A modern craftsman home in a leafy Silicon Valley suburb — Redwood City, California service area

Flea & Tick Elimination

Flea & Tick Control in Redwood City, CA

Name: 101 Exterminators Inc.
Address: 635 Sanborn Pl Ste 12, Salinas, CA, 93901, US
Telephone: (831) 500-1613

101 Exterminators does flea and tick control in Redwood City for houses where the problem keeps returning after the pet has been treated. California licensed, SPCB Lic. #9119. On the hillside streets below Edgewood Park and along the creek corridors, the source is often not the pet at all — opossums and raccoons work those routes nightly and drop eggs wherever they rest.

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Local Context

Opossums and Raccoons Work the Redwood City Creek Corridors Every Night

Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) are the species behind nearly every flea call here, and they do not need a household pet to keep going. Opossums, raccoons and ground squirrels carry them, and Redwood City gives those animals continuous cover — the riparian strips along Redwood Creek, Cordilleras Creek and Arroyo Ojo de Agua, the open space at Edgewood Park and Pulgas Ridge, and the fence-line and canopy routes through Farm Hill, Canyon and the blocks above Stulsaft Park.

The eggs are the reason treatment fails. Adult fleas on a host lay continuously, and the eggs fall off wherever the animal rests — under a deck, at a crawl-space entry, in shaded dirt along a foundation, or indoors in carpet, floor seams and pet bedding. Treating the pet removes the adults on the pet and leaves a population of eggs, larvae and pupae in the environment that keeps hatching. That is the two-week "it came back" call.

The mild climate removes the off switch. January lows here average near 41°F, which is not cold enough to break the flea reproductive cycle the way a hard freeze does, so pressure runs long instead of shutting down. Ticks are a separate exposure and they come from vegetation rather than from the house — the trail edges and grassy margins at Edgewood Park and Pulgas Ridge are where dogs pick them up, not the back lawn.

How We Work in Redwood City

We treat the environment, not just the room the pet sleeps in. Inside, that means an adulticide plus an insect growth regulator across carpet, floor seams, upholstery and pet resting areas, so the eggs and larvae already in place never reach adulthood. Outside, we treat the shaded ground where animals rest — under decks, along foundations, at crawl-space entries and in side yards. On Redwood City properties backing open space we also look at where wildlife is getting under the structure, because that is what keeps refilling it.

Redwood City Climate

Redwood City is warmer inland than the Peninsula coast, with seasonal winter rain. Weather alone does not establish termite activity.

Housing Stock

Older houses around Mount Carmel and newer homes toward Redwood Shores can have different foundations and access. The construction and later alterations determine which wood is visible.

Why Local Expertise Matters

In Redwood City, a raised floor may expose underfloor wood; a slab or finished addition may not. Ask for the inspected areas, any limits, and the written basis for a treatment recommendation. A separate Section I/Section II report is available on request; the report itself does not decide a transaction’s repair terms.

Warning Signs

When to Ask About Flea & Tick Control in Redwood 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

What to Expect from Flea & Tick Control in Redwood City

Tell us whether you have found fleas or ticks indoors, on pets or outside. We can discuss which areas need to be checked.

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

Why Choose 101 Exterminators for Flea & Tick Control in Redwood 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 Redwood City

Why do fleas keep coming back in our Redwood City house after we treated the dog?

Because most of the population is not on the dog. Flea eggs fall off wherever the animal rests and develop in carpet, floor seams, pet bedding and shaded soil outdoors, so a treated pet keeps picking up newly emerged adults from the environment. Treating the interior and the outdoor resting areas with an IGR is what breaks the cycle. Frequent vacuuming helps too, because it prompts pupae to emerge where the treatment can reach them.

Can we have fleas in a Redwood City home with no pets at all?

Yes, and it is common on properties near the creek corridors or the open space at Edgewood Park. Opossums, raccoons and ground squirrels carry cat fleas, and when one nests under a deck, in a sub-area or in an attic, the eggs drop there and the emerging adults go looking for a host — which becomes you. The fix pairs treatment with closing off the space the animal was using.

Where do dogs pick up ticks around Redwood City?

On the trail edges and grassy margins in the open space — Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve, Pulgas Ridge and the hillside trails on the west side of the city — rather than in a maintained backyard. Ticks wait on vegetation at about knee height and transfer to whatever brushes past. Check dogs after hillside walks, especially around the ears, neck and between the toes, and keep yard vegetation trimmed back from paths and fence lines.

Local Pest Pressure

Common Pests We Treat in Redwood 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 Redwood City — tap any one to learn how to identify it and what treatment involves.