The Complete Guide to Getting Rid of Fleas

Complete Guide to Getting Rid of Fleas header
4 October 2022

The Complete Guide to Getting Rid of Fleas

Finding out your pet has fleas can be a real nuisance, but if left for too long, one flea can quickly become an infestation. This is why it’s essential to know how to handle your pet having fleas and how to effectively get rid of them. In this guide, we are going to be explaining everything you need to know about fleas, including how to identify them, how to kill them, and how to stop them coming back. 

Contents: 

What Are Fleas?

Fleas are small parasitic insects with strong legs, which allow them to jump onto your pet. They burrow themselves in your pet’s fur, bite your pet, and feed on its blood. Once fleas have made themselves at home, they continue to multiply until they become a full infestation, which can be detrimental to your pet’s health and an annoyance in your home.

Fleas are not picky eaters and will often latch onto whatever warm body they can find, although they prefer to live in your cat or dog's fur. Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) and dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) are the most common types of fleas and tend to cause the most problems. 

What Do Fleas Look Like? 

The only time you’ll be able to spot a flea on your pet is when it is in the adult stage of its lifecycle. They are tiny, but you should be able to see them as brown spots in your pet’s fur. Fleas are wingless, brown insects with six legs, the back two of which are long and perfect for jumping on their new host. As an adult, a flea can measure between 1-4 mm, depending on the type. 

Adult flea in pet furAdult flea in pet fur

Stages of the Flea Life Cycle

There are four key stages to a flea life cycle; eggs, larvae, pupae and adult. Below, we discuss what happens at each of these life stages and what that means for your pet.  

Flea Eggs

A female flea can lay between 25-50 eggs per day and within 24-48 hours of acquiring a new host. These eggs drop off the host into carpets and bedding where they take anywhere between 2-5 days to hatch. Flea eggs are small and white, often hard to see with the naked eye, though they are often found near ‘flea dirt’ which is also dropped by adult fleas. 

Flea Larvae

Once they’re ready, the flea larvae will hatch from their egg and begin feeding on the flea dirt left behind by the adult fleas. This occurs off the host in your pet's bed or carpet, where the maggot-like larvae continue to grow anywhere between 1-5mm, given they have the right conditions and nutrition. Then, they can then move onto the next lifecycle stage within 5-21 days 

Flea Pupae

Once the flea larva has developed, it enters the pupae stage. The larva spins a silken cocoon around itself, becoming a flea pupa. In ideal conditions, the pupa can stay for 8-13 days to complete the metamorphosis into a mature flea.

While in this pupae stage, fleas can remain buried in your carpet or furnishing for as long as 30 weeks until they are properly stimulated by a potential host's vibration or physical pressure and warmth. And even then the pupae don’t hatch all at once, so adult fleas slowly emerge once the correct conditions are met. This is why many pet owners may find their flea infestation returning despite treatment, as you need to kill every life stage of the flea in order to stop the infestation. 

Mature Fleas

Once the flea emerges from its pupae stage, it must feed on a new host within approximately a week or it will die. Once they are on a host, fleas begin feeding on blood and leaving behind flea dirt (droppings), which you may see as small brown specks in your pet’s fur.

An adult flea can live for up to 100 days while feeding on a host, at which time they will mate to create even more fleas. An adult female flea can start laying eggs within 24 hours of its first blood meal, and with adult females being able to lay up to 50 eggs a day, it’s easy to see how an infestation can take hold if not treated quickly.  

Fleas like warm, moist environments and will breed and develop much faster when temperature and humidity levels are just right. In optimum conditions, a flea can go from an egg to an adult in as little as two weeks.

How Do Pets Catch Fleas

It only takes one mature female flea to land on your pet for an infestation to take root. And when we say infestation, we don’t just mean your pet. In fact, adult fleas make up less than 5% of fleas in an infestation.  

The rest of the fleas are scattered through your home as eggs, larvae, or pupae that have burrowed into your carpets, furniture, or anywhere else your pet sleeps. This means your pet can pick up fleas from anywhere where there has been a previous infestation as well as the following places:  

  • From other infested pets or wildlife — Fleas can jump up to 8" into the air, which is more than enough for them to jump from one host to another.  
  • From being outdoors — Fleas can survive without a host for between a few days and a few months, depending on their life stage, and many lie in wait for a new host.  
  • From you After being outside, you track in several often microscopic bugs, including adult fleas or their eggs. These can then fall off you and into your pet's home environment.   
  • From your home — with only 5% of adult fleas live on your pet. If you've had an infestation and haven't treated your home, you may open the door for re-infestation. 

Regardless of where your pet has picked fleas up from, it’s essential you learn to recognise the early signs of fleas on dogs and cats so you can treat both them and your home as soon as possible.  

Signs Your Pet Has Fleas

Adult fleas are very small, so the early signs of infestation can be hard to spot as there aren't many adult fleas present. However, you can often find adult fleas on your pet in the fur around their neck, under their armpits, and in their groin area.  

Other symptoms of fleas on pets include:  

  • Itching, chewing, and excessive scratching 
  • Hair loss 
  • Red, irritated or inflamed skin 
  • Visible fleas
  • Flea dirt in fur

Fleas tend to remain as close to the skin as possible, so if you have a long-haired or double-coated pet, they can be tricky to spot just by parting their fur. In this case, we'd recommend going over your pet with a flea comb like this Mikki All Coats Flea Comb. 

Another way to determine if your pet has fleas is to look for flea dirt. This is the waste left behind by adult fleas that can easily be mistaken for ordinary muck or dirt. You'll likely find it either in your pet's fur or in places your pet likes to lie, such as sofas, pet beds, or even carpets. The key to distinguishing flea dirt is smearing it on a wet paper towel or piece of white paper. If the speck smears red or runs red when in contact with water, then it's flea dirt. And where there's flea dirt, there's almost definitely fleas. 

How to Get Rid of Fleas

Unfortunately, getting rid of fleas completely is not a quick job. You’ll need to ensure you kill not only the fleas currently bothering your pet but also any others living in your home that might increase the chances of re-infestation. What's more, if you don’t target all the stages of the flea lifecycle, the risk of re-infestation is much higher, and as we’ve already mentioned, it only takes one mature female flea to cause a real problem.  

So, where do you start?  

Getting Rid of Fleas on Pets

Treating your pet for fleas is relatively easy, depending on the extent of the infestation. Every pet store offers a range of flea treatments in various formulations to suit your needs, the most popular choices tend to be spot-on flea treatments. The key things to look out for when choosing a flea treatment are the age range in which the product is safe for use and the weight range in which it is applicable. If a treatment is meant for a smaller pet, then the dosage won't be enough to cover your pet and fleas may survive the initial treatment. Also, be sure to check the active ingredients of any of the treatments you consider. Popular ingredients in flea treatments include: 

Alternatively, you can treat your pet for fleas by using a flea collar or flea tablets to curb the infestation. If you're not sure which flea treatment would work before for your pet, then check out our blog on how flea treatments work so you can make a more informed decision. 

Once administered, flea treatments get to work, with many killing all adult fleas on your pet within 24 hours. In some cases, as with the Advantage™ Spot-On, the active ingredients in the treatment will even transfer to your pet's skin and coat and remain active in the shed fur. This may also help you manage the flea population throughout your home but it is not guaranteed. 

Breaking the Flea Life Cycle

When treating a flea infestation, we recommend using a flea treatment that targets flea eggs and larvae as well as adult fleas to help break the flea lifecycle and stop the infestation from spreading or recurring. To do this, look out for flea treatments that have more than one active ingredient, specifically an insect growth regulator called (S)-methoprene. The addition of this ingredient ensures the immature stages of remaining fleas cannot mature into adults, breaking the life cycle. 

Getting Rid of Fleas on Puppies and Kittens 

Many over-the-counter flea treatments, depending on the manufacturer, are safe for use on puppies and kittens aged 8-10 months or above. So, if you're bringing a new kitten or puppy home, make sure to ask when they last received their flea treatment so you can continue their preventative health routine. 

If you're trying to get rid of fleas in a puppy or kitten under this threshold, consult with your vet for recommendations, as the dosage in over-the-counter flea products is likely too high and may cause overdose symptoms in your pet. 

Getting Rid of Fleas in the Home

The first step to removing fleas from your home is vacuuming two or more times a day to drag out any flea eggs, larvae, or adults that have escaped the treatment your pet received. You should then empty your vacuum outside the home to prevent them from coming back in.  

Once you’ve vacuumed, it’s time to treat the house with a suitable household flea spray like the FRONTLINE® HOMEGARD Household Flea Spray. These sprays kill not only any surviving fleas in your home but also their eggs and larvae. The ingredients in these sprays are also much longer-lasting than treatments used on pets, helping to prevent infestations for months afterwards. 

While it’s important you have your pet out of the room when initially applying a household flea spray, it’s recommended you allow them back into the treated spaces once the area has been ventilated. Once the stubborn flea pupae feel the presence of your pet, they’ll emerge as adult fleas only to be killed by the treatment in your home. Other ways to encourage the pupae to emerge are:  

  • Allowing your pet access to all their usual spots in the home  
  • Turning up heating to increase warmth and humidity  
  • Walking in areas your pet frequents to increase vibrations and pressure around the pupae.  

Remember, you’ll need to treat every part of your home for this to be successful, as well as any other areas your pet frequents, such as beds, furniture, curtains, car seats and carriers. Make sure not to use a household flea spray on any places you or your pet sleep or lie. Instead, wash these items on a how wash (60c minimum) to kill off any remaining fleas, eggs, or larvae.  

How Long Does it Take to Get Rid of Fleas? 

Unfortunately, getting rid of a flea infestation isn’t a quick job. It can often take a minimum of three months to completely get rid of an infestation. This is because to truly get rid of fleas, you need to break their lifecycle. Adult fleas may die within a few hours, you still need to wait for the pupae to emerge so they too can be killed. If you don't kill the pupae, it may only be a matter of time before your home and pet are infested again.

What Happens if Fleas Are Left Untreated?

Not only are fleas a nuisance in your home, but they also greatly impact your pet's day-to-day life, causing them to be incredibly uncomfortable. An infestation doesn’t take long, either, and within as little as three weeks, one flea can become 1,000.

With that many insects biting your dog, it should be no surprise that it can lead to a change in behaviour and even potential health concerns, such as the following: 

Tapeworms

Some fleas that bite your pet are likely carrying tapeworm eggs. When these fleas bite your pet (or you), the immature worms are then passed into the bloodstream where they’ll make their way towards the intestines. Once there, the worms will mature into tapeworms that feed off your pet and may cause the following:  

  • Vomiting and/or diarrhoea 
  • Weight loss 
  • Nutritional deficiencies 
  • Intestinal blockage 
  • And more! 

It is highly recommended that you routinely treat your pet for fleas and worms to help prevent infestation. Our guide to worming your pet explains the kinds of internal parasites pets are prone to. You can also browse our range of worming treatments for dogs and cats.

Flea Allergy Dermatitis

Having dozens of tiny insects biting their skin is bound to cause your pet discomfort, with the constant scratching causing inflamed or flaky skin that can easily become infected. But for some pets, their reaction to flea bites is more severe causing extreme skin irritation known as flea allergy dermatitis.  

This occurs when your pet has an extreme allergic reaction to flea saliva and will flare up when your pet is being bitten by fleas and injected with their saliva as they feed. In extreme cases, an allergic reaction can occur after just one flea bite. If left untreated, the scratching and biting of the affected area can cause your pet to break the skin and lead to fungal or bacterial infections.

Signs of flea allergy dermatitis in pets include:  

  • Discomfort  
  • Itching 
  • Excessive biting, scratching and licking of inflamed areas.  
  • Skin inflammation 
  • Hair loss 
  • Scabs 
  • Oozing or crusted sores (hot spots) 
  • Darkening or thickening of affected skin 
  • Unpleasant odour (resulting from secondary infection) 

Mild cases of flea allergy dermatitis can be cleared up by treating your pet for fleas and using allergy treatments to soothe their symptoms. However, if you suspect your pet is suffering from flea allergy dermatitis, you should consult your vet as soon as possible for a consultation.  

Flea Anemia

In extreme cases of flea infection in pets, the host pet may experience flea anaemia due to the blood loss sustained from the biting insects. Flea anemia occurs when the blood loss from the fleas feeding is so substantial, that the animal can’t replace the lost blood fast enough, leading to weakness and lethargy. Other symptoms of flea anaemia in pets include:  

  • Loss of appetite  
  • Pale gums or sclera of the eye  
  • Shallow, rapid breathing 
  • And more!  

Flea anemia is a serious health condition, and any additional stress to the animal can be fatal. If you think your pet is suffering from flea anemia, call your vet immediately to have them examined. Somes pets may even need a blood transfusion if the anemia is severe.  

Remember, when it comes to these health conditions, prevention is the best cure, so be sure to maintain a strict flea and worming routine to keep your pet parasite-free.  

How To Prevent A Flea Infestation

When it comes to fleas, the best course of action is always prevention. Infestations are tricky and often get out of hand fast, so by ensuring one can’t take place to start with, you can keep your pet's home safe and flea-free. The easiest prevention is by using a monthly cat or dog flea treatment which will kill any fleas upon contact before they can lay their eggs which keeps your pet and home protected for 4 weeks. Some other ways to prevent flea infestations include: 

  • Limit the time your pet spends outdoors or with other animals  
  • Wash your pet’s bedding on a high heat regularly 
  • Bathe and brush your pet regularly  
  • Check your pet for fleas regularly with a flea comb 
  • Limit any contact with stray animals for both you and your pet 

Remember, the best way to tackle an infestation is by not letting it form in the first place. By staying up to date with your pet's routine flea treatments, as well as keeping them protected from other parasites, you should be well on your way to a flea-free home for you and your pet.

If you're looking for a suitable flea treatment for you pet, check out our range below and find the perfect product for your pet. 


This post is an opinion and should only be used as a guide. You should thoroughly discuss any change to your pet’s care or lifestyle with your vet before starting any program or treatment. 

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