How to Protect Your Yard & Home from Fleas
Written by: Richard Rowlands, Pet Health Expert
Fleas are one of the most common problems for pet owners. These annoying flightless insects have bites that can be painful and uncomfortable for not just us, but our beloved dogs and cats as well.
Those bites are also potentially dangerous because they can transmit parasites and bacteria. This leads to issues such as flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), cat scratch disease (CSD), anemia, and tapeworms.
Protecting against potential flea infestations is a must for any pet owner. And it’s far easier to prevent an outbreak than to deal with one after it’s occurred.
In this article, we'll provide some practical tips to help you protect your home and yard from fleas. Follow these simple steps to prevent an infestation and keep these stubborn pests at bay.
How to Protect Your Home From Fleas
A tidy house is a happy house when it comes to protecting against a flea infestation. Your goal here is to eliminate as many hiding places as possible.
Fleas go through four life stages. In their second stage after they hatch from eggs, they’re called larvae. And these little worm-like parasites love dark places and are great at hiding away. In fact, they’re naturally drawn to the darkness and avoid bright light.
That’s why you shouldn’t let items like dirty laundry pile up on the floor. When you do, you’re creating a perfect environment for fleas to hide out.
You should also vacuum and wash carpets, flooring, and furniture regularly. We recommend using natural cleaning products instead of potentially harmful chemical agents.
Another hot tip is to change vacuum bags or clean bagless vacuums regularly. The last thing you want after all your hard work keeping a clean house is for eggs to hatch or larvae to pupate in the comfortable darkness of your vacuum. When this happens fleas will emerge as adults and cause another infestation. Vacuuming up a small amount of flea powder, like calcium carbonate or borate powder, and then cleaning your vacuum will offer added protection.
Bed linens and pet beds are also frontline areas of combat in the effort to maintain a pest-free home. Routinely laundering them at a high temperature setting is a great way to dispose of unwanted guests.
You should also consider using natural products specifically designed to fight fleas in order to protect your home. You may think these types of products are only useful once you have an infestation, but why wait?
You’ll go a long way to preventing infestations before they start by using products like Only Natural Pet’s All-in-One Flea Remedy Powder and Only Natural Pet’s EasyDefense Flea & Tick Home Spray.
You can trust these natural products to help you in your fight against fleas by using them on a regular basis.
How to Protect Your Yard From Fleas
Some folks might not realize there are ways to keep your yard a flea-free zone as well.
Regularly mowing grass and keeping shrubs trimmed back is a great start. Just as we want to eliminate hiding places inside our home, doing so outdoors is essential as well.
Other obvious hiding places, such as piles of leaves or wood, are also prime locations for fleas to hide out in since they like warm and shady places.
Keep yards raked, swiftly disposing of any collected leaf litter. It may be tempting to keep a pile of leaves around to jump in with your dog but bagging them up for disposal or adding them to appropriately located compost heaps is a much better bet.
Moving wood piles to areas your pets won’t have access to is also a great way to limit their chances of picking up fleas that may be hanging around.
Also, consider treating your yard with something like Only Natural Pet’s EasyDefense Flea & Tick Yard Spray. It’s a great natural alternative to harsh pesticides that may prove harmful to you and your pets.
Conclusion
The fight again fleas can be won before it even starts. Proper, year-round prevention is better than dealing with an infestation. That means tackling the issue inside and outside your home, year-round.
It’s a great idea to consider natural products as they tend to be safer than chemical alternatives. We also recommend speaking to your veterinarian for more information or if you have specific questions or concerns.
