Defleaing
 

Read online about using baking soda and table salt to deflea the house. Has anyone used this combination? When defleaing do you have to get underneath the furniture too?

Save yourself some trouble ,get some good flea bombs that kill the fleas and eggs,set them off for a couple hrs,return home and repeat in 10--14 dys.......soda and salt all over your house? Fleas hide in cracks,and stay dormant for a long time....

Defleaing is really painful! I wouldn't bother with the home remedy thing either. Raid used to make a product called Flea Egg Stop. It was awesome. Spray all of your carpeting, all of your furniture. Wash all animal and human bedding including dust ruffles. Do this every 3-4 days and repeat 3-4 times. Spray your vacuum cleaner even if you change the bags. Those little bugs and eggs hide everywhere and can live through just about anything. I've never used the bombs because I don't want to have to do everything listed above AND all the dishes/pots/pans. Fortunately we've only had a flea problem 3-4 times in the last 20+ years. Attack quick and often - only way to kill the little buggers. And bathe the animals with the same frequency with a good flea shampoo.

Agree 100% ... even if you have to leave the house for a few days, go the chemical route and repeat as necessary. Ditto for whatever pet brought them into the house (if it's your pet). I prefer the foggers as it reaches all the un-reachable areas.

If you have pets that are allowed to go outdoors, spray the yard as well otherwise they'll pick up more fleas (as will you in fact), and bring them right back in. We spray our yard a few times per year.

If you have a dog the only way to go is with the flea pill. You can get it combined with the heartworm pill. Revolution works for cats. No fleas at all. If they are in your home a exterminator is the best way.

Save yourself all this work and just get flea medicine from your Vet. When you put it on your pet it will kill all the fleas on the pet and all in your house. Fleas jump on to feed off the pet's blood and jump back off. All fleas will be gone in a few days. I was so glad years ago when it was available and I have never looked back. No matter what you use you will never get rid of them.

Just curious, if your pet is on the meds, and you aren't, won't the fleas feed on you instead?

Not everyone is affected by fleas. My son and ex; the fleas loved them and would cover their feet in seconds. Not me, once in a while they jump on me but never bite. I use the all in one flea pill for my dog and the flea collar works better on my cat than the stuff on her back did. You bathe your dog/cat in Simple Green or Dawn and kill fleas. Outside you can get 7 dust from the home improvement store and it'll kill them too. Raid has a flea spray that can even be used on the animals along with carpets, etc that works great; it's in a purple can.

Have the house bombed the yard sprayed and get the pills and collars from the vets for your animals. Soda and salt will not help your dog. We use the Heartgard and Trifexis. The little guy only likes the Heartgard. I can break up the Trifexis on his food or put it between bread and he will spit out every little bit. I just cover dishes and pots and pans with tarp or stick them in the dishwasher. I don't have carpet, though because my dogs shed so much! We use flea and tick shampoo. DH used Dawn because some one said it was good for fleas. Dried my dogs skin out so bad, wasn't funny. We've been lucky because we keep up on it. Got after a neighbor who was walking their dog and got ready to do his business in my yard. I told him my dogs don't do their business in anyone else's yard so you don't need to let your dog do his business in mine. That is another way your yard get contaminated. When people let theirs do their business in your yard. I'll stop ranting.

Most natural products are labor intensive so its up to you if you want to spend the time.. Borax is a good product to keep in the house. Dawn should be used only once to initially get the fleas off because it is drying. Some dogs are highly allergic to the spot treatments. Especially smaller dogs. And collie type dogs should never use ivermectin for heart worm . I gave my little girl Comfortis and she lost big areas of hair and itched herself raw. I have a friend that uses all natural products for fleas and ticks but she has to spray her yard every week. I physically cannot do that so my dog gets Frontline and Heartgard. Never OTC spot treatments.

If you already have a flea infestation, medicating your pet IS NOT going to rid the environment of the fleas! You have to treat your pets AND the environment. Best thing is to use flea preventative on your animals. Humans can also bring in fleas so you can get fleas in your home even if your pets do not go outside. Also, if you do a chemical bomb, you are going to need to remove your pets from the area while fumigating.

Yes my cat gets flea treatments. My cat goes outside but since it has gotten warmer he doesn't go out as much. But I seem to be finding them in the house. So far not a lot but but I'm sure it will be soon. Has anyone heard of the apple cider vinegar treatment?

Flee bombs would be best...then use a good flea and tick medicine on your pets...I use Pet Armor and have never had a flea in my house...I have four dogs....

I have tried this and a dozen other ''home''flea remedies. All have failed. I have 5 fur babies and they get treated with Advantix and the house gets bombed. I get the Hot Shot bombs at Dollar General -they last longer then Raid bombs. They also get rid of Sand Flea's -Ants -EarWigs and a few other buggy pests. Hot Shot is a water based product, which is a great thing for any one with health issues and they are cheaper. I bombed the middle of May and I'm still bug free and I won't have to do it again til mid August. I put the critters out and I go do my errands.

Around here fleas are a real pest whether you have pets or not. If you go into a flea infested home you can bring home eggs on your shoes. I know this as I have had do de-flea my home several times and I do not have pets. As for natural products, borax works best. It will not kill the fleas but it will slow them way down so you can vacuum them up. Vacuuming often and well is the best ongoing treatment. Once, as I was going to gone for a few weeks, I sprinkled borax on my kitchen floor and parked the vacuum out side the door. It looked like I had spread a lot of salt on the floor, when I returned it looked like I had salt and pepper on the floor in even measures. Not yet in the door I bent over slightly to get a better look and a flea jumped up and bit my neck. So I plugged in the vacuum and scooped them all up. then I took the bag out to the burn barrel and lit them up. I swear I could hear their screams as the fire took them. The point is if you have fleas, pets or not, you will have to work at getting them out of the house. I finally used a combination of borax, vacuuming and a couple of bug bomb days. The offenders are cat fleas, they are as small as a pin head, hard to see being just a black spec, and the fact that they do not live on the host, instead they can live in any thing "soft", furniture, stuffed animals, pillows, mattresses etc. Then they heat sense a host is near and jump on for a meal. They can jump 12 feet. They lay eggs in their soft homes to perpetuate the cycle. The best daily prevention is vacuuming, vacuuming, vacuuming. However much you might want to avoid the bug bomb if you are really infested you will have to go there at least once. Fleas can go up to a year without feeding so you cannot out live them. Once you have your home flea free, and you have pets the flea prevention pet meds out there on the market are you best bet. By the way I am highly allergic to flea bites and for me they are not just itchy but quite painful. the best treatment I have found is to daub the fresh bite with vinegar to relieve the intense painful itch.

I did the bomb routine several times and still ended up with more of the varmints. Sprinkled salt and that was the end of them.

I am a retired vet tech. Fleas have been around for years and years. Here are some things that I would recommend to my patients with great results. If you have a big flea problem you can not just treat your pet. The house, outside, etc. need to be treated also. Any good flea boom will work in the house. I would recommend you use more bombs then it says. Any good outside flea control will work. A few days after you have bombed the house put about 5 - 6 mothballs and vacum them up. Remember to vacum the sofa, chairs, etc. The moth balls will kill any fleas larvae, eggs that are left behind. From this point, use moth balls everytime you vacum. No one is ever totally free of fleas as they hitch rides on our shoes, socks, etc. But using moth balls will keep them in check. Please, please do not use any detergent on your pets. After wetting always start with the head area using baby shampoo then move backwards with a good flea shampoo leaving it on for at least 5 minutes. Or take to a groomer where they have and use professional products which are not available to the public. Good luck in your quest, you can do it.

Whew, I don't miss the days of flea baths and spraying the house. I keep my dog on Heartgard and Frontline year round. There is a pill that will kill the fleas on the dog very quickly. Shelters use it on incoming/outgoing dogs. (I don't know about cats; that can be different) Fleas have a hard shell because their skeleton is on the outside of their bodies. Borax breaks that down and they die.

I would consult your vet about something you can use right now for the dog and that will prevent them coming back. If your yard is full of fleas, you need something you can give on a regular basis.

There are things that are relatively non-toxic that you can use in the yard to keep the fleas down but I am not familiar with what they are.

For the house, I would either get an exterminator or invest in the flea bombs that will kill the fleas AND THE EGGS. You don't want to be doing this every time you turn around.

Good luck. It is not a pleasant problem to have.

That can't be stressed enough!!!!!!!

Last year, we had a bad flea problem. I had very good luck with salt. I sprinkled it everywhere. I also put out pans of soapy water (I didn't mess with the lamp, but I'm sure that would have helped) and they just jumped right in there and couldn't jump out. I put them under furniture. They were probably trying to escape the salt!! I vacuumed every day until it was "better", then I got lazy and vacuumed once a week. I should mention that we have 3 indoor/outdoor dogs and 4 indoor cats.
This year, I was determined not to repeat. So I got the generic stuff from Walmart that is half the price of the "real" stuff and started putting it on the dogs in March. I am also very adament that the lawn stays mowed this year!
Last week, someone else told me to get Yeast pills from the Pet store. 500 pills for $10, but they are much cheaper from Amazon, so I'm ordering from there soon. She said once she started giving that to her dogs, they never had fleas. All of the dogs and all but one of the cats love them and think they are treats!! But as long as the dogs don't bring fleas in, the cats should be ok.

I wouldn't bother with salt and soda--flea bombs are great---I bought 2 more than recommended for my space---put my 2 dogs in the car and went out for a nice LONG ride, the cats went into a large borrowed carrier in the neighbors garage with a fan with food water and litter.(I live in a double wide, on cinder blocks, with skirting---also place 2 bombs under the home)--all taken care of

If you have your pet on a good spot treatment from the vet the fleas will soon disappear from the house, yard and immediately from the pet. That stuff works. These are combination preventives for heartworms as well, and in many parts of the country your dog and sometimes cats will get heartworms without it. If the fleas are very troublesome in the house, treating them with a bomb once and immediately starting the pet on spot treatment should do the trick. Any flea that hatches later and bites the pet will die.

What medicine was this I need to check it out at the vet?

I have the bagless vacuum cleaner. The kind u put a filter in. I had my daughter put a flea collar in it but she thinks there are some still alive. Would it be OK to put some boric acid in it. She wants to get me another filter but wants yo use it again. She has treated her house and knows she has do it again.

Frontline Plus and Heartgard is the only thing we use, and we have never in 11 years had a flea problem. Small price (and it is pricey!) to pay to keep our loved ones healthy and happy. It is important to read the ingredients on treatments, as there are some that are very dangerous to the dogs. And never miss a dose or opportunity to clean the bedding regularly, routine bathing, and scrubbing down the areas they spend the most time in.

did you read about the business someone used 12 bug bombs in? the business was then lost to fire! those things are dangerous. not to mention getting all over everything, floor, etc. Be careful and good luck.

I just heard about being cautious because of the fire. It had to do with any electric that was hot, stoves, etc. Scarey.
I did read everyone's posts. All good to know.
My vet had us sprinkle regular salt all over and leave it 48 hours then vacuum and repeat if needed. It worked. Seems the fleas eat it and it dries them up.
But we have the house sprayed yearly now and he does outside in the dog yard as well. Always good to spray around the house....Hope they go away soon. Pesky little critters :)

Salt!! great to know. one day I dream of moving back to Texas and worry about fleas. we don't have them here.