Fleas - Home Remedies to remove from Carpet, Dog and Cats.?
I noticed about a week ago that my dog had a few fleas, and I thought I got them all, but then a week later I saw that both of my cats had them...and they all three got baths which showed that they had a bunch of fleas in that short period of time.
Now I need to treat the whole house - carpet, upholstery etc and I don't like to use pesticides in my home. Does anyone know of an alternative that will help the animals as well as the carpet?
H-E-L-P - I do not wish to use harsh chemicals.
Anonymous2008-03-28T05:04:38Z
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The safest and cheapest method of getting rid of fleas is to spray a mixture of boric acid and salt on carpets, bedding and areas frequented by your pets. Boric acid acts as a desiccant and dries out the exoskeleton of the flea, but does not have any side effect on human beings or animals.
Here is the best remedy but it does take chemicals but just one time if the house is not overrun with fleas. Have an exterminator come in and deflea the house and yards. While they are doing this, remove all pets and apply Fontline to the dog and Advantage to the cat. The fleas and eggs should die after this treatment. Once in a while you will need to have the company return, but the work is guaranteed so there should be no extra charges. No one likes to use chemicals but but fleas have become resistant to easier methods and they can lay dormant for many months before another big infestation. Another way but not as effective is to put a good flea powder from the vet in the vacuum cleaner and thoroughly vacuum the house. Take the vacuum outside and dispose of the bag right away. Apply the above meds to the pets. This is flea season, spring and summer so the sooner you are rid of them the less work you need to do. Good luck.
RE: Fleas - Home Remedies to remove from Carpet, Dog and Cats.? I noticed about a week ago that my dog had a few fleas, and I thought I got them all, but then a week later I saw that both of my cats had them...and they all three got baths which showed that they had a bunch of fleas in that short period of time.
Put a pie pan with an inch of soapy water under a night light. The fleas are attracted to the hot spot created by the light and fall into and drown in the soapy water. May take many such devises to do a house and the flea eggs will reappear in a couple weeks again. The soap breaks the surface tension of the water. This works (you will see dead fleas in the pan) but is laborious and probably you will have to resort to chemicals. On the animals you will have to apply Frontline or such product.
I saw a recent story on the news that a study was done that showed that just vaccuming well with a strong vaccum cleaner killed as many or more fleas than many of the pesticides frequently used. The vaccuming process did so much damage on the fleas' exoskeleton that they died.