Ariel L Gray asked 8 years ago
I have 2 pets a dog and a cat. The cat stays in my sisters room and hasn’t left in almost 2 years because it’s extremely rude to my 2 children. And I tried to get rid of my dog and after driving her to a shelter and them not taking her I noticed my car was infested with fleas! I sprayed it down more like drenched actually with a carpet and upholstery flea killer and their gone. I keep my dog outside now (been 2 weeks) because I didn’t want fleas in the house. Well about a week ago they came out of no where. And are EVERYWHERE. I tried the upholstery spray, carpet powder and I vacuum like crazy because of my kids and now even more so because of the fleas and nothing is working.. my poor 1 year old will get 4 on him at a time and I try and pinch them off, he’s covered in bites. My toddler who’s 2 his ankles are also covered. I’m 4 1/2 month pregnant and just fed up with these fleas. My friend who is a vet says they can’t live off of humans but I don’t understand how they are still here. A bug bomb is the last thing I want to do but I’m just about at the point. There’s just so many chemicals. Any advice on a bomb? Or will the fleas eventually die down with their host (the dog) completely outside now. Thank you -Ariel
Adam Retzer Staff answered 8 years ago
Hello Ariel,
Oh no! That sounds like a very unpleasant experience of all the sudden finding fleas everywhere.
Here’s what most likely happened: While the dog was in the house, the undetected fleas were laying eggs. Eggs fall from the host after a few hours. Over time, a large amount of eggs fell in your home’s carpet and began developing. After you detected the fleas and the dog was quarantined outside, it was already too late. The immature fleas in the carpets continued growing and eventually emerged as adults. This is why they seemed to appear out of no where.
What product did you spray on your carpets? Did it contain the active ingredients pyriproxyfen (Nylar) or methoprene (Precor)? These are insect growth regulators (IGRs) that mimic naturally occurring hormones in insects. When eggs and larvae are exposed to an IGR, they’re unable to pupate into adults.
If the product you used doesn’t contain an IGR, you’re only going to be killing the adult fleas (and a few larvae). Adult fleas only make up 1-5% of the infestation. Plus, sprays can’t penetrate deep into the carpet fibers where fleas develop. Additionally, traditional insecticides don’t have long-lasting residual activity. IGRs do, and will remain effective in carpets for up to 7 months. IGRs are also considered safer than traditional insecticides, because they specifically mimic insect hormones.
I’d recommend finding a product with an insect growth regulator. These are often called premise sprays. For example, Precor premise spray. Alternatively, you can purchase an IGR concentrate.
It sounds like you over-applied the spray. This can actually reduce efficacy. The carpets should be slightly damp, not saturated. I can understand then desire to go over-board though, as fleas are very frustrating.
Continue vacuuming regularly. This is an important part of flea control. It removes some of the eggs, larvae, pupae, and emerging adults. Plus, it forces cocooned adults to “wake up” and emerge. Otherwise, pre-emerged adults can remain quiescent for up to 5 months while they wait for a host.
The prevent flea bites on you and your family, it can be helpful to wear socks and pants in the home. Tuck the pant legs into the socks. You may want to find an outfit for your toddler that covers his/her feet and legs. Fleas can’t bite through clothes. You can also spray permethrin clothing repellent on the garments for additional protection.
Your friend is right, fleas can’t survive off humans. The fleas will die out on their own without the dog in the home. But this can take up to 5 months (as mentioned about the pre-emerged adult fleas). Still, the intensity of the infestation will significantly be reduced after a couple weeks, even without chemical treatments.
Your dog is still going to be battling fleas outside. This is unpleasant, and the dog will continue to be very itchy and infested. The first priority when battling fleas is to relieve pet discomfort. I’d recommend using flea drops on your dog to kill the fleas and prevent re-infestation.
Hope this was helpful!
Adam
