If you’re planning to move in the near future, you should take certain precautions to ensure any fleas infesting your previous home are left behind. Carrying just a couple fleas to your home can result in a full-blown infestation that spirals out of control. It’s not uncommon for families to unknowingly bring these blood-sucking parasites into their new home after moving, at which point they must invest additional time and energy to exterminate them. So, how can you safely move without these blood-sucking parasites hitching a free ride?
Fleas prefer to stay hidden in the fur coats of dogs and cats. Here, they have a readily available source of food (your pet’s blood), and they are hidden from natural predators. If you own a dog or cat, it’s crucial that you use a flea treatment/preventative medicine, such as FrontLine Plus or Advantage. These products are classified as insect growth inhibitors (IGI), meaning they break the flea’s life cycle. Other products are designed to only kill adult fleas, but IGI’s like FrontLine and Advantage kill adults, pupae, larvae and eggs.
Don’t wait until the night before you move to apply flea medicine on your pet, but instead begin treatment at least one month in advance. This should be more than enough time for the medicine to settle into their system, killing any fleas that your pet comes into contact with. Of course, the exact method of application varies depending on the specific product, so take a few minutes to read the instructions before using any flea product on your pet. If you have any questions about application, contact the manufacturer for more information.
The only sure-fire way to move without bringing fleas with you is to treat your old home. Even if you apply a premium IGI medicine to your pet, some fleas may still roam throughout your home, catching a ride to your new home in boxes, bed sheets, clothes or other belongings. Once you’ve eliminated all of the fleas from inside your home, you can safely move without fear of bringing these blood-sucking parasites with you.
You can read through our blog here at FleaBitesonHuman.com for more flea-fighting tips, but the recipe for success involves a combination of temperate control, humidity control, and removing the flea’s source of food. In other words, you should lower the temperature and humidity in your home and use an IGI or IGR flea medicine on any pets you own.