Fleas are one of the most impressive creatures that I have ever seen. They are next to impossible to kill, breed rapidly, and can even enter a coma-like state when environmental conditions become hazardous and re-emerge years later. When my wife and I moved into a 1800's farm house we got to deal with them directly. There were no signs of them for months. Then, all of a sudden, they were everywhere! The most common flea sprays do not kill fleas directly. They simply neuter them. Be very careful with these products, read their labels fully because many of them also can affect humans in the same manner. If you get fleas here is what you need to do: First, vacuum every surface in your home with a bagged vacuum cleaner. Seal the bag and take it to the dump (or incinerator, if you have one!). Second, cover the floors of your home with 20 Mule Team Borax, or any product primarily made up of boric acid. Work the Borax into carpets and floors with a stiff-bristled broom. Third, find a time that everyone in your home can vacate for a few hours and spray every floor in your entire house with Raid's Flea killer spray. Fleas will try and escape the poison, and will simply move from room to room if you do not do this. Raid's flea insecticide kills them dead and costs about half what the other products cost. Keep working the Borax into your floors for a few days. Reapply the Raid and vacuum your entire house again, remembering to seal and dispose of the bag immediately after use. A simple, but effective way to test if you have killed them all is to place a bowel of water with a drop of hand soap in it under a lamp. The fleas will jump into the bowel and drown because the soap removes their ability to cling to the surface of the water. If you still find adult fleas repeat the entire process. This seems like a lot of work, but trust me, this is worth it. Also, it is a whole lot better and cheaper than having your house professionally fumigated. On a side note, it has been three years since I did this and we have never seen a flea since. I do continue to sprinkle small amounts of Borax on my carpets before I vacuum them, as a precaution I guess, but mainly because it works better and is much cheaper than any commercial carpet freshener!
