Fleas can be a real pain, biting your ankles and making you itch incessantly. Unfortunately, these little buggers have a habit of jumping off your pets and taking up residence in your carpet, where they become quite challenging to get rid of. If your carpet is currently flea-ridden, you'll want to talk to your vet about the best way to treat your animals for fleas – and then follow these steps to treat your carpet, safely and naturally.

Step 1: Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.

Fleas lay a lot of eggs, which is one reason why it's so hard to get them out of your carpet. You might kill the adult fleas, but there are just more eggs to hatch. Vacuuming thoroughly will help minimize the number of eggs in the carpet. You won't suck them all up, but some is better than nothing. Make sure you use the brush attachment to your vacuum so that you're sucking things up from deep within the carpet. Go along the walls with a wand attachment; fleas like to hide in the crease between the wall and the carpet. When you're done vacuuming, throw away the vacuum bag immediately so any adult fleas you've sucked up can't jump out.

Step 2: Use diatomaceous earth.

Diatomaceous earth, also known as DE, is a natural insect killer. It's made from the skeletons of tiny sea creatures called diatoms. Though it looks and feels like a soft powder to you, it is actually very sharp on the microscopic level, and it breaks through fleas' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate and die.

Fill an old Parmesan cheese container or spice shaker with DE, and use it to scatter an even layer of the powder. You don't need a thick coat. Make sure you cover all areas of your carpet. Then, let the DE sit for a week. This way, it will have time to kill any current adult fleas, plus any new fleas that hatch over that one-week period.

Step 3: Vacuum, and repeat step 2.

DE absorbs moisture from the air over time, and as it does so, it becomes less effective at killing fleas. Thus, after the DE has sat for a week, you'll need to vacuum it up and then sprinkle on a fresh layer. Let this second layer sit for another week, so it has time to kill any last fleas that hatch. Then, vacuum it up – your carpet should now be flea-free!

If these tips don't help, you should contact a professional like Go Green Carpet Cleaning.