Flea Treatment Prep
Before one of All Pest’s trained technicians arrives at your home to treat your home for fleas, you must perform the following tasks:
1. Remove all items from the floor of every room and closet, especially children’s toys, pet food and water bowls.
2. Remove all items under beds and furniture. Do not place items on upholstered furniture; the furniture must be treated. If pets sleep or lounge on beds, remove linens and launder in hot water; leave beds unmade.
3. Clean and thoroughly vacuum all areas paying special attention to areas where pets spend the majority of their time. Vacuum carpets, baseboards, all upholstered furniture, and areas pets frequent. Use a vacuum with both suction and a beater bar on carpeting. When finished, place vacuum bag inside a sealed plastic bag and discard.
4. Wash pet bedding or dispose in a sealed plastic bag.
5. Mop tile and hardwood floors.
6. Cover fish and reptile tanks and turn off air pump. Nearly all insecticides are extremely toxic to fish.
7. Put away or cover all exposed food.
8. Mow lawn a day or two before treatment.
9. Pick up children’s toys, pet toys, and other material in yard. Store where flea control products will not be applied. Outside, flea control products will be applied to the perimeter of the home, porches, patios, decks, and any areas pets frequent.
10. Take pets to a veterinarian for a systemic flea treatment, or purchase an over-the-counter systemic treatment and treat your pet yourself. This should be done prior to treatment of your home. The newer systemic treatments, including Program™, Advantage™, and Frontline™, are very effective and recommended. You may also elect to treat your pets yourself using one or more other over-the-counter products (sprays, shampoos, dusts, collars, etc.), but these products are not as effective as the systemic treatment, and will require a dedicated, long-term effort on your part.
Upon arrival at your home, your All Pest technician will review this list with you. If he does not feel that these steps have been adequately performed he may elect not to treat. We want to insure successful treatment the first time and the preparation before treatment is an extremely important element of the eradication program.
Once your technician has verified that your home is ready for treatment, he will ask you, your family, and your pets to leave the premises. You may return to your home in three to four hours, depending on drying conditions at the time of treatment. Upon your return, please verify that surfaces are dry; if accidentally you or your pet touches a still-wet surface simply wash the affected area. We recommend that food-surface areas, such as tables, counters, sinks, etc. be cleaned with a detergent or commercial cleaner, then dried with paper towels and the towels discarded. At this point you may resume normal activities.
Your technician will be applying a product which contains two adulticides and a larvacide. The adulticides provide quick knockdown and some residual effect against adult fleas. The IGR, by interfering with the molting process, prevents both eggs and larvae from maturing into sexually viable adult fleas. There are currently no approved products available to pest management professionals that kill pupae.
You should see an immediate reduction in the adult flea population. None of the pupae and few of the larvae will immediately be killed, however. As noted above, chemicals are unable to penetrate the pupal case; therefore, new adult fleas will continue to emerge from the pupal cases for the next several weeks. They will then be eventually killed by the residual effect of the adulticide present, or by the systemic chemical in your pet administered by your veterinarian. A few may survive and reproduce, but their eggs and larvae will not be viable due to the IGR present in your home
Larvae are generally found in protected areas – such as creases in upholstered furniture, deep in the pile of carpeting, etc. The larvae will not be immediately killed by the IGR, but the chemical interferes with the molting process and prevents their normal development, thus eliminating sexually viable adult fleas.
The day after your home is treated you must vacuum all floor surfaces and areas pets frequent and continue to vacuum all these areas at least every three days for a period of three weeks. Each time you have finished vacuuming, remove the vacuum bag, seal in a plastic bag, and discard. Although you may continue to see some fleas, as the days pass you will see fewer and fewer. Even if you are seeing no adult fleas you must continue to vacuum for the prescribed time. New adult fleas still in their pupal cases must be stimulated to emerge so that the chemicals can perform their intended function while they are still active. The importance of your efforts at post-treatment vacuuming cannot be over-emphasized.
You may continue to experience some flea activity for two weeks. While we understand that this may be disconcerting to you, we ask that you remain patient. In almost all cases, after two weeks flea activity will cease or be at a very low level. The IGR will continue to work, preventing fleas from reaching sexual maturity and the systemic insecticide you are using on your pet(s) will kill any other adult fleas breaking the life cycle.
Clients often mistakenly believe that removing pets from the premises will help to eradicate the infestation but this is not true. Cat fleas readily feed on humans perpetuating the infestation indefinitely. It is far more effective to treat your pets with one of the systemic products (described above) and allow your pets to frequent their normal living areas. Adult fleas feeding on your pets – their preferred hosts - will then die before they are able to lay eggs, breaking the life cycle.
To prevent future infestation, it is important to prevent the establishment of flea populations in the first place. This can best be accomplished by the following measures:
1. Keep your pets protected against fleas, either by systemic products prescribed by veterinarians and proven to be superior or by over-the-counter preventative treatments.
2. Keep pets away from feral cats and dogs which almost always harbor fleas and other parasitic organisms. Also keep pets away from wild animals.
3. Vacuum your home often, especially areas pets frequent. Good sanitation practices help to break the life-cycle of fleas as well as other household pests.
4. Wash or change pet bedding often.
5. Keep your lawn mowed short and brush/trees trimmed back away from the house. This prevents shady, humid conditions required for flea larvae.
6. Do not allow any wild animals – such as skunks, raccoons, squirrels, birds, mice, etc. – to nest or take up residence in, on, or near your home. Nearly all of these animals are infested with fleas of varying species.
An extremely informative article covering all aspects of fleas and their control may be found online at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/pdf/2081.pdf.
Revised 3/31/17
Before one of All Pest’s trained technicians arrives at your home to treat your home for fleas, you must perform the following tasks:
1. Remove all items from the floor of every room and closet, especially children’s toys, pet food and water bowls.
2. Remove all items under beds and furniture. Do not place items on upholstered furniture; the furniture must be treated. If pets sleep or lounge on beds, remove linens and launder in hot water; leave beds unmade.
3. Clean and thoroughly vacuum all areas paying special attention to areas where pets spend the majority of their time. Vacuum carpets, baseboards, all upholstered furniture, and areas pets frequent. Use a vacuum with both suction and a beater bar on carpeting. When finished, place vacuum bag inside a sealed plastic bag and discard.
4. Wash pet bedding or dispose in a sealed plastic bag.
5. Mop tile and hardwood floors.
6. Cover fish and reptile tanks and turn off air pump. Nearly all insecticides are extremely toxic to fish.
7. Put away or cover all exposed food.
8. Mow lawn a day or two before treatment.
9. Pick up children’s toys, pet toys, and other material in yard. Store where flea control products will not be applied. Outside, flea control products will be applied to the perimeter of the home, porches, patios, decks, and any areas pets frequent.
10. Take pets to a veterinarian for a systemic flea treatment, or purchase an over-the-counter systemic treatment and treat your pet yourself. This should be done prior to treatment of your home. The newer systemic treatments, including Program™, Advantage™, and Frontline™, are very effective and recommended. You may also elect to treat your pets yourself using one or more other over-the-counter products (sprays, shampoos, dusts, collars, etc.), but these products are not as effective as the systemic treatment, and will require a dedicated, long-term effort on your part.
Upon arrival at your home, your All Pest technician will review this list with you. If he does not feel that these steps have been adequately performed he may elect not to treat. We want to insure successful treatment the first time and the preparation before treatment is an extremely important element of the eradication program.
Once your technician has verified that your home is ready for treatment, he will ask you, your family, and your pets to leave the premises. You may return to your home in three to four hours, depending on drying conditions at the time of treatment. Upon your return, please verify that surfaces are dry; if accidentally you or your pet touches a still-wet surface simply wash the affected area. We recommend that food-surface areas, such as tables, counters, sinks, etc. be cleaned with a detergent or commercial cleaner, then dried with paper towels and the towels discarded. At this point you may resume normal activities.
Your technician will be applying a product which contains two adulticides and a larvacide. The adulticides provide quick knockdown and some residual effect against adult fleas. The IGR, by interfering with the molting process, prevents both eggs and larvae from maturing into sexually viable adult fleas. There are currently no approved products available to pest management professionals that kill pupae.
You should see an immediate reduction in the adult flea population. None of the pupae and few of the larvae will immediately be killed, however. As noted above, chemicals are unable to penetrate the pupal case; therefore, new adult fleas will continue to emerge from the pupal cases for the next several weeks. They will then be eventually killed by the residual effect of the adulticide present, or by the systemic chemical in your pet administered by your veterinarian. A few may survive and reproduce, but their eggs and larvae will not be viable due to the IGR present in your home
Larvae are generally found in protected areas – such as creases in upholstered furniture, deep in the pile of carpeting, etc. The larvae will not be immediately killed by the IGR, but the chemical interferes with the molting process and prevents their normal development, thus eliminating sexually viable adult fleas.
The day after your home is treated you must vacuum all floor surfaces and areas pets frequent and continue to vacuum all these areas at least every three days for a period of three weeks. Each time you have finished vacuuming, remove the vacuum bag, seal in a plastic bag, and discard. Although you may continue to see some fleas, as the days pass you will see fewer and fewer. Even if you are seeing no adult fleas you must continue to vacuum for the prescribed time. New adult fleas still in their pupal cases must be stimulated to emerge so that the chemicals can perform their intended function while they are still active. The importance of your efforts at post-treatment vacuuming cannot be over-emphasized.
You may continue to experience some flea activity for two weeks. While we understand that this may be disconcerting to you, we ask that you remain patient. In almost all cases, after two weeks flea activity will cease or be at a very low level. The IGR will continue to work, preventing fleas from reaching sexual maturity and the systemic insecticide you are using on your pet(s) will kill any other adult fleas breaking the life cycle.
Clients often mistakenly believe that removing pets from the premises will help to eradicate the infestation but this is not true. Cat fleas readily feed on humans perpetuating the infestation indefinitely. It is far more effective to treat your pets with one of the systemic products (described above) and allow your pets to frequent their normal living areas. Adult fleas feeding on your pets – their preferred hosts - will then die before they are able to lay eggs, breaking the life cycle.
To prevent future infestation, it is important to prevent the establishment of flea populations in the first place. This can best be accomplished by the following measures:
1. Keep your pets protected against fleas, either by systemic products prescribed by veterinarians and proven to be superior or by over-the-counter preventative treatments.
2. Keep pets away from feral cats and dogs which almost always harbor fleas and other parasitic organisms. Also keep pets away from wild animals.
3. Vacuum your home often, especially areas pets frequent. Good sanitation practices help to break the life-cycle of fleas as well as other household pests.
4. Wash or change pet bedding often.
5. Keep your lawn mowed short and brush/trees trimmed back away from the house. This prevents shady, humid conditions required for flea larvae.
6. Do not allow any wild animals – such as skunks, raccoons, squirrels, birds, mice, etc. – to nest or take up residence in, on, or near your home. Nearly all of these animals are infested with fleas of varying species.
An extremely informative article covering all aspects of fleas and their control may be found online at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/pdf/2081.pdf.
Revised 3/31/17
