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Don't skip this step!
Instead of wasting hundreds of dollars on flea bombs and collars, go out and buy a good vacuum cleaner. If a $50 cheapie is all you have or want to spend money on, fine, but you will be well rewarded if you upgrade to at least a mid-range model. For about $200 you can get a nice, strong vacuum that will give the fleas hell. And giving them hell is what this is all about.
If you are in the market for a new one, try to find a bagless model; this makes it a lot cheaper and easier to use for flea control. Any extra hoses or attachments it might have are good because they will let you get into the nooks and crannies a little easier.
It’s been said that the focus of your efforts should be the areas where your pet spends most of his time. The problem with this, however, is that although your cat might spend 23 hours a day sleeping under your bed, the other 1 hour a day is spent running around your whole house. Logic dictates that anyplace your pet goes the fleas can (and will) follow. So unless an area is absolutely off limits to your pet and unless he never sneaks into that area, it will need to be vacuumed just as much as anyplace else. Remember, the goal is total eradication of your fleas; there are no acceptable levels of infestation.
Pretty much what you want to do is vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Vacuum the carpets, vacuum the furniture, if your dog sleeps with in your bed vacuum your mattress too. If you have long drapes it might not hurt to at least get the bottom halves of those as long as you are at it. You can't overvacuum so if in doubt, vacuum it. When you think you've vacuumed enough, do it again because the vacuum stimulates the larvae and adults to move around and any that you missed the first time around will be on the prowl and ripe for the catching. It also removes flea feces so the babies (larvae) have less to eat.
When you are done, be sure to immediately empty the vacuum, seal the garbage bag, and get it outside, preferably to sealed garbage can. (This is why a bagless model is nice) The idea of putting chunks of a cut up flea collar in the bag or canister is clever but unnecessary since you’ll be emptying the vacuum cleaner after each use anyway. If you don't empty the vacuum you run the (slight but avoidable) risk of escapees re-infesting your home.
Please don’t dismiss the idea of using your vacuum as a weapon in the flea wars because if you do nothing else, vacuuming alone can greatly reduce your problem. It not only sucks up the adult fleas, but it stimulates the hard-to-reach eggs to hatch so you can get the larvae too.
Get a good vacuum and use it!