HeatherK asked 7 years ago
So we just bought a house that sat empty for about 2 weeks before we went in to clean and discovered the fleas. The previous owners had cats and a dog that obviously were not treated. The day we discovered the fleas I called a pest company and they came and sprayed and instructed us to vacuum every other day and they will come back in 3 weeks to respray. We intended on moving in this week but have moved it back until after they respray. My husband and I are sick to our stomachs thinking we will have to live here eventually and even though our dog is treated I don’t want to put her at risk and possibly add to the infestation if something doesn’t work right with the treatment. Before we even knew there were fleas I wanted to replace some of the carpet eventually but would it be beneficial to rip it out now? The spray from the pest guy would be on the carpet so I am torn.
Do we rip out the carpet right before he comes back to spray so he sprays the bare floor?
Leave the carpet and respray on top and in a couple months rip up the carpet? Will this cause a flare up and start the process over again?
How would shampooing the carpets help or hurt us and when would be the right time to do that?
I just cant imagine myself living in this house with even the thought of fleas around but I think that’s the hand we’ve been dealt. Sometimes I question if we just put the house back up for sale and chalk it up as a loss. I try and be positive that we can beat them but is it worth it?
HelloKitty answered 7 years ago
Honestly, I would just replace the carpet. If I had to do it all over, that’s what I would have done, otherwise it’s a lot of carpet TLC (steam cleaning/vacuuming) and you have no idea what’s still in that carpet and how much progress you’re making. In hindsight (or rather, midsight), not really worth all that time, effort and suffering.
Adam Retzer Staff answered 7 years ago
If you were already thinking of tearing out the carpet, then it may be a good idea to do it now, before treatment. However, removing the carpet is a bit overkill in most situations.
Treating your dog with monthly flea drops, and treating the environment with an insect growth regulator (IGR), along with regular vacuuming, should do the trick. It will often take around 8 weeks. The pet treatments will kill the fleas as they mature, emerge, and jump on the dog. The IGR and vacuuming will prevent any potential new eggs and larvae from reaching adulthood for up to 7 months.
Steam cleaning or shampooing the carpets is more effective than vacuuming. However, it shouldn’t be done after chemical treatments are applied, as it will reduce the effectiveness of the insecticide. Dry vacuuming has no significant effect on the chemical treatments.
LLcool
replied 7 years ago Would tearing up and remove removing carpet cause the cacoons to hatch out ans cause adult fleas to take over our upstairs? Our whole 2nd floor is carpeted. We’ve considered going to the wood floors underneath and thought now during an infestation may save us time and energy of treating the carpet. We Just don’t want to make matters worse. I’m thinking if we do tear up the carpet, would we spray the wood with IGR spray immediately?
Adam RetzerIt may cause the adults to hatch, but they would’ve hatched anyway. It may actually be beneficial to force their emergence and kill them. IGR is most useful for preventing eggs and larvae from maturing. It’s good for prevention. However, to kill the adults, an adultcide should be used. A good option is something called a premise spray that contains both an IGR and an adultcide. Many are similar, but Zoecon Precor 2000 seems to be the best option for the price.
You answered on my other thread where we are in the same situation. Here again, we are in the same situation, in that we have been wondering about replacing the carpets. We have one room that we need to do regardless because there is obvious damage in that room. It’s been a week and a half since our house was sprayed, and we been vacuuming every day or every other day, and while we saw some adult fleas the first few days, we haven’t seen any for the last four or five days. We’re really hoping we got them.