you have a heavy flea burden in and around your house, you will be fighting a losing battle. Anywhere that your pet has been, fleas will be! Here are a few strategies that will help you in your battle against fleas:
- Vacuum the house regularly
Mechanical cleaning (physically removing the fleas from the environment) is the mainstay of environmental flea control. Vacuuming the whole house (especially your pet’s favourite areas) will suck up the majority of the flea eggs, larvae and pupae in the environment. A vacuum with a motorised brush will be especially effective. To really get things under control, you need to vacuum at least twice weekly to pick up fleas before they have a chance to develop into adults. Make sure to dispose of your bag in the bin to prevent any flea escape. - Wash the pet’s bedding
To kill any eggs and larvae in your pet’s bedding, soak them in hot water for at least 10 minutes, then run them through the washing machine on  the hot cycle. It’s probably best if you wash these separately to your regular wash. - Block off access to flea-friendly areas
Shaded, moist sandy areas are heaven for fleas. If your pet has a hangout in a garden, under the house or anywhere else similar, you will have a hard time getting rid of fleas because every time they lie down in their favourite spot they will get re-infested. Fencing off areas like these is the simplest way to avoid this problem. - Chemical measures (optional)
The above three measures should go a long way to reducing your environmental contamination. However, if you have a really severe problem, or a complicated problem, chemical treatment of your house and possibly garden may help get things under control. This is a complicated subject and worth its own post. For now I will just mention that there are chemical sprays and foggers available which can be of benefit if used correctly.
It can be easy to focus on the fleas on the pet and forget about the ones in the environment. After all, that’s where you see the itching and scratching. But if you do that, it will take you months and months to get things under control (if at all). If left to their own devices, those flea eggs and larvae will continue to develop into adults and keep infesting your pet. If you have a flea problem, make sure that you are diligent in cleaning the environment and success will happen much more quickly.
Posted in flea treatment | 
Tags: environmental flea control, flea control, flea problem, flea treatment
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