I've only had a few experiences with fleas, and it wasn't
pleasant. One of the first apartments I moved into after
college was literally covered with fleas so that I couldn't
sit and read without them jumping on my legs and biting
me. It was many years later that our family cat came down
with them, and though it was unpleasant, it was nothing like
that first experience. My husband convinced me to use a
"flea bomb" and it didn't work, plus I was so afraid of the
chemicals I told him we all had to leave the house for the
day and then air it out. Since these experiences I've come
up with some easier and less toxic methods. They won't
work for everyone. Climates are different, as are the type
of fleas, but these are a good place to start before having to
go the chemical route.
The first thing you need to know is that if your pet is an
outdoor pet, they will be more likely to get fleas. Talk to
your vet and decide on a good treatment. I've tried several
and Frontline has worked the best so far.
Also, especially during warm/hot weather keep things clean
and vacuumed. Carpet, furniture, pet beds/blankets, pillows,
throws--anywhere your pet may lay or sit. Empty your
vacuum bag and throw it in the trash (outside) if you even
suspect you may have fleas. I also found that I really have
to keep it clean under things---the computer desk, sofa etc.
If you can do this ALL the time, you may head off the fleas.
But sometimes, no matter how clean you are, they sneak in
anyways. If they do, here are a few things you can try:
Boric acid, which is in Borax , kills fleas and the larvae by
dehydrating them--drying them out is how I understand it. You
can go to a hardware and buy boric acid or pick up a box of
Borax at the grocery store. If your area doesn't have it, ask
around for a laundry aid that contains boric acid. Sprinkle it
on the dry carpet, allow it to sit overnight if possible, then
vacuum in the morning. Vacuum twice if you have to, then
throw away the bag. If you aren't sure and your carpet is newer
--I'd test a spot first to make sure it doesn't fade. You will
have to repeat this every two weeks--to make sure you get
them all. Keep up the steady vacuuming. It also might be easier
to put the borax in an empty oatmeal or cornmeal container-then
poke holes in the lid-then take the top to make sure it's secure,
and sprinkle on that way. An extra option is to add 20-25 drops
of an essential oil to the borax first---working it in with your
hands (wear rubber gloves). Let it sit a couple of hours, then put
in the container and sprinkle. You can use cedar, citronella,
pennyroyal, lemongrass, rosemary, eucalyptus, and lavender.
This is optional though...
An important note on essential oils. You'll find recipes online
that suggest spraying pets...rubbing oils on them...etc. I do not
recommend this. Unless you are an experienced herbalist it's
not a good idea to use the oils on pets, especially cats. When
you do use the Borax, with or without the oils, keep your pets
away. You don't want them eating or rolling in the Borax. Make
sure you vacuum it all up before letting them go in that area.
MORE FLEA TIPS FROM OFL VISITORS
I have used just plain table salt and it works great. Isn't dangerous
to pets. It even helps to brighten the carpet. You need to repeat
every couple of days tell you get all the eggs that hatch. It must
dehydrate them too, I would think. ~Paula Barringer
I have tried all kinds of remedies for decades before finding one
that works, safely! I now use
Diatomaceous Earth
diatomaceous earth, food-grade, and
have for about a month. Applied it directly to all the cats and rubbed
them well, and mixed about a half-teaspoon into "special food". Then
sprinkled the stuff all over the bare floors, swept it into the cracks,
on the furniture, in the drawers, wherever fleas might hide. Liberally
applied and then mixed it into the sand all around the house. It also
dehydrates like borax, but with one big difference-DE is non-toxic,
it will also kill the parasites caused by flea-infestation. Wear a cloth
mask to avoid inhaling it-dries the mucus cavities right out. Apply
lotion or oil to hands after washing them.
The first week I'd follow this regiment daily. The outdoor cats were
treated more often, as they'd roll in the sand, disperse the DE and
collect more fleas. By the middle of the second week I only had to
do the cats every two days, the house continued to get a daily sprinkle.
I added a bit of DE to one meal for a week then did it every two days
and now once a week. It is now a month later, the cats are back to
their familiar roosts. DE was the only thing I'd found that could be
and was used on infant animals, was chemical-free and completely
non-toxic. ~Shaggylord, Adirondack Mountains
Last year we took on two cats from a lady we knew through church. Because
of the circumstances for the first two weeks they were in our house it was
all anyone could do to make sure they (and the two resident cats) got
fed and watered and the litter boxes got cleaned. We only stayed overnight
in our own home twice in those two weeks due to church events and other
end-of-summer busy-ness. After things settled down we discovered a severe
flea infestation. We couldn't walk across a floor anywhere in our place
without getting about ten bites on our shins. We fixed this in one hard
weekend of work (with a few more days of bites as some of the 'missed'
adults died off), using exactly what you suggest (Borax, DE and a long
acting flea treatment like front line) but the way we did it was different
and I think labor saving in the long run.
The first thing we did was wash all the cats with an appropriate non-flea
shampoo. Once they were dry we treated them with a long acting flea
treatment. I don't recall which brand we used.
The next thing we did was mix 1 part diatamaceous earth to 1 part borox in
a container with hole punched in the lid for sprinkling. We secured the
cats in one part of the house and moved furniture off the carpet in the
other part of the house, covered the carpets (where the cats weren't) and
the corners of the tiled areas. Then we used a broom to work the powder
into the carpet (very dusty. Use some sort of mask. We used wet bandanas
with some success) and under the floorboard cracks and let it sit
overnight. The next day we vacuumed up the loose powder. Some of the
powder stays in the carpet to continue to control flea larvae, but isn't
accessible to cause problems for pets or children. We also had to do some
damp dusting of surfaces to get the residue of borox and DE off of shelves
and such. Then we mopped the hard surfaces with hot soapy water. Soapy
water does a good job of killing fleas because it dissolves their waxy
coating, but plain water will not.
After that's done, secure the cats in the already done area, and then do
the area that the cats were in the previous day in the same way --
sprinkle, work in, let sit, vacuum and damp dust.
This shouldn't have to be repeated. If there isn't a serious drop off in
the number of fleas immediately, or if there are any fleas at all after
three weeks, it probably means that somewhere has been missed. I've done
this before for less severe infestations but decided that the couch or
desk didn't need to be moved and had to do it again. Move all the
furniture, dust (with the borox and DE), sweep (work the dust in with the
broom) and vacuum any upholstered furniture that doesn't have washable
slipcovers (wash what you can in soap and water. It's easier) and the
fleas won't have anywhere to hide.
It's been 18 months and we haven't seen a reoccurance yet. Because the
cats are indoor cats we didn't renew the long acting flea treatment, so we
know that the fleas are good and dead.
We also used food grade DE (all of this uses food grade DE, not pool
filter DE which is totally different and likely won't work) for internal
parasites brought in from these cats (they had been given a 'clean bill of
health' by a vet and brought directly from the vet's boarding kennel to
our home, so we thought they were safe) very effectively, the way
Shaggylord mentioned. We only dosed the cats once every two weeks for six
weeks (half a tsp mixed with wet food) rather than every day. It
worked.
In order to deal with the ear mites we used an essential oil product sold
commercially for cats through our food co-op. I don't recall the brand but
it was primarily neem oil with other essential oils (lemon grass by the
smell of it, plus some mint or something). That would probably be a safer
bet than pure EO for those who are not experienced herbalists. It claims
to work on fleas though we didn't check that. It did work nicely on the
mites.
One thing about DE -- it's high silica content is rough on the lungs of
people with asthma, so if you or your kids or animals have such issues
it's better to have them avoid the area while you're working, or if
someone with asthma must work with the DE, then have them wear some sort
of mask. Even a dampened bandana is better than nothing. This is why we
didn't dust our animals nor leave the dust around, because I have asthma.
~Vinnie
About the Author:
Brenda Hyde is a freelance writer and editor of Old Fashioned Living. She and
her family live in a 100 year old house and are experts at Do-it-Yourself projects
on a budget! Visit HERE to sign up for her free tips newsletter.
