Cats, Dogs, Carpets and Fleas – How to Rid Your Carpet of Unwanted Critters

There are lots of rewards that come along with being a pet owner. Cats and dogs especially are wonderful companions, their antics provide hours of entertainment and most dogs – and even some cats – are excellent providers of home security.

Pet ownership does have its downsides though, at least as far as home maintenance is concerned. Odors and accidents can be nuisance, although there are steps you take to minimize the impact of such things, especially when it comes to your carpeting and flooring. There is one additional possible complication of pet ownership on the horizon for carpet owners though; fleas.

However, diligent you are in making sure that Fido and Fluffy wear their flea collars and head off to the vet for their seasonal flea treatments there is still no guarantee that one or two of these pesky critters won’t be able to hitch a ride indoors before the poisons kill them off and one or two living adult fleas is, unfortunately, all it takes for a fully blown flea infestation to get started.

Carpets of any kind – and especially the rich woolliness of deep plush carpet  – are particularly attractive to female fleas looking for a great spot to lay their eggs. Warm and cozy with nice deep fibers that hide the tiny eggs very well, the average flea could be forgiven for assuming that a cosy carpet  is actually an invitation to come in and lay their eggs from the human householders.

Once a flea infestation is discovered, quick and complete action is a must. Loose fabrics can be tossed into the washer of course, and all the hot water kills everything – adult fleas, baby fleas and eggs – off quickly. But what about your carpet, which, by now, is probably home to more flea eggs and larvae than you would really like to think about?

Vacuuming is a great first step as that will take care of most of the adult fleas rather nicely. Just remember to empty the bag or cylinder outside, just in case a few even survive the suction. However, the grown up fleas are not the biggest problem the unhatched eggs are, and a vacuum cleaner cannot help there as the eggs are almost literally glued to the rug fibers.

Some people turn to a pesticide spray of some kind to try to address the problem. This has a number of drawbacks though. Many such things are not safe for use around pets or children and even more have a habit of ruining the colors in any carpet corrugate, something that would be especially disastrous in the case of a more expensive carpet.

So, what is the best course of action?

Remember, when we talked about tossing the loose fabrics (drapes, sheets, chair covers) etc. into the washer so the water could do its job? You should do the same for your carpet, just on a larger scale.

Call in a professional carpet cleaning service Arrange to service the formerly infested carpet to ensure that every last one of those nasty fleas – and their eggs – are gone and, as an added bonus you have a great smelling, nice clean carpet to help enhance your enjoyment of your home too.