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Ever used diatomaceous earth inside?
If so, I could use some advice!
We've just used diatomaceous earth on our carpets, to help eliminate fleas. In the process, we discovered the leak which is allowing our home to be humid enough to allow them to breed. The leak is fixed, but I now have a piece of carpet which is coated in a layer of diatomaceous mud.
I need to steam clean the carpets anyway, but am concerned that the mud may gunk up the machine. Anyone out there who's tried it?
What's your recommendation for cleaning up the sticky mess?
Edit:
Okay, so the whole point of the diatomaceous earth is that it stops the lifecycle of the fleas. So, assuming that I have taken care of the flea problem, does anyone have advice on the muddy carpet?
2 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
My concern would be the possibility of prematurely wearing the machine's seals, particularly the impeller pump seal. But that's just a guess. (I forwarded your question to a friend who might actually know.)
My other concern would be the fleas themselves, I have had to deal with some flea infestations over the years. The worst part of it is that eggs continue to hatch for up to 3 months after the eggs were laid.
If pesticides are an option, I've found Zodiac Advanced Indoor Insect Spray to work really, really well on fleas. It isn't a fogger (those never made much sense to me, as I have yet to see any airborne fleas) you spray it directly onto the carpet. From my experience a single application kills all living fleas, and the residue kills any that hatch for at least a couple of weeks.
Ironically none of Zodiac's other products have ever impressed me, least of all their topical flea control products intended for use on pets, but this stuff really kicks some serious flea butt, I can say from experience. When combined with effective flea control for the household pets (like Advantage or Front Line) it has worked for me every time.
Good Luck!
- LisaLv 45 years ago
You don't put it on the dog, you put it on the ground. It can be very irritating to skin & eyes & is very dusty & it is no longer effective once it gets wet. It will kill fleas that actually come into contact with it. I have heard of feeding it to the dog, but I am not sure of that is safe and or just an old wives tale. I would never try unless the vet said it was safe. A product like Frontline etc. works much better.
