How can I get rid of fleas from my carpet and floors?

get rid of fleas
rep asked:

I recently got rid of our 2 cats who were flea-ridden, about 5 weeks ago but we are still having problems with fleas left in the house. I am also 6 months pregnant, so chemicals are out of the question. How can fleas survive without a food source for over a month? I would like this problem resolved before our baby comes. Any advice?
We have vacuumed the whole house twice now, but we have a hepa filter vacuum that is bagless and you just dump it out. Could the fleas be living in the filter and inside the vacuum?

Also, we have NOT noticed any flea bites on ourselves. What are they surviving on?

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22 Responses to 'How can I get rid of fleas from my carpet and floors?'

  1. Krazy Libra - October 23rd, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    Get a fleas bomber. After you set it, you have to leave your place for about 6 to 8 hours. Vaccuming afterwards helps too.

    Krazy Libra

  2. stratus9285 - October 24th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

    Yes, you need to call an exterminator.

  3. usmc_piper - October 24th, 2008 at 9:44 pm

    I used a product called Fire Marshall, not sure if you can find it. But look for something that has Vitamin C in it

  4. VirtualElvis - October 27th, 2008 at 11:23 am

    Clean up. Vacuum often, and see below.

  5. chinese kim possible - October 29th, 2008 at 12:11 am

    Talk to stanley steemer. they can help you. Or call alpha ecological.

  6. duster - October 30th, 2008 at 5:21 am

    If you can stay else ware for a week or two, have your hubby or professional, do some heavy duty flea apraying. sorry to say, but your whole dwelling place is going to need spraying and then vacuming

  7. Kris - November 2nd, 2008 at 8:27 am

    Flea bombs and raid flea spray are the best. But if you don’t want to use chemicals try getting the carpets shampooed.

  8. hefnergang - November 6th, 2008 at 5:31 am

    treat pets and clean over and over and over and over… good luck

  9. rawk_chawk - November 8th, 2008 at 7:51 pm

    You’ll have to treat the cats, the house and if applicable, your yard all at the same time. Wash the cats in an insecticidal shampoo. Fog the house with foggers that contain an agent that sterilizes the eggs. Vacuum frequently and discard the vacuum bags immediately. Treat your yard with an insecticide. I also had a lot of luck dusting my cats with diatomacious earth. It is absolutely important that you treat every area the cats come into contact with at the same time or they WILL come back.

  10. pirate00girl - November 10th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    you can use tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and/or leaves and branches. you can use RID carpet and floor flea powder…just make sure you’re out of the house for the day. have someone else sprinkle it around, vacuum it up, and change the vacuum cleaner bag. if you have hard wood floors and fleas have bred in them, you’ll prob need to go the route of the RID flea powder on the floor. best of luck with this.

  11. KukiKat - November 12th, 2008 at 10:11 pm

    Get several cans of insecticide foggers and fumigate your place.

  12. Janice 10 - November 14th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    I would suggest getting the rugs shampooed, and then go to the pet store and get them to recommend something for you to use.

  13. az270890 - November 17th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

    Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. The motion tricks them into thinking a food source is nearby, so they come out and you just suck ‘em up. Fleas can survive for months, up to a year without food. You may have to get professional help or use chemicals, and although it might require you to leave the house for a few days, it will be the quickest solution. Good luck with the fleas AND the new baby :)

  14. dances_with_unicorns1955 - November 20th, 2008 at 7:31 am

    Unfortuantely, flea eggs are very resilient; short of chemicals, the best thing that you can do is vacuum repeatedly, and be SURE to toss the vacuum bag in the trash after you vacuum. Wash anything washable in hot water.

    At the moment, it would be (relatively) easy for you to leave the house for a day or two and have the place flea-bombed; after the baby comes, it won’t be so easy. If I were in your situation, I’d go to a hotel for a day or two, let the spray do its job, and come back to a flea-free home.

  15. susieq - November 25th, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    Bug bomb the place and stay away for at least 8 hours. I had to do that after one of my ex’s friends brought his stupid flea ridden hound into my house. That’s the only way.

  16. chetzel - November 28th, 2008 at 3:32 am

    If you have a place to go leave and put a bug bomb in your house. HAve you hubby clean up after it kills everything. My friend had this problem and the bug bomb worked good. After it kills everything there are dead fleas everywhere that will need vaccuming. Also you will need to open windows and air the house out, before moving back in.
    Also you could try ADAMS flea killer. They make a powder to sprinkle on the carpets and vaccume up. This also kills fleas, but might not work as well as a bug bomb.

    The bug bomb you could get at like lowes or home depot. The Adams you can get at petsmart or walmart.

  17. anndee - November 29th, 2008 at 9:28 am

    Raid flea bombs work really well. good luck….scratch , scratch…lol….they really are good. when you use the bombs you have to stay out of the house for several hours. since you’re pregnant I would suggest setting them off and spending the night with friends or family. After the time is up and it’s safe to go back in, have someone go and open up all of the windows and doors before you return home. Since the poison will be on the floors you need to wear slippers or shoes for awhile. If you have baby stuff I would take that out of the house before setting the bombs off. You should be fine if you do it like this. There isn’t any other way to get rid of the little pests , so ya really don’t have much of a choice. And you certainly don’t wanna bring a baby home if your home is infested with fleas…..they will eat that baby alive. So ….Good luck ..and congrats on the new wee one… GBU I hope I have helped. anndee

  18. skachicah35 - December 1st, 2008 at 11:04 am

    They can hibernate until an appropriate food source is available. the best thing to do is to wash any and all bedding the cats slept on in as hot of water as possible. While those are washing, vacuum all rooms in the house where the cats were at, paying special attention to areas under furniture. After you have finished vacuuming the whole house, remove the bag and dispose of it immediately. You may have to do this more than once. Fleas have a life span of 90 days and you will continue to see some activity as they hatch if they find food. This is the best course of action without using chemicals. Best of luck…

  19. flossie mae - December 3rd, 2008 at 2:09 pm

    do you have carpet? If not then they may be in the furniture.You may have to leave and bomb the house.The eggs drop into the carpet and keep hatching and you are the food source now.If they are in the carpet use flea powder and have your carpet cleaned by a professional.

  20. cnidaria0 - December 6th, 2008 at 3:39 am

    Do not use any insectiside while you are pregnant without consulting your doctor. Try boric acid on the carpet (petstores should have it or can order it for you). It dries up the fleas and eggs. It is safe for people and pets.

  21. gretchen g - December 8th, 2008 at 6:43 am

    Try Borax. Sprinkle it on your carpet and leave it there for a day or two and then vacuum it up. It dries out the fluids in the flea and they die. I had a flea problem a couple of years ago and tried this, I scuffed the borax into the carpet with my feet and left it there for a few days. Then, vacuumed it up, and no fleas left! Fleas can live in the vacuum and they can live quite a while without food.

  22. Hamadryad - December 11th, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    I know this may sound completely disgusting, but try using vegetable or olive oil. It suffocates the fleas, and the oil will disolve the bodies. If that doesn’t work, I have also used vinegar, and that works just as well. (if someone you know has lice, you can also use these two human harmless household substances).