Carpet fleas - how to get rid of them at home? How to treat the carpet later

Human, cat, dog and rat fleas are different types of fleas

, which can equally often be found in apartments. House fleas, bedding fleas, furniture fleas, carpet fleas and other fleas, whose name is tied to the location where they were found, are simply everyday names for these insects that have nothing to do with flea species diversity. Fleas often appear in the carpet because the pile creates comfortable living conditions for them - they can hide and lay eggs in it, remaining in relative safety and only coming to the surface in search of food. Absolutely all fleas in the house, including carpets, can be dealt with using the same methods.

Important

You may find fleas in the carpet, but this does not mean that they fundamentally do not extend beyond it. Once in an apartment, fleas move throughout its entire territory, so it makes sense to carry out treatment in the entire apartment.

Can fleas appear in the carpet?

Carpet fleas get their name from their chosen habitat. They live in carpets, decorative coverings, baseboards, upholstered furniture, toys, and wall hangings.

Most often they cause inconvenience to residents of the private sector or those living on the first floors of multi-storey buildings.

Carpet fleas are not a separate species of this order of insects. Any type of parasite can have this localization - cat, dog, rat.

But even in the absence of pets, infestation can occur because sand or basement fleas exist. They also periodically attack human homes.

Reasons for their appearance

It is extremely difficult to protect yourself from the appearance of blood-sucking pests. In the environment, these insects are common; there are many “specialized” species: dog, cat, bed and other types of these blood-sucking insects. In the absence of a main “source” of food, any warm-blooded animal can become a victim of a flea, so even dog fleas can bite a person.

Main factors of infection:

• Flea eggs are brought from the street on shoes, clothes, and other things.
• Old furniture, rugs and other home textiles can also be a good home.
• An unpleasant “surprise” may also await you on your pet’s fur after a walk.

In outdoor conditions, the life cycle of insects changes significantly. Eggs and larvae are extremely sensitive to low temperatures and ultraviolet radiation. They are able to develop only in conditions that are comfortable for themselves, the main ones being heat and high humidity. This is why the basements of apartment buildings are often infested with fleas, which poses a direct threat to the residents of the first floor. In the private sector, the threat only increases; there is always the risk of bringing in uninvited guests straight from the street.

Methods for removing carpet fleas

When carpet fleas appear, experienced housewives can tell you how to get rid of such pests at home. They get rid of them mechanically or chemically. Professional preparations or folk remedies can be used.

The choice of method or product depends on individual preferences, as well as the degree of contamination of the room.

Mechanical cleaning

General cleaning of the house is the first step towards getting rid of fleas. It should be carried out especially carefully in places where pests accumulate. If fleas appear, it is not enough to vacuum the carpet in the usual way.

To achieve the best results, the vacuum cleaner must be used in the correct way:

1. The vacuum bag is first emptied and the filters are cleaned.
2. You need to vacuum at maximum power for 15-20 minutes.
3. The vacuum cleaner should not just be pushed, but rather put serious pressure on the nozzle.
4. Vacuuming should be done strictly sequentially: start from one end of the room, and slowly, stripe by stripe, go every 2-3 m².
5. It is especially important to thoroughly vacuum under furniture, since blood-sucking parasites hide in dark, hard-to-reach places. To get to them, put a long narrow attachment on the vacuum cleaner pipe.
6. Repeat the manipulation at least 2 times, morning and evening for 1-2 weeks.

Although the primary goal is to get rid of fleas on the carpet, it is also advisable to vacuum pillows, curtains, stuffed animals, rugs and other decorative items with pile, as well as the area behind baseboards. This is due to the fact that such parasites are capable of jumping to a considerable height.

If they are not vacuumed, the insects will repopulate the carpet.

Professional pest control

Insecticide service specialists know well how to remove fleas from carpets. First, an employee of the company visits the house and assesses the degree of infestation, determines the area where the parasites are located, as well as the source of infection.

Based on this data, he develops a destruction strategy and determines the scale of work.

Insects can be poisoned in various ways. The choice of technology for eliminating parasites and the selection of insecticides is determined by the size of the population and the financial capabilities of the customer.

Flea sprays

When looking for a way to get rid of carpet fleas in the house, some people choose aerosols. A spray against such insects contains one or more types of insecticides.

Popular means:

1. Control Home. In just 5-10 minutes, up to 98% of adult insects and larvae die. The active ingredients of such aerosols paralyze fleas and ticks and destroy parasite eggs. The effect lasts for 4 weeks.
2. Insects die from it at any stage of development. Does not cause resistance and is effective for up to 1.5 months. The product is used very economically.
3. Executioner. It is produced in the form of a concentrate, easily diluted with water and used in household spray bottles. It is considered one of the most effective drugs.
4. Reid. Contains safe insecticides. This manufacturer has odorless or scented aerosols. Economical, since one bottle of Reid is enough to treat about 50 m².

Even if the manufacturer claims that the spray is safe for people, precautions should be taken when treating the apartment.

It is advisable to use rubber gloves and a medical bandage (respirator) on the face. Clothing must have long sleeves to cover the entire body.

Allergy sufferers or people who experience attacks of bronchial asthma should refrain from this method of treating the premises from insects.

Solutions against parasites

To get rid of fleas in an apartment, the low-toxic product Butox 50 is popular. It contains a new generation insecticide, characterized by a low level of toxicity towards warm-blooded animals.

The drug is a yellow-gray emulsion with an oily structure. The product dissolves well in water and has a specific pungent odor.

To prepare a solution for pests, take 30 ml of the product and 10 liters of water. Treat all surfaces and crevices in the room with the product. If the surface is smooth, then this amount of product is enough for 200 m².

Furniture and walls can not only be sprayed, but also wiped with a sponge soaked in the solution.

After 10 days, the treatment is repeated to consolidate the result.

Folk remedies

Carpet fleas can be successfully eliminated using folk remedies. Such methods are suitable for opponents of aggressive chemistry.

Wormwood and tansy

Herbalists can tell you how to fight fleas. Wormwood is rich in bitterness, so it has a specific smell, which makes any parasites rush to leave the room. Wormwood is often complemented with tansy.

If possible, it is better to place bouquets of these plants around the house. Or you can prepare an infusion from dry herbs purchased at a pharmacy.

To prepare a natural insect repellent:

• take a jar, pour 2 tbsp into it. spoons of wormwood, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of tansy and add a few eucalyptus leaves to soften the smell of wormwood;
• pour 200 ml of boiling water into the blend;
• cover with a lid and leave for 12 hours.

The finished infusion is poured into a spray bottle and the room is treated, paying special attention to carpets, corners and baseboards. The effect will come faster if you pour the finished product into a steam cleaner.

Cold, steam and sun

When a housewife is interested in how to get rid of fleas in a carpet, she can pay attention to a method such as freezing or drying.

Blood-sucking insects cannot tolerate low temperatures, so if they are infested in winter, you can open the window wide and thoroughly ventilate the room at sub-zero temperatures.

It is enough to keep the window open for 2-3 hours, and all pests will die.

If parasites attack in the summer, then after treating the room, the carpets should be taken out into the sun so that they are exposed to ultraviolet rays. Thanks to this, both adults and larvae will die.

Another effective method is a steam cleaner. All carpet surfaces should be treated with a steam jet.

Baking soda

When a housewife is thinking about how to treat the carpet against fleas, then using baking soda may be a good option. Carpet fleas cannot tolerate it.

It is recommended to mix baking soda with salt.

Treat soft surfaces and carpets well, and after 12 hours vacuum thoroughly.

Pine shavings and herbs

The fight against carpet fleas must be comprehensive. It is not enough to simply clean the carpet.

Experienced housewives recommend preparing wormwood and coniferous tree shavings during the summer, filling a neat fabric bag with them and placing it at the entrance to the house.

This kind of “amulet” can protect your home from the penetration of blood-sucking parasites.

Essential oils for fleas in the apartment

Another option for treating carpets against fleas is the use of essential oils. The carpet must be thoroughly vacuumed first. To combat fleas, use oils of eucalyptus, lemon, orange, lavender, lemon balm, mint, chamomile, and rosemary.

The essential oil is first diluted in water, and special drops are applied to the carpet product.

Video

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Signs of infection

Insect bites often appear as a small skin rash. In addition, there is severe itching. With local infection, bite wounds become larger. Boils may develop.

If the flea was a carrier of dangerous viruses or bacteria, the first symptoms of the disease appear within 4-21 days after the end of the incubation period.

Depending on the type of infection, a person may experience the following symptoms:

• increased body temperature;
• stomach ache;
• enlarged lymph nodes;
• tachycardia;
• nausea;
• deterioration of general condition, etc.

If these symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor for tests necessary to clarify the diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

Where do carpet fleas come from?

When people wonder where carpet fleas come from, the first thing they learn is that the culprits are their pets. They can indeed carry not only adult individuals, but also larvae of parasites.

But fleas also appear in the palace in the following ways:

• jumping from the entrance;
• penetrate through a ventilation hole (multi-story buildings);
• come from basements;
• spread from unscrupulous neighbors;
• carried by infected rodents.

If it is not customary to regularly clean the house, then insects will begin to multiply dynamically. In addition, fleas actively fill rooms that are damp and humid.

Lack of sunlight and stale air are another condition for the proliferation of blood-sucking parasites.

Danger and harm caused

When a flea bites, it injects saliva into the wound, which prevents rapid blood clotting. This may cause an allergic reaction. In addition, when attacked by parasites, a person experiences severe itching, so he scratches his skin. This increases the risk of infection of the integument. Many pathogenic microorganisms can persist in the saliva of fleas.

Thus, these parasites are capable of acting as carriers of such dangerous diseases as:

• anthrax;
• plague;
• tularemia;
• typhus;
• listeriosis;
• hepatitis;
• encephalitis.

Insect bites can cause helminth infection in humans. In rare cases, due to individual intolerance to the parasite's saliva, people develop migraines and sleep disorders.

Fleas are carriers of many diseases.

How to detect fleas in carpet

Carpet fleas are extremely small in size, so it is quite difficult to notice them with the naked eye. You can understand the scale of the problem if you walk on the carpet in white socks.

You can also visually assess the number of fleas by running a long white sheet across the carpet. If there are fleas in the house, a person can suspect their presence by their characteristic bites.

After using various means of combating such parasites, it is necessary to continue to keep the house clean, regularly ventilate the room and ensure that there is no dampness in it.

You can wash your floors with wormwood solution from time to time for preventive purposes.

It is better to wear special collars on your pets and regularly bathe them with flea shampoos. If you take the necessary measures in time, then getting rid of such insects is much easier than getting rid of cockroaches, bedbugs or ants.

Appearance

The body of carpet fleas is narrow, laterally compressed. For ease of movement, there are special bristles and hairs on its surface. They help to stay in the owner’s fur, carpet pile, clothing or feathers. On the head and chest of parasites there are special ridges with large teeth - ctenidia.

The length, depending on the type, varies from 1 to 5 mm. In sexually mature females, due to the greatly expanded abdomen, the body length reaches 1 cm. On the head behind the simple eyes there are antennae. The male uses them to hold the female during mating.

All types of carpet fleas have three pairs of limbs. The strongest of them are located on the chest. Their main purpose is to ensure rapid movement of the insect. Due to their structural features, they allow them to be held on surfaces at almost any angle.

Carpet fleas move by jumping, using their second and third pair of legs. At the back of the abdomen there is an organ characteristic only of them, consisting of especially sensitive hairs. It allows you to capture the slightest vibrations in the air.

Using different vacuum cleaners

Today, every housewife cleans her home with a vacuum cleaner. But there are several options for this technique. And cleaning is different for each of them:

1. Ordinary. The most common device that is found in every home. Helps remove particles of dust and animal hair from the pile. Before you start cleaning stains, you need to thoroughly vacuum the carpet to rid it of excess dirt.
2. Washing. Steam cleaners help you quickly disinfect and clean your carpet. Baking soda and textile shampoos are used as auxiliary products. The result is simply magnificent. The pile becomes clean, acquires its original color and pleasant smell.

You can find out how to clean a carpet without a vacuum cleaner, for example, from pet hair, here.

Preventive actions

To reduce the risk of fleas being brought indoors, pets should be treated regularly against parasites. In addition, it is necessary to seal the cracks on balconies and loggias.

Before entering the house, you should thoroughly dry your feet. To reduce the risk of fleas being brought into the apartment, it is recommended to periodically clean the stairwell and vestibule.

Carpets need to be cleaned and aired regularly. In summer, it is advisable to take them outside to dry in direct sunlight.

How can you clean a very dirty and old carpet, depending on the coating?

When removing stubborn dirt, it is worth considering the color and type of pile. This information will help you choose the right effective and gentle remedy.

Pile type

For long-haired hair, use a soap solution with good foam. It is applied only with a soft cloth. Hard brushes and sponges can ruin the appearance of the product. The most serious stains are additionally treated with a steam cleaner; it is also recommended to purchase special equipment.

There are much fewer problems with short pile. Heavily soiled carpets are cleaned with dry and liquid products. Folk recipes will not harm him either. This type of carpet dries quickly and accumulates less dust.

Color

For dark carpets it is not recommended to use starch, soda or powder. They leave behind ugly stains.

It's better to take:

• vinegar,
• turpentine,
• ammonia.

It is safer to clean white carpets with special products; you can also use:

• soda,
• salt,
• laundry soap.

But lemon juice will leave yellow marks.

Material: viscose, silk, synthetic

Before treating the carpet with any means, look at the label. Natural materials (wool or viscose) require careful handling.

From available means, it is best to use starch or soda; it is also worth purchasing high-quality chemicals for carpets.

Synthetic carpets are easier to care for. It is enough to vacuum them regularly. Stains must be removed while they are fresh, using any convenient means. This way there will be no unnecessary hassle with the carpet. It is better to dry clean silk carpets.

Read more about how to clean wool carpets in this article.

Treatment

Fleas are ubiquitous insects. Despite preventive measures, rabbits can become infected with fleas at any time of the year.

Symptoms of tick infestation are similar to flea infestations, so it is important to accurately determine the correct diagnosis so as not to make a mistake with treatment

Flea treatment for rabbits must be prescribed by a veterinarian

Almost all anti-flea products are overly toxic for them, and the body is very sensitive to poisons, so treatment must be carried out carefully so that the animals do not die and remain healthy

If it is not possible to contact a veterinarian, you can carry out treatment yourself at your own risk. What to do if your rabbit has fleas.

It is necessary to use products specially designed for treating rabbits:

• Flea drops for rabbits. Apply to the withers.
• Flea shampoo. For therapeutic and preventive bathing.
• Flea lotion. Spray until the coat is lightly moistened.
• Insecticidal solutions. Wet or spray onto the wool.

Special drops are used to get rid of fleas. The product is applied to the withers so that the animal cannot lick it off and become poisoned.

Geraniol is a colorless oily liquid, non-toxic aromatic oil. Used in shampoos and lotions. The animal is processed once a month.

Carbaryl - lotion or shampoo. Apply 2 times a week for a month.

Neostomazan - 1 ml. the mixture contains 50 mg. transmix (isomers of β-cypermethrin) and 5 mg. tetramethrin. An emulsion that can get rid of insects in one go is prepared immediately before use. For treating rabbits and indoors 1 ml. Neostomazan is diluted in 1 liter of water. Spray evenly onto the animal's body. All surfaces of the external environment are treated.

Bolfo - spray. The treatment is done outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. During processing, you should wear protective gloves and use a respirator or gauze bandage. It is advisable to wear a protective suit. The animal's fur should be lifted with your hand and sprayed with spray until lightly moistened.

Butox 50 – 5% solution of the active ingredient deltamethrin. For treating an animal 1 ml. the solution is diluted in 4 liters of water. Rabbits are sprayed with a spray bottle. Swallowing the drug is prohibited. Easily penetrates the skin and is then excreted through the intestines.

Cages and rooms where rabbits live are also sprayed. For this purpose 1 ml. Butox 50 is diluted in 1.5 liters. water. At the end of the treatment, the premises are closed for 2 hours, and after that everything must be well ventilated. During processing it is also necessary to use protective equipment.

Stronghold is a solution for single external use. Dosage: 0.1 ml. 6% solution per 1 kg. weight. Apply to the withers. After 30 minutes it is completely absorbed into the skin. During treatment, animals are isolated for 4 hours so as not to lick each other's fur.

After using the flea medication, you can use the following auxiliary products:

• Actovegin is an ointment, gel or cream for external use. Accelerates the healing of any wounds.
• Levomekol is an antimicrobial ointment used to treat purulent wounds.

These medications help heal and relieve itching. Rabbits scratch their skin less.

Article information

wikiHow works like a wiki, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. During the creation of this article, 9 people, including anonymously, worked to edit and improve it.

Category: Insects

In other languages:

English: Get Rid of Fleas in Carpets, Español: deshacerse de las pulgas en las alfombras, Português: Remove Pulgas do Carpete, Italiano: Eliminare le Pulci dalla Moquette, Deutsch: Flöhe im Teppich loswerden, Français: se débarrasser de puces installées dans une moquette, Bahasa Indonesia: Membasmi Kutu di Karpet, Nederlands: Van vlooien in je vloerbedekking afkomen, Čeština: Jak odstranit blechy z koberce, العربية: التخلص من البراغيث بال سجاد, Tiếng Việt: Loại bỏ bọ chét trên thảm, 한국어: 카펫에 생긴 벼룩 제거하는 방법, ไทย: กำจัดหมัดติดตามพรม, 中文: 消灭地毯里的跳蚤,日本語: カーペットのノミを駆除する, हिन्दी: कार्पेट में मौजूद पि (Fleas) से छुटकारा पाएँ

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Folk remedies

When used correctly, if the room is not very contaminated, folk recipes are also quite effective. So how to treat a carpet against fleas, using the experience of our ancestors?

The most common methods:

1. Tansy and wormwood. Plants contain permethrins, these substances are deadly poisonous to many insects. Tansy and wormwood are laid out around the house, and surfaces are wiped with herbal infusions.

Important! Use herbal infusions with caution, as they can stain light-colored surfaces.

1. Frost, sun, steam. It is recommended to freeze carpets, blankets, and pillows for several hours if it is winter outside. In summer they should be placed in the sun, this will have to be done for several days in a row. Hot steam also helps get rid of parasites.
2. Salt and soda. Mix them in equal proportions and sprinkle on carpets. After a day, vacuum thoroughly. You can also dissolve soda and salt in water and spray the resulting solution onto areas where parasites accumulate.
3. Pine shavings and herbs with a strong aroma. Scatter them in corners and places where fleas accumulate, and after a few days simply sweep or vacuum them.
4. Parasites do not tolerate the smell of citrus fruits, eucalyptus and lavender well. Add essential oils based on them to the water and do a wet cleaning. You can also use aroma lamps with the addition of these oils.

Such methods will appeal to opponents of aggressive chemicals, but they are not effective if there is a large colony of fleas in the house.

Chemicals against insects

When, having tried all the traditional methods, the fight against fleas for the house continues, it’s time to move on to more serious measures. Folk remedies will not help if there is a lot of carpeting, upholstered furniture, toys in the room; in this case, it will not be possible to do without insecticidal preparations. You can treat flea carpets using a spray: Raptor, Dichlorvos, Raid, etc. But the treatment is carried out repeatedly, because aerosols are not capable of killing eggs.

The most effective is a concentrated household emulsion based on fenthion, chlorpyrifos, malathion, which is included in the preparations:

• Dobrokhim FOS;
• Karbofos;
• Medilis-MALTHION.

Only Karbofos has a pungent and unpleasant odor. To get rid of insects at home, you need to rub the product into the carpet or spray it with a spray bottle.

Important!

Before treating the room, you must wear a protective mask and gloves and ensure that there are no people, cats, or dogs. After treatment, you should not immediately clean the apartment and wait at least a day for the product to work well and for the insects to die.

The next day after pest control, you need to thoroughly vacuum the carpet to remove dead parasites and take it to the dry cleaner. You can clean carpets yourself, but you will need to spend a lot of effort and time:

• for cleaning you need to prepare a concentrated soap solution by adding 40 g of washing soda per liter of water;
• apply to the carpet, rubbing well;
• After complete drying, vacuum it.

When all available methods of removing insects have been tried, and they still remain, you need to call pest control specialists and carry out disinfestation. They will treat the room and carpets with chemical solutions.

Carpet fleas interfere with people's lives, they bite with particular fury on the arms and legs as soon as a person enters the room, and it is no longer clear who is the owner of the apartment - the person or the fleas. It is necessary to remove parasites when the first insects are identified. In war, all means are good, so you can use any available drugs and folk remedies.

Don’t forget about simple preventive measures: before entering a room, you should inspect your feet and shoes for the presence of fleas, put on a flea collar for animals, put up a herbal amulet - and no fleas will invade your apartment.

Carpet fleas are not only unpleasant, but also dangerous. Small, blood-sucking insects feed on the blood of humans and animals, being carriers of terrible diseases - encephalitis and hepatitis. Their painful bites cause unbearable itching and allergic reactions. They must be dealt with immediately after detection, otherwise they will quickly multiply, causing damage to the house and its owners.