Tips To Keep Fleas Off Your Pets In Spring And Summer
We all know that buying a flea collar is a must for pets. If you have a dog or a cat that goes in and out of your home, that flea collar is going to pay for itself. But flea collars are not the end-all for flea control. Do you know that you can still have a flea infestation take root in your home if your dog or cat has a flea collar? It's true. This is why veterinarians suggest topical flea control products and other products to keep fleas under control. Here's another question for you: Do you know that you don't have to have a dog or cat to get a flea infestation? It's true. You can get fleas from an invading mouse, rat, or some other furry critter. So, as we leave spring and head into summer, here are some tips to help you keep fleas off your pets and out of your home.
Tip 1: Control Wildlife
When animals come into your yard, no matter how cute and furry, they can bring fleas in with them. Flea eggs are smooth and drop off of a host animal. If they land in the right spot, they'll hatch and develop into adult fleas. When this happens, your pets are going to be exposed and, eventually, you'll be exposed as well. Use these tips to control wildlife:
Keep trash in sealed containers. This keeps the smells in and the wild animals out. Be sure to secure your trash cans to prevent them from being knocked over.
Don't leave food out for the animals. If you feed pets or livestock outside, put food down only during mealtimes and never overnight.
Mice and rats love clutter. If your backyard or foundation perimeter has objects to hide under, or inside, you'll have more rodent activity.
Tip 2: Dry Things Out
Animals that can bring fleas into your yard aren't just looking for food; they're looking for a drinking hole as well. If you provide one, they'll be encouraged to return or find a place to stay permanently. Use these tips to prevent water accumulation:
When debris gets into a gutter system, it can cause rainwater to pool and pour over. This will create nice little puddles of drinking water near your home. Clean your gutters out every year to prevent this from happening.
Compacted soil captures rainwater. If you're noticing this, consider loosening the soil to let rainwater seep into the ground.
Holes can become a water dish. If you have holes in your yard, fill them in to prevent this.
Objects in your yard, such as toys, construction materials, tarps, etc., can capture water for animals to drink. Store items or haul them off to the dump to keep them from giving animals a drink.
Tip 3: Get Help
When it comes to directly reducing fleas in your yard, there is no better solution than an application of pest control product. This is best accomplished by a licensed professional. A pest control professional will use trusted products, in the right locations, and in the proper amounts.
Home Flea Control
What do you do if fleas get into your home? There are many opinions on the internet about how to deal with a flea infestation. Sadly, most of the information out there is flat out wrong. As an example, you can spray your floors with vinegar all day, every day and still have fleas. The only fleas that will be controlled by vinegar are fleas that get enough vinegar on them to kill them, which is not going to be many. And, once the vinegar dries, it doesn't present any threat to fleas at all. So, within a few minutes, your vinegar treatment will be useless and you'll be exhausted from spraying vinegar it everywhere. That is what we call a lose-lose.
The best solution for a flea infestation in your home is to enlist the aid of a licensed pest professional. At Modern Pest Control, we use products that don't just eliminate the fleas that are in your home, they work to eliminate new fleas that are introduced over the course of several weeks. That will give you the kind of long-lasting protection you need to break the lifecycle and stop fleas.
If you live in the Greater Houston area, reach out to Modern Pest Control for interior and exterior flea control. We offer one-time service and year-round, ongoing pest control to address all of the pest threats in East Texas.
Compacted soil captures rainwater. If you're noticing this, consider loosening the soil to let rainwater seep into the ground.
Holes can become a water dish. If you have holes in your yard, fill them in to prevent this.