A Comprehensive Guide to Getting Rid of Fleas in Your House

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Fleas are tiny, dark brown insects. They have no wings, but possess strong legs that enable them to jump incredibly far. They often reside in places which are sheltered from direct sunlight. Animals with furry coats are ideal hosts for fleas. Pets that live in your garden are likely to struggle with flea infestations. Fleas can easily be carried into your house by your pets. Once fleas have entered your home, you must take action. A simple search on the internet will reveal numerous ways to deal with fleas. We’ve made this easier for you by giving you a comprehensive guide to getting rid of fleas.

Treating Flea-Infested Pets

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In order to eliminate all fleas, you must promptly address the source of the fleas. This is most likely your pets. Dogs and cats are especially prone to flea infestations . There is no use in killing fleas in carpets and sofas while fleas are still being carried inside by your pets. Look for flea-control products for pets, such as flea combs, flea shampoos and flea sprays. After treating your pets, you should keep them away from flea-infested areas.

Cleaning Your House

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Re-organize things like boxes, shoes and papers to clear the floor. This will make cleaning and vacuuming easier. Gather together removable items such as carpets, rugs, pillows, mats, cushions and pet bedding. Wash or dry clean these items at a high temperature. Use the vacuum cleaner to target hidden corners and carpets. Sprinkle some salt or baking soda on the carpet before thoroughly vacuuming it. Once vacuuming is complete, seal the vacuum bag and throw it away. This will prevent flea eggs and larvae from growing into adults and re-infest the house.

Flea Foggers

If your house is heavily infested, chemical products such as flea bombs and flea foggers should be used. These contain a kind of chemical pesticide, so it is best to keep children and pets far away from the treated areas. Instructions on how to apply the flea fogger should be read carefully. Protect yourself with gloves, a mask, and protective clothes. Furniture and obstacles should be cleared prior to fogging, so that all corners of the room are fogged. Leave the house after using the flea fogger for about 8 hours before cleaning and vacuuming.

Preventative Measures

Tidy your house and outside areas frequently. Mow the grass, prune shrubs, and clear fallen leaves and debris. Take good care of your pets and keep them clean. You could also consider planting herbal shrubs, such as peppermint or lavender shrubs, as these repel fleas.

By following these tips, we’re sure that you will be able to eliminate fleas from your home in a short space of time.

How to Get Rid of Fleas with Salt

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If your house or pets are suffering from a flea infestation, you may need some help. Flea bites will not only result in terrible itching and pain, but for those with allergies, skin inflammation is inevitable. Fleas are known to be carriers of several serious diseases, such as typhus, tapeworm, and even plague. This is a cause for great concern if fleas are in your home. There are a number of ways to effectively get rid of fleas. However, natural, non-toxic methods are often preferable to chemical treatments. Salt is both a budget-friendly and effective solution to your flea problem. If you still have some doubts about salt as a flea-eradicator, keep reading!

How Salt Kills Fleas

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Fleas flourish in moist places, while salt possesses the ability to eliminate moisture. When fleas come into contact with salt, the outer layer of their bodies becomes dry and vulnerable. A treatment of salt powder or a mixture of salt and borax is prescribed for killing these pesky fleas. Salt can be used both indoors and outdoors to treat fleas on pets and carpets.

Directions for Use

Grind the salt into a fine powder and sprinkle it on the flea-infested carpet. The fine salt will penetrate deeply into the carpet fibers and kill fleas. You should leave the salt on your carpet for about 24 hours before vacuuming thoroughly. Salt left out for longer than two days might make your carpet dirty. Sprinkle salt by your doorways, so that fleas cannot escape to other rooms or outside while the salt is working its magic. Flea eggs or larvae may not die instantly, but vacuuming will clear them away. Seal the vacuum bag tightly and have it disposed of as soon as you have finished vacuuming. This will prevent eggs and larvae from developing into fleas inside the bag and invading your house.

With regards to pets, a warm salt bath will help to remove the parasites from their bodies. The formula should consist of 1 part of salt mixed with 10 parts of water. Before you bathe your pet in the salt water, you should ensure that the pet has no open wounds. This will prevent unnecessary discomfort. Your pet’s eyes and ears should be shielded from salt water. If your pet is heavily infested, rub salt onto its fur and wait about two hours before rinsing with clean water. You may have to repeat this salt treatment several times to remove all the fleas from your pet’s body.

To sum up

Salt can also be used to kill fleas outside, although this is a less effective method of treatment. Salt treatments certainly stood out when the various methods to kill fleas were explored. Salt is both a non-toxic and budget friendly option. The only things that you need to get the job done are a few cents and a bit of patience!

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How Do I Get Rid of Cockroaches If I Live in an Apartment?

Raleigh has the unfortunate distinction of being ranked sixth in the list of cities with the highest number of roach infestations around the country. Cockroaches tend to thrive in warm, humid climates and they can be difficult to clear up. If you are living in an apartment building, you may have an even harder time to clear up an infestation, as the cockroaches may move from one room to another. Here are some steps you can take.

Contact the Landlord

If you contact the landlord, you can request that the entire building be treated including the crawlspace. Then request that regular exterior treatments be completed. This should clear up any infestations that are currently in your building, and the exterior cockroach treatments can help to prevent any new cockroaches from coming in. If your landlord will only treat one apartment at time, the cockroaches will just move from space to space and continue to be a problem.

Eliminate Food Sources

If you have a clean home, you are less likely to have issues with cockroaches, even if your neighbors are still having issues. Be sure to store your food in airtight containers. Clean up any crumbs left over after eating or preparing a meal. Be sure not to leave any dirty dishes in the sink or out on the counters, especially overnight. Take the trash out every evening. Be sure that your interior trash cans have a tight-fitting lid to prevent the roaches from finding them.

Check the Apartment for Ways for the Roaches to Get In

Cockroaches can live on the interior of the walls. If there are any holes in the walls an electrical cover that is loose or off or cracks around the baseboards, you will need to have them repaired in order to stop the roaches from coming in. You can request the landlord to make the repairs or ask for permission to do them yourself. Check along the windows and doorframes to see if there are cracks. The windows may need to have caulking applied to them. You can apply weather stripping to the door to plug any cracks that may be leading out. Check your kitchen counters to make sure they are flush to the wall. You may need to apply caulking there to stop roaches from living in the spaces between the cabinets and the wall.

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How Can I Prevent Termites?

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Termites are a common problem that many homeowners will have to deal with at one point in their lives. Termites move from place to place and expand their colonies. Termites are found throughout the United States, but tend to do less damage where there are cold, dry winters. If you are a homeowner, there are a few steps that you can take to protect your home from a termite infestation.

Consider a Pretreatment Before You Build

Many building companies will complete a pretreatment for termites before they build. This is a soaker type treatment where the termiticide is applied to the ground before the building begins. This provides protection under the concrete slab and around your home. If you are building a home yourself, you can request that the contractors do this before they start building.

Seal Off Your Crawlspace

Many crawlspaces have dirt floors. If you can seal off your crawlspace, you can limit the areas that termites can get into your home. You can hire a professional to do this for you, or you can attempt to do it yourself. The project can be quite time intensive and depending on the current condition of your crawlspace, it may include mucking things out. A professional company will make sure is done correctly and give you the protection that your home needs.

Regular Inspections and Bait Stations

Regular termite monitoring can help you detect termites before they cause a lot of damage. Bait stations can alert you that termites are on your property and allow you to treat for them if it becomes necessary. The bait stations are chemical free, and attract the termites since they contain wood and cellulose. If termites are found in these stations, you can begin treatment.

Use Treated Wood

If you are building a new outdoor project like a deck or shed, be sure to use wood that has been treated for termites, especially if it will go directly into the ground. Subterranean termites will begin to eat the wood of the deck and give you no visible signs unless the wood is treated.

Stack Wood Away from the Home

If you keep wood for a fireplace or wood burning stove, you need to stack the wood away from your home. If you can store it on a concrete pad, you provide another layer of protection for the wood. You can also cover it with a tarp for additional protection.

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What Steps Can I Take to Get Rid of Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs can be difficult to deal with because the treatments for them work best when applied directly to the bugs, and they are excellent hiders. They will hide in cracks that you may barely notice. It takes a professional who has been trained in bed bug detection to be able to identify all the places that they may hide.

Call a Professional

The first step in treating for bed bugs is to call a bed bug control professional who can complete the chemical treatment for you. This is important because you need to kill all stages of the bed bugs in order to end an infestation, and a professional will be able to do that effectively.

Wash Your Bedding

Take your bedding to a laundromat to wash. It is important to double bag the bedding. This will prevent the bed bugs from hiding in your car as you take bedding there. Throw the bag away when you get to the laundry mat, as it may now contain bed bugs. You may want to seal these bags in an airtight container to avoid passing the bed bugs onto someone else. Be sure to wash and dry the bedding on high heat.

Address Your Mattress and Box Spring

The first step is to vacuum your mattress and box spring. While you may be tempted to throw your bed away, you can take some simple steps to stop bed bugs from being a problem. Buy a cover for both your mattress and box spring that will trap any bed bugs that may be in your box-spring or mattress that the vacuum misses inside. They will not be able to survive. Additionally, it can serve as a protection to stop it from happening in the future.

Move Your Bed Away from the Wall

While you are working on clearing up the bed bugs, you do not want to worry about new bed bugs finding their way into your bed and onto you. You can move the bed frame away from the wall. You can treat the headboard with insecticide. You can also put the legs of your bed into bed bug traps that are designed to catch any bed bugs that may be trying to climb off the floor onto your bed. Since bed bugs cannot fly, these measures can help while you prepare for the extermination treatment.

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