Flea Control in Downers Grove, IL

Signs of Fleas

• Pets scratching, licking or biting at their skin more than usual
• Small red bites in clusters on ankles and lower legs
• Flea dirt: black specks in pet bedding, on carpet or on your pet's skin. Place them on a wet white paper towel, and if they turn reddish brown, it is flea dirt
• Tiny dark insects jumping on pets, carpets or your socks
• Fleas that jump on white socks when you walk across a carpet

Why Fleas Are Hard to Get Rid of

Fleas have four life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Adult fleas live on your pet, but most of the flea population is not on the pet at all.

• Eggs fall off your pet into carpet, bedding, furniture and cracks in floors
• Larvae hide deep in carpet fibers and dark spots away from light
• Pupae sit in a protective cocoon that can wait for weeks or months until it senses warmth, vibration or carbon dioxide, which means someone is close by
• New adults hatch and jump onto pets and people

That is why fleas can seem to come back suddenly after you have treated your pet, or when you return to a home that has been empty for a while.

Where Fleas Come From

• Pets, both dogs and cats
• Wildlife in the yard, such as raccoons, opossums and stray cats, which leave fleas under decks, porches and sheds
• Visiting pets
• Used furniture, rugs or bedding

Even pets that stay mostly indoors can pick up fleas when they go outside for a short time.

How We Get Rid of Fleas

Flea control works best when the home, the yard and the pet are all handled together.

1. Inspection. We check where your pets sleep and spend time, both indoors and outdoors.

2. Treat the home. We treat carpets, rugs, baseboards, furniture and other places where flea eggs and larvae collect.

3. Treat the yard. We treat shady spots where pets rest and where wildlife may leave fleas, such as under decks, along fences and in dense plants.

4. Follow up. New fleas continue to hatch after treatment, so a second visit about two weeks later helps catch them.

Your vet handles your pet. We do not treat pets. Talk to your veterinarian about a flea product for every dog and cat in the home. This step matters as much as treating the house.

How to Prepare for Flea Treatment

• Vacuum carpets, rugs, furniture and floors well, and empty the vacuum outside in a sealed bag
• Wash pet bedding, throw blankets and rugs on hot
• Pick up items from the floor so we can reach the carpet and baseboards
• Take pets out of treated areas during treatment and keep them out until your technician says it is safe
• Keep vacuuming every day or two for a couple of weeks. The vibration helps hatch pupae so treatment can reach them

Mistakes That Let Fleas Come Back

Treating only the pet. Most fleas are in the home and yard, not on the animal.

Treating only the house. Fleas from the yard will come back in on your pet.

Using foggers. Foggers do not reach under furniture or deep in carpet, where larvae hide.

Stopping too soon. Pupae keep hatching for weeks. Skipping the follow up can bring the problem back.

Fleas Across Downers Grove

We treat fleas in homes and yards throughout Downers Grove, including ZIP codes 60515 and 60516, and in nearby towns such as Lisle, Woodridge, Westmont and Darien.