Flea Control In Murfreesboro, TN
Do you know that the fleas on your pets only make about 5% of the total fleas in your house? Shocking right? Flea eggs and larvae can hide deep in your carpets, furniture, pets’ beds, pet toys, baseboards, and all shady areas around the house. Your pets are majorly the victims of flea attacks, but this doesn’t mean they don’t infect humans too. Fleas transmit heartworms, bacterial infections, and tapeworms. Tapeworms may occasionally affect people as well.
Your pets (dogs and cats) are the carriers of adult fleas. These pests feed on blood, consuming about 15 times their own weight in blood daily with adult fleas capable of laying up to 50 eggs daily. Once flea signs are ignored, an infestation becomes inevitable. Flea infestations are difficult to deal with, so the sooner you spring into action, the safer your pets, family, home, and yard.
HOW TO PREVENT AND CONTROL FLEA INFESTATION
Pet care:
- Wash your pets using pet shampoo containing pyrethrin (a chrysanthemum flower extract)
- Use a flea comb to comb out fleas in pest and ensure you have hot soapy water nearby. This kills the insects.
- Use flea preventive on your pest every month and stop those fleas from attaching themselves to your pest.
- If you prefer natural remedies, make a watery mixture of rosemary leaves and water and spray on your dog. You can also add the mix to water and soak and rinse your dog with it.
- Wash pet beddings and stuffing thoroughly to prevent fleas from jumping back on your pets.
- Wash all pet toys too, as these might be carriers of fleas. Soak and wash in hot soapy water. It kills fleas and their eggs.
House care:
- Sweep wood floors and tiles and vacuum clean carpets, rugs, and furniture, paying adequate attention to your baseboards and shaded areas in your house. This helps to remove eggs, pupae, and larvae out of your carpets and furniture.
- Dispose of vacuum bags after vacuuming, as pupae will hatch inside the bag because of vibrations caused by your vacuum.
- Mop floors after vacuuming. Fleas love dark places, so make sure you pay attention to shady areas as well to eliminate fleas and their eggs.
- Use chemical treatments and insecticides, preferably Aerosol spray. Direct it under beds, on carpets, rugs, upholsteries, sofa cushions, furniture, and places a fogger may not reach. Pay attention to where your pets spend most of their time. Choose insecticides that contain both adulticide that kills adult fleas and insect growth regulator that effectively eliminates eggs, larvae, and pupae. Ensure everyone is out of the house when you spray, and no person or pet should come in contact with sprayed surfaces until it is dried.
- Use steam cleaner for your upholstery, carpets, rugs, pet beds, and so on. The combination of heat and soap eliminates fleas in every stage.
Yard care:
- Mow lawns and rake exposed surfaces regularly.
- Remove dirt such as dead leaves and sticks from flower pots, beds, under bushes, and expose much of the shady areas to sunlight.
- Spread cedar chips on areas where your pet lies down the most.
- You can also spread nematodes (small worms that eat parasites) and Sulphur granules around your compounds to help kill fleas.
- You can plant flea repellant plants around your home. Some plants carry chemicals and oils that fleas hate and would altogether avoid your yard if they are planted around your home in flower beds and pots. Examples of these plants include lavender, chrysanthemums, pennyroyal, and spearmint.
- Discourage feral pets and wildlife such as feral cats, raccoons, and opossums from coming close to your yards. These are flea carriers and can drop off eggs and larvae on your property, which you or your pet can help transport into the house. Avoid leaving dog or cat food outside as these help in attracting them into your yard.
- Spray your surroundings. Kill fleas before they gain access to your home through your shoes or pets. A repeat spray treatment after 3-4 weeks of the initial treatment will ensure that these insects are effectively eliminated from your home.
Flea infestations are usually challenging to totally get rid of, once you succeed in eliminating every one of them, adequately ensure you prevent them from coming back in!
Contact Us
Absolute Pest Control is dedicated to making your home safe for you family. If you have a question about pests or any other pest problem, please call us at 615-220-1933 or click HERE to email us. We service most of Middle Tennessee including Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and LaVergne.