FLEAS! How to protect our home and my pregnant self!

[The Governor]

Our gorgeous little man was away with a dog sitter over the weekend and when we got him back on Tuesday I noticed some fleas crawling around on him. 

Took him straight to the vet who confirmed it was fleas and they immediately gave him a Nexguard which should kill the fleas (although it's been 8 hours and I'm still seeing live ones on him despite being told they'll be killed off within 2 hours?)

My main concern now is firstly, making sure all the fleas are killed from his body but also preventing them from spreading in the apartment.

Are there any safe sprays that anyone would recommend we use on the carpets etc? I have washed all sheets, clothing, towels, curtains and will continue to vacuum rigorously for the next 3 months but wondered if anyone knew of any good sprays that are safe for pregnant women to use in the home?

Thanks! 

[Amy and Annabelle]

With you being pregnant I don't know if food grade Diatomaceous Earth would be ok or not. It is a powder, I am thinking more about breathing the powder dust. Otherwise it is safe.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Safe perhaps, but not very effective. :(

[Amy and Annabelle]

Not surprised, the more natural remedies of most things aren't as effective as their chemical laden counterparts.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Which is why the chemical versions were developed. Nobody in their right mind would choose to use them if something "natural" worked, lol. 

[Stacy]

I could be totally wrong, but I thought it was Capstar that they gave to immediately kill fleas until the longer acting meds started working. 

I have been blessed not to have much trouble with fleas, but way back when I found a couple creepy crawlies on my papillon. We treated the dog and didn't worry too much about the house and I never had any issues with them infesting the house. I think they mostly stay on the dog until it gets really bad. 

Good luck! pests are no fun. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, Capstar is what we use when we pull an unknown dog from a shelter, before we can get them to a vet, to make sure they don;t infest the volunteer's car with fleas. I don;t know how long it takes for the other kinds of long term flea prevents to work.

And it's also correct that if you treat for fleas very early, before they have had any chance to lay eggs, you usually don;t get an infestation. it's the eggs (and subsequent larva) and not the fleas themselves that end up in your carpets, floors, sofas, etc and cause a nightmare.

[Stacy]

Now, if you brought home a bedbug I would be truly freaking out. Those things are virtually impossible to get rid of and are the scourge of the earth. But a couple fleas after coming home from boarding shouldn't be a major life-changing issue. I can't imagine what they did before modern flea meds.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Ugh, my neighbor's house had (has?) bedbugs brought in by grandpa who moved in with them.

They hired exterminators who have come back at least 5 times (they had some kind of guarantee thankfully) and I'm still not sure they are rid of them.  The whole process took at least a year and I think *maybe* finally they are gone.

They recently replaced their upstairs carpet with hardwood and I think that made the difference.

[Stacy]

My work nightmare! My family discovered bedbugs in a vacation cabin we stayed in a couple years ago. I was terrified that one would end up in my house, but I seem to have dodged that bullet. But from what I read online the place we stayed still has them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Fleas are pretty darn tough to get rid of too, once you have an infestation. Trust me on this one, it happened to me. It took 4 months and several thousand dollars to get rid of them. I had to replace the mattresses and bomb the house twice. It was so bad, I was getting bitten. 

Hardwood floors don;t help with fleas, either, because the eggs fall into the cracks between the planks. They get everywhere. And flea eggs can remain dormant for a year in an empty house. Then people come in, and the combination of the carbon dioxide mammals breathe out along with the vibrations of movement cause the eggs to hatch, and your nightmare begins. 
Remember that: carbon dioxide and vibrations. That's what attracts them. And they live on blood. I laugh every time I see one of those stupid posts in some raw feeding group saying that fleas aren't attracted to healthy dogs. Um, news flash...if your dog is breathing and has blood in his veins, the fleas are attracted. They don't know what he eats, lol. At the time I was getting bitten, I was winning trophies in fitness competitions and I didn't eat dry dog food. 

[Stacy]

Ugh, that sounds just awful. I keep the girls on their meds religiously. I really thought that this area didn't have problems with fleas, but I think the truth is that the flea meds just work really well. 

[The Governor]

Thanks everyone so much! So, do you think I am ok to just wait for the meds to work and just keep vacuuming to be sure that nothing has spread in the house? I think I've definitely caught them very early and I've only see a small amount of fleas on one particular area of my dog so I'm hoping that it's not as bad as it could be.

Just one side note because I'm now worried about bed bugs - is there any chance that what I've seen on him could be bed bugs and not fleas?!! The vet said she saw flea droppings on him so I think we're safe...