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You found fleas on your Garfy and your Goofy and you manage to get rid of the fleas on them. Well, I really hate to be the bearer of bad news but if your Garfy & Goofy are indoor pets, then I'm afraid you are in for a battle. The battle against fleas!
Ask any pet owners and you would get an exasperated look on them.
This is no doubt an uphill task that any pet owners would frown upon. While it is just not quite possible to give your house a bath just like you did to your dogs and cats, there are however things that you can do to remove those unwanted pests from your house. It's time consuming and tedious but if you want to remove them completely, there is just no other easier way.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can get rid of flea in your house.
 
Step 1
Cleaning of the house is of utmost importance. Start by frequent vacuuming of the house paying attention to dark areas like underneath the carpet whereby fleas will lay their eggs. It is estimated that vacuuming can remove as much as 50% of the flea eggs. The vibration from vacuuming can result in the emergence of adult fleas from the larvae stage. The newly hatched fleas are then vacuumed up before they could even meet you or your pets! .
Take Note: the one reason why people failed in this attempt is because they did not throw away each vacuum bag after each vacuuming. Never keep bags for next use as this will enable the eggs sucked into the bags to hatch and start the multiplication process all over again.
However, In this case, you can either soak your carpet in hot water or send it for steam-cleaning.
Step 2
Next, target the pet's bedding and carpet. Note that vacuuming is not particularly effective in removing the flea larvae in carpets. Larvae will wrap themselves around the base of the carpet fibres and hang on tight to it. In this case, wash them and soak in hot soapy water or throw them into the hot dryer. Sending these for steam cleaning is another alternative. The flea eggs, larvae and cocoon are all sensitive to heat and hence will be killed off by the hot treatment. Treating the carpets and bedding with a flea spray may be necessary and Adams Flea & Carpet spray is a good buy as it contains Nylar which is a growth inhibitor which will interrupt with the life-cycle of fleas, keeping their population down.
Sprinkling of borax powder onto carpets kills fleas as well but tend to be a bit messy. However, there is a commercially available product known as Fleabusters Rx for Fleas Plus  which has been reported to be extremely effective . This product contains a unique form of borax that lasts for up to a year in carpets or upholstery.
Step 3
In severe Flea infestation, the only alternative may be the use of flea bomb or flea fogger which is effective in killing off a large number of the fleas in the entire room or house. This is best planned for just before you leave for a vacation as you would need to vacate the house for at least several hours as the house is being fumigated. Make sure that you that keep your four footed babies out of the house as well and cover any fish tanks. You definitely do not want the chemicals to settle in the water killing your fish as well.
There are plenty of flea bomb or flea fogger available in the market but I would recommend that you choose one that is the least toxic. Pyrethrins is a natural product and considered safe to use. Flea fogger or flea bomb though effective may not be able to reach floor cracks. Using the flea fogger together with the spray treatment would be more complete and effective. Available products include:
Adams Room Fogger
Virbac Knockout Fogger
Frontline Spray
Because flea cocoon are hard to kill with insecticides, an additional follow-up treatment is usually needed 7 to 10 days after the first application.
As in all recommended flea treatment, the treatment program has to be repeated consistently for as long as a year before you can safely declared your house or home as free of fleas. Some people who have not detect any fleas after treatment tend to be contended with the results and will stop all control measures only to be confronted with the same pesky problem all over again in a few months time. Therefore, the key importance here is in maintaining a diligent effort to repeat the house flea control treatment program as listed above every few months in order to see a lasting effect.
 
The outdoor environment (if available) need to be treated as well. This would generally include the yard, garden and kennel areas where fleas are most likely to occur. In treating outdoor environment, I would not encourage the use of chemical flea spray as recommended in indoor flea control as these chemicals may be toxic to birds as well. Hence always use an environmentally friendly or safe product. Diatomaceous earth (DE) or the use of live Nematodes would be a good choice.
Diatomaceous earth as flea killer
Diatomaceous earth is a naturally occurring substances made up of crushed fossils of freshwater organisms or marine life. Insects like the fleas have a waxy coat which helps to prevent water loss through the body surface. What the diatomaceous earth does is that it slices through the coat of the fleas and as such causing dehydration and eventually causes death of the fleas, larvae and eggs.
There are various grade available in the market:
1. Horticulture grade
2. Food grade
3. Pool filtering DE
Don't buy the pool filtering DE as these have been pre-heated and not quite suitable for our home-de flea purpose.
However, safe as it might be, care must be taken not to inhale or let the DE get into the eyes as it may causes irritation to the airways and eyes. As DE is inactive in presence of water, it's more suited for use on dry walks, dry decks, dry patios, dry lawns. Simply sprinkle the Diatomaceous (DE) powder onto these areas.
Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy  contains DE as its major ingredient and as mentioned, is non-toxic and odourless and results can be seen in just a few days time. This product can also be used indoor as well as on pets and has come highly recommended by many people who have experience success with its use.
Nematodes as flea killer
Another natural flea control method is the use of Nematodes. These beneficial microscopic worms, alias "killer roundworm" may be simplest answer to the blood sucking pest that infest your home, backyard and gardens. Use of these flea killing Nematodes are more appropriate for moist, shady spots.
These Nematodes prey on the larvae and cocoon of the fleas as well as those of over 250 other harmful insects like peach tree borers, roaches and possibly termites and are known to be able to kill fleas within 48 hours. They are however harmless to beneficial insects, birds and mammals, hence preserving the natural ecosystem of your yard and garden.
Available in commercially pack-size, they just simply need to be mixed with water and then sprayed across your yard and garden covering a large area in a short time.
Nematodes are available from Gardens-Alive through a mail order.
An effective outdoor flea control program would involved repeating the procedures every 2-3 weeks for at least 6 weeks and thereafter every 4-6 weeks in order to maintain a flea free environment.
In Natural Flea control, we will cover more on the use of natural products to control fleas infestation