Hello! Great questions.
Short Answers:
The infestation will take around 8 weeks to completely end, sometimes longer. However, most of the infestation will be gone within a month.
Fleas can’t survive and reproduce on human blood. You can read our article on it here.
Long Answers:
When you treat your pet, the adult fleas on the animal will be killed. Any new adults that jump on the pet will be killed before they can reproduce.
Unfortunately, the bulk of flea infestations are eggs, larvae and pupae living in the environment (carpets). Treating the environment and vacuuming will help speed up the elimination these environmental reservoirs, but it won’t eradicate them completely.
When you initiated treatment, it can be assumed that eggs were laid earlier that day. It takes around 2 days for those eggs to hatch, 7 days for the larvae to pupate, and another 7 days until the adult stage is reached. In homes, you can expect the full life cycle to complete in 17 to 26 days.
While no new fleas should be able to successfully develop past 26 days, one life stage is a problem. Flea pupae are fairly resistant to chemical treatments. And they can remain dormant for up to 5 months, waiting to detect heat and pressure before they emerge. Vacuuming will help stimulate their emergence.
Generally, it will take 8 weeks, maybe longer, for fleas in your home to be completely eradicated. Even if you don’t see fleas up to this point, it’s important to continue monthly Advantage treatments for the full recommended schedule. If one adult is able to find an untreated pet, it will begin laying eggs and the infestation will continue.
Hope this helps!
