Fleas (or fleas) and ticks in your home can be very annoying, and if not treated properly, these animals will keep coming back. To get rid of fleas and ticks properly, you'll need to handle your pets, wash and clean everything, and treat the inside and outside of your home to keep fleas and ticks from coming back. Although ticks don't visit your house as often as fleas do, tick infestations can still occur. This animal invasion must be handled quickly and efficiently because ticks can carry disease. Fleas and ticks usually enter the house by attaching to pets or other animals that enter the house. So, one of the best ways to prevent their invasion is to protect your pet from attack by these insects.
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Part 1 of 2: Getting Rid of Fleas and Ticks in the House
Step 1. Take care of your pet
If you find fleas or ticks in your home, chances are there are other fleas hiding in your dog, cat, or other pet. Bathe pets using a special shampoo designed to kill fleas and ticks:
- Bathe your pet in the tub, sink, or outdoors until the fur is wet.
- Apply shampoo and spread the shampoo all over the hair while massaging it.
- Allow the shampoo to soak into the coat (read the directions on the package to see how long it will take).
- Rinse out the shampoo stuck to the pet's hair.
Step 2. Remove ticks from pets
If a tick gets into your pet's skin, you need to get rid of it immediately. If you don't like doing this, talk to your vet. Some ways to get rid of ticks include:
- Take gloves and tweezers. Put on the gloves.
- Look for the tick and use tweezers to pinch it. Pinch the tick near the head as close to the pet's skin as possible. Do not squeeze the tick near the stomach.
- Pinch the tick firmly with tweezers and pull the tick away from the pet's skin.
Step 3. Wash everything
Wash clothes, fabrics, sheets, towels, and even toys in hot water, and set the washing machine to do a high soil level wash. Set the dryer setting in your washing machine to the highest level so that your washing and drying process kills any fleas, ticks, and larvae that may be hiding.
Don't forget to wash your pet's bowls and water troughs, as well as any objects that could harbor adult fleas and larvae
Step 4. Vacuum the entire house with a vacuum cleaner
Once all items are removed and placed in the washer, vacuum the entire house and make sure you have vacuumed all the nooks and crannies. When you're done, immediately throw away the vacuum bag you used because tick larvae can live in it.
Step 5. Spray your home with insecticide
You can use an aerosol spray or powder such as Ultracide, Permethrin, Onslaught, or Bifen which are designed to kill fleas and ticks. You can also use a pyrethrin-based pesticide. However, make sure you use an insecticide that contains growth-killing ingredients to prevent insects from multiplying. Make sure all people and pets are outside, and wear protective equipment such as masks and gloves.
- Start at the front of the house and work your way up to the door. Focus on areas where pets often play.
- Apply insecticidal spray or powder to floors, carpets, pillows, rugs above and below, over and under furniture, curtains, window sills, non-washable pet beds, baseboards (wood on the underside of walls), and any gaps and fissures that fleas and ticks can use to hide.
- Ask everyone to leave the house until the spray dries or the powder settles.
Step 6. Give a desiccant (material or substance that can absorb moisture)
When the insecticide spray has dried, apply a desiccant to dry and kill insects and arachnids and their eggs. Focus on areas where pets frequently roam, behind and under baseboards, rugs and carpets, behind doors and foundries, and in all nooks, cracks, and crevices. Some good desiccants for this purpose include:
- Evergreen Pyrethrum Concentrate
- Drione Dust
- Boric acid, which is great for killing eggs and larvae.
Step 7. Spray the outside of the house
If there are fleas or ticks living around the house, you should also deal with them. If you don't, the insect attack will keep repeating itself. Ticks often live in areas filled with plants, forests, and areas overgrown with tall grass. Fleas like shaded and damp areas, such as under trees and shrubs. Spray lawns, bushes, trees, sheds, fences, and play areas.
- You can use the same product you spray indoors to get rid of fleas and ticks outside.
- You may need to re-spray the pesticide outdoors regularly if you live in an area prone to infestation by fleas and ticks. Try spraying insecticide outdoors every 3 months to control pests.
Step 8. Vacuum, sweep and mop the entire house
Within 48 to 72 hours after you handle the house, clean everything again to get rid of dead fleas and ticks and their eggs.
Step 9. Repeat if necessary
Ideally, you only need to perform this action once. However, you may need to do some cleaning and spray insecticide several times to get rid of all the ticks and fleas that plague your home.
Part 2 of 2: Preventing Flea Invasion
Step 1. Protect your pet from fleas and ticks
Use a flea collar, spray, skin ointment, or flea soap to kill fleas and ticks on your pet. This can protect pets from getting fleas and disease, and protect the house from pests. Talk to your vet about the best product for your pet.
Step 2. Pay attention to pets when they enter and leave the house
Fleas and ticks usually hitchhike on pets to get into the house. So, keep an eye on your pets and observe when they enter and leave the house. Treat pets that have just been outside playing immediately, and keep them away from furniture (fleas and ticks can hide in upholstery and sofa cushions).
Step 3. Protect yourself
When you go to an area where there is a lot of fleas or ticks, wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck the hem of your pants into your socks and tuck your shirt into your pants at the waist. Spray yourself with an insect repellent containing DEET, and spray your clothes with an insect repellent containing permethrin.
Step 4. Get in the habit of vacuuming and cleaning the house frequently
Keep the house clean so that fleas, ticks, and other pests feel uncomfortable there.
Step 5. Keep grass and weeds short
Ticks and ticks like areas with dense plants, bushes, or tall grass. Therefore, it is recommended that you cut grass and weeds to a height of 8 cm or less, and prune any shrubs near your home.
Step 6. Get rid of attractants (things that attract insects) around the house
Get rid of anything that attracts fleas, ticks, and other animals that can carry fleas such as rats and birds. Some things that can also be an attractant are shrubs, plants, leaf litter, piles of wood, vines, bird feeders, and bird baths.
Step 7. Hang your clothes well above the ground and away from the forest area
Hanging clothes outside is an ideal way to dry them on a sunny day. However, if the clothes are dried in a place that is too close to the ground or too close to an area with lots of trees and grass, fleas and ticks can stick to the clothes.
Dry clothes by hanging them in an open area, away from trees and bushes
Step 8. Try to keep gardens and play areas from becoming pest habitats
Staying away from areas where fleas and ticks live can help you to prevent disease and infestation of ticks. This includes forest areas, areas with dense trees, or areas where there is a lot of shrubbery.
Keep your garden in an open area. Likewise with children's play areas, playgrounds, parks, gazebos, picnic tables, furniture on the terrace, and other places used for playing and gathering
Step 9. Close the entry point
Areas used as entry points by fleas, ticks, or tick-borne animals should be tightly closed. This includes ventilation, the area of the house under the terrace, the space under the floor of the house (crawl space), and other places used as entrances.
