What to Do When Flea Sprays Don't Work

Locate Flea Hiding Spots and Treat with Powders

• Determine the areas of your home where your pet spends most of its time. For example, your dog or cat may have a special pillow, couch or chair that it likes to nap in during the day. These areas are prime candidates for flea infestation. Sprinkle Borax powder or Diatomaceous Earth over your entire carpeting and onto your pet's bedding and other areas where your pet spends time. Do not forget the dog house, too. Leave the powder sitting over night, and vacuum the next day. These powders will kill adult fleas and larva, but will not kill the eggs, so repeat at least once a week, until you are no longer seeing fleas on your pet. When using Borax or Diatomaceous Earth it is recommended that you secure your pet in a different area of the house, until the powder has settled. Although these powders are not harmful to pets, ingesting the powder may irritate the mucus membranes in the nose and mouth.

Vacuum All Flooring

• Vacuuming is one of the most important steps in getting a handle on fleas. Whether you have carpeting or not, vacuuming your floors eliminates adult fleas and their larva from the floor. Besides vacuuming areas in which your pet spends time, you also should vacuum your own furniture, sofas, chairs and underneath any cushions or couches. After you vacuum, dispose of the bag and empty the vacuum filter right away; fleas can remain alive in the reservoir of the vacuum for several days. Repeat these steps daily, before and after treating your pets. Continue until you are no longer seeing new fleas emerge.

Wash All Pet Bedding

• Though pet bedding should be washed on a regular basis, a flea infestation makes this even more necessary. Wash your pet's bed weekly to stop new fleas from hatching in the beds and to get rid of the fleas that are already living within the fibers of the pet bedding. Continue washing pet bedding weekly until you no longer see fleas on your pet.

Wash Your Pet

• After working with the inside of your home, you need to treat your pet. The best thing to kill fleas on your pet, other than sprays, is to use regular household dish soap. Because dish soap is thicker than regular soap, the fleas become caught up in the lather and drown. You will need to repeat this process once a week to once every two weeks, until the flea infestation has abated.

Use Flea Bombs

• Flea bombs, or foggers, cover roughly a 700-square-foot area with chemicals designed to kill fleas, larva and eggs. Flea bombs are toxic and should be used as a last resort. Choose enough bombs to cover your entire home. Once activated, they allow a layer of insecticide to spread though the treatable area. Some varieties are meant to cover sofas, chairs, curtains and carpeting. If you do not want these areas treated, either remove or cover them. While your home is being treated, you, your family and your pets will need to leave the home and remain out of the house for several hours. When you return home, all windows and doors need to be opened to allow the home to ventilate and to remove harmful chemical residue that might remain in the air. Be sure to wash your bedding, dishes, clothing and any other items onto which the flea bomb chemicals may have settled. This is especially important if you have small children in the home. Some foggers recommend that you vacuum your carpets every day for up to 21 days after bombing, to gather up dead fleas and any remaining stragglers.