How to Get Rid of Fleas on Dogs and in the House

Not sure how to get rid of fleas on dogs and in the house?

You have to out-clean them—end of story.

Fleas come from dog walks, other dogs, and your yard. Your yard probably has fleas, and your home harbors fleas if warm and humid. 

Lots of squirrels in your yard can also be an attractor of fleas. Deter the squirrels and fleas by keeping garlic powder and white pepper around — and drop it in the yard. You can also purchase flea spray for the yard to keep the population down.

Groom your dog and give them baths continually, paying close attention to hotspot areas like behind the ears and in dense fur areas.

Don’t Take Your Flea-Ridden Dog to the Groomer

Remember, if your dog has fleas or you suspect your dog has fleas, be sure to notify your groomer before you take your pet in for a visit. Some groomers won’t allow a visit from a dog with fleas, and for those that would allow, it’s best to notify so they can prepare necessary treatment like Capstar pills and more.

12 Ways to Prevent Fleas on Your Dog and in Your Home & Yard

Fleas can test your patience and cause you to want to throw in the towel and give up on the problem. But don’t fret! You can’t give up. Tackle the issue head-on, and use the list below for ways to confront the little pests.

1. Give Your Dog a Monthly Topical Flea Treatment — You can give a topical treatment like FRONTLINE Plus Flea and Tick Treatment for Dogs that goes between the shoulder blades as an oil. More natural remedies are available to spray on paws and fur more regularly without being toxic to your dog. For our 12 lb pomeranian, we use the orange package of FRONTLINE Plus for dogs that weigh 5-22 lbs.
2. Give Your Dog a Monthly Bath — Bathing your dog monthly with dog shampoo will help to kill fleas due to the soapy water. It’s a great line of first defense against fleas! Be sure to use water that isn’t too hot for your dog and shampoos that are specific for dog use.
3. Give a Monthly Flea Treatment Chew — Giving your dog a monthly flea treatment medication administered via a chewable can help to break the flea lifecycle. Additionally, most chewable medications administered for fleas also double as prevention for heartworm — which is a must to give to your dog to ensure they do not get infected. We use the Sentinel Spectrum brand of chew for our dog, which is a combined dose of milbemycin oxime, lufenuron and praziquantel, which also kills flea eggs.
4. Use a Capstar Treatment for Bad Infestations — Capstar fast-acting oral flea treatment uses nitenpyram as an active ingredient to start killing fleas within 30 minutes of treatment. Many professional groomers use Capstar when a dog has an infestation, giving a dose before bathing and grooming, allowing the dead fleas to fall off a dog during the grooming process. Remember, Capstar will only kill adult fleas that have already hatched and not unhatched flea eggs.
5. Spray Your Home for Bugs — I’m unfamiliar with heavy-chemical treatments for homes, but I use a few natural products to help prevent fleas. Skout’s Honor Pet Supply Co. makes a maximum strength flea and tick dog and home spray with cedarwood oil, peppermint oil, and eugenol as active ingredients. It smells a bit like Christmas when sprayed! Another natural spray to try is TropiClean natural flea & tick home spray. This product smells citrusy and uses clove oil, lemongrass oil, cedarwood oil, and cinnamon oil as active ingredients to deter fleas and ticks. You can also purchase flea spray treatments that release a chemical fog in your home and reach more surfaces.
6. Keep Your Yard Free of Debris & Treat with Anti-Flea Spray — Black Flag, Wondercide, Vet’s Best, and Adams Plus are all brands with notable flea and tick sprays that can be used in the yard to reduce local infestations. Don’t let your grass grow long or let piles of debris build up, as they are safe havens for fleas.
7. Brush Your Dog Daily — With a flea comb, use a blow dryer to brush through fur and look for fleas. Hotspots where fleas are living most you’ll find irritated skin and flea feces left behind. Usually, you’ll find a lurking flea nearby a feces hotspot.
8. Spray Bedding & Furniture with Anti-Flea — We regularly clean and spray our dog’s bedding with Skout’s Honor Pet Supply Co. flea and tick spray and TropiClean natural flea & tick home spray. Let your pet’s bedding dry out before bringing it back inside for their enjoyment and comfort.
9. Vacuum & Steam Clean Furniture — Steam cleaning your furniture kills fleas with soap, and vacuuming your furniture and floors will help suck up adult fleas and flea eggs. The more fleas you can eradicate, the more they won’t repopulate!
10. Treat Your Houseplants — Although it’s not common for fleas to live in houseplants, you can treat them with neem oil to ward off fleas, mosquitoes and biting midges.
11. Keep Your Dog Off Your Bed & Furniture — Keeping your dog off your bed and furniture can help isolate the areas where fleas live in your home. To trap fleas in the house, you can place a sticky dome flea trap near the area where your pets live most — near their bed or favorite area. You have to hit fleas hard and continue using all of your other flea control methods, along with the sticky dome flea trap, to work correctly. ASPECTEK makes a sticky dome flea trap sold on Amazon that uses a bright light to attract nearby fleas instead o using chemicals or poisons.
12. Keep Squirrels Out of Your Yard — Squirrels carry fleas, so it’s best to keep them away from your yard to reduce your local flea population and contact with your dog. We’ve used Mature’s Mace Squirrel Repellent to keep them away from our yard and feeders, including peppermint and cinnamon oil — both annoying smells to squirrels.

Never giving up is how to get rid of fleas and dogs and in the house. You must be relentless.

Remember, your dog can pick up hitchhiking fleas or ticks any time while on a walk or away from home — even if your home and dog have been treated. So, no matter what you do, you could see a flea or two every once in a while on your dog.

What should I do if I’ve got a bad flea infestation?

It’s best to get further advice and recommendations from pest control, your veterinarian, and groomer if you have a bad flea infestation. They will be able to offer additional professional support and advice for the termination of your flea problem.

What kills fleas on dogs instantly?

Capstar is a fast-acting oral flea treatment that uses the active ingredient nitenpyram to kill adult fleas 30 minutes after initial administration.

What household item kills fleas? What do fleas hate the most?

Although it doesn’t kill fleas, they are repelled by vinegar. Use a bit of vinegar and water as your floor-cleaning solution to help deter adult fleas from making your home their breeding ground.