How to get rid of fleas in cars?…So fleas can bite humans, and now fleas can live in your car too?
Well, although humans are not their preferred victims, fleas can infest your car
when you give your flea-infested pet a ride.
They thrive in your car seats and carpet. These blood-sucking critters may bite and distract you from driving.
Fleas feed on blood. These pests can survive on any warm-blooded animal. If they don’t find a host nearby, they can also settle into your carpet, shoes, clothes, and blankets.
How do fleas get in a car?
Flea bites while driving can be potentially dangerous when driving a car.
Fleas can get in your car from various sources. Here are some examples of how most vehicles are infested.
• You are taking your pet to the vet for flea treatment and fleas transport to the vehicle
• You have parked your car in a flea infested area
• Some person who had fleas took a ride in your car
• You take your pet to park in your car where it might pick up fleas
Fleas can get in your car even when the interaction is only for a very short period. They don’t fly but they can jump long distances, making it easy for them to get into your vehicle when the door or windows are open and you are parked in a flea infested area.
Although humans are not flea preferred hosts, they will bite you if they are in your vehicle. It could cause pain and distract you from focusing on the road. Therefore, it’s important to get rid of fleas as soon as you identify them in your car.
How to treat fleas in a car
Getting rid of fleas in your car involves three steps. You will first treat the pet, followed by treating the environment. Finally, you will treat the car to get rid of fleas.
1. Treat the surroundings
Where did your pet pick the fleas from? Are fleas thriving in the moist and shady areas of your yard where your pet loves to play? It’s important to identify and treat these fleas in the environment and surroundings to avoid future infestations.
To get rid of fleas from your yard and surroundings, you can use flea sprays and flea bombs. If it’s not helping, call in for professional pest control and get rid of fleas from your home.
2. Treat your pet
Flea shampoos can be a great way of getting rid of fleas on dogs. Always wash your pet’s bedding and areas where it spends most of its time to get rid of flea droppings, eggs, and larvae. Additionally, have your local dog walker use a lint roller on the pet after a long walk to remove any latching blood sucking parasites.
You may need to use oral flea prevention medication to remove fleas completely from your pet and discourage future infestation.
Many flea treatments for pets require you to apply them according to a pre-determined schedule. Make sure you follow the schedule and continue the treatment even after the fleas are gone.
3. Treat your car
Once you have completed the first two steps, you should flea-proof your car. You can use commercial products and home remedies to remove fleas from your vehicle.
When treating fleas, it’s important to understand their life cycle and match your preferred treatment with it. When you kill the adult fleas and leave their eggs behind, it will take only a few weeks for your vehicle to get infested with fleas again.
While treating the car for fleas, it’s important to keep your pets away from car till treated. If proper care is not taken, you could end up infesting your home while trying to get rid of these critters from your car.
Another important thing to note is to avoid using heavy-duty chemicals to treat fleas in your vehicle. These pesticides will do more harm than good.
How to get rid of fleas in cars – Products
Below are the some over the counter products that you can use to treat fleas in your car. Each of anti-flea product has its own advantages and therefore proves better in certain situations over the other products.
Boric Acid
Boric acid is a great way to treat fleas and their eggs when you don’t want to use flea powders that contain unwanted chemicals.
To use boric acid to treat fleas in your car, vacuum your car and follow the directions below.
1. Mix salt and boric acid in a bowl and sprinkle the mixture on the interior of your car
2. Leave it there for a few hours and keep your pets and everyone else away from the car
3. Vacuum the area afterward to remove the mixture completely
Vacuum & Steam cleaning
Steam cleaning is another effective method to get rid of fleas in a car. You can treat fleas and their eggs using steam. Steam coming out of a steamer has a temperature between 120 and 170 degrees, which can easily kill adult fleas and some eggs.
If your car has a severe infestation, you may have to use steam cleaning in combination with boric powder (vacuum) treatment to completely remove adult fleas, larval fleas, and their newly hatched eggs from your car.
1. Vacuum clean your car interior thoroughly and throw away the vacuum cleaner bag
2. Use a steam cleaner to kill the remaining fleas and their eggs
3. Vacuum and steam clean your car daily until the fleas have completely disappeared
When using this treatment along with flea sprays, make sure you steam before spraying any chemicals.
This treatment isn’t effective unless repeated regularly.
Steam cleaning is effective only against small infestations. If the flea infestation is severe, you may find this treatment useless.
Flea sprays
Do you have a severe flea infestation in your car and steam/vacuum cleaning isn’t helping? Flea sprays can be the answer to get rid of fleas in a car in such cases.
These sprays use chemicals that kill adult fleas, larval fleas, and eggs. They are effective when other treatments fail. However, you should use them only as the last resort because of the chemicals they contain.
Let the spray sit in your car for a few hours before you enter the car again. Make sure you vacuum and steam the car afterward to remove dead fleas.
1. Purchase a flea spray
2. Use a mask to protect yourself from the spray
3. Spray it on the carpet, flooring, and underneath your car seats
General instructions for getting rid of fleas in car
Now that you have explored flea treatments and product to kill fleas, follow these simple steps below to get rid of these bloodsucking critters from your vehicle and prevent bites.
Future Preventions
Getting rid of fleas in your car doesn’t make your vehicle safe from infestations in the future. The good news is that you can easily prevent infestations by simply following these tips.
• Avoid infested pets from travelling in the car
• Keep your pets free from fleas by using preventive treatments
• Vacuum and steam clean your vehicle regularly to kill any eggs that may drop off in your vehicle
• Actively use flea repellent post flea infestation
• Walk your pet to park instead of giving him a ride.
How to get rid of Fleas in Cars – Conclusion
Fleas are bloodsucking critters that can potentially make a home in your car. They invade your vehicle from a flea infested pet or simply jump in when you open your car door in a flea infested area. Once your vehicle is infested with fleas, immediate action should be taken to prevent further spread.
Make sure you repeat the treatment after a week and regularly clean your car using a vacuum and steam cleaner to prevent flea infestations from spreading and coming back in the future.