PT Ultracide Pressurized Flea Insecticide - Questions & Answers

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.

Ultracide is a very safe and effective flea control product that is used widely by professional companies such as Terminix and Orkin in homes with children and pets all the time.  As long as you follow the directions on the product label, there are no issues with anyone in the home being sick.  You should only apply this product to carpeted areas and upholstered areas.  Do not apply on top of couches and chairs where people rest their arms, fleas do not breed in these areas.  You would want to spray around the foot of the furniture, and underneath couch cushions.  You should have children and pets in another room while you are treating.  After treatment allow 30 minutes to dry and then it is perfectly safe for children and pets to re-enter the room.

We recommend using Ultracide for indoor fleas. Ultracide is a very effective flea control aerosol that provides immediate kill of adult fleas and prevents formation of new adults from eggs or larvae. Ultracide is a very safe and effective flea control product that is used widely by professional companies such as Terminix and Orkin in homes with children and pets all the time.  You should only apply Ultracide to carpeted areas and upholstered areas.  Do not apply on top of couches and chairs where people rest their arms, fleas do not breed in these areas. You would want to spray around the foot of the furniture, and underneath couch cushions.  You should have children and pets in another room while you are treating.  After treatment, allow 30 minutes to dry and then it is perfectly safe for children and pets to re-enter the room. Vacuum immediately before the treatment and every other day for the next 14 days. A second treatment may be needed after 14 days for heavy infestations.

Typically, Ultracide should be dry and it will be safe to re-enter the room 30 minutes after application of the product.

Ultracide does work on nearly all surfaces, including concrete floors.  Since concrete floors are very porous, an aerosol works well because the particle size of the product is so small it can evenly coat the porous surface and work its way in tiny cracks and crevices where the fleas like to lay their eggs.  If you were to look at concrete under a microscope, it would look like the moon, full of large cracks and crevices and crater like indentations.  Aerosol particles are so small they can fill these quite easily and therefore work very well on concrete surfaces.

Ultracide should be used once every two weeks until you do not see fleas any longer. Light to moderate infestations will require at least 2 treatments and heavy  infestations may require three treatments. The product sounds like it is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, as you are not finding the large adult fleas, only the very small juvenile fleas that are emerging from their cocoons. At this point, you should treat again (be sure to wait at least two weeks from the time of your last treatment) and keep up the vacuuming.

You are doing exactly what you should be doing. If you are still seeing fleas, it is possible that the problem was worse than you initally though. You will need to do treatments with the Ultracide until the fleas are completely gone. You will also keep vacuuming daily for the 14 days. The fleas will not build up a tolerance to it.

You should thoroughly vacuum the tile floor before applying the Ultracide, paying special attention to all cracks and crevices. This will help remove a great deal of the flea eggs, pupae and the debris they can develop in. Mopping can be done before the application and you should wait to mop for about two weeks after the application. Please test the Ultracide on an inconspicuous area of the tile to be sure it does not mar the finish.

Yes. Ultracide is formulated to be used on carpets in homes where the manufacturer knew people would walk with bare feet, children would sit and play and pets would rest. As long as you follow the product label and allow the treated areas to dry before walking on them there will be no issues.

If you still had fleas then you would definitely see them.  If you are not seeing any fleas but you are still itching and seeing signs of bites on your body, then we would recommend seeing a dermatologist to see if you can get the itchy areas identified with anything.  Fleas are definitely noticeable.  One way to determine if you have fleas is to place a white sock over your hand and arm and slide it across the floor.  The small black fleas should be easy to identify on the white sock and will let you know if you still have activity or not.  If you do still have some fleas then you should treat again.  Flea Treatments almost always take 2 to 3 treatments and should be applied every 14 days since the flea eggs hatch every 14 days.

What you are describing is very normal when dealing with flea infestations. You will need to vacuum and spray with Ultracide all of the carpet, paying special attention to the places the cats like to spend time resting. This initial spray application will help knockdown the jumping biting adults that are present at the time of the application. The daily followup vacuuming will help speed up the life cycle of the flea so that the pupae (immature fleas) will become exposed to the insecticide. You will need to do a second application to get any of the stragglers. You should expect to see fleas, usually smaller than the ones you were seeing before, for a couple of weeks after you start treating.

Most products are not recommended for use on hardwood floors for flea control because fleas rarely  harbor there. In most cases, the fleas will develop in upholstered furniture, pet beds, rugs and carpeted areas. We are always a bit reluctant to recommend any products that will be sprayed on hardwood floors because of the risk of staining or discoloration. We recommend no matter which product you use, that you first test it in an inconspicuous area. Ultracide has an adulticide and an IGR. After testing for staining, you can spray Ultracide directly into cracks and crevices on the floor. Vacuuming the crevices immediately before spraying will help to remove some of the flea eggs and stimulate the developing pupa to become exposed to the Ultracide. With heavy infestations, you may need to retreat after 14 days to get rid of the stragglers.

Ultracide is a very safe product and it does not have a strong odor.  That being said there are different levels of severity of asthma, and certain people may be more sensitive to certain things.  We are not doctors, so we always recommend leaning towards the side of caution.  You should make sure some windows are open or have the person in question not be around while you are spraying the Ultracide.  They can return to the treated area 1 hour after application and there should be no issues.  Ultracide is not labeled to spray on clothes.  Any article of clothing ran through a wash and dry cycle will kill anything on it so you do not need to treat it.

You can spray Ultracide on mattresses and most hardwood floors. You should test the Ultracide on a small inconspicuous area of your hardwood floors before spraying the entire floor as some finishes can get marred by insecticides.

It is normal to still see fleas after an application of Ultracide.  It is not a contact kill after the product has dried, it will take time for a flea to die after contacting a treated surface.

Typically most flea problems can be handled in 2 treatments, but this depends on how bad the problem is.  You should repeat the treatment exactly 14 days after the first treatment, or 2 weeks, since this is how often flea eggs typically hatch. It is common to have to do 3 or 4 treatments (treating every 2 weeks) over 2 months for bad problems.

The insect growth regulator in Ultracide lasts for up to 7 months. This is the ingredient that will stop reproduction of fleas. The other two ingredients are insecticides and they will only kill for about 2 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.

Ultracide is a specific product that is made for fleas. It is not labeled for bed bugs and would not be effective for treating bed bugs.  You should use one of our Bed Bug Kits which will give you the best chance of defeating a bed bug problem. The products in the Bed Bug Kits are also labeled for roaches. We would recommend adding a Roach Bait Gel to the treatment.  Below are some great articles on treatment. Please let us know if you have additional questions.

Flea Treatment

Roach Control Articles

Bed Bug Control Articles

You should not treat the cat litter with anything. Simply change the litter frequently and you should not have any issues. Go over the cat carefully with a flea comb. If the cat does not have any signs of fleas or flea debris, it should be just fine to let the cat back into the rest of the house.

Yes, Ultracide aerosol is perfectly safe on just about any surface. You should always test the spray first in a corner or inconspicuous area.  Remember to vacuum all surfaces and cracks and crevices around baseboards first before you apply Ultracide.  You should also vacuum often over the next week and apply again exactly 14 days later after your first application. Be sure to vacuum again before your second treatment. 

The key to killing flea eggs is using an IGR or Insect Growth Regulator. Most IGR's cause growth abnormalities in the egg and larvae stages that prevent growth. Ultracide is a very effective flea control aerosol that provides immediate kill of adult fleas and prevents formation of new adults from eggs or larvae. Ultracide is a very safe and effective flea control product that is used widely by professional companies such as Terminix and Orkin in homes with children and pets all the time.  You should only apply Ultracide to carpeted areas and upholstered areas.  Do not apply on top of couches and chairs where people rest their arms, fleas do not breed in these areas. You would want to spray around the foot of the furniture, and underneath couch cushions.  You should have children and pets in another room while you are treating.  After treatment, allow 30 minutes to dry and then it is perfectly safe for children and pets to re-enter the room. Vacuum immediately before the treatment and every other day for the next 14 days. A second treatment may be needed after 14 days for heavy infestations.