Where Fleas ACTUALLY Hide — It’s Not Just Your Pet

How to get rid of fleas in the house starts with the part you can't see: a pest control pro puts the adult fleas at about 3 to 5 percent of an infestation, and the rest is eggs, larvae and cocoons down in the carpet. This video puts six common flea remedies in order, from essential oils that can make a pet sick to a tool most homes already own. In this video: how to check for fleas with white socks and a damp paper towel (the flea dirt test), whether essential oils are safe for fleas on dogs and cats, whether brewer's yeast, herbal flea collars and ultrasonic flea repellers work, how the dish soap flea trap works and why it only catches adults, how many eggs one flea lays, whether flea bombs work and how to use a flea fogger safely, why fleas keep hatching after a bomb, flea drops and chews from your vet and why some dog flea drops can kill a cat, how vacuuming kills fleas (the Ohio State test), how often to vacuum for fleas and what to do with the bag, and why fleas can show up in a house with no pets. If your dog or cat keeps scratching, the fleas came back after a flea bomb, or something's biting in a house with no pets, start here. On white socks, fleas show up as little dark specks that move. Black grains near the tail that smear reddish brown on a damp paper towel are flea dirt: dried blood. Concentrated tea tree oil can cause problems for a pet with only 7 or 8 drops, oils on the skin can leave a dog or cat wobbly and weak, and a pet poison hotline's advice is to skip oils on pets entirely. When scientists tested vitamin B and brewer's yeast, fleas kept biting, and herbal collars and buzzing plug-in gadgets don't drive them off either. A female flea lays up to 50 eggs a day, and the smooth eggs roll off wherever your pet lies down. For a flea trap, use a lamp, not a candle. Flea bomb safety: one can per room, everybody out, pets too, and away from pilot lights; too much fog builds up flammable vapor. A flea can wait in its cocoon for up to a year, sprays don't kill it there, and fleas keep hatching for about two weeks after a bomb. Some dog flea drops contain permethrin, which can be deadly to a cat: never put a dog product on your cat, and ask your vet what fits your pet. Even when a pet treatment works perfectly, clearing a home can take 2 to 3 months. In the Ohio State test with an ordinary upright vacuum, every cocoon and every young flea died, and almost all the adults; a vacuum brand helped pay for that study. Vacuum where your pet sleeps, under the couch cushions, along the baseboards and under furniture every day or every other day for two weeks, toss the bag or empty the cup outside, and wash pet bedding in hot, soapy water once a week. A pro flea treatment runs a few hundred dollars a visit; if the fleas keep coming back, that's the time to call one. ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Best way to get rid of fleas in the house: 6 fixes ranked 0:30 How to tell if you have fleas: white socks and flea dirt 1:04 Are essential oils safe for fleas on dogs and cats? 1:39 Brewer's yeast, herbal collars, ultrasonic repellers: do they work? 2:09 Does the dish soap flea trap work? 2:24 Where fleas hide: eggs, larvae and cocoons in the carpet 3:05 Do flea bombs work? Why fleas keep hatching after 3:52 Flea drops and chews: why dog drops can kill a cat 4:37 Does vacuuming kill fleas? The Ohio State test 5:25 How often to vacuum for fleas (and what to do with the bag) 5:56 Fleas in the house but no pets? 6:11 All 6 flea fixes, ranked Today: pull on white socks and walk slowly where your pet sleeps. Any little dark specks that move? 👉 Which did you think would win: the bomb, the pet drops or the vacuum? #fleas #fleatreatment #petcare