You should choose a good flea killer to rid your carpet of infestations in order to prevent the recurrence of such infestations in your home. To get rid of fleas, you have to ensure that these parasites are removed from your pet’s body and coat, from your house and environment and, most challenging of all, from your home carpets. Carpets are a breeding ground for flea as flea larvae and eggs are generally embedded in the fibers of carpets and are very difficult to eliminate.
Remove Flea Infestations from Your Carpets
Use a high suction vacuum to vacuum your carpets frequently. Although the eggs and adult fleas are easily removed with a vacuum cleaner, egg larvae are more persistent and cling to carpet fibers. Hence, a vacuum cleaner with high suction is necessary to remove these larvae.
After the house is vacuumed, ensure that you empty the vacuum bag and throw away all the dirt you’ve accumulated before you put your cleaner away for future use. Subsequently, shampoo your carpet after vacuuming it and preferably use a hot dryer to do this. The soap and heat can kill all adult fleas, larvae and flea eggs. The whole house and your pet should be cleaned together with the carpet for the cleaning process to be effective.
Flea Killers
A mixture of boric acid and water is very effective in ridding your carpet of fleas as it kills adult fleas and prevents the development of young fleas. When the carpet is completely dry, you may use flea stopper products meant specifically for use on carpets. The powder should be lightly sprinkled on your carpets.
You should then use a broom to sweep the powder into the carpet fibers so that it penetrates deep into the fibers and kills the larvae and eggs that are hidden in there. Sprays or aerosols can also be used. Some products include Raid Flea Killer, Siphotrol Plus, Bio Flea Halt and Fleatrol. These can be used to spray all areas of the carpet especially the underside which can house a lot of fleas.
Insect Growth Regulators
Insect growth regulators (IGR) such as Methoprene manufactured by Precor or Siphotrol can be sprayed on carpets to break the flea life cycle. These work by preventing the hatching of flea eggs and the development of larvae into adult fleas. These IGRs work indoors but are ineffective outdoors. Others such as Pyriproxifen manufactured by Nylor or Archer are more effective on carpets as they don’t break down in ultraviolet light.
It’s important to target fleas in all life stages to rid your carpet of these parasites. While adult fleas can be removed easily by vacuum cleaning, eggs, pupae and larvae should be removed with the help of flea stopper products and insect growth regulators. Regular cleaning and shampooing of the carpets and rugs in the house can help keep them free of fleas. It’s not easy to rid carpets of flea infestations and it might be necessary to use the services of pest control professionals who can, with their knowledge and equipment, be more effective in eliminating carpet flea infestations.