Flea Powder for Carpets
If you’re battling fleas then you know that keeping them off your dog is only half the battle. As long as there are fleas, or flea eggs, anywhere in your house then they will keep hatching and biting your dog and laying more eggs. If you have carpets in your home then one of the best ways to get rid of fleas is by using flea powder.
How to use flea powder for carpets
1.Sprinkle the flea powder. It’s very easy to use flea powder on your carpets. Flea powder typically comes in a can or plastic bottle. Most flea powders contain a form of boric acid powder called borate. This powder won’t harm you but it will be dusty when you sprinkle it all over your carpets. You may wish to wear a mask over your mouth and nose while you sprinkle the powder over your carpets so you won’t inhale the dust. It’s usually a good idea to put your pets outside so they won’t inhale it at first either. Simply sprinkle the powder over your carpets in a heavy concentration, especially if you have a lot of fleas in your home.
2. Work the powder into your carpet. Once the powder is on your carpet you can take a broom and work the powder into the carpet fibers so the powder will reach the most fleas and flea eggs possible. You won’t get all of them but you will make a good start.
3. Vacuum. You will need to vacuum to remove the flea powder you sprinkled on the carpets as well as the fleas that are looking for an exit. Don’t worry. They will be vacuumed up with the flea powder and die. You should also vacuum your furniture and your closets. Go over any place where fleas can hide, including your dog’s bedding. Wash your own bedding as well. As soon as you are through vacuuming you should seal up the vacuum bag and take it out to your trash container to throw it away so no fleas can return to the house.
4. Vacuum daily until all fleas are gone. You may need to keep vacuuming daily for several weeks. Fleas can hatch out several weeks after they are laid so the fleas that you kill with the flea powder have probably already laid eggs in your carpet. Those eggs will start hatching out a few weeks later, so you may need to repeat the flea powder treatment for your carpet at that time.
5. Keep treating your dog. Make sure you stay vigilant and continue to treat your dog for fleas by whatever method you are using so he doesn’t bring new fleas into your home.
There are several good flea powders that you can use on your carpets such as Fleabuster RX for Fleas Plus, Adams Carpet Powder with Linalool and Nylar (which also contains insect growth regulators), Sentry Home Flea and Tick Carpet Powder, and Farnam Zodiac Carpet Powder.
You can purchase your own borax, if you prefer, and it will do the same job. Just look for 20 Mule Team Borax detergent in your laundry aisle. Don’t let your pets ingest any borax OR any carpet powder as it is toxic.
If you prefer to use something non-toxic on your carpets you can purchase some diatomaceous earth (food grade). You can buy this form of diatomaceous earth in agricultural supply stores, garden stores, and health food stores. Be sure not to confuse it with the pool grade version of diatomaceous earth which is toxic. You apply DE the same way you apply carpet powder, by sprinkling it generously around your house. However, unlike the carpet powder, you should leave the DE down on your carpets for 72 hours. It takes this long for the DE to dehydrate the fleas and kill them. After 72 hours you can vacuum up the diatomaceous earth and the dead fleas. You may wish to sprinkle some DE throughout your house regularly to protect against fleas. You can also sprinkle some in your pet’s bedding. Food grade DE is non-toxic to people and pets and some people like to feed a little to their dogs each day as a wormer.
Over the course of many years I have tried all of these flea treatments and they all work. Carpet powders work, 20 Mule Team Borax works, and diatomaceous earth works. I live in the southern United States and, before topical spot-on flea treatments for dogs, fleas were a terrible scourge nearly ever year. I would say that if you have a heavy infestation of fleas that a good carpet powder, applied frequently, is probably your best choice, along with regular flea control for your dog. I personally like Adams Carpet Powder but all of the powders mentioned here are good products.
The key with flea control is to start early in the spring and to continue to treat your home and your dog even after you stop seeing fleas. By the time you start seeing fleas on your dog you can bet that there are already many more in your house and they are laying eggs. Even after you stop seeing fleas, the eggs will go on hatching for weeks, with new fleas appearing. So, keep using your flea products all through the flea season.
Related posts:
