Protecting Your Home From Pests

When battling the war against fleas and ticks, it’s important to use a combination approach. Treat your yard, home and dogs. If you have cats, please protect them too. Research products made especially for cats, as they are sensitive to most insect repellents for dogs and even certain essential oils.

How to Protect Your Home

This is probably the easiest part because if your yard and dog are protected, your home is usually free of fleas and ticks. Now, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be proactive. It takes only one flea and within a few days, your home is infested–yikes!

I won’t bore you with a flea and tick’s life cycle. You can check that out here. It’s important to know, but if you’re already aware, I’ll jump right into the good stuff!

Wash Bedding

Wash your dog’s bedding weekly. This prevents fleas and their eggs from nesting in your dog’s bedding. When washing, I recommend using a hot water cycle and a fabric-free detergent.

Vacuum Carpet and Flooring Often

Most homes are carpet-free now. However, we still have area rugs, which ticks, fleas and their eggs can hide. Vacuum weekly or, if your throw rugs are washable, throw them in the hot cycle and air dry. For non-washable rugs, vacuuming works great.

For tile and hardwood flooring, mop weekly with a gentle cleanser, such as Seventh Generation Disinfectant Spray with citronella and lemongrass oil. I’m addicted to this stuff. Not only does it kill 99 percent of germs, but it also kills and repels pests. And yes, I’ve used this on our hardwood floors for years. Our floors are dark espresso and still look brand new.

Moderate to Heavy Infestations

For infestations, wash everything in hot water weekly and vacuum and mop floors daily. While this may not remove all fleas, you’re still removing some and their eggs, which is a good thing. In the past, I’ve added lemongrass and lavender to my steam cleaner and it did a pretty good job on carpet.

For heavy infestations, pull out the big guns and use insecticide carpet cleaners and sprays. Trust me, this is not my first choice, but given Lyme’s and other pest borne disease symptoms, I say knock them out and follow up with natural products.

READ ALSO: Protecting Your Yard From Pests