Table of Contents
Fleas don’t just live on your dog
What parts of the house need treating?
How do I actually treat my house?
Should I treat my dog at the same time?
Can fleas survive without my dog?
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Do I need to treat my house if my dog has fleas?
- By Katie
-
- April 17, 2025
- 3 MIN READ
No pet owner wants to deal with fleas. Knowing what areas to treat and when to use treatment is key to eradicating a flea infestation. You might have de-fleaed your pet, but have you thought about treating your home? Keep reading to find out how to kill fleas QUICKLY!
Fleas don’t just live on your dog
We often think of fleas as being a problem that stays on the dog. Sadly, they’re not that considerate. Once they’ve found a warm host (aka your pup), they can start laying eggs within 24 hours. A single flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day. These eggs don’t stick around on the dog for long – they drop off and land in your carpets, rugs, bedding, sofa... basically anywhere your dog goes.
That means even if you treat your dog, the problem isn’t over. If you don’t tackle the house too, those eggs will hatch, turn into larvae, then pupae, and soon you’ll have a brand new crop of fleas jumping around like they own the place.
What parts of the house need treating?
Short answer: pretty much all of it.
Longer answer: focus on anywhere your dog spends time. That includes:
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Carpets and rugs
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Soft furnishings like sofas and chairs
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Dog bedding (and your bedding, if you’ve got a cuddle-friendly pup)
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Curtains (especially if your dog likes to nose through them)
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Cracks in wooden floors or skirting boards
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The car, if your dog rides along often
How do I actually treat my house?
You’ve got a few options, and the best plan often involves combining a few of them. Here’s the game plan:
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1. Vacuum
This is your best friend in the flea fight. Vacuum carpets, rugs, furniture, skirting boards – and do it daily at first. Flea eggs, larvae and pupae all get sucked up, and the vibrations from vacuuming can even encourage dormant pupae to hatch, which sounds bad, but it’s actually good – you want them out and vulnerable, not hiding.
Pro tip: chuck out the vacuum bag (or empty the cylinder) straight away and take it outside. Otherwise, the little devils can crawl right back out.
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2. Use a house flea spray
Go for a reputable household flea spray that targets both adult fleas and developing stages, like the Itch Flea Home Spray which kills all fleas for up to 2 months! Read the instructions (yes, really), air out the house afterwards, and keep pets and humans away until it’s safe to return.
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3. Wash everything your dog touches
Dog beds, blankets, cushion covers – chuck them all in the wash on a hot cycle. Ideally 60°C or more. Heat kills fleas at every stage of life. If something can’t go in the wash, vacuum it thoroughly or consider replacing it if it’s badly infested.
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4. Repeat as needed
One spray and a hoover session won’t always be enough. The flea life cycle lasts weeks, and pupae are annoyingly tough. You may need to treat again after a couple of weeks to catch any new hatchlings
Should I treat my dog at the same time?
Absolutely. Treat your dog on the same day as the house, ideally before you start the cleaning blitz. Use a vet-strength flea treatment, like Itch Flea Treatment for Cats and Dogs. Keep up with it monthly, even once the fleas are gone. Prevention is so much easier than another round of de-fleaing your entire home.
If you’ve got more than one pet, they all need treating at the same time, even if they’re not scratching. Fleas aren’t fussy.
Can fleas survive without my dog?
Unfortunately, yes – for a while. Flea pupae can lie dormant for months, just waiting for the right conditions (like the warmth and movement of a dog walking by) to hatch. So even if your dog’s away for a bit, the fleas can hang around like uninvited guests.
So, do you need to treat your house if your dog has fleas? 100% yes. Otherwise, it’s just a never-ending cycle of itchy dogs and frustrated humans. If you are struggling to Get Rid of Fleas in your home, try the Itch Flea Eradication Kit which is our proven method to remove fleas once and for all!
Tailored flea treatment for all dogs.
Whether it’s your Labrador, Cockapoo, Terrier, Spaniel, Collie, Golden Retriever, or any other breed, Itch Flea Treatment is suitable and tailored for all dogs.
Itch Flea kills all adult fleas on your dog in 24 hours and halts all other life stages. Delivered for free, every month, exactly when you need it.
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Flea
Treatment Issues
Why is my pet still scratching after applying a flea treatment?
Not all flea treatments are created equal. So it may be the treatment you used hasn’t done the job and you need to use something stronger. Itch Flea Treatment is a vet-strength, double action spot on treatment that not only contains Fipronil but also (unlike lots of other flea treatments), (S) Methoprene. Treatments that also include (S) Methoprene, like Itch Flea Treatment not only target the adult fleas feeding on your pets and kills them dead in 24 hours (and ticks in 48 hours), but also targets flea eggs and larvae, stopping the fast and furious flea life cycle dead in its tracks to stop new fleas developing.
We asked in-house Itch vet, Dr. Zoe Costigan to give us the lowdown on why your cat or dog might still be scratching after applying a flea treatment to your pet. Here's what she had to say:
“It’s fairly normal for there to be a period of hyperactivity amongst the fleas as the active ingredients in a flea treatment take effect and this can cause an increase in your pet scratching. It should settle down after 24 hours. If after 24 hours your pet continues to scratch, there could be other things going on. Your pet could be flea-allergic, it could have a skin infection or a hormone imbalance, or other conditions which can lead to itchiness.”
Flea
Treatment
How to apply Itch Flea treatment to your dog
Amazing news! When applied correctly, Itch Flea Treatment for dogs is 100% fast and effective at killing fleas on dogs and puppies!
However, the 'when applied correctly' bit is pretty important.
We know it's not always that easy, so we've put together a quick guide on the best way to apply Spot-On Flea treatment to your dog or puppy.
Flea
Identification
Flea droppings - A sign of infestation?
Ah, the notorious flea. Just the thought of them is enough to make your skin itch. If you're a pet owner or have ever encountered these tiny, pesky critters, you know the struggle is real. But what about flea droppings?