How do I get rid of fleas from my home? My dog brought them in. I tried to use Frontline on her for a few months (didn't work), then I recently switched her to a new medication. While it seems to work on her, there are fleas in my apt room now. I used a flea fogger in my room and the living room, washed my sheets and her bedding, vaccuumed... but nothing seems to be helping. I haven't seen any fleas but I can feel things crawling on me!!! Eek. Am I paranoid?

Are you getting bitten? Or is there other visual evidence of fleas? Check your dog really closely to see if you see any fleas. If so, you may need to fog again.

I use a spray (from the vet, these supermarket sprays are useless) called Acclaim. Basically, shut the cats out of the room, spray everywhere, leave it for twenty minutes and that's it. No more fleas.

Get an oral flea medication for your dog (comfortis or trifexis). Either one works wonders, made by the same manufacturer.. but Trifexis is also a heart worm/flea tablet all in one. I haven't seen a flea since we started over a year ago.

You've done everything you could for your apt.. flea bomb, wash all sheets. (Which is what we also did when our family dog had a flea infestation years ago at my parents house). Unless you're getting bit still and you see them jumping around.. I think you're good!

Thanks. She takes Comfortis and her body does not have fleas. I am not getting bitten but I feel things crawling on me while I'm in bed. Maybe I'm paranoid...

Could be a lot of different things crawling.

Raid makes a flea killing carpet powder like those carpet deodorizers. Sprinkle it over the carpet, wait a few minutes, then vacuum.

If they're in the bedding, that powder won't help and the foggers might not penetrate. But if you're not getting itchy bites, they may not be fleas either. Maybe ants?

There are also products to treat the soil around the perimeter of the house.

Flease do NOT like clean things. As a general rule, they will only stick around in dirty carpet or unwashed linens because they don't like detergent and clean-smelling things. Most people who have had pets bring fleas into a home find them to be very short-lived, and your fogging and washing likely took care of any that chose to stay. But I agree it is very hard to get rid of the psychological creepy-crawly feeling that comes with knowing they were there.

i think you're probably being a bit paranoid at this point. which is understandable since they give people the heebie jeebies. i'm not sure you'd actually feel them if they were crawling on you?

if you haven't noticed them on your dog anymore then you're probably fine. but if you feel like they're still around you could probably call a pest control place? the fogger really should have killed them all.

Just in case, if your vacuum cleaner has bags, throw out the bag after each timeyou vacuum, otherwise fleas love to live in them and you will only spread them more each time you vacuum.

if it was serious i'd call in the pest control. otherwise aggressive cleaning and vaccuming several times a week plus regular washing. and do you know where your pet got it from? don't let it go there again. it's really tedious but it will pay off eventually.

I would clean your vacuum cleaner with Clorox wipes and empty the bag each time you use it. Mop all floors with Dr . Bonner 's peppermint soap when you mop. Essencial oils like wintergreen and eucalyptus can help organically with no harm to you or your pet.

Make a spray bottle with 1/2 teaspoon Eucalyptus Oil and 10-12 ounces of water, shake and spray your carpet, pet bedding (wash it first in hot water), and spray all over the house that fleas will hide or live in. Fleas hate the smell of eucalyptus. Spray a few times a week and shake the bottle before spraying. I am not sure if Dr. Bonner's castile soap may come in Eucalyptus scent, but if it does I think it will work well.

Eucalyptus sachets (made from their branches cut into small pieces and put in sachet bags) from craft supply stores can be placed under beds and furniture, behind your pet,s bed and on the floors. They last a few months.

Wintergreen oil spray: will not kill fleas but kills their eggs before they will hatch and should be used once every 2-3 months. Use 1/2 teaspoon wintergreen essensial oil and a 12 ounce spray bottle and spray where you think fleas live. You can also wash the floor with this too.

Orange essencial oil mixed with pet shampoo with help get rids of fleas. Next to impossible to wash a cat.


You can also sprinkle 3 cups of diatomaceous earth and 1/2 cup boric acid in your carpet and under furniture, rake it in with a broom and then vacuum it up in two to three days. USE a mask so you don't breath in the dust from this. Use as much mixture as you might need.

Salt sprinkled on carpet and raked in then vacuum it up in two to three days is supposed to work too.

I also think a hot steam cleaning with essencial oil added to the water would work but it would need to be done with a carpet cleaner you own and not the rented ones since the rented ones can bring fleas into your home, most are too discusting to use since the stores that rent them do not clean them after other people return them.

Flea trap to see if you have fleas and it does work since we used it in our apt. in Florida that had fleas from cats the previous owners had.
Put a large shallow bowl filled with soapy water on the floor/carpet. I use dishwashing soap. Put a desk lamp light above the bowl (25 watt light). At night the fleas will go towards the light and jump in the bowl and drown. You can do this to check for fleas or do it to catch fleas every night. It is a good way to know if you still have fleas.

I personally rather do things without chemicals in my home and am in love with Dr. Bonner's castile soap for cleaning my house top to bottom. I do feel the different essensial oils can help with so many things. You can buy them in any health food store and sometimes drug and grocery stores. Also online.
Good luck.

I would also spray the enterances to your house and even the yard with a soap and essencial oil spray in a lawn sprayer thing, this itself helps get rid of other pests too.

Good luck.

Food grade diatomaceous earth.
It can be a bit messy, because it's a fine powder like flour or pixie dust so like others have said, a mask is a good idea.
However, DE is all natural, edible, and it works. (get the food grade DE so you know it is not treated with a chemical like the DE for pool filters)

You can rub DE right onto the animals skin and fur. (Yes, they will shake right after you do this, so applying DE outside might help the mess factor)
You can sprinkle DE into your carpet and pet bedding. Let sit for a day or so to kill adult fleas. Then vacuum and dust...for a few days

It's very handy stuff to have around the house and garden.

There is thing you can do with Borax. You sprinkle it all over the carpet, let it sit (for a day or so, as I recall) and vacuum it up. I think you repeat. I did this years ago. You can probably find the instructions online. The Borax dries them up and their shells break and they die or something like that.
I use Advantage on my cats and have no fleas now.

and, yes, if you don't see fleas or flea dirt, you maybe just paranoid

Great advice, everyone!! Thanks so much

Is it possible that you have bedbugs? Do you travel? Do you live in a big city? Fleas are easy to see.