They can afflict both humans and animals which is why it is important to know how to clean your house after tapeworms.
These parasites latch onto the walls of intestines wreaking havoc and sabotaging nutrient absorption.
If left untreated, it will mature and a section of it that contains eggs will detach. This is often passed out with stool. At this point, the eggs hatch and are ready for another tapeworm infestation.
Assuming your pet is infected, the process above might get tapeworms into your home. In that case, you might have to clean your house after tapeworm once the source, your pet, gets treatment.
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What are Symptoms of Tapeworm Infection?
The symptoms of tapeworm infection are not so obvious in pets, you will have to be on the lookout. The sooner you find out, the earlier you can contain the spread. If you pay sufficient attention, you’ll notice some things and be quick to take action.
Some of the symptoms are as follows:
- Rumbling tummy
- Rice-sized worms found in feces
- Diarrhea with a lot of mucus
- The pet rubbing its rear against a surface. This often happens when the tapeworm eggs latch onto the skin around their anus causing irritation.
Before you clean your house after tapeworm, you at least need to know there’s an infection.
How to Treat Your Pets for Tapeworm
Infected pets can quickly spread tapeworms around your home especially if their movement is not restricted. The following are what to do to treat your pets for tapeworm.
- Contact your vet. You might need to go in for a checkup or the vet asks you to collect a stool sample for a test. If not, the vet will just prescribe medication for you. There are quite a number of them to treat tapeworm infection. It is important to get a prescription and not self-medicate. The recommended drugs will depend on the pet’s size, age, and perhaps medical history. So, the treatment approach will be different. Most of the medication that will be recommended is available at vet clinics and stores. Most of them are administered orally but there are injections and topical options as well.
- Be sure to follow the directions on the drug leaflet. When you have bought the prescribed medication, you still have to consider the weight and other things to be sure of the dosage to use.
We went into details about treating your pet for tapeworm infection because they will likely be the reason you have to clean your house after tapeworm in the first place.
How to Clean Your House After Tapeworms
The ideal first step is to stop the spread and treat the carrier. Only after that can you proceed to clean your house your house after tapeworms. The following is a highlight of the steps you have to take to clean the house and get rid of any traces of tapeworms:
- Eliminate fleas
- Keep your pet on leash
- Thoroughly clean your home
Keep reading for the details on how to carry out these steps.
Get rid of fleas
Fleas are common hosts for eggs of tapeworm. So, it only makes sense that this is the first thing to do once you notice your pet has tapeworm. Yes, you should do this before even treating the pet. That way, you can rest assured the dog won’t be a carrier soon after treatment.
Get flea treatment products for your home. Make sure you go for the one that can kill adult fleas and another that can kill the eggs. Better still, go for this Enforcer Flea Spray. It will kill the eggs, the fleas, and prevent them from coming back!
Restrict your pet
Your pet won’t get infected with tapeworm if they don’t ingest fleas that carry tapeworm eggs or other intermediate hosts. They can also contract it from other pets that carry them. That’s probably how they got infected in the first place.
That’s not all, you also want to make sure you groom your pet often and treating them with flea shampoo.
Clean your cat litter box and pick up after your dog. Dispose of their waste properly. Since their waste might contain tapeworm eggs, you don’t want it to spread to neighborhood pets. We’re responsible for our environment.
Deep clean the house
To fully rid your house of tapeworms, you can’t afford to take prisoners. It is likely the eggs are everywhere your pet might have been. Hence, the wholesale cleaning.
One of the best ways is to use a vacuum cleaner. An upright vacuum is ideal for this kind of job. But if you live in a small apartment, a cordless vacuum can suffice.
You should vacuum floors, sofas, pet beds, covers, even your mattress if your pet goes there. Clean the pet bed with a steamer and covers with hot water and detergent.
You might even want to go as far as doing a boric acid treatment. There are Permethrin and Methoprene products that can be used to clean carpets, hard floors, and even furniture.
- K9 Advantix II for dogs works through contact, so fleas, ticks and mosquitoes don’t have to bite your dog to die
- K9 Advantix II topical tick and flea control for dogs is easy to apply, starts working to kill fleas within 12 hours and keeps working for 30 days
- Veterinarian recommended Bayer K9 Advantix II for dogs also repels biting flies and kills lice
- Contains 2 monthly applications of K9 Advantix II dog flea and tick treatment
Here are some posts to help you clean your home in other situations:
- How to Clean a Tankless Water Heater
- How to Clean Sprinkler Heads
- How to Clean Sewer Back up in the Basement
- How to Clean the Thermocouple on a Water Heater
- How to Clean a Vacuum Cleaner That Smells
- How to Clean Poop from Carpet
Takeaway
If your pet has tapeworm, you cannot treat it and sit back. It will only keep recurring. The best way to combat a full-blown infestation is to disrupt the tapeworm lifecycle. That means taking out the eggs, carriers, and the tapeworm itself. Of course, you won’t be taking out your pet.
This involves cleaning everywhere your pet might have been. This is exactly why you need to clean your house after tapeworms because they can manifest in different ways. If you find this useful, you can explore the site to find out more information like this.
How to Clean Your House After Tapeworms — FAQs
How long do tapeworm eggs live in carpet?
Tapeworm eggs can be resilient even outside of a host’s body. They can survive on different surfaces and environment such as carpets, grass, fixtures, bedding, bathroom, etc. Tapeworm eggs can live up to 3 weeks outside of a host’s body.
How can you flush out tapeworms in humans?
You can flush out tapeworms in humans by using oral medication. A widely used drug for fighting tapeworm infections is Praziquantel. This medication works by paralyzing the tapeworm making it lose grip of your intestine. It is then crushed and your system eventually flushes it out though bowel movement.
What are some symptoms of tapeworm in humans?
Humans and animals alike can become infested with tapeworm. Tapeworms hardly show symptoms but in certain cases, you’ll experience:
- Weakness
- Nausea
- Weight loss
- Abdominal pains
- Loss of appetite
- Mineral and Vitamin deficiencies
There are rare cases where tapeworm can block a host’s intestines or smaller ducts such as the pancreatic or bile ducts. Furthermore, tapeworm larvae can move out of the intestine and deal serious damage to the eyes, liver, heart, or brain. These cases are often life-threatening.
What foods can kill parasites in the body?
Carrots, pumpkin seeds, garlic, beets, ginger, and pomegranates are foods that have been used in traditional medicine to kill parasites in the body. A study conducted on 30 participants shows that taking papaya seeds and honey cleared parasites from the feces of 23 of the subjects. Another natural way to kill parasites in your system is to drink plenty of water. This will help flush them out of your system.
Is apple cider vinegar effective for treating worms?
Apple cider vinegar (with mother) works great for treating your dog or cat that have worms. Add a few spoons to your pet’s water and have them drink it often. Over the years the benefits of this fermented apple cider have become mainstream knowledge and more people are using it for different purposes.
To get this Apple Cider Vinegar, click here
Can probiotics kill intestinal parasites?
Probiotics such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and bifidobacteria can help to kill parasites in your intestines. Probiotics help restore the balance and health of your digestive tract to its normal state which is inhabitable to intestinal parasites. However, this method of treatment might not be ideal for patients with severe immune compromise.
Can tapeworms live in bedding?
The eggs of tapeworms can survive in harsh conditions and on many different surfaces. This is why it’s pretty hard getting rid of an infestation as some areas where the eggs can hide is hard to keep clean at all times. Fortunately, you can get rid of tapeworm eggs off your pet’s bedding. You have to wash with hot water and wipe surfaces your pet frequent with a solution of 3/4 cup of bleach and a gallon of water.
How long can tapeworms live after treatment?
Tapeworm medications kill the adult parasite usually within the first 24 hours of usage. To be sure a patient is completely free of infection, a second dose is usually given about 3 weeks later. This is to ensure it kills any remaining adult tapeworms or those that were larvae at the time of the first treatment.
How can you deworm naturally?
You can get rid of worms and other parasites from your body naturally by eating certain organic foods. Those foods that have antiparasitic effects or the amino acid cucurbitacin can help you rid your system of worms. Some of such foods include:
- Apple cider vinegar
- Pumpkin
- Carrots
- Turmeric
- Chamomile
- Coconuts
- Ginger
- Garlic