Fleas are more than just a nuisance; they can be deadly. Fleas are an unwelcome sight in any home, whether they came in on Fido’s back, a child’s school bag, or even through an open door. If you’ve noticed small, brown bugs with extremely long jumps in your home (or, worse, discovered you had fleas after being bitten!) you should contact a pest control right away. What do exterminators use to kill fleas?
Fleas can bring diseases like cat scratch fever, typhus, and even the plague into your home. They also cause itchy, uncomfortable skin infections in people who aren’t even aware they’ve been bitten. They are parasites, which means they feed on their hosts’ blood. Don’t let yourself be that host!
Assessment is the first step in any flea extermination procedure
Prior to the service, a Preyon pest control professional will come to your home to assess the situation and devise a treatment plan based on your specific needs.
Once the scope of the problem has been determined, they will most likely present you with one of two options. Heat treatment and chemical treatment are examples of these.
Treatment with chemicals
- Chemical treatment typically entails the application of a residual flea control product containing pesticides as an active ingredient (s).
- These are typically applied with a spray or fogger, which disperses the product in a fine mist over exposed surfaces in your home. This creates a residue that remains for a few weeks, long enough to kill all adult fleas as well as the larvae that hatch from the remaining eggs.
- Adulticides and insect growth regulators are two types of insecticides that are frequently used in chemical treatments.
- Adulticides (like permethrin and fipronil) kill adult fleas on contact, eliminating all living insects in your home.
- Insect growth regulators (IGRs) disrupt larval growth and development, preventing them from maturing. This effectively stops the flea reproduction cycle and kills any bugs that hatch after the initial treatment.
- On the day of treatment, a residual chemical treatment can effectively eliminate all active fleas in your home. This method does not kill flea eggs, but its effects are long enough to kill any new fleas that hatch in the coming weeks.
Thermal treatment
- Heat treatment is another popular flea extermination method. Many people prefer this natural, chemical-free process as a non-toxic, mess-free way to get rid of fleas.
- The affected area is heated to around 50 degrees Celsius for an extended period of time during heat treatment. Without the use of pesticides, this effectively kills adult insects and eggs.
- One of the primary advantages of heat treatment is that its effects are immediate. Unlike chemical treatment, which takes weeks to work, heat treatment kills all adult fleas, larvae, and eggs on the same day.
- This is ideal if you only have a small area of your home or a few infested items to treat, but it is not a practical way to eliminate fleas from your entire house or yard.
Flea Exterminator Cost
Flea extermination costs between $75 and $400, with an average cost of $270. This cost includes professional flea services like inspections, vacuuming, and interior, and exterior applications. Please keep in mind that most infestations necessitate more than just an initial treatment, which can cost an additional $75 to $200 per visit. Always search for the best pest control companies near me.
While you can choose to have treatments as needed, some pest control companies provide contracts that include flea spraying every month or every few months. This monthly cost is typically less than the cost of a one-time treatment, which is typically around $75.
Factors Influencing Flea Extermination Pricing
A variety of factors influence the cost of flea extermination, including treatment method, location, and infestation level. The following is a breakdown of each factor and how it affects the total cost of flea extermination.
Method of Treatment
The cost of flea treatment methods will vary depending on the labour intensity and materials used. While most professionals use fumigants to exterminate fleas, others may use heat treatment or vacuuming.
Treatment Category Average Cost Description
Vacuuming $80-$140 Includes high-powered vacuuming of your home’s furniture, carpets, pet bedding, and other crevices to remove scattered eggs.
The flea bomb
$100–$200
Aerosol cans disperse pesticide over a few hours, killing fleas. This method is usually applied in a single room.
Spray $150–$300
Experts spray every nook and cranny in a suspected flea or flea egg-infested room.
Fumigation $175–$350
A comprehensive treatment that includes spray, foggers, and flea bombs to combat a large infestation.
$300-$500 for heat treatment
A single room’s carpeting is heated, killing exposed fleas, larvae, and eggs.
It’s worth noting that these treatment options can be combined to combat multiple flea infestations throughout your home. A professional exterminator, for example, may vacuum and fumigate your home to eliminate fleas and their eggs.
Location
The overall cost of flea extermination will also be determined by the location of the fleas in your home. Some flea outbreaks, for example, are isolated to a single room, making them easier to contain and treat. In this case, treatment would be less expensive than whole-home extermination, in which professionals would treat every crack and cranny of your home. Learn about how do exterminators get rid of rats in walls. Preyon Pest Control provides the best services for termite control. For more information call us at 708-232-7703.