Houston Flea Control

Fleas love the warm and humid climate here in Houston, TX. As a seasonal pest, flea problems tend to become more serious during spring and summer months. Flea eggs require sufficient humidity (at least 50% or greater) and with a warm host for a blood meal, this makes our area of Texas optimal for flea infestations. In this Houston flea control post we’ll talk about some of the problems fleas bring to your home, how to prevent them and/or treat an existing problem.

Fleas thrive in warm temperatures. From late spring and all through summer, most areas around Houston will experience outbreaks of fleas, but keep in mind, fleas don’t carry calendars. They breed in warmer areas, normally 60 degrees or warmer, but with today’s home being climate controlled, without proper elimination of the fleas, flea larvae and flea eggs, they can easily breed year-round. The favorable climate conditions allow these pests to flourish, and once your home and pets are infested you may have a serious problem.

For every flea that you see in your house or on your pets, there are likely to be hundreds of eggs and larvae around your home. Effective flea control should include treating the environment to remove fleas and flea larvae, as well as treating your pet.

To be effective, flea treatments should encompass 3 steps:

1. Treating the home

2. The yard (especially the back yard)

3.  Your pet, to prevent re-infestation of the home

Preparation is key to obtaining optimal results of flea elimination.

1. Picking up and clearing as much floor space as possible for thorough treatment

2. Vacuuming all floors and carpeted areas help open the carpet fibers so the treatment penetrates better and emptying the vacuum canister or bag and throwing it away immediately

3. Clean or replace pet bedding. Same for any sheets or pillows that may have fleas on them. Wash in hot water if possible

4. Starting or continuing your pet’s topical flea treatment for prevention and to aid in prohibiting re-infestation of fleas.

If your flea problem is severe, you may need professional flea treatment from a pest control company. Your pest control professional will use flea sterilization and growth regulator agents to help reduce reproduction although the agent does not affect the current flea stage that’s already reached the advanced, pre-adult pupae stage. The sterilization is for the aid in preventing any new flea eggs introduced from hatching to adults.

Depending on how long the infestation of fleas had progressed to, the first treatment will take care of the immediate fleas that are existing but a 2nd treatment may be needed at 14-18 days after the initial service to clear up the balance of the hatched cycle. Some patience and understanding is needed during the hatch out cycle. Even after a complete and thorough flea treatment, fleas in Houston will continue to hatch out and bite during the normal 2-3 week biological hatch out cycle. There are no products that will instantly eliminate all stages of flea activity in an infested premise.