Table of Contents
Do you have a pet?
Can you get fleas without pets?
What's triggered your flea infestation?
Signs you've got a flea situation
What should you do?
Prevention is better than scratching
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Why do I suddenly have fleas in my house?
- By Ellie
-
- June 26, 2025
- 3 MIN READ
Fleas can come into your home at any point and stay there for as long as 6 months. Keep reading to find out what has probably brought fleas into your home and how to get rid of them.
Do you have a pet?
Pets are the usual suspects. Fleas are opportunistic little creatures. If your cat or dog has recently been around another animal (even briefly at the park or in the vet’s waiting room), they could’ve picked up some uninvited passengers. It only takes one flea to start a full-blown infestation. One. They’re prolific breeders with a life cycle that is hard to fight against - Here’s what you need to know to break the flea life cycle.
Can you get fleas without pets?
You can absolutely get fleas in your home even if you don’t own a pet. Sounds mad, doesn’t it? But it happens more often than you'd think.
Here’s how:
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Previous tenants had pets.
Flea eggs can lie dormant in carpets, floorboards, and soft furnishings for months. When they sense warmth, movement, or carbon dioxide (i.e. you existing), they hatch and get straight to work.
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Visiting animals.
Got a mate with a dog? A cat-loving neighbour who pops round for tea? A stray fox snoozing under your decking? All potential sources.
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Wildlife.
Rats, mice, squirrels and birds often carry fleas. If they’ve found a way into your attic or walls, their fleas might hitch a ride indoors.
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Second-hand furniture.
That charming vintage armchair from Facebook Marketplace could be riddled with fleas.
What's triggered your flea infestation?
Fleas are sneaky. You might not notice them straight away, and they often lie low until conditions are just right.
A few common triggers:
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Warmer weather: Fleas thrive in the warmth. As temperatures rise, so does flea activity. It’s like they’ve all come back from holiday and are ready to party.
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Central heating: Even in colder months, turning on your heating can trick dormant fleas into thinking it’s summer. Fleas can survive the cold and return once it warms up.
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New people in your home: Been away for a bit? Had visitors or started moving furniture around? That can shake flea eggs and larvae into action.
Signs you've got a flea situation
Sometimes the first sign is the bites—usually around your ankles or lower legs. They’re small, itchy, and can appear in little clusters. Other red flags include:
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Your pet scratching more than usual.
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Flea dirt (basically flea poo... lovely!) on your pet or in their bedding. It looks like black specks that turn reddish-brown when wet.
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Actually seeing fleas jump on furniture or carpets.
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Tiny white flea eggs or larvae in rugs or between floorboards.
What should you do?
First off—don’t panic. It’s not a sign your house is filthy. Fleas are just persistent pests, and need more than just one treatment option to be eradicated for good.
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Treat your pets
If you’ve got pets, treat them straight away with vet-strength flea treatment, like Itch Flea Treatment for cats and dogs. Make sure to use flea treatment that kills the fleas on your pet but also helps prevent them from multiplying - so they don’t return.
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Clean, clean, and clean again
Vacuum everything—carpets, sofas, skirting boards, mattress edges. Then empty your hoover straight into an outdoor bin. Flea eggs and larvae can hide everywhere, so be thorough.
You’ll also want to wash at 60°C or higher, your pet’s bedding and any soft furnishings, like rugs, throws, cushion covers etc.
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Treat your home
Fleas love to hide in your home and breed, so that you’re dealing with what feels like a never-ending flea infestation. Invest in a flea spray that has Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) in it to make sure fleas never come back, like the Itch Flea Home Spray which eradicates all fleas in 2 months after just one spray and halts the development of flea eggs and pupae for up to 12 months.
Prevention is better than scratching
Once you’re flea-free (hooray!), you’ll want to keep it that way:
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Stay up to date with regular flea treatments for pets. Try the Itch Flea subscription to get flea treatment for your pet delivered for free, every month, exactly when you need it.
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Regularly hoover, especially in nooks and crannies.
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Be cautious with second-hand items.
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Keep an eye on wildlife access points - fix holes, cover vents, and discourage nesting near your house.
Finding fleas in your home can feel a bit mortifying, but it can happen to the best of us. They’re hardy little pests that thrive in even the cleanest of homes. The good news is, with a bit of effort (and possibly a lot of hoovering), you can get rid of them and keep them out.
Protect your home from fleas.
95% of fleas live in your home environment, not on your pet.
To break the fast and furious flea life cycle, treat your home with Itch Flea Home Spray. In one blast, it will help turf out the little blighters — and any dust mites too — as well as put a halt to the development of flea eggs and larvae for up to 12 months.
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