If your yard is infested with sand fleas and you have no idea how to remove them, then keep reading, as I will give you valuable tips on getting rid of sand fleas.

Sand fleas are tiny, almost invisible crustaceans that sneak up on you and deliver a powerful itching bite. If you’ve experienced it before, we can all agree that it isn’t pleasant.

As if the bites aren’t bad enough, they proceed to feed on the blood of mammals and birds.

Sand Flea Removal Options

Sand fleas thrive in the sand, mostly found at the beach or desert, anywhere filled with sand.

The beach, you say?

But can sand fleas travel home with you?

The answer is yes. When you visit the beach, a few can cling to your skin or clothing and go wherever you take them. If you’re coming from the beach, you’re most likely on your way home.

They can continue living and breeding without complaints if they end up in your yard.

This situation has to be attended to as fast as possible to prevent expansion in the flea population in your home.

How To Get Rid Of Sand Fleas Completely

Prevention, as they say, is better than searching for a cure. So avoiding the beach or other sandy areas may seem the best move. But will you forfeit the summer waters and palm trees because of fleas?

Maybe you would, but what if you choose not to? Then you’d have to get rid of them when they attack.

As I mentioned, they are tiny creatures, making it even harder to get rid of them. Thank goodness hard doesn’t mean impossible.

Below are some tips to control and eliminate sand fleas if they make their way to your yard.

Observe

The first step to getting rid of sand fleas is to identify and observe any areas of your yard or home you may believe are infested.

These areas are usually the carpet or bedroom floors.

You can move on to the next step after successfully identifying the infested areas.

Shut Off Every Possible Entry Point

Upon identification of the infested areas, the next thing you need to do is to seal off any spaces that can grant entry to other sand fleas.

These include cracks in the walls, crevices, and beneath the doors.

You can use old towels or other types of sealants as a temporary measure, at least until you have gotten rid of them all.

Disinfest The Compromised Areas

You can use salt to get rid of sand fleas.

You have to get the adequate amount and sprinkle it all over their breeding grounds. Allow it to settle for about 24 hours so it can work effectively.

Sand fleas hate salt, as it dehydrates and eventually kills them. You can sprinkle some more salt in the same areas after 48 hours to be sure you get them all, including the young ones hiding in tiny cracks.

This is one of the best ways to eliminate sand fleas in the yard.

Clean Up The Mess

After the salt must have done its job, the next step would be to clean up the areas and dispose of all the dead sand fleas.

You can use different attachments and a vacuum to suck up all the dead sand fleas and salt debris scattered over the floors.

Vacuum the floors, carpets, furniture, and all crevices around your home. You can use the vacuum to review all the spaces a second time to ensure you don’t miss anything.

Consideration

If you keep pets at home, say a dog or a cat, then be advised to take them to see a vet when you first notice the infestation.

As I mentioned, sand fleas feed on the blood of mammals, dogs, and cats. This can cause your pet’s health to deteriorate.

Furry pets are perfect for sand fleas; they can hide under their hair and latch onto their skin, sucking away as they please.

Prevention

After using the salt to disinfect your home of sand fleas, it would be wise to prevent such from happening again. Have any cracks in your walls or doors permanently sealed to avoid further incursions from not just the fleas but other pests.

A good sand fleas control measure is to scatter diatomaceous Earth across your front yard and garden.

How To Prevent Sand Flea Bites

Sand fleas are known to have different behaviors from other blood-sucking insects. This means that you can’t employ the same preventive measures as you would if it were a mosquito you were dealing with.

Clothing can help keep sand fleas away from your body, unlike regular fleas that don’t mind how much clothing you have.

Sand fleas can’t jump, so wearing long pants can help spare your legs and feet from harsh bites.

Try not to lie down directly on the sand when you visit the beach. Use a mat or a blanket instead. This will also help prevent the fleas from feasting on you.

A folding chair is also an excellent solution to preventing sand flea bites at the beach. With your feet up away from the sand, there is no way they can get to you.

Using sand flea repellents can also do the trick.

Many of them are synthetic, so they won’t harm your skin, but they will keep the sand fleas away as these tiny crustaceans are allergic to them.

Sand fleas love areas with a decent build-up of seaweed, so you would want to avoid such places. That’s their primary food source, so don’t be surprised if you find many of them munching on seaweed.

Rubbing Alcohol

Isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, is famous for killing germs and insects. If you find sand fleas on your furry pets, you may wonder if rubbing alcohol is the best means to kill them.

For pets, the answer is no!

Do not spray or pour rubbing alcohol over your pet’s fur or skin to kill sand fleas. This is because rubbing alcohol harms animals if they absorb or ingest it through the skin.

The rubbing alcohol will kill the sand fleas, but it will also harm your pet.

Some commercially available flea sprays contain alcohol but come in tiny amounts. A light spray may be harmless, but repeat spraying is detrimental to your pet’s health, so you should avoid using it.

Symptoms of running alcohol poisoning in pets manifest after about 30 minutes. If not treated immediately, your pet could die.

If you’re not going to be rubbing alcohol on your pets but other surfaces, then yes, it’s a suitable means to kill fleas.

After identifying the infested areas, you can make a rubbing alcohol solution and pour it into a spray can. Target all the infested areas with proper spraying and leave the isopropyl to work.

Similar to your pets, the body of the sand fleas will absorb the alcohol, which is also poisonous, and they’ll be dead in minutes.

You can visit the infested areas the following day and repeat the process in case some little ones hide the first time.

A word of caution, though, rubbing alcohol is inflammable, so you must be careful when spraying it around your home.

If you live alone, then the situation would be better controlled. But if you live with others, you must inform them of your actions.

Proper communication when spraying rubbing alcohol in the house can differentiate between a successful sand flea extermination and a fire outbreak.

What Chemicals Can Kill Sand Fleas?

Besides sprinkling using salt and rubbing alcohol, there is another means by which you can kill sand fleas, and that’s with the use of chemicals.

Pyrethrins are an excellent recommendation. They are organically made insecticides that work by destroying the sand flea’s nervous system when it comes in contact with them.

Pyrethroids are also a good alternative. These are not natural insecticides. They are synthetic pesticides that have a more devastating effect on the nervous system of sand fleas.

The significant difference between the two is that the former is safer to use on sand fleas as they are organically made.

Conclusion

Sand flea bites are nasty, and an infestation would greatly inconvenience you and your household, including your pets.

There are organic means to eliminate them, such as salt, as there are also chemical means.

Watch for signs of infestation and take action accordingly.

I hope this article on how to get rid of sand fleas has been informative.

Thanks for reading!

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