How Much Does Flea Control Cost

Fleas are pests often present in pets, particularly dogs and cats. However, did you know that fleas can also be a nuisance to humans? Fleas can infest the inside of the homes as well as gardens through riding on people's clothing, purses, and other things. Inside the home, they can rapidly multiply to infest carpets and furniture, not to mention yet that their bite can cause irritation, infection, as well as tapeworm transfers. Hence, once your home is infested with fleas, you must make a move towards getting rid of them permanently.

The Cost Of Flea Control

The typical cost of flea control ranges from $100 to $300.

This price refers to hiring a pest control company to professionally spray both the interior and exterior of the home for fleas. This price often includes a warranty, usually 90 days in length.

Factors Affecting The Cost Of Flea Control

Size of the house. The size of the house to be treated from fleas greatly determines flea control prices. Homes that are big and have a large garden area cost higher for flea extermination as compared to average-sized homes with small gardens and pathways.

Infestation. A serious flea infestation in the property means a lot more expensive treatment, most of the time.

Risk of re-infestation. Some homes are more prone to flea re-infestation even after treatment, usually due to the presence of pets around the home. With this, the higher the risk of re-infestation is, the higher the cost of the flea control service usually goes.

Quality of service. You will notice that prices of flea control services vary from one pest control company to another. This is usually not only because of geographical location and completion but as well as the quality of services being offered. Some companies offer cheaper flea control services; however, they usually use low-quality pesticides that can be dangerous especially for people with asthma and allergy problems.

DIY. Besides hiring a professional pest control company, it is possible to get rid of fleas in a DIY manner. There are a lot of insecticides that can be purchased to help with flea control operations. Insecticides that you can purchase from local hardware stores cost around $5 to $50 only. These products can come in the form of liquid, aerosol, or powder that can all kill adult fleas and control eggs, pupae, and larvae. Flea foggers or flea bombs can also be purchased from $5 to $160. Flea bombs release a mist of insecticides all throughout a sealed room when activated.

Additional Costs

A second treatment after 10 to 14 days is usually required to make sure the flea control is a success. If the second treatment is not covered by a warranty, this will double the cost of the flea control service.

Your pets (dogs and cats) require being treated from fleas as well. You can use a flea and tick shampoo that can cost $20 to $40 for the whole year. Flea prevention pills are also available for $40 to $150 per year.

Tips Before You Decide To Get Rid Of Fleas

If you are hiring a pest control company, make sure that you only deal with licensed, insured, and experienced companies for the job. It is important that the company has a history of successful flea control experiences to guarantee that they know what they are doing and ensure the success of their service.

Get referrals from family and friends who have dealt with fleas before.

Get price quotations from different companies. Choose not only based on pricing but as well as the quality of their services, their reputation and credibility, the trainings of their employees, and the like.

Some pest control companies will offer you good discounts if the flea control service is combined with other pest control services such as termite control. Check out your needs and talk this out with the pest control company of your choice.

If you are doing the flea control method on your own, take note that it is important that you know where the fleas are hiding to ensure good results in the end. Also, choose the best insecticides that can guarantee killing fleas but will not be a risk to anyone's health.

Read and follow closely the directions as directed from flea foggers if you are using one. Make sure to seal the house and get out as quickly as possible and don't return to the house until the time specified by the manufacturer has already elapsed. Once you return, open all windows, wipe clean all surfaces, and turn on the fans.

Treat your pets at the same time you are treating the house from fleas. It is important that all your cats and dogs are free from fleas so you do not risk re-infestation.

Some Helpful Flea Control Tips You Can Use Yourself

• Get rid of the fleas on your pets. As you know, they are the source of home flea infestation.
• Give special attention to areas that your pet occupies regularly such as garage floors, basement, and the like. Most likely, you will find eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult fleas in these areas.
• Regularly vacuum carpets to prevent infestation. This can also help get rid of fleas if they are already infesting the household.
• You may use flea granules in the carpets once a year. Flea granules last for 12 months and can work silently without giving any harm to people and pets.
• Use insecticides if there is a serious case of the infestation. Check local hardware stores for effective yet safe insecticides that you can use at home.
• Begin flea prevention during spring because fleas are most active during summer and early fall. Spring is the best time for prevention to gain better results.
• Don't worry too much about adult fleas. Instead, focus your attention more on flea eggs. You may want to use a growth regulator to break the fleas' life cycle.
• Controlling fleas do not end with cleaning the inside of your house. You must extend the service outside of your home as well because fleas can live in the garden, too.

Natural Flea Control Solutions

Insecticides are commonly used in almost every flea control scenario. Whether it is done by an ordinary homeowner or a professional pest control company, the use of insecticides is not new anymore. However, it can be easily understood why a lot of people do not believe in the power of insecticides. Yes, they may kill fleas but they basically are not as safe and effective as you want them to be. Good thing that there are natural alternatives that can help control fleas in the household. Check out these amazing products that you can use to get rid of fleas:

• Salt. Salt can amazingly dehydrate flea eggs. This makes salt effective in dealing with the infestation. You can salt carpets, floors, and furniture and then vacuum the areas afterwards. Since flea eggs hatch every three days, it is a good approach to sprinkle the floors and other areas with salt for around nine days. Then, the areas must be vacuumed every three days to ensure that you have invaded the complete lifecycle of the flea. Borax can work the same as salt and can be used the same way to get rid of flea eggs. However, borax can retain moisture and can bring damage to floors and furniture.

• Natural repellents. Strong odors are known to repel fleas. Hence, the use of eucalyptus, lavender, citronella, and clove can be effective in keeping fleas off. If you are trying salt, you may want to consider mixing a few drops of lavender oil for the carpets and floors for an even better result. You can also put eucalyptus oil in a cotton ball and place them inside the vacuum bag when vacuuming fleas.

• Dish of water. A dish of water with several drops of soap can be a great tool in catching fleas at night. Put the dish of water under the night light on the floor. The fleas will be attracted to the water and they will hop inside but will not be able to get out anymore.

• Natural heat. You must know that fleas cannot survive temperatures that are over 90 degrees. If you close the whole house up on a hot summer day, the fleas will die naturally inside the house.