Flea Control

It's amazing the amount of crap that we as pet owners have to deal with. I've had a pair of cats for about 7 years now and in February I got my first puppy. With my cats, as they are strictly indoor animals, I've never had to worry about controlling fleas. However, now that I have a dog who needs to be taken outside 374 times a day, flea control is foremost on my mind. I say this because my bulldog, Gladys, comes into contact with numerous dogs on our walks and meanders through all types of ground cover. What this means is that she is supplied with endless opportunities to pick up fleas. And if Gladys gets fleas, I can bet my ass that my cats are gonna get 'em too. So, along with worrying about flea control for dogs, I must now, after going through seven years with relative peace of mind on the matter, also worry about flea control for cats.

While there are over 2,500 species of fleas (order Siphonaptera) found worldwide, most of us only really give a fat turd about two of them: cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) and dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis). Actually, the dog flea really only deserves a little turd. Turns out, roughly 90% of all flea infestations in North America are cat flea infestations. Keep in mind, however, that just because we named them cat fleas doesn't mean they'll only parasitize cats. They don't know they're called cat fleas. Even if they did, they wouldn't care. Cat fleas can be found on cats, dogs, humans, coons, skunks, squirrels, and other rodents. The same goes for dog fleas. Luckily for you, it doesn't matter which type you're dealing with. Treatment is the same for both, which is good since they're pretty difficult to distinguish. All you need to be able to do is identify the little bastards as fleas. These little ectoparasites are about 1/8th of an inch long, dark colored, narrow bodied, wingless, and have piercing mouthparts for taking blood meals. Generally, after a flea has taken a blood meal, a small, red, itchy bump emerges at the site of entry. This is usually the worst thing that will happen. Sometimes, however, animals who are allergic will lose hair and develop hotspots or flea allergy dermatitis (a very itchy and unpleasant skin condition). To make matters worse, fleas often carry tapeworm. Granted, an infected flea must be ingested for transfer to occur. But, since animals groom themselves on a fairly regular basis, it's not uncommon. Humans can get this tapeworm too, so be careful not to accidentally eat a flea. In cases of very severe flea infestations, especially with young animals, severe blood loss, anemia, and even death can occur. And now for the moment you've all been waiting for: Yes! Fleas can carry the plague. It is extremely rare (about a dozen cases a year in the U.S.) but it happens. Anyway, that paragraph was far longer than I intended, so let's start learning how to get rid of fleas.

Behavioral Control: Gain a measure of flea protection with simple changes in routine

Avoid fleas by giving your dogs and cats brewer's yeast and apple cider vinegar. Both of these products are natural flea repellents that work to repel fleas by making your pets taste bad. The natural flea repellent, brewer's yeast, supplies your critter with lots of vitamin B1, which is what does the actual repelling. Brewer's yeast for pets is available at most pet stores and is often mixed with a bit of garlic, which is also good for repelling fleas. Apple cider vinegar added to your pet's water (1 Tbsp for dogs, 1 tsp for cats) works in much the same way. These are not perfect flea control methods and won't take care of a major flea infestation, but there's a good chance that the simple act of adding these things to your pets' food and drink will help you avoid that infestation to begin with.

Make flea removal easier for yourself by switching your pet's bedding. When I say switching, I mean a couple different things. First, switch the type of bedding you use. Only use pet bedding that is easily washable (towels, blankets, beds with removable cases, etc.). Second, keep several sets so you can switch dirty bedding for clean bedding at least twice a week. As soon as the dirty bedding has been removed, wash it. Hot water and laundry detergent are both good flea killers. Washing your pet's bedding is extremely important for pet flea control because flea eggs are not sticky. When they are laid on your pet, most of them will fall off. Many of them will fall onto your pet's favorite resting spots. If you do use towels/blankets, fold them in at the corners so the flea eggs stay on them and don't spill to the floor.

Quit luring unwelcome flea bags to your yard. Many people bring fleas into their yards by leaving food outside. When food is left out, other critters that carry cat fleas and dog fleas are inadvertently lured into the vicinity. This includes, but is not limited to, other cats and dogs, skunks, raccoons, opossums, and squirrels. Stop leaving pet food out at night, put garbage cans in stands so they can't be tipped over, secure the lids of garbage cans even after they're in a stand, pick up fallen fruit from trees, quit feeding the birds, and switch your old compost pile over to a new enclosed system.

Habitat Control: Ain't nothing wrong with being a home wrecker

Start controlling fleas by mowing your lawn. This is a good strategy if you already have them and are working on getting rid of fleas, are trying to avoid flea reinfestations, or if you simply want to avoid initial flea infestations. Because fleas prefer cool, moist places to lay their eggs, it's a good idea to keep your lawn cut short. Short grass allows far more sunlight to come in to dry out the soil. Water sparingly too. If you must water, substitute frequent shallow waterings for infrequent deep waterings.

Kill fleas by lowering indoor humidity. Fleas are quite susceptible to desiccation. Take advantage of this, if you can, by lowering the relative humidity of your home to below 50%. In some areas this is not possible. In others, however, it can be done fairly easily. Get a few dehumidifiers, run the air conditioners, fix any leaky pipes or drippy faucets, and make sure there are no drafts coming in around doors and windows.

Use aromatic cedar chips for pet bed stuffing. Cedar chips are another natural flea repellent. Since fleas and flea eggs are found in such abundance around pet beds, it's a good idea to repel them from those areas. This is helpful because pets often spend much of their time in their beds. If fleas are there too, that just gives them all the more time to suck your pet dry, lay eggs like crazy, and make flea treatment for cats and dogs even more difficult.

Physical Controls: Flea exclusion

Barring fleas from your home and your pets. Unless you plan on erecting a force field around your house, dogs, and cats, there aren't too many things you can do to exclude fleas. What you can do, however, is keep out the critters that carry the fleas. I'm not saying you should lock your cats and dogs outside. No, I'm saying you should be making sure that other flea carriers like rats, racoons, skunks, possums, and squirrels can't get inside with their little hitchhiker friends. To do this, block any entrances that critters might use to get under your house, into your crawlspaces, under the porch or deck, into garages, or into soffits and attics. For further information on how this might be accomplished, check out our pages on the individual critters.

Mechanical control: Killing fleas without chemicals, natural or otherwise

Control flea populations with the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum is one of the best weapons you have for flea pest control. With it, you can suck up adult fleas, flea eggs, cocoons, and even some of the larval fleas. The vibrations made by the vacuum cleaner can even coax young adult fleas out of their cocoons so they, too, can be sucked into oblivion. Vacuuming also reduces “flea dirt.” Flea dirt is the name given to the partially digested blood that fleas poop out for their larvae to eat. Vacuum at least once a day to rapidly and dramatically reduce the size of your flea infestation. Make sure to vacuum everywhere. By everywhere, I mean carpets, hardwoods, closets, behind baseboards, vents, furniture, under furniture, linoleum, and anywhere else you can stick a vacuum or a vacuum hose.

Steam is an effective flea killer. Hot steam works well for killing adult fleas, larval fleas, and even some flea eggs. Go to the hardware store, grocery store, rental store, or anywhere else that rents steam cleaners, rent one, and let the flea extermination party begin.

The flea comb is your best friend. Whether you have fleas on dogs or fleas on cats, a good flea comb is essential for getting rid of fleas. The only difference between a flea comb and a regular come is that the teeth on a flea comb are much closer together. Close enough, in fact, that it is impossible for fleas to fit between them and escape back into your pet's fur when combing. Comb your pet everyday, grab fleas that are collected by the comb, and drop them into a bowl of soapy water to drown them. Not only is this good for reducing a flea infestation and making your pet a little less itchy, it's also a good way for you to monitor your flea extermination progress.

Control fleas with flea traps. Flea traps, whether you make your own or purchase one (I recommend the Victor Ultimate Flea Trap), work quite well for reducing flea populations. Since heat is one of the things fleas are attracted to, that's what flea traps use for bait. Pretty much every flea trap is outfitted with a small lightbulb as a source of heat that is situated over something sticky. Fleas hop over to the heat, jump up towards it, land on the sticky, and perish. If you don't want to purchase a flea trap, make your own by suspending a low watt lightbulb six to eight inches above a shallow dish/pan filled with soapy water. Flea traps will not completely take care of a flea infestation, but they definitely help to reduce populations and monitor success.

Biological Control: Natural flea control for dogs and cats

Use pyrethrins as a natural flea killer. Pyrethrins are by far the most popularly used natural flea product for cat flea treatment and dog flea treatment. Flea products with pyrethrins are, in fact, equally as popular as most chemical treatments. Why? Because they work. Pyrethrins are insecticides that are derived from certain chrysanthemum flowers and can be used in a number of different types of flea treatments including flea shampoos, flea sprays, flea powders, flea drops, flea bombs, etc., and they start killing fleas immediately. The downside to pyrethrins is that they cause allergic reactions in cats. So, no pyrethrins for kitty. There is, however, a synthetic pyrethrin (known as a pyrethroid) called etofenprox that that works very well and is safe for kitty.

Limonene and linalool are also good organic flea control substances. These little gems of the flea control world are (or can be) derived from citrus oils. Limonene always is, but linalool can sometimes be taken from various plants, flowers, and spices. The beauty of both of these essential oils is that they kill fleas in all stages of development. Limonene and linalool, like pyrethrins, are available in a bundle of different application types. Once important difference is that limonene and linalool are safe to use for both cats and dogs.

Kill fleas with diatomaceous earth. DE would be my number one choice for an organic flea powder. This stuff is nothing more than ground-up small fossilized diatoms. They work because they are just sharp enough to Freddy Krueger-ize little insect bodies. Once the fleas get a little cut up, they dehydrate and die. DE can be rubbed directly into your pet's coat to start killing fleas. It should also be used all over the floors, furniture, and wherever else your pet likes to hang, inside or out. When sprinkling this stuff around, get everywhere or it won't work. This includes carpets, cracks in hardwood, under furniture, on furniture, in closets, and, well, everywhere. While DE is quite safe, you should still where a mask when spreading.

Exterminate fleas with boric acid. Boric acid, or Borax, as it is commonly sold, has long been used as a natural flea treatment. Boric acid comes from the mineral borate and acts as both a desiccant and as a mild stomach poison for fleas and other insects. Kill fleas with boric acid by sprinkling it all over the floors. Use a light dusting for hard floors and a moderate dusting for carpeted. After sprinkling it on carpets, it's a good idea to go over them with a push broom to work the stuff down in so it can take out the flea larvae. Vacuum the floors between two and 24 hours later. The longer you let the stuff sit, the better.

Use insecticidal soap for outdoor flea control. For those outdoor areas that stay a little cooler and a little moister, and for those spots where your pets prefer to lie down for a doze, insecticidal soap should be applied. Insecticidal soap kills insects by blocking spiracles, which cuts off respiration and by causing the collapse of cell membranes. When the membranes collapse, the flea's juices flow out causing the flea to dehydrate and die. Look for Safer brand insecticidal soap.

Let nematodes control fleas for you out in the yard. Beneficial nematodes (little living wormy things) can be purchased online and at select pet and garden stores and do a fine job of killing larval and pupal fleas. Because there are a number of different species of nematodes that take care of a variety of different insects, make certain to specify to whomever is helping you that you want nematodes that will kill fleas. Either that or read the label and/or product description. They'll tell ya. Once you have your nematodes, spray them onto the yard. Concentrate on dark, damp, moist areas as well as your pet's favorite outdoor resting spots.

Chemical Control: Popular and effective flea control products

Control fleas with spot-on flea treatments. In my humble opinion, spot-on flea control products are the best flea control products available. In general, these products are applied directly to your pet's skin for cat flea control or dog flea control. Application for most brands goes a little something like this: the fur is parted and the product is applied between the shoulder blades and along the spine to the base of the tail. Simple. It is then carried over your pet's entire skin surface with natural skin oil, is absorbed into the oil glands, and is slowly exuded for long-term flea protection. As far as brands go, look for Frontline Plus, Frontline Top Spot, Bio Spot, K9 Advantix, Advantage, or Zodiac. I would go into the active ingredients for each one individually, but I truly don't think you care. Just know that most of them contain both an adulticide and an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) for optimal flea-killing prowess. If you want to know a little something more about a particular one, shoot me an email and I'll get back to you. Always make sure you get the proper dosage for your pet's size and species.

Treat fleas with an oral flea control product. A few of the more notable oral flea stoppers are Capstar flea control, Program Flavor Tabs, and Sentinel Flavor Tabs. Capstar kills fleas with an adulticide called nitenpyram, and Program and Sentinel kill fleas with lufenuron, an Insect Development Inhibitor (IDI) that disrupts reproduction and chitin production.

Kill fleas with a flea control spray designed for direct use on your pet. Flea sprays are a very common (and usually much cheaper) alternative to spot-on or oral flea control products. Many of them contain pyrethrins or some other adulticide and/or an IGR or IDI for disrupting growth and reproduction of fleas. Consider brands like Bio Spot Flea and Tick Spray, Adam's Flea & Tick Mist, or Zodiac Flea & Tick Spray.

Exterminate fleas with sprays and powders designed for use in the house or yard (not on your pet). If you want to know how to kill fleas properly, let me let you in on a little secret: treating the animal is not enough. If you have a flea infestation, I promise you they, their eggs, and their larvae are also in your yard, in your house, in your carpet, and on your furniture. These areas need to be treated too. Look for sprays like Precor, Ultracide, or Zodiac FleaTrol that contain active ingredients like the IGR's methoprene, pyriproxyen, or malathion. The IGRs in these flea sprays are frequently coupled with a pyrethrin or pyrethroid or with linalool or limonene. The powders/dusts? Same thing, different dispersal method.