COBO asked 8 years ago
I’m treating my home with an IGR and adulticide (I have mostly wall to wall carpeting and some hard floors). How long should my home be flea-free before I steam clean everything? I don’t want to wash away the IGR and adulticide prematurely.
COBO
Adam Retzer Staff answered 8 years ago
Hello COBO,
This is a good question, as wet carpet cleaning will reduce the efficacy of the insecticides.
After proper treatment, it usually takes around 8 weeks for the fleas to be completely eradicated in a home. However, sometimes it takes longer.
A good way to determine when the infestation is completely gone is to place flea traps in the rooms where the you noticed the most fleas. Flea traps are good for assessing flea populations.
Another way to assess flea populations is to wear long white socks, and then walk around the home in the hot-spots. This will force fleas to emerge (heat and pressure cause cocoon emergence), and they will then jump onto you as the nearest host. The fleas can be easily seen and counted on the white fabric.
Hope this helps,
Adam
