Tracy writes
I most recently bought Ultracide from my local pest control store and applied it to my carpets. I have one particular hallway that is the most affected area. It seems all the adult fleas have been killed and now we only see the tiny little fleas. Should I continue to vacuum the rugs to get rid of these little fleas? The pest control person told me to wait at least one week to see if the product truly worked, and I should not vacuum or clean the floors because it would remove the product from the carpets and floors. Is this a good idea since the eggs can lay dormant for some time before hatching?
It is our recommendation and industry standard that you vacuum immediately before the application of Ultracide and every day or every other day after the application for the next two weeks. Vacuums can physically remove a decent percentage of flea eggs that are in the carpet, along with much of the organic crud that the flea larvae feed on. A critical part of the diet of the larva is dried blood, present there as fecal material from the fleas that are on the pets. Wherever the pets spend time they will shed the fecal matter and the eggs, so it is extremely important that you focus on these potential hot spots where the pets sleep. A vacuum also will remove a small percentage of larvae, but the larva is pretty tenacious, and will wrap around the carpet fibers down there at the base of the pile, and hold on for dear life as the vacuum passes by. The pupa is even tougher to physically remove, for it uses fibers as part of its "cocoon". But, the vacuum will stimulate the flea adults still in their pupa form to quickly emerge as the adult, and at this point perhaps be sucked up in the vacuum. Even if they are not removed by the vacuum, at least they now are exposed and susceptible to your treatment. After two weeks most infestations require that you do a second application of the Ultracide and continue with the vacuuming.
Answer last updated on: 07/28/2010
