How to Kill All Four Stages of Fleas

Fleas are a formidable opponent in Florida. In fact, here in Florida, flea problems practically reach epidemic proportions.

If you want to get rid of a flea infestation in your home, you need to attack from a couple different directions. This will help to get rid of fleas in all four stages.

The four stages fleas go through in their life cycle are egg, larva, pupa and adult. Let’s take a look at what we can do to kill fleas in each stage.

During the egg stage, the best way to disrupt the life cycle is with boric acid. Boric acid will dry out fleas during any stage and disrupt digestion. Essentially the pest starves to death.

Boric acid is still your best bet during the larvae stage. Boric acid is very natural and safe. You can put it down on your carpet and leave it there for extended periods of time. Any Boron based product will do the trick.

The pupa stage is the trickiest of them all. Essentially, when the pupa is wrapped in its cocoon, there is nothing you can do to kill it.

Fleas will stay in this stage for anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks normally but if conditions are not right for it to hatch, it can stay in the pupa stage for a year or more. In Florida, your home will usually provide optimal conditions for the pupa to hatch.

Because you cannot kill the flea in the pupa stage you need to concentrate on the other three stages in order to interrupt the life cycle.

Adult fleas probably need a spray in order to kill them. A Prethrin based spray is effective and safe. Use the spray directly on areas where your flea infested pets spend a lot of time. Lift up cushions, mattresses and pet bedding. Spray carpeting and drapery if needed.

After about 2 weeks you may need to repeat this process as the new pupa hatch. You should only need to repeat this one time. Now your home will be flea free and you did it with safe, natural products.