Have a vet treat a pet for fleas to help control infestation. Pets often reside part or full time inside the home, sometimes sleeping on the bed and accompanied by unwanted guests -- fleas. The adult flea bite can be intensely itchy and irritating to a hypersensitive person or pet. These small, wingless insects lay their eggs on an animal. The eggs soon fall off and land where the animal spends much of its time, such as under the couch or on your mattress. The eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on flea feces. The larvae become cocoon-wrapped pupae. In the pupae stage, the developing flea is protected from insecticides until it emerges. Remove all blankets and sheets and a mattress pad from the mattress. Place all machine-washable bedding immediately in the washing machine -- do not put it in a hamper with other clothing or wait until later to take care of it. Wash and dry the bedding on the hottest temperature settings. Put any dry-clean-only articles into a plastic garbage bag. Close the bag tightly using a wire twist tie.
Dust the mattress with a botanically based insecticide, such as one made from chrysanthemums. Shake the powder thoroughly over the bed. Coat all crevices along piped edges. Wait a couple of hours or the length of time suggested on the label. Vacuum the mattress thoroughly or follow the instructions on the label for removing the powder, pupae and remaining fleas. Remove the bag from the vacuum cleaner. Put the bag into the garbage. Take the garbage out of the home. Open the bag slightly with the nonwashable bedding inside. Spray inside with a botanically based spray insecticide. Leave the bag closed for two weeks. Shake the bag to encourage any remaining pupae to emerge from their cocoons. Open the bag slightly. Wait a few hours, or the length of time suggested on the label, before removing the items from the bag. Shake out the bedding outdoors, away from the home, before bringing them to a dry cleaner. Things You Will Need Garbage bag Twist tie Botanically based powder insecticide Botanically based spray insecticide Vacuum Warnings References The University of Kentucky: Ridding Your Home of Fleas Photo Credits Digital Vision./Photodisc/Getty Images Suggest a Correction
Fleas aren't just an uncomfortable problem for your pet -- they can wreak havoc on your entire house, leaving itchy, red bumps in their wake. Although they usually stay on their host's body or are found in the carpet, it's possible for fleas to infest your mattress. To get back to a good night's sleep, you'll want to remove them from your bedding as quickly as possible. The key is addressing adult fleas, larvae and eggs so you don't wind up with a recurrence, which means attacking the problem in a few ways. Fleas don’t usually infest bedding, so you should first verify that the insects in your mattress are actually fleas and not bed bugs. Adult fleas are small in size, usually measuring less than 2 1/2 millimeters, or about the size of a pen tip. They are reddish brown in color and their flat, thin bodies typically have a slight sheen. The hair that covers their bodies allows them to attach firmly to host animals so they’re not easily shaken free. But fleas have six long legs too, so it’s easy for them to jump large distances.
Because adult fleas spend the majority of their time on the host animal, treat your pets if you want to get rid of the fleas in your bed. Consult a veterinarian to determine the best flea control products for your pet, but usually, a flea-killing shampoo is the most effective option. Also pick up a flea prevention product that keeps fleas from returning. These include topical solutions that you apply directly to the pet’s skin. Dosage depends on the species and size of the animal, so use a product specifically recommended by your veterinarian for your pet. Fleas can still wind up in your mattress because fleas eggs often fall off the pet and land in bedding, carpeting, cushions and other areas. To get rid of the fleas, remove all the bedding from the mattress and wash it on a hot water setting. With the mattress stripped, use a vacuum to go over its entire surface to remove adult fleas as well as eggs, larvae or pupae that may be present. You may want to go over the mattress two or three times to ensure that all the insects are removed.
Repeat and turn the mattress over, if that's an option. Take the vacuum cleaner outside to remove its bag or empty its canister to so that fleas don’t get back into the house. Some fleas may survive the washing and vacuuming – or they may be hiding in nearby carpeting or cushions and leap back into your mattress. To ensure that all of the insects are removed from your mattress, you need an insecticide to kill them off. You can purchase products that you can apply yourself, such as aerosol sprays. For best results, look for a product that targets adult fleas, eggs, larvae and pupae to prevent a recurrence. Read the label on the insecticide carefully for safety instructions -- family members and pets shouldn’t be present when the insecticide is applied, and the surfaces where it’s applied should be allowed to dry before they’re used again. Ventilate the room, and leave the area while the insecticide dries. If you aren’t comfortable applying the insecticide yourself, contact a pest control professional to inspect your bedroom and surrounding area to determine the best way to treat the problem.
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment: Ridding Your Home of Fleas Orkin: Fleas -- Facts, Identification & Control 1-800 Pet Meds: How to Get Rid of Fleas in Your Home Healthline: Flea Bites -- Symptoms and Treatment You May Also Like Fleas and bed bugs are two tiny, blood-sucking critters that often elicit disgust. While fleas are mainly associated with pets and households... You can kill fleas that are living on bed linens, but they will come right back if you do not control the... How to remove fleas from bedding and mattresses using traditional washing and drying, drycleaning and natural insecticide methods. Bed bugs are an all too common nuisance within the home. These pests invade our sheets and parasitically feed off of our... Fleas and other insects may lay eggs or even live on or near down pillows and other bedding. Never spray bedding with... Fleas are small insects that infest humans and animals (See Reference 1).