How do I kill flea EGGS specifically in my home?

Advice on flea problem?

• I have kind of a different flea problem than what I've been reading about online, and maybe I am just paranoid, but... I started fostering for a no-kill nonprofit animal rescue organization. My most recent foster is a Chow mix (about 3 years old). I had her in the back of my car on the transport home (about an hour) and introduced her to my home. She walked around for about 20 minutes before I administered Frontline. I did the same with my own dog right after. This was at about 10 pm. My new foster slept on the carpet in my bedroom the whole night. The next morning (yesterday), I noticed a few (about 6-7) fleas on the carpet where she was laying, moving pretty slow. I kind of freaked out because I have never dealt with fleas before (even though I knew it was a possibility when taking in dogs from pounds). I called the vet and the head of the rescue organization, they were both very calm and said if the fleas where moving slow that means they were exposed to Frontline and will die soon. I opened all of the windows and bought Lysol disinfectant spray. I sprayed the condo down twice. I then sprayed the condo twice with Adams Flea and Tick Home and Carpet Spray. I also sprayed my car with the flea and tick spray once. I also purchased flea and tick foggers for my condo, but I don't want to use them unless I absolutely have to because I'm worried about the smoke detectors going off (I have sprinklers in my ceiling) and I know the fog is very flammable. I put all the dog beds in a garbage bag and threw them out. I am currently washing all blankets, clothing, etc. in hot water and drying on hot. I have vacuumed (and cleaned it out), shampooed my carpet, vacuumed again. I noticed this morning that a dead flea was lying on my bedroom floor. I have not had any bites and I have not seen one on me. I am just worried because I have rats in my bedroom as well (up on a dresser). Even though I administered Frontline pretty quickly when I got home with the dog, I am scared the fleas could have gotten to the rats over the course of the first night. I have changed their bedding and sprayed disinfectant around the cage, but I wouldn't even know how to go about treating rats. So far, everything seems to be going according to plan. Is there anything else I should do? I'm just so worried because I've never dealt with this in the past.

• Answer:

  Sounds like you went a little overboard. Too much flea & tick products can be very toxic. For now, stop spraying/bombing/disinfecting and let your house air out! Fleas are usually killed by standard cleaning methods. Vacuuming, washing cloths in hot water, and Frontline for your pets. Do not treat the pets with anything else or you can overdose them. Just let the Frontline do it's job and repeat the dose 30 days from the first one. Do not give the dog's a bath. This can reduce the effectiveness of the Frontline. Also, make sure to use Frontline Plus, not the regular stuff. The Plus will kill the flea eggs too, which can live on your pet for up to a year. For your home, vacuum daily and wash bedding daily until the fleas are gone. No need for more chemicals at this point!