Fleas typically get inside the home by hitching a ride onto the family pet. Once inside they can become a serious nuisance and can cause harm to you and your loved ones. Fleas are blood sucking insects that primarily prey on your pets, this would include your dog or your cat. If the house is infested with fleas, you will find yourself with small bite marks coming from the fleas. So, before your house becomes completely covered with this pest, how do you find them?
Where To Find Fleas In Your House
Fleas are incredibly small insects. They are about an eighth of an inch long and are hard to see unless there is an entire infestation. It takes a keen eye to find them and even then, they may be hard to spot. Fleas will take shelter within the same areas your pet may like to lay down. These spots of the home include:
- Carpets
- Bedding
- Furniture (couch, chairs, etc)
Make sure to sweep or vacuum your home often. Vacuum your carpets and rugs as well as cushions on chairs and sofas. Be sure to empty the vacuum bag outside when finished. Clean bedding, especially pet bedding, frequently with soap and water. Pet bedding is a flea hotspot, make sure to do a thorough cleaning of all their areas around the house.
When vacuuming the home, if fleas have proven to be an issue in the past it doesn’t hurt to put a flea color in your vacuum. This allows you to vacuum your home and kill any fleas who may be so unfortunate to be sucked up.
Fleas Outside Your Home
Fleas prefer areas with very limited sun exposure. If they are out in the sun for too long it may prove fatal, so many times they can be found in shaded areas of your yard. Ways to limit the number of fleas finding a way onto your property are listed below:
Mowing your yard frequently allows for soil to be more visible to the sun. Fleas don’t like the direct sunlight, so they won’t expose themselves. Fleas also like tall grass because it helps protect them from the sun.
Avoiding over-watering your lawn. Fleas prefer a more humid environment, so keeping the yard dry makes it less inviting.
Raking thoroughly to remove any debris is a suggested solution to help limit the number of fleas getting onto your family pet. Raking the yard more will help increase fleas to sunlight and will get rid of any other shaded areas they may enjoy.
Keeping rodents and other animals away from the home will help deter flea activity within your home. The more rodents that are sneaking through cracks and crevices within your home will be bringing with them flea activity.
Fleas are not a pleasant pest to have in your home. If you aren’t sure if you are facing fleas or any other pests, contact us for a free inspection.