Flea season is upon us. If you have ever had an infestation, you know you have to combat fleas from many angles to control and eliminate these hopping, opportunistic parasitic pests. One of the most powerful agents in reducing flea populations is one of the most safest: Read on to find comprehensive ways to control these pests from making you and your pet's lives miserable with crawling, biting, itching and scratching!
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Salt. Yes. Regular, everyday, plain old, put it on your fried eggs, salt. Can it be used effectively against large infestations of fleas? Yes. Salting and vacuuming your floors and furniture kills the flea's eggs by dehydrating them. If you take this route-you will be pleased with results. You'll have to be diligent and persistent with treatment to be really effective. But with patience it can be done.
I have also read about using borax. But the down side to borax is it can hold moisture. So using on your carpets can be a risk if you don't get all of the powdered vacuumed up, it can lead to problems later.
I have also read about using borax. But the down side to borax is it can hold moisture. So using on your carpets can be a risk if you don't get all of the powdered vacuumed up, it can lead to problems later.
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I walked into my carpeted area the other day wearing white socks, white sweat pants and a light grey sweatshirt. Now that was an eye opening experience. Someone else wrote about plucking them off of themself and putting them in water with soap. I found myself doing the same thing. Ever try to crush a flea? It is almost impossible. I even tried rubbing the bottom of a flat bottom glass on one and it jumped after I stopped. We must be missing the boat here. With a hard shell like that, maybe we shoud be experimenting on them for a cure for osteo porosus...I know I probably spelled it wrong...but you know what I mean. I have been doing the white vinegar in the food, not the water on a daily basis. Basically, I put a capful in every 5.5 ounce can. I did a little research on the all natural foods they sell in the refrig section of the supermarket. THEY put white vinegar in there too. At least if I see the food disappear, I know they are getting the vinegar. I hesitate to put it in the water. Cats are a breed all their own. They will avoid the water to the point of dehydration if they do not like what is in it. I know some people asked about giving a cat the same treatment as a dog. Do the research first. Definately commercial flea treatments are species specific. You cannot use "dog" flea treatments on cats. You could kill the poor little thing. Nobody wants to do that.
Let me tell you how I bathe my cat. This is no fluke. I have even taken a cat to a college class and given him a bath as a demonstration. If anything would set a cat off, that would. I have even bathed cats that aren't mine.
Take a big breath and relax. Your state of mind will influence his.
Start with a clean counter next to the kitchen sink. Put towels on it. Don't have them so close to the sink that the cat could grab it. Get your shampoo opened and handy. Consider which hand will be easier for you to hold the cat and which to wash and set up your towels and sinks accordingly.
Now, plug the side of the sink you'll be using to bathe the cat. In the other side, start the water. Get it to the temperature you want. Turn the pressure down to a slow flow - on that side.
Put your cat into the empty, plugged up side of the sink, facing the wall. I have bathed a cat with and without a towel in the sink. Your choice. Let him watch the water for a few seconds. With your washing hand, cup your hand, fill it with water and "pet" your cat with it. Start on his back, not his head. Do this several times. Slowly move the faucet over to his side of the sink but not ON him. Continue "petting" him with water. If he's relatively calm, increase the water pressure so the sink is slowly filling. Remember, you're washing with one hand and restraining him gently with the other.
Put some shampoo on him and water-pet and wash him. Have a little PLASTIC cup handy so you can scoop some of the water from his side of the sink and pour it over him (it has soap in it - might as well use it to the max).
Continue washing until you are satisfied that he is clean. GENTLY remove the plug and let the water drain WHILE you are filling that cup with clean water and gently pouring it over him. Scratch and pet him frequently. Talk to him.
When you are all done, let him drip a little and then put him on the towels and wrap him up gently but quickly. Use old towels. If he has his claws he might snag them a little.
Drying is the hardest because he wants to run away. Dry him as best you can and then release him in a warm room. Don't let him outside until he is dry.
I hope this works for you as it has for me.
However, if you don't do this next step, you will still have fleas in low numbers (how do I know? My landlords refused to do this step and they kept re-infecting the common area of the house): You need to wear white socks and tuck in your pants from the time you come home to the time you leave. I even wore them to bed because using the washroom at night was the last time I saw fleas and it prevents you from infecting your bed linen. Check your socks regularly (like when you use the washroom, before you leave your home, before you get into bed) for fleas and remove and drown in a container with a drop of dishsoap in water (I used a washed yogurt container and kept it in the bathroom and also kept one at the back door). Remember, fleas can resemble a speck of dust. Drown that speck of dust if you're not sure.:)
I also walked all through my area twice a day to trigger the remaining eggs to hatch and jump on my socks. I got rid of the fleas in less than 3 weeks. My landlords still had some fleas months later.
(Aside: The flea-infected cats were no longer in the house as the owner had moved. Based on what I've read, just washing your pet with regular pet soap and washing its bedding is helpful. I know when I got fleas on me, all I had to do was shower with soap and they were gone.)
I left the salt on the carpet etc for 2 weeks, then vacuumed and re-applied the salt. I kept my vacuum bag in the freezer between uses. Or else garbage it. Fleas can definitely crawl out of your vacuum bag.
I came up with an idea years ago when we had carpet. I noticed fleas seemed to collect around light like moths. I put a shallow pan of water against the wall in several rooms of the house. I put a desk lamp or spotlight above it pointing down into the water. At night when the lights in the house go off the fleas jump right toward the spot lights and land in the water. Turns out fleas are small enough to float around. I caught a few of the little monsters climbing over the side after they kicked their way to the edge buoyed along by the surface tension of the water. I fixed that problem by adding a couple of drops of dish soap to the water. Then the fleas hit the water and sink like a stone. One last thing. They seem to collect near the light but a lot of them won't take that last leap. If you ease up to the edge of the light you can pat the carpet with you hand and see them hitting the water as they make one final jump 'into the light'. Get the poltergeist reference there? :) Maybe I'm just mean, but those bites hurt. It made me itch just a little bit less to watch the little buggers drown.
Ingredients
3 cubes beef bouillon
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup brewers' yeast
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 egg yolks
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Dissolve beef bouillon cubes in boiling water, and set aside. Grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, corn meal, brewers yeast, and garlic powder. Add the yolks, then gradually pour in the bouillon water while stirring. Mix thoroughly to form a firm dough. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies one inch apart onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn the oven off, and leave the cookies inside for at least 3 hours or overnight to harden. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
I will how ever do further testing.
I really hope for further success since natural flea solutions are rather hard to come by where I am. For some reason the poisonous stuff is preferred where I come from. :(
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Should i try the dishwashing soap AND the salt??? PLEEEASE HELP!!!
When my cat was kittenly she too was a fleaherder and the above tactic worked the first time I tried it. I think that the vacuuming is the most important, even more than the salting, but who wants to spend their instructable time doing chores?
Use the salt - it makes your floors tastier too!
So treat. If you don't have pets or small children, you can safely sprinkle boric acid powder - drug store, a couple bucks for a small jar which should be plenty - along the edges of carpet, in furniture, bedding, etc. Anyplace a flea can hide. Leave it there, if you can. If you have kids, try to leave it for a few hours, anyway, before vacuuming up the excess.
You can also dissolve it in water - I use 1 tsp per cup, sometimes a little stronger - and spray it along baseboards, window sills, and on the carpet - after it dries it will be safe. DON'T use this on linoleum or tile floors - it will be slick as you know what, and you could slip and fall even after it's dry.
This will kill ants, too. Quickly. Watch them squirm. Doesn't seem to work on spiders.
Borax has Boric acid . Its better to just get powdered Boric acid .
I mixed powdered salt and boric acid in an old carpet powder can.
Shake it in the corners ,base boards, everywhere. It will dehydrate
insects . They are toast .
Try the rock salt tied off in some pantyhose scattered in various corners where dirt collects, under couch cushions, end tables-any areas the cats inhabit..