Flea & Tick Elimination
Flea & Tick Control in Foster City, CA
101 Exterminators provides flea and tick control in Foster City by treating the interior, the yard, and the wildlife harborage in one coordinated visit, California licensed under SPCB Lic. #9119 and working since 2005. Honestly stated: this is a flea city far more than a tick city, because the oak woodland and leaf litter ticks need is not part of the landscape here.
Warning Signs
Signs You Need Fleas & Ticks Service in Foster City
Inside the home we pair an adulticide with an insect growth regulator, which keeps eggs and larvae from ever reaching the breeding stage. Outside we treat the shaded ground where larvae survive, plus the fence lines, wood piles, and crawl space openings that wildlife uses as a highway. Tick work concentrates on the boundary between mowed yard and unmanaged brush, since that strip is where questing ticks meet people and dogs. We also walk the property for the entry points that keep bringing fleas back, and we explain what your veterinarian needs to handle on the animal, because the environment and the pet only work when they are handled together.
Pets scratching or chewing at the base of the tail, the belly, and behind the ears
Flea dirt in pet bedding: dark pepper-like specks that turn rust red on a damp paper towel
Bites in tight clusters on ankles and lower legs, usually a few in a row
Small dark insects that disappear into carpet pile the moment you part the fur
A burst of biting a day or two after a vacation, or on the first day in a vacant rental
Fleas in a home with no pets, which usually points to wildlife living under the structure
Ticks found on a dog after time in the yard rather than after a hike
An attached tick on a family member, or a rash, fever, or joint ache in the weeks after a bite
How It Works
Our Fleas & Ticks Process in Foster City
Every job follows the same methodical approach — no shortcuts, no guesswork. Here is what to expect when you work with us in Foster City.
Inspection & Source Identification
We look for flea dirt where it collects, check crawl spaces and the shaded ground under decks and hedges, and note where opossums, raccoons, and ground squirrels are moving through the property. For ticks we walk the line where kept lawn meets brush, since that strip carries most of the exposure. What the inspection turns up sets the treatment, rather than a standard package set in advance.
Interior Treatment
Interior work pairs an adulticide for the fleas you can see with an insect growth regulator for the ones you cannot. The growth regulator keeps eggs and larvae from developing into breeding adults, and it goes where eggs settle: carpet, the base of upholstered furniture, pet resting spots, and along baseboards. On hard floors we work the edges and cracks, where debris feeds developing larvae.
Yard & Property Edge
Flea larvae do not survive in open sun, so yard treatment targets shade: under decks and stairs, beneath dense shrubs, along the north side of the house, and wherever the dog lies down. Tick treatment follows a different line, the border where mowed yard gives way to tall grass, leaf litter, and brush. Treating the whole lawn misses both.
Pet Coordination & Follow-Through
Treating the house without the animal, or the animal without the house, puts you back where you started. We coordinate timing so your veterinarian's product goes on the pet the same day we treat, and we walk you through the vacuuming schedule that pulls pupae out of the carpet. Vacuuming does more than clean here, since the warmth and pressure signal cocooned adults to emerge onto treated surfaces.
Why 101 Exterminators
Fleas & Ticks You Can Count On in Foster City
Growth Regulator in the Plan
An adulticide handles the fleas jumping today. The insect growth regulator works on the eggs and larvae buried in carpet and yard shade, which is where the great majority of the population is sitting at any moment.
Yard and Property Edge Treated
Indoor-only treatment leaves the outdoor source running. We treat the shaded ground where flea larvae survive and the brush line where ticks wait for a host to walk by.
Wildlife Source Assessment
Homes along open space, creek corridors, and farm edges get fleas delivered by opossums, raccoons, and ground squirrels. We find the openings those animals are using and tell you what needs closing.
Coordinated With Your Veterinarian
We time the visit around the product your vet has prescribed, and you get written prep and re-entry steps so the two halves of the job line up instead of canceling each other out.
Common Questions
Flea & Tick Control FAQs for Foster City
Are ticks actually a concern in Foster City?
Less than in the Peninsula foothill cities, and it is worth saying so plainly. Western black-legged ticks need oak woodland and leaf litter, and Foster City has essentially none — the city is flat fill, irrigated landscaping, salt marsh, and open water. The exposure here comes mostly from dogs that travel to trails in the hills or the coast range and return. We still check dogs and yard edges, but fleas are the far more common finding.
Our dog walks the Foster City levee trail daily and keeps picking up fleas — why?
Because that trail is shared, shaded, irrigated ground that wildlife uses too. Opossums, raccoons, and ground squirrels travel the lagoon banks and levee plantings and drop cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) eggs where they rest, so a daily walk means daily exposure. The veterinary product handles what is on the dog; it does nothing to the eggs and pupae already in your yard and carpet. Both have to be treated the same day to hold.
We have no pets — why are there fleas in our Foster City home?
Because the host was almost certainly wildlife rather than a pet. Opossums, raccoons, and ground squirrels nesting under a deck, a shed, or a low under-floor area drop cat flea eggs there, and when that animal moves on or is excluded, the hungry adults that hatch come indoors looking for a host. We treat the interior and the harborage area first and then close the access point, because sealing it before treating pushes the fleas inside.
Local Pest Pressure
Common Pests We Treat in Foster City
Every area has its own pest profile shaped by climate, housing, and geography. These are the pests we see and treat most often in Foster City — tap any one to learn how to identify it and what treatment involves.
Flea & Tick Control · Foster City
Free Pest Evaluation in Foster City
CA licensed and insured. Written estimate before any work begins. Urgent situations in Foster City are prioritized.