In this post, you’ll find out the best ways to get rid of fleas on hardwood floors.
The techniques that you’re about to find out are effective in making hardwood floors flea-free. Thousands of homeowners have used the methods with 100% success.
And today, you’re about to find out these five techniques.
Plus, you’ll also find out three things you must avoid while you’re treating the hardwood floor for fleas.
Keep reading to find out more.
Can Fleas Survive On Hardwood Floors?
Yes, they can. Fleas hide in the gaps and cracks on the hardwood floors.
The most common section on the hardwood floors where fleas hide is the junction between the hardwood floor and the wall.
Fleas don’t eat the hardwood floor while they’re hiding. Fleas are waiting for a host, which is your pet, to latch on to.
As fleas can survive on hardwood floors, they can quickly move onto soft floor coverings like rugs and carpet.
Given fleas’ ability to jump, fleas can also move onto your couch from the floor.
How Fleas Enter Your Home?
Your pets bring fleas inside your home.
Outside your home, fleas nest and dwell in overgrown grasses growing around in the moist areas.
When your pet gets into those places, fleas latch on them. That’s how fleas enter your home.
Another way that fleas use to get inside your home is by jumping through open windows.
Fleas are jumpers. They can quickly jump inside your home from the bushes and shrubs growing around your home’s perimeter.
Stray animals, like squirrels and even birds, can also introduce fleas inside your home.
How Can You Tell If The Hardwood Floor Has Fleas?
In all honesty, it can be hard to tell unless you’re purposefully looking for fleas. But there are three primary signs of flea infestation you can’t ignore.
- Your pet is itching and scratching himself constantly.
- Flea dirt. Flea dirt is flea feces that are reddish because of digested blood. You would spot flea dirt on the wooden floor or in the gaps between the wooden beams.
- Tiny white flea eggs on carpet and rugs are proof that fleas are hiding on the floor. Flea eggs are minuscule. You may need a magnifying glass to spot them.
But fleas don’t damage wooden floors as termites and carpenter ants do. They only use the wooden floor as a temporary hiding place.
The worst part?
Fleas multiply fast. The infestation will get severe, which would result in fleas spreading to places like your bedroom.
So, once you observe the signs of flea infestation, get rid of them asap.
How To Get Rid Of Fleas On Hardwood Floor? – The Best Ways
Thankfully, getting rid of fleas on hardwood floors isn’t a challenging task. When done at the right time when the infestation levels are low, anyone can do it without hiring a pest controller.
Before you begin the process of killing fleas on the hardwood floor, here’s one thing that you must do.
Remove all types of furnishings like carpets, rugs, couch, furniture, etc. In a way, make sure that you’ve got the entire floor available to you.
Why?
It’s because fleas jump. And while you’ll be implementing the steps you’re about to find out; fleas may jump and hide in the furnishings.
So, here are the best ways to get rid of fleas on the hardwood floor.
Vacuum Clean The Hardwood Floor, It Kills Fleas And Flea Eggs
Vacuuming kills fleas in all their life stages, including the eggs.
Scientists have proved that vacuuming hardwood floors kill 96% of adult fleas and 100% baby fleas.
But to make the process effective, you’d need to vacuum slowly. Cover all the corners of the floors, especially the junction between the floor and the wall.
If the floor has a carpet or rug, take it off and take it outside your home.
Vacuum clean the rug or carpet outside your home. Do not put the rug back on the floor till you’ve finished vacuuming and cleaning the hardwood floor.
Moping The Hardwood Floor With Pine-Sol
Moping the floor with pine sol is a great way to kill fleas.
If you mop the hardwood floor with a mixture of pine sol and water after vacuuming, then it’ll be a double whammy for the fleas hiding on the hardwood floor.
To prepare the mixture to add ¼ cup of pine sol with a bucket of water. Mop the floor slowly and ensure that the solution gets into all the cracks and gaps of the floor.
That will kill the remaining 4% of the adult fleas left alive after vacuuming.
Sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth Or Baking Soda On The Hardwood Floor
Both diatomaceous earth and baking soda kill fleas. All you’ve to do is sprinkle a generous amount of either of them on the floor.
Wait for 45 minutes to one hour. Then vacuum clean the floor.
Vacuuming will remove the dead fleas from the hardwood floor. And it’ll also kill any of the fleas that diatomaceous earth or baking soda couldn’t kill.
You can use any one of the three or all the three ways to get rid of fleas on the hardwood floor.
No matter which method you use, vacuuming is the vital part that you should never miss.
Vacuum slow and cover all the corners. That’s the secret of getting rid of fleas hiding in the tiny gaps on hardwood floors.
There’s one more thing that you should never miss. And that’s treating your pet for fleas.
It’d be best if you take your pet to a vet to treat him for fleas. If your pet has fleas or is exposed to places where fleas hide, then fleas would keep coming back to your home.
Trim the bushes in your home and yard, especially the ones that are close to your home’s perimeter.
Reduce dampness in your yard by fixing any water leakages or covering the potholes with sand.
Both steps will go a long way to get rid of fleas living outside your home, waiting to latch on to your pet.
Things That You Should Never Use While Getting Rid Of Fleas On Hardwood Floor
There are three things that you should never use to get rid of fleas – bleach, flea bombs, and essential oils.
Let us explain why.
Bleach is corrosive, and using bleach on a hardwood floor will severely damage the floor. Bleach kills fleas, but you wouldn’t want to kill the fleas by damaging your expensive hardwood floor.
Flea bombs work, but their scope is minimal. Once the flea bombs explode, they don’t spread across the entire floor.
Given that fleas jump, they can quickly get out of the flea bomb area and hide in other places. Also, flea bombs don’t have residual toxicity that can spread to other fleas.
Research done by the University of Kentucky has proved that most bug bombs are ineffective and, to an extent, unsafe.
Essential oils repel fleas. They’re not flea killers. Using essential oils will keep fleas at bay, but they’d be back after a few days.
To know more on products that kill fleas, check our post here.
Conclusion
The best ways to get rid of fleas on a hardwood floor are –
- Vacuum cleaning the floor.
- Moping the floor with pine sol.
- Using baking soda or diatomaceous earth on the floor and then vacuuming the floor.
Vacuuming hardwood floor kills 96% of adult fleas and 100% of baby fleas and flea eggs.
But before vacuuming, ensure that you remove all the furnishings, including carpets and rugs. If you don’t, then fleas will jump from the floor on these furnishings making your efforts go in vain.
Dr. Thomas Orbert is a PhD in Entomology with extensive research experience in ectoparasites and microbials. He has also worked in the spaces of ecology conservation and has multiple years of experience in field research and scientific publishing.