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Pest Spotlight: How To Treat Fleas

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Got Fleas? Here’s How To Get Rid of Them

At Killingsworth, we deal with a lot of pests. Cockroachesspidersrodentsbed bugsticks… You name it, we’ve handled it. But fleas? Now those pests are the worst! Just like you (and your pets), we can’t stand fleas. These minuscule, blood-sucking pests can hide just about anywhere and survive for months without a meal, making them difficult to find and eliminate without professional help.  However, if you’ve got fleas in your home, we want to help you get rid of them. Below, you’ll find our expert secrets for eliminating fleas from your home once and for all! 

Are fleas dangerous?

Many homeowners that discover fleas on their pets or in their home wonder if fleas pose a threat to their health. While uncommon, flea bites can transmit diseases to humans such as typhus and the plague. Additionally, their bites can cause severe itching, which may lead to an infection.  A flea’s saliva can cause an allergic reaction in your pet too, which could be harmful to your pet depending on the severity of their allergy. Pets that are infested with fleas also run the risk of becoming anemic due to the amount of blood loss.  This is why it’s so important to treat your animals for fleas. Check with your veterinarian to verify that your pet is up to date on its flea and tick medicine. This preventative measure will not only protect your pet, but also your home and your health from flea infestations. 

How To Treat Fleas in Your Home

Now let’s get to the good stuff! Here are seven steps to treat fleas in your home. 

Step 1: Start With The Source

It’s likely the fleas originated from one of your furry family members. Prepare a bowl of hot, soapy water and grab a flea comb. Start combing through your pet’s fur, especially around the neck and tail — this is where fleas like to hide. Drop any fleas that you find into the water to kill them.  It’s important to treat all of your pets for fleas. Fleas can jump from one pet to the next, so you’d be doing your pet and your home a disservice to only treat the source. Once you’ve finished combing your pets, talk with your veterinarian about next steps. They will be able to recommend the ideal flea treatment specific to your pet and region. 

Step 2: Prep The House

Now that you’ve identified and treated the source, it’s time to treat your house. Pick up as much as you can from the floor, even move furniture if possible. The more surface area your vacuum can reach, the better. Remove items from under the bed and in the floor of the closet as well. This is an important task to effectively treat fleas in your home.

Step 3: Clear Out

Remove any pets, not just cats and dogs, from the home before you start cleaning. This includes birds and reptiles that can also be affected by fleas.  Ideally, fish tanks and reptile enclosures should be removed from the home as well. If the tank is too large, cover it and turn off any filtration systems and turn off any heat sources in the reptile tank. Next, throw out any pet bedding. If the infestation isn’t severe, you may be able to wash the bed in hot, soapy water once a week for a few weeks to make sure the fleas are eliminated. The safest bet, though, is to throw all pet bedding away.  

Step 4: Keep Your Eyes Peeled

Now that the house is clear and you have visibility to all areas of the carpet, take a walk through your home and look for signs of flea infestations and flea larvae. Fleas like to congregate in low traffic areas and near places where your pet sleeps.  Fleas in the carpet will resemble small, dark specs that seem to disappear as quickly as you spot them. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for “flea dirt”. Flea dirt is a combination of dried feces and blood that fleas leave behind. Flea larvae feed on this before maturing, so it’s crucial you remove these spots from your home as quickly as possible. 

Step 5: Get The Vacuum

To treat fleas in your home, vacuum your entire house. Get in the corners, under the bed, in the closet, under the couch — if you can reach it, you need to vacuum it. Pay close attention to spots where you and your pets sleep because fleas will likely be nearby.  Vacuuming doesn’t only get rid of adult fleas, but also flea larvae, pupa and flea dirt. It also forces fleas to leave their cocoons prematurely, allowing insecticides to penetrate through the carpet and kill the fleas.  

Step 6: Keep Cleaning… And Then Clean Again

Scrub hardwood floors, linoleum and tile to make sure everything is clean and flea-free. Vacuum all upholstery, chairs, beds, pillows, etc. Repeat this process every other day until the flea infestation is gone — this could take up to one month.  For more serious infestations, you may need a steam treatment prior to vacuuming. If you’re daring, you could attempt to tackle this on your own, but we recommend calling in an expert. 

Step 7: Take It Outside

If fleas are in your yard, you’ll need to clear out shrubs, remove any low hanging branches, keep the lawn maintained and check the crawlspace for wildlife that may be attracting fleas.  While these DIY treatments may eliminate most of the fleas in your home, we can’t guarantee it will eliminate them all. Fleas are tricky pests to get rid of, especially once they’ve infested your home, so it’s in your best interest to call the professionals to treat fleas in your home.  At Killingsworth, we promise to treat your home, your family and your pets like they’re our own. Schedule an inspection with our experts today!

Pest Spotlight: How To Treat Fleas

Bedbug inspection

How to Know if Your Hotel Has Bedbugs

Upon entering a hotel room, do you typically reach for the tiny toiletries, take a leap onto the bed, or perhaps start by inspecting for bed bugs? Knowing what to look for is essential. Anticimex Carolinas Service Manager Christian Tweed has shared valuable insights on identifying bed bugs in your hotel room and preventing them from hitching a ride back home with you. And if bed bugs do become an unexpected part of your vacation, remember that Clark’s Pest Control is here to assist!



Q&A with a Pest Professional


How do bed bugs get inside hotels?


Bed bugs are primarily hitchhiking insects as opposed to foraging ones, meaning that they get carried around on people’s clothes and belongings. Someone with an active infestation in their home can easily bring bed bugs to their hotel, but they can also be picked up during travel (airplanes, taxis, and rideshare services) and brought to a hotel room.


What do people misunderstand about bed bugs in hotels?


From a probability standpoint, all hotels will deal with bed bugs at some point in time. If you think about a bed bug’s method of travel, there’s literally nothing a hotel can do to stop them from being carried in. What I have realized is that luxury hotels are more likely to have an aggressive response to dealing with a bed bug case once it’s identified as they tend to have a higher quality of service and a reputation to protect. While this isn’t always the case, it has been my experience more often than not.

Got bedbugs? Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today!

What do you recommend travelers do when they get to their room to check for bed bugs?


Most hotel headboards hang directly on the wall. I start my inspection here before even looking at the bed itself. I have found bed bugs, their exoskeletons, and the telltale black stains they leave behind around the edges of or in the crevices of headboards. If the headboard looks clean, move on to looking over the pillowcases and comforter for any signs or stains. You can dig into the bedding as deep as you want here, but I encourage people to look over the top layer of things at the very least.


What are some lesser-known signs of bed bugs in your hotel room?


The specifics of the black stains they leave behind, which as gross as it sounds, are just digested blood as that’s all that bed bugs feed on. If the stains are on a hard surface, they will be small dots as if left behind by an ink pen and will smear into a brownish gray when moisture is applied. If they’re on fabric, they will usually bleed along the fibers making a small diamond, square or X shape.


If there are bed bugs in your hotel room, can they travel home with you?


They absolutely can, however this is easy to prevent. While staying in a hotel, keep as much of your clothing and luggage off the beds as possible. Storing suitcases in the bathroom might sound odd, but it’s an effective method of prevention.

Don’t tackle bedbugs yourself, call Clark’s at 866-781-4991!

What should you do with your suitcase if you suspect your hotel has bed bugs?


When arriving home from a trip, leave your luggage in the garage or on a porch and bring your clothes in one load of laundry at a time. If the clothes are dirty, wash them like you normally would, if they’re clean then run them through the dryer for at least forty-five minutes. Once your suitcase is empty, vacuum over it meticulously (don’t forget to empty the vacuum when you’re done), or if you’re in the right climate, expose it to heat for a few days by placing it in your vehicle (parked in the sun) or for a few weeks in your attic.


The Clark’s Solution


If you brought bed bugs back to you home, Clark’s is here to help. Our Bedbug Control service is designed to eliminate bedbugs and create a safe, comfortable environment.


A Clark’s Pest Professional will do an inspection and recommend a plan of attack to get rid of bed bugs now and prevent them from hatching in the future. Call Clark’s at 866-781-4991 today for more information.




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