Fighting fleas can be a nightmare! To make matters worse, there are so many different opinions on how to treat them that it’s probably left you rather frustrated. Perhaps you have tried flea collars or maybe even a few natural methods and didn’t have much success. While each case is different, your primary goal should be to get rid of them as soon as possible. If you have done a little research, you have probably come across many articles suggesting the use of borax for flea infestations and may have wondered if it’s a good solution. Unfortunately, there is a lot of incorrect information on the internet and as a result, I decided to put together a reliable guide that will put things in perspective and give you all the necessary info to help you make an informed decision about using it for flea control. I highly recommend that you take some time to read this entire guide and I invite you to ask any questions you may have in the comment section and I will try get back to you within 24 hours. If you would like to skip right to the removal steps, feel free to click here.
Is There a Difference Between Using Boric Acid and Borax for Fleas?
Yes, and the difference is very important! Borax (sometimes called “Disodium Tetraborate or Sodium Tetraborate on product labels”) is mined from the earth as a complex form of boron bound with other minerals (such as sodium), while Boric acid does not occur naturally in nature, but is made from borax by adding an acid such as hydrochloric acid) and water to the solution. Since boric acid contains this mixture, it significantly increases the toxicity level and I don’t recommend that you use it for DIY flea control.
Borax looks very much like salt. However, this salt is NOT the type that you would use on your food but rather is a substance that can be used for killing a variety of pests and other nasty insects. The powdered form is even used in some cleaning agents.
Does Borax Kill Fleas? How It Works And Safety Tips
Based on my personal experience and feedback from my readers, using borax really works. The powdered form has absolutely no smell and doesn’t get absorbed by the skin when touched. It kills fleas by acting as an extreme dehydrate and by making tiny cuts in their exoskeleton which results in their eventual death. It can even be used to prevent small larvae that hatch but unfortunately will not help you get rid of flea eggs. That step will need to be done separately and I will be more than happy to help you with this process after you check out my guide on this topic. 🙂
In fact, since borax is naturally occurring substance, it’s fairly safe for your family home. Remember that borax is significantly less toxic then most flea insecticides and products. Even though it has a low level of toxicity, here are a few warnings to keep in mind before you start using it:
- If you are pregnant, please stay away from any Borate substance – this includes borax!.
- Keep your cats away from the borax powder as it can cause terrible breathing problems and potential fatalities.
- Make sure your carpets are not wet (even from humidity) as this can damage the fibers and cause discoloration.
- Keep the borax powder away from food (especially if you have young children) as it is dangerous for consumption in large quantities. (more than 5mg). I have recently been informed by a medical practitioner that anything around 5mg is still pretty safe (slightly higher toxicity then table salt). However, keep in mind that cats are rather sensitive to borax so just take it easy if you have one in the home.
- Keep the borax away from your plants as it can cause damage to them.
- NEVER put the borax powder directly onto pets, even if they have fleas. Borax is used to get rid of fleas in your home and using borax on dogs for fleas (as well as other pets) can be dangerous for their health!
- Don’t scatter borax powder for fleas around your home as a flea preventative because prolonged environmental contact can potentially cause health problems like skin irritation and other allergies. If in doubt, contact a health practitioner if you notice any adverse reactions after using borax in your home.
- Don’t use this powder if you have small children (especially babies) or young pets (unless you keep them out the house for the day) as it can cause health complications due to their small body mass and close proximity to the ground.
Borax Powder or Boric Acid – Which Works the Best?
While both of these compounds are effective for pest control, boric acid is not family safe, so I recommend that you exclusively use the powder.
I have had this discussion with many of my readers, with some swearing by the use of the acid, but again, I cannot comfortably recommend something that could be potentially dangerous. As for choosing a specific brand, I know that Mule Team borax for fleas is very good product that you can try.
Where To Purchase Borax Powder?
I have had a number of people asking “where can I buy borax?” and have found that the easiest place to purchase it is Walmart. Alternatively, you can try your local supermarket or order it online from a reputable vendor. Unfortunately I don’t sell it but if you drop me an email with your location I will try and find a local seller for you 🙂
How to Use Borax to Kill Fleas – 3 Simple Steps
Before you start using borax, please make sure that you have read the warnings section of this article. Additionally, please note that while extensive research and experience has been put into this article, The Bug Squad is not responsible for any adverse reactions or poor results.
Step 1: Sprinkle borax powder on your carpets and in areas where you have a major flea problem.
Step 2: Give the carpets a good brush with a stiff house brush or broom. This helps the borax powder get down deep and reach any fleas that may be hiding themselves from your wrath.
Step 3: After at least 24-48 hours (longer is better), vacuum your carpets thoroughly, spending extra time in areas where you used borax.
It’s really as simple as that. Just remember that you will also need to treat your pets for fleas (don’t use borax though). Here is a great guide on dog flea removal and how to safely kill fleas on cats. Will borax kill fleas immediately? Not likely. But if you stick to these steps, they will die after a couple days so be patient!
Other Interesting Borax Uses
Besides being a great substance for killing ants, fleas, bed bugs, roaches and other pests, borax can be used to make amazing crystalline structures that are absolutely awesome. Borax can also be used to preserve animal pelts, protect and age wood and even is an important part of glass production. Recently I was sent an article about how borax can even help cure Arthritis While I cannot verify the truth of that linked article, it’s definitely interesting that such a simple compound can have so many uses.
Borax Fleas Treatment Alternatives
A great alternative for borax flea control is food grade diatomaceous earth. The application is the same as listed in the directions above and it’s completely natural and safe for your family. While borax may give you quicker results, if given the choice between the two, I will always choose diatomaceous earth and if you haven’t had the opportunity to try it out, I highly recommend doing so. 🙂 You can also use dawn soap to get rid of fleas on your furry pets, and although it doesn’t keep them away, it provides instant results.
Finally, if you are looking for an alternative, plain old table salt and baking soda have also proven to be a valuable weapon against fleas in carpets. I have personally seen good results using this method and if you are on a tight budget, this may be your answer for cheap flea control.
In conclusion, does borax kill fleas? Absolutely yes! while there are a few risks for using borax fleas treatments, it’s definitely a great option for effective flea control in your home. However, it’s also important to treat your pets with a decent spot on product (such as Front Line) to ensure that you get rid of all the fleas and don’t have another generation of these pests invading your home. I also recommend performing all the flea removal tasks on the same day to ensure that you kill them all without any chance for potential reproduction between treatments. Remember that you can also make a few flea traps to get rid of them in your carpets. I hope this guide has been informative for you and if you have enjoyed it, please share it with your friends on your social media platform of choice. Thanks for reading my guide on using borax for flea removal!
Hello! My name is Natasha, and I have been helping people with their insect problems since 2012. I have published a book, worked with many pest control companies, and helped thousands with various infestations on a one-to-one basis. My goal for this blog is to create evidence-based guides that are easy to understand, provide sufficient depth and can be trusted to be very accurate. Please remember that my guides are for informational purposes only, and that you agree to the terms of use when reading content on this website. If you leave a comment, I typically respond within 48 hours.
Hoping this website is still active. I am getting really stressed about having fleas in my apartment. I was cat sitting and house sitting and I think I may have brought fleas home because I started getting bites on my legs. My roommate has a cat, but she hasn’t gotten any bites, and the cat is in her room, so I really think I probably brought something home as my legs have bites all over. I have washed all the bedding and sprayed raid all over the floor, along with vacuuming. They did stop for a few days but now I have bites again. I’ve seen three fleas these past three days, and everyday is at least one bite. I just ordered DE. I will be going by the store to pick up some Adam’s flea spray and will be ordering orange oil online. I am also thinking about buying Borax, but I don’t have carpet and it would go on the floor. I am worried it might be hard to clean up. I am just really discouraged at this point, and tired of washing everything and still getting bites.
Hello Amy! This website is still very active 😉 The DE was a good call, and you can use it instead of borax (no need to do both). I recommend that you put it down (and brush it in) for a couple days, and each night put out a flea trap. Just follow the steps in my guide (under the fleas category) and put one in each room at night. This not only kills fleas, but it will get them moving, which will make the DE even more effective. Don’t worry, I will help you though this, let me know how it goes!
I Have a four month old…how long should I keep him out of the house if I use the borax?
Hi Deena! Once the “dust” has settled, there is no reason to keep him out the house. However, I am not a medical professional and speak only from my personal experience, so if you are worried then perhaps rather look at using DE (article on this blog).
Fleas, ticks etc and Roaches! Mix 50/50 of borax and icing sugar stirring until it forms small balls. Place on a piece of cardstock near nesting areas such as cupboards, sinks etc. It works great! (My pest control guy accused me of trying to put him out of business). They love it and it kills quickly, especially if they take it back to the nest.
Hi Kim, this sounds absolutely amazing, I will definitely give this a try, thank you!
i will use i leave on 24 hours right ?When my grand kids come over should i shampoo rug first?These are a pain in the butt,
Hi Madeline! Not necessary, just put it down and after rubbing it in (use a broom), leave it for as long as possible (even up to a week) before vacuuming it up. Hope that helps!
Learned about this years ago, put down a couple boxes of borax and used the broom to sweep it into the fibers and we were flea free for almost 12 years. We recently shampooed our carpet and almost immediately afterwards we ended up with fleas again, if that tells you anything. This absolutely works and we left it in the carpet for YEARS, both our cats lived to be 15 years plus as well.
Hi Jesse! Thanks for sharing your experience, I really appreciate it. Have a good one!
Hi Natasha! Thank you so much for this article. I’ve been dealing with fleas for a couple of weeks and tried standard flea powder and spray with no luck. I’m going out right now to get some borax but here is my concern: Myself and my 3 yr old daughter live here in our apt – we don’t have anywhere to stay for 24 hrs while the powder is in the carpet. Will it still be effective if left for a shorter time? Or is it safe to be in the area being treated while the borax is on the carpet? Should I just treat one area at a time so it can be left on longer? Thanks again!
Hi Tiffany! It will be safe to be in the area. You can do it area by area, but then make sure that you don’t remove the borax from the first one until the last one has been in place for about 2-3 days. Hope that helps.
Yes the borax is amazing but also a quick fix is the highest volume of rubbing alcohol in a spraybottle will also help if you feel the fleas biting you spray your feet legs ,shoes ,,pants and the floor around you
4 oz of alcohol and 4 oz of water in spray bottle can be sprayed on pets and rub in to pet fur they get immediate relief ,just watch their eyes ,kills on contact,,but use the borax ,,,use alcohol full strength in spray bottle on furniture,, dog beds etc will not hurt your pets,,hope this helps ,Love your artical
Hi Mary, thanks for your kind words and for sharing those tips with the community! Have a good one!
How often do youneed to repeat borax treatments to carpet for. Flea control? Do you need to repeat e try 30 days or can you go y0 or 90 days for Flea control prophylaxis?
Hi Lynelle! I would repeat it once every two weeks, but it is up to you. It is quite a mission to vacuum it up (use a shopvac please), so once a month is fine. Cheers
My pet dog brought in fleas. I have been doing everything I possibly can to get rid of them. I have given my dog 3 Flea baths, cleaned all her bedding and used a safe powder on all my carpets. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to walk around with the powder on the carpets. I am going to use Borax next but my question is. If I leave Borax on the carpet and let it sit for 24 hours IS IT SAFE TO WALK AROUND? I also have a 5 year old and I want to make sure it’s safe for her as well.
Hi Lee! Yes, it will be safe. Obviously everyone is different though, so just keep an eye on your 5 year old in case 🙂
I read on Pinterest that laundry borax will repel mice from coming into the house. Without researching first, I sprinkled borax in front of the cat doors, they are indoor/ outdoor cats. Will this be harmful to them as they walk thru this? Your article and subsequent q and a very informative. Thank you.
Hi Janet! Thanks for your kind words! It will be fine, your cats won’t be affected by it but obviously all animals are unique, so maybe just keep an eye on them for awhile to make double sure.
I was told that you should place a little borax along the baseboards and brush it in as fleas tend to hide in these areas. Is this information correct and is it safe to leave the borax there?
Hi Bob! Yes, you can do that. Good luck!
HAND SANITIZER, my new weapon!
Hi Natasha, great blog n comments! My hse…
6 indoor/outdoor cats and 60lb dog outside of Chicago. Fleas are moderate some years and horrible others. We do the Advantage every 6 weeks, starting in late June, as a preventative. Borax powder, from Amazon, after vacuuming every few weeks. Usually done w flea meds by October. The meds are not great for the animal and can lose effectiveness over time.
My newest discovery is hand sanitizer!!
My dog got hit hard bc I used a cheaper flea treatment (vanguard I think). With all the animals in and out and then in or laps, we have hand sanitizer in every room, lol. I had the pooch on her back checking for fleas and I see 6-8 scurrying around her belly. She has white fur on her tummy so they’re easy to see. Out of desperation I grab the hand sanitizer w the pump applicator and start depositing a drop on every flea I could. Some continued to struggle but between the alcohol and being a gel they couldn’t get far and they succumbed quickly! Not being a spray the amount used is minimal. The sanitizer has some aloe in it and didn’t bother my dogs skin at all. Please note she had no dermatitis issues from the fleas. I have done this daily for a few weeks now and as she may get a few fleas here and there, pouncing on them is quick work. The hardest part is extracting the dead little bugger off her skin! Sepratingvtge fur and scrapping them off w a playing card or business card works well.
My vet thought it was a good idea, sanitizing your hands and the dogs stomach against the fleas and killing them is a win win. Cats are more sensitive to the alcohol smell and I have not and will not try this on them.
I hope others try and benefit from the “hand sanitizer alcohol gel trap of death!” Thanx for all your hard work in protecting the animals!
Hi Dave! Thanks for your kind words and for the tips. I have never tried that, but I am sure that it will be useful to the community. Cheers!
Hello,
I’m also battling fleas. Unbeknownst to me, the fleas came from unknown animals in my crawl space. Surprise! We have went to some expense to secure the exterior with a rodent exclusion barrier and other landscaping methods. I’m still fighting the fleas that made their way inside my house. My dog has been on Advantage liquid drops and has not missed a treatment. This has been a mess.
I’ve read your answers about using Borax on carpeting. Thanks!
My question is- how should I use Borax on linoleum? I understand fleas like to reproduce or grow around the baseboards on linoleum floors (as well as carpet.) I’ve put down some white sticky boards near the baseboards where there is linoleum. It helps. ( Btw, fleas are attracted to light sources and the color, white.)
Do I just place the Borax along the baseboards in my rooms with linoleum?
Hi Cecelia! Yes, you could do that, give it a try and let us know how it goes!
I have just begun my flea battle (going on 4 days)….I have treated the carpet with DE and Vet’s Best Natural flea spray (a couple of days apart). Also treated the dog with a bath, flea comb, and meds from vet. Things have improved….noticing less bites on myself. However, I think there are some lingering on the leather sofa which I vacuumed well, but was hesitant to put anything on it. I am leaning towards trying Borax on it…..thoughts? Was also researching washing the sofa down with an apple cider vinegar/water mixture. Any suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!!! (OH….I also have flea traps on order)
Hi Jen! I am hesitant to suggest anything that could damage your leather, or make it smell funny afterwards. But basically any soap breaks down the exoskeleton of fleas so if you can mix something safe (for your sofas) with water, it will do the job. Good luck!
I have no pets I’m not around pets at all and some how I have fleas in my apt. I have done the borax left for 5 days and vacuumed it up which took bout four hours and this morning I spotted one flea can I do another treatment of borax and what else can I do and I’ve washed all curtains bedding! Help that Maria
Hi Maria, yes you can do another treatment, but this time, combine it with a few DIY flea traps. I have a free guide on this website (under the fleas category). Hope that helps!
I am having a difficult time eradicating the fleas in my attached garage? I have the garage almost entirely empty, with a flea trap to see if they are still around. I’ve bombed it once per week for 4 weeks now. The flea numbers are much lower however the trap keeps catching fleas everyday? I do not know where they are coming from? any advice would be appreciated. The garage is concrete floor.
Thanks
Hi Rudy, if I had to take a guess, could it be possible that you have rats, etc. in your roof, or living in the garage? That is a common source of fleas, especially for those that don’t have pets.
I did the borax laundry soap in my carpets left on for 5 days wash curtains and blankets all bedding then I vacuum on the 5thday spent fours hours doing that and I’m still spotted 3 to 4 fleas what else can I do and I have no pets don’t know where they came from! Thx
Hi Maria, fleas often come from rats and other animals, so you don’t necessarily have to have pets to get fleas. I suggest that you also try using a couple DIY flea traps, I have a guide on this blog (under the flea category).
I have not gotten most typical flea to work. I have found revolution to work well. It’s a medication not a pesticide. So fleas don’t become immune to it.
It has worked wonders for our animals. In the United States you have to find a pharmacy like in Canada or something and order it over the web or you have to go on your vet I have found out that some vets don’t want to give it or don’t even carry it because they I guess get paid to carry the pesticide stuff
Hi Jason! Thanks for sharing this information with the community!
I am infested with fleas. I had flea busters come out however this did not rid the fleas. I was told to try boric acid by putting it on the carpets and floors then vacuum after a day or two. Will this harm my cat!!!!
Hi Charleme, rather use DE or borax powder, it is not as strong as boric acid.
I thought I saw a recommendation for a topical flea treatment I think it was an Advantage product. Can you help with the specifics. i have 2 cats and for the 1st time in 12 yeas have a flea problem. The Borax does work well.
Thanks
Hi Lynn! It really depends on the weight of the animals, your local vet should be able to give you exactly what you need, just ask for Advantage by name.
I appreciate this information on Borax. We recently discovered that fleas have been laying eggs in the crevices of our laminate wood floors, under the furniture. I’m certain this is why we continue to have problems. We got rid of all of our carpet (except a couple of area rugs) to try to help with the fleas (4 dogs, 2 cats). Our youngest dog is still too young for any pesticide flea control and we have been struggling to keep fleas on him under control. We did a Dawn bath and 2-3 days later he was covered again. We’ve already treated our yard twice in the last 6 months. I did discover that coating the pup in olive oil kills the fleas. It only lasts a couple of days as well, but we can rub that on him while sitting around petting him, then comb him with a fine-tooth comb. Of course it doesn’t prevent future fleas, just kills the ones that are on him.
Thanks again for all the info!
Hi Julie! It is a pleasure and thanks for sharing that information with the community, its much appreciated 🙂
I am planning on visiting my long-distance boyfriend for a week at his family’s house, and I know there is a flea infestation in the household. I am concerned about fleas getting into my car when he and I ride in it, and was considering sprinkling Borax on the carpets of my car as a preventative measure. Would Borax be safe to breath in such a small space? How long could I safely leave it there? Or should I just use it once I return home in the way that you described?
Hi Juliette! Honestly, as long as you wash your clothes as soon as you get home, you should be fine. I personally wouldn’t even bother with it in the car but yes, you could use it in there to be safe. Hope that helps!
Hi Natasha, thanks for the helpful article. I have followed your steps and poured Borax straight from the container on to my room carpet and then brushed it literally everywhere into the carpet. I have left it there overnight and the next morning I saw a flea jump onto my bed. Is the Borax working? How come I am still seeing fleas? I have also followed your flea trap guide but I have no found any fleas in the dish in the morning. I am thinking about leaving the borax on the carpet for a week. Is it possible that fleas are coming from outside the room? All 4 of my flatmates are not getting bitten. Help!
Hi Alex! It is a pleasure! Let it do its thing for about week (as you mentioned), they should be gone by then. Let me know!
Can you make a borax n water solution and spray in hard to reach area’s???
Hi Kelly, you could try that, although this article is primarily about using it dry. Remember that just regular soap (such as dishwashing liquid) also kills fleas on contact, so you could also just use that for those places.
I read someplace that you could rid if roaches by mixing the Boris acid with egg yolk. And place the little egg ball’s around your home and its a sure way to kill them off. Well I read that you can mix honey with the boric. And place it around your home it will attract the ants. Plus kill them off & keep them away. Does this sound legit?
Hi Jill! Honestly, I have never tried that. But, if you try it out and it works for you, PLEASE let me know. I will update this post 🙂
We have had the Borax on the wooden floors of our back room for a week and those lil buggers are still alive back there! There are many dead but many are still alive. They are struggling though. My question is this, do you think it would be ok to set a flea bomb off with the Borax still on the floor? Do you think it would cause a bad chemical reaction?
Hi Brandon! You can try that, no it won’t cause a chemical reaction based on my knowledge. Let me know how it goes!
My son brought home his girlfriends dog to ” house sit ” next thing I new we had a massive flea invasion , I remembered when i was a kid ( 40 plus years ago ) my )grandma putting 20 mule team borax on her rug in the living room to get rid of fleas so I went to the laundry room , grabbed my new box off the shelf and went to town with it. I just couldnt remember how long I was supposed to leave it so a quick google search brought me to you , ( first link i clicked ) Thank you so much for having the information I needed , My Aunt would have been mighty sore if I called her up at 3 am to find out lol . I could actually see fleas coming up out of the area rug and struggling as I was sprinkling so I poored a healthy dose on those spots lol .
Hi Tracy! It is a pleasure, glad you found my information useful. Thanks for stopping by to leave a comment 🙂
Is it possible to have an infestation in a mattress if my cat slept with me? I stripped it to the foam and it looks ok, vacuumed and have started diatomaceous earth (not sure i’m using enough?)
Also- my cat is treated, but is it better to have her in the house or ship her to my dads for a bit to try to control the problem? I thought her being treated would help kill them. I am getting bitten and have found 2 small baby fleas in the bed in the past week despite professional treatment (2 of them!)
This problem has been going on for 3 months- i vacuum as often as i can (every 2/3 days, and EVERYTHING)- how often do you suggest? Losing my mind…..
Thanks!!
Hi Ann, not likely. However, a quick steam clean will kill any bugs so maybe consider that to be extra sure (you can usually hire a steamer). If your cat has a spot on, it is not necessary to take her elsewhere. I suggest you check my article about flea traps and combine that with your efforts, they work really well and are very DIY.
We have a bit of a flea infestation in the basement due to our outdoor cats that spend most of their time outside but hole up in the basement when they come in. It was a terribly dry summer and the fleas in the yard were like nothing I’ve ever seen in all the years living here. Our dog and cats have both been treated with flea medication but we are having a terrible time getting rid of the fleas in the basement. We have used borax and sprays such as the one offered by Raid. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Hi Andrew! Since its in the basement, maybe try using a flea bomb or something like that. You can also try DE, I have an article on it, check it out. 🙂
Hi there! Been dealing with fleas for a couple of weeks; a canine visitor brought them in, luckily I don’t have any pets of my own to make matters worse. I want to try 20 Mule Team Borax on my carpets. When you say “sprinkle” borax on problem areas, would you describe it as a light dusting, or a heavy sprinkle? Just trying to gauge how much borax to buy, as most of my house is carpeted. Thanks a million!
Hi Roy, light dusting. just cover the floor with a very light amount, that is all that is needed (remember that fleas are very small hehe).
Do you recommend using borax on the upholstered furniture and the mattresses as well? Or carpet only?
Hi Ruby, you can. Just make sure that your vacuum can suck it all up afterwards. Also, don’t overload the vacuum, powder can put a load on them sometimes.
Well let me say we have bomed the house had an exterminator come in and fleas back again. We are renovating all carpet is pulled out of our house. Its down to the bare plywood. Dogs are outside during the day at night tge stay in the mud room with tiled floor. Please help me… How should i apply to my floors? What would be best for me to use on the floor?
Hi Jennie! You can apply borax by filling an ice cream tub (or similar) with it and punching small holes in the lid. Then you can apply it to the floors like a salt shaker. 🙂
It will help on bare floors with plywood? Should i use a broom and brush it around after i shake it on? How long should i leave it on the floors?
Hi Jennie! Yes, it will help, provided that is where the fleas are located. 40 Mule is good and Amaz on is usually pretty affordable if you live in the States.
i just had the yard sprayed for fleas and it last 3 months the cats and dogs are on flea treatment.and i just used borax today 10/14.when should i do it again.
Hi Barbara! You may not need to, just keep an eye out for any sign of them and then repeat if you find any.
Is borax effective for flea control in the house if you don’t have carpet? We have all wood and tile floors. I don’t want to use chemical sprays or bombs if at all possible.
Hi Rebecca! Yes it is, but seriously consider using flea traps as well (article on this blog). Thanks for the comment!
Hi and thank you for the info from this article. Can I do the same thing with hardwood floors as I would for carpet?
Hi Michelle, absolutely.
Hi Natasha,
we have 2 dogs and a cat. I’ve noticed a flea or 2 on my dog and she has been itchy for the last week. I gave them all a bath in a mixture of Dawn dish soap, white vinegar and warm water. I got 2 dead fleas off of my little dog and 4 dead ones off of my cat. my bigger dog did not have any. We washed their bedding in hot water, we washed our sheets because our little dog sleeps with us and put them in the dryer under high heat. we vacuumed the carpet, the furniture and the cat tree that we have. I am going to purchase the 20 Mule Team Borax today and will sprinkle it onto the carpet and furniture.. My question is we have no place to put our little babies while we do this.. how harmful is it to them? Also can we sprinkle this onto the cat’s tree and window perch and vacuum it up 6 hours later?
Hi Maria, it is usually harmless, just don’t let them crawl over it. Hope that helps!
What John A says is correct.
Nothing made to kill fleas works as advertised. They all work, but, not as advertised. It takes TIME.
There just is no miracle cure for a flea infestation.
It’s not the last thing you tried that actually worked. It’s the 1st thing you tried, combined with everything in between. It’s the TIME that did it. It just takes awhile…three to six weeks usually.
50/50 mix of Borax and DE is one of the safest AND easiest methods. Sprinkle it “everywhere”, scrub it in, and LEAVE IT (for as long as possible). Wear a dust mask because it makes a very dusty mess. When the dust cloud settles, don’t wipe it off of anything you don’t have to. Just leave it.
Use water/soap dish traps (with or without a light) in corners and dark areas. These won’t wipe out anything. Use them to tell you where problem areas are, and use them to determine when you are winning the battle.
Do the Spreading of the DE/Borax, let it set for two weeks, vacuum, and repeat. You should be flea free in four weeks, but, always best to do it once more.
When finished, fog house with foggers that contain IGR (insect growth regulators). Vacuum afterwards.
You’ll never get every single bit of that dust out of your carpets, but, that’s a good thing. Not enough left to harm anything but a flea. And the IGR fogger will just help insure no fleas ever take hold to cause another infestation.
Fog house every six months (an ounce of prevention will assure you never have any bug problem again).
Hi Bob! Thank you for your fantastic feedback. I appreciate it and the community will benefit from your wisdom.
One thing to keep in mind that a single treatment with borax or salt and soda will not eliminate the flea problem. Even though these everyday items are effective drying out flea eggs, larvae and adults, they will not touch the pupae. Consequently, multiple applications of borax or salt and soda will be required. Walking over a carpet can cause fleas to emerge from the pupae weeks later after application and all of a sudden the flea problem is back.
To combat this, vacuum each infested area once a day for two weeks. And it may behoove the home owner to spray carpets with and IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) like Precor. This IGR will not kill adult fleas, but will keep eggs and larvae from going to the pupae stage. An IGR is not an insecticide and is typically a pheromone that stunts the the fleas ability to mature into breeding adults.
Hi John, thanks for the fantastic tips. I really appreciate your time!
Thank you I am at wits end I have my sons dog ( his spirit left his body Dec 28 2014) but the place where I am keeping him says he now has fleas
and the owner is pregnant thought I coudl use the BORAX but just read I cannot do that so THANKS SO MUCH but I will use the salt and other suggestions
Praying it works do not want to put her in a shelter and my apt manager wont let me keep her here She has been through so much I just pray this works
cannot afford vet trips right now
Hi Okema, my condolences about your loss. Excellent, I am glad that I have helped you, let me know how it goes!
Hello Natasha, excellent site and information. You are bookmarked. …I have never had a flea problem. I did have a bed bug problem when I went to a music camp two years ago in the country and brought back these little monsters. But now, unfortunately I have a flea problem….I sat on a park bench in the very clean and organized cooperative here in Chelsea, Manhattan I living in and picked up some fleas, I assume from the bench a week ago. I only noticed a bite, about two day later, which at the time I thought was some kind of irritation. Then a day later I start feeling all these bites, at first thinking they were mosquitos. I then started spraying a mosquito spray in my bedroom and checking all my windows…and then Sunday night there was a full on attack and I received probably a hundred bites. … I am now using your suggestions. I am presently using Boric acid as that is what I have in a powder sold under the name of Hot Shot, but will now go out and buy Borax and also spread it all over my home-studio (I am an artist). My question is, how long do flea bites last it terms of their itch? I have about probably about twenty to thirty bites per limb and torso. I am using Aveeno hydrocortison cream to alive the pain. It is as if my body is on fire. Also, can you recommend a natural drink to help detoxification, the removal of flea toxin. I am now drinking coconut water….I will now think twice when sitting on a park bench. Also, I am going on a cruise in a few weeks and definitely will bring a bottle of bedbug and flea spray to cover the cabin on the ship I will stay in before I do anything….Looking forward to your excellent info and suggestions.
Hi Raphael! Thanks for your kind words and for the bookmark! Flip, that is annoying hehe. The itchiness severity and length vary from person to person but I will definitely suggest seeing a doctor if it doesn’t stop after a couple days (presuming that it’s not due to new bites and that you are not scratching). You can apply a little lemon juice (from an actual lemon) to ease the itchiness. Hope that helps, please share it on FB if you appreciate my time 🙂
…Natasha, thanks, ,your lemon juice remedy for itch is amazing!…Too bad I did not find you site earlier.
Hi Raphael, I agree 😉 Glad you like it, have a good one!
I have 2 ,house cats and 3 dogs they all got fleas I always stay utd with advantix for the dogs and frontline for the cats. Recently every 2-3 ,wks because of the problem I have all hardwood floors besides two area rugs (one is shag) I used the de left it for a day and vacuumed cleaned up all loose shed hair from house. Went on vacation for two wks with dogs they had no fleas while on vacation I came back the cats were covered now the dogs are getting them again too! I can’t see any jumping around the house only on the animals I don’t know what to do. It would be extremely hard for me.to bomb because I would have nowhere to put the cats while I bomb (we got them when they were almost a yr old they were feral living under a shed and were Guna die from the cold winter snows before we got them the city picked them up fixed them and gave them.shots and put them back in the yard-they are EXTREMELY weary of being picked up) please someone help me help my babies be comfortable and happy again. I don’t know what to do like I said I can’t see them jumping around the house and all animals get andvantix or frontline on a regular basis what am I doing wrong?
Hi Monica! You probably find that the fleas are living in your home, spot on can only do so much. I suggest that since you don’t see any, make a few flea traps and leave them in each room. If they catch any, then we can look at our options. Check out my article on flea traps, they are super easy to make.
Thank you Natasha!! This is great info. This year, and probably more so because of our drought in California, we are overrun with fleas where I live! Me and my dogs are sooo itchy!!! Keep up these articles please! I shared on my fb page!! 🙂
Hi Cindy! It is a pleasure! Thank you so much, it’s people like you that keep me excited to help the community 🙂
We just started having a flea problem, apparently they are really bad in Texas this year. I was wondering, we got Borax last night for the carpet, is it ok to use on furniture also? if so, is there an easy way to get it over the entire couch and loveseat?
Hi Janel, yes you can. A few readers have suggested using a plastic container (such as an empty icecream tub), punching holes in the lid and then apply it like a salt shaker, maybe give that a try.
Hello. I have not seen a flea in decades. This summer I found myself in the middle of the flea battle. I have 3 cats, one is a senior citizen, he is 16. I did not want to expose them to any potentially harmful pesticides. Your website was the most straight forward and informative website. I followed all directions and am now happily flea free. Thank you for a great alternative to harmful pesticides. 🙂
Hi Cher! Super glad to hear it and thanks for dropping a comment to let me know! Please share this post on Facebook and maybe otherwise will also benefit from it 🙂
Hi, dealing with flea infestation in clothing. Will putting clothes in a plastic trash bag with borax resolve problem? Thanks!
Hi Claire! It could but I suggest just giving them a hot wash, will kill the fleas instantly.
I’m concerned over one of the warnings about it being bad for cat’s breathing and could be fatal. I have five cats. They are indoor/outdoor cats, coming and going as they please. We have no way of confining them to one area. This sounds risky in our situation. Any thoughts?
Hi Steve! I have used it with cats in the house, it will be fine. Just don’t let them sleep on it.
Hi there. I am having to deal with bird mites. Our landlord told me to sprinkle borax. I have a 1yo nd a dog wth me and i live in a small apt. I did the borax but i decided to leave the borax on the side of the bed(kid nd dog cant reach it/cant get to it since its snug to the wall)..is it safe thou to sleep in the room with the borax? I left the borax there because its where ive seen the damn mites coming up at night. I am literally covered in bites. Also a tip for people dealing with the bites – hot compress. Helps with the itch. Use cloth and dip in hot water and then apply to bite. Feeels great. Anyway. Back to my question..is it safe to sleep in same room with the borax?
Hi Vida! Yes it is safe. Thanks for the tip, it works very well!
This is terrific, thank you, Natasha! I’ve used the 20-Mule-Team Borax method several times over many years and it truly does work. However, because I live in a 1-bedroom apartment with 2 cats, I can’t leave the borax for 6 hours because there is nowhere to sequester the critters. I’ve always vacuumed first, then sprinkled the borax, then use a stiff broom or carpet rake to really grind it into the carpets. I usually wait about an hour, then vacuum again. Because it gets so deep in the carpet, I find that I am vacuuming it up for months, so I think a lot really stays down there even without a 6-hour wait. Even so, it’s always worked. One disclaimer, these are strictly indoor cats and on the rare occasions they’ve had fleas, they’ve probably hitched a ride on my jeans. So, it’s always been a fairly small problem, not a true infestation. I use Revolution on the cats themselves, which seems to work really well. I first tried it when we had a pigeon next outside above my patio and, when the fledglings leave the next, the mites look for new homes. Revolution did the trick, along with another very labor-intensive borax treatment. 🙂
Hi Peaches! Thanks for your great comment, absolutely love the real life experience with borax! My readers will definitely enjoy it 🙂 Please also share this article on Facebook so others can learn about it 🙂
Hello, If I sprinkle the Borax down is it safe for me to still be in the room(I have a small place and can’t leave the place for an extended period)? I have put the cat and dog in the bathhroom.
Hi Tamara, yes it is safe. Best of luck with fighting these little pests and hope you have a good weekend!
Hi, just read all the info and hope to give it a try.We have 3 dogs,2 German Shepard,and ! Chayorkie.And a Flea problem that is about to drive me crazy.I have spent hundreds trying to get rid of them.The Vet didnt see fleas just dry skin on the Small dog.Charged us over $258.00 to tell us this.I ask was she wearing glasses.I am on a very fixed income now and cannot afford to go to the vets constant ly or throw money away .So I needed a new way to try that is affordable and works.My question is.The Carpet Fresh stuff that you sprinkle on your carpets to freshen for smells has baking soda in them.Would it hurt to mix it with the borax.I use that at evry other vacuming and I vacum everyday by the way.Ididnt know if by useing the two together would be okay or what.Also what flea product works for the pet.? I have tryed alot of them ,with little results.Flea collars are a waste,so im still trying to find a safe way to treat the dogs and take care of the skin.?Thanks for your time .
Hi Penny! It won’t hurt at all, that is a very good idea! I suggest leaving it down for 2-3 days before vacuuming and then applying it straight afterwards again. As a cheap solution that really works, wash your dogs in warm water and dawn dish soap about once a week, kills fleas instantly. Hope that helps!
Hi Natasha , I have a big flea problem. I moved into a new (to me :-)) apartment 3 weeks ago. I have a 15 pound Brussels Griffon/ Shih Tzu dog. She is paper trained and never goes out to get fleas. A couple of days after moving in, I found fleas on her. She has not only food allergies, but almost everything else, including chemicals, one of which is in the flea collar I paid $60 for. She is also allergic to fleas! They leave little sore spots where they bite her. I paid $250 to have her allergy tested. I have been putting down salt & borax, running the vacuumn, & bathing her with Lemon Dawn. Just when I think I have them beat, they eat her up again!!!
The manager of the apartment wants to set off flea bombs, but I don’t want that for many reasons…Baby may be allergic to an ingredient, they settle into everything, and we would have to leave home for 4 hours, and we have nowhere to go. Since my husband died, it is just Baby and me. Could a pest control company just spray & get rid of them? Do you have any more ideas for me to beat them without chemicals? I an really afraid the wrong thing could kill her, and she is all I have. Sorry this is so long, but please, HELP!
HI Faye! Most exterminators usually give you options so I don’t see why they couldn’t just come spray. However, the spray will also contain many ingredients as the bomb so dunno if that is going to help you. I suggest that you keep up the bath routine every week or so and then try using the DIY flea traps (guide on this blog, check it out). Let me know that goes!
Can someone help me……my basement is loaded with fleas……bit the animals are not….there just in the crappy basement where NO one ever goes….it was probably a month since I was down there but I recently flooded and that’s when I found out….i covered the floor with borax and a dozen glue traps too. How long will it take to kill them…again no one has been down there for momyhs
Hi James, a couple weeks maybe? Hard to say, each infestation is different. I suggest going to investigate. Let me know.
Hello, I wrote to Bug Squad yesterday prior to reading this. My problem is not fleas, however that concern is always there also, but whipworms. One of my dog’s stools tested positive for whipworms. I have 5 dogs and am now treating them all for whipworms. I am changing their Heartworm preventative pills to Interceptor this month. This however just worms them once a month, they can still be infested with them and deposit the eggs into the ground and grass. I am told that the eggs live in your soil for five years and the dogs either from eating stool ( Yes, Gross) or eating dirt, keep reinfesting themselves. I am greatly concerned with having these in my yard both for the sake of my dogs and for my five year old grandson, who like a typical little boy – plays in the dirt. Would the DE or the Borax work on whipworms? Will the Borax kill my grass? It sounds like the DE would not. In order for the DE or Borax to be effective down into the soil it would have to be rinsed into it- Would this make it not effective? I want to Thank You very much for taking the time to both write and to help me and all of the people searching for help.
Hi Tessie, I have used DE primarily for flea control but some of my readers have told me it is good for internal use. Maybe investigate using DE in their water on a daily basis, maybe that will kill the worms and keep them free of those little pests. Let me know what you find, hope that helps! P.S: Pouring DE on the poops, etc is not really a solution, hence my answer 🙂
Thank you for this article. I have had several cats over the past 30 years and never have I had a flea problem until now. My poor cats are miserable. I have used a topical flea treatment and it irritated one of my cats causing her to loose the hair on the back of her neck. My condo’s pest man told me about using Borax in my carpet. Also a very good friend told me Borax really worked as well. So I just sprinkled some around my bed to see if it really would give me some relief. I got instant relief from the fleas bitting my feet.
Like you said I now need to treat both cats, the carpet and everything the same day. I just ordered a topical that my vet recommended and when I get it I will take a day for flea control.
I’ll take the cats for a professional flea bath. While they’re being bathed I will flea bomb my house. Then when I pick up the cats I’ll apply the topical.
I truly hope I will be rid of the dam fleas after that.I will continue to use the borax in the areas my cat can’t get to.
Thanks again, I look forward to reading more from you.
Hi Carol, it is a pleasure and thanks for your comment, sounds like you have a pretty solid plan and I am sure that you will win the battle.
If you have dogs on concrete I have used Borax before is it safe to just spread around. It is fleas that cause tape worms correct? They look like rice
Hi Debbie, yeah it is safe. Yes they commonly do but they are not the only cause, thanks for your comment.
Thank you. I didn’t see any when I treated the house on Wednesday, but tonight I feel like I’ve been seeing alive and dead ones all over. I’m hoping this means the Borax and treatments on the dog are working and they’re all just jumping ship and dying. How long does it usually take?
Hi Rachel, yeah sounds like it. Give it about a week or two, good luck!
Hi Natasha. I need some peace of mind because I found some more this morning, and they seem to be concentrated in one corner of the bedroom so I reapplied the Borax there and also on the carpets, couch, and bed. I’m hoping this is just the second hatching and that they’ll all be gone soon because I’m moving next week and don’t want them hitching a ride. :-/
Hi Rachel, I am sure that the reapplication of the borax will kill them. Keep me updated!
This method was recommended to me by a friend after I found a flea on my bed last night and noticed my dog was still itching despite being on a supposedly powerful flea treatment. The vet said it was too early for another dose so I treated him with a flea shampoo and powdered Borax over the areas of the house that he hangs out in, including the bed, the couch, and the carpets. I guess the infestation isn’t terrible but as we’re moving in a few weeks I don’t want to take any chances and I really don’t want anything jumping on me in the night. What’s strange is that he was staying with my husband at our new place (I’m still working in this area) the last two weeks, and he says he never saw the dog itching or saw or felt any signs of bugs (and he hates bugs so he would notice). But I didn’t notice any fleas here until I brought the dog home. Sigh. I’m hoping I did everything right. Thanks for the article!
Hi Rachel, thanks for leaving a comment. I hope everything is alright now too, let me know if you have any issues.
I would prefer a liquid solution of boric acid sprayed into the carpet for my particular situation. I have not been able to find any information on what percentage solution to use. I would appreciate any comments on this .
Hi Eric, I have only used the powder to be honest, so unfortunately won’t be able to help you. However, if you find something that works, let us know!
We use 20 mule team boron in our waste water holding tanks in the motor home to control odros. It does a great job and we never have unpleasant smells. Now I’m going to try it on bed bugs. Also use it with my laundry soap. And it’s very inexpensaive.
Hi Gerri, yeah it is great. Thanks for the comment, good luck!
Hi! I have had a huge flea problem for about 3 weeks now. My boyfriend and I decided to get a kitten which is about 3 months old now. I have been using sprays and all other types of remedies with no luck at getting rid of them. I recently put advantage II on my pet and have been looking for home remedies. I live in a studio apartment with only wood floors…no carpet what so ever just bedding & mattress. I have been covered in flea bites and was wondering how I should use the Borax to eliminate the fleas on my wooden floors? Also how long should I leave it down to make sure that all of these little vermin are killed? There are also visible cracks on my floor and I am almost positive they are living in there how should I make sure the Borax gets in the cracks?? Please help!
Hi Nicole, I have emailed you.
Hi Natasha
Great article – thank you! I have had a flea infestation in my kids bedroom. I have used Borax as suggested on the floors and carpets. All clothing and bedding have been washed at a high temp, dog treated and dog bedding all treated. What about the kids beds? I have sprinkled Boraz on the mattress just to be safe – will this work? Many thanks
Hi Avril, sounds legit, I am sure you will have good results 🙂
I never saw that coming .I had my cat for 18 year he had flea before but I did treat it with vantage and is always work.but not this time .after two weeks he had flea again.I call the vet and told me to put 1 more dose of vantage.after 1 week he had still flea .that where found out we have a flea infestation .we did call the vet again then .we gave him(tilitoon ) 1 pile. for the flea .after that it did seem to feel better . on the second floor we have carpet .we have put salt and borax with a dehumidifier shut the door so the cat can t go upstair.I also aply wondercide (cider smel) on the cat beding and the hard wood floor(on the 1floor) to protect the cat from the flea .the next day my cat ( tilitoon) was not capable to walk strait.walk like a drunk cat.he die about 6 oclock a night .now we do not flea on the carpet on the second floor but still have some downstairs on the hard wood floor with de all over the floor .today I will vacuum the de and put borax .and cross my finger thank you to guide us with that night mare again thank to.
Hi Danny, no problem, glad that I have helped you, let me know how it goes!
HI, I’ve been reading all the questions and answers which are very informative! However, I still have a question of my own. I have mostly hardwood floors with carpeting in only my 3 bedrooms. I understand about putting Borax on my carpets but am still a bit confused about the hardwood floors. I have 4 dogs and 3 cats. If I sprinkle the Borax on my hardwood floors, can my dogs and cats still walk or lay on these floors. It’s hard to confine them to one room, but it could be done. I’m thinking of putting them in a bedroom all day while I’m at work and putting the Borax down on the hardwood floors and vacuuming it up as soon as I get home from work which is about 10 hours later. May I have your advise please? Thank you!!!
Hi Kathy! Yes they can, that sounds like a good plan, go for it.
Hi love your article!! So I’ve been reading a lot about borax to kill fleas and dust mite if I sprinkle borax on my carpet and leave for 2 days is it safe to walk on and safe for my kids my youngest is 8.
Hi Kelly, yes its safe.
I am currently on the tail end of a protracted war (over 4 months) with fleas and bed bugs. A lot of things you buy at the store don’t really work (at the beginning I tried all of them.) Here is what in my experience does: Skim coating the walls (an other hard surfaces) with Borateem diluted in hot water with a clean sponge mop pretty much stops them there. Diatomaceous Earth works, but takes too long. Boric acid works but drives the fleas into a frenzy, so isn’t practical until the flea infestation is considerably reduced (mine was prodigious and spread throughout the whole house, bedding and clothing.) The reduction was done with a commercial application of Procor. They say it will get rid of all of them in one month, but that didn’t work. But, it did really reduce the number of them. Then I used Boric acid powder and it started working very quickly. After 10 days I will vacuum it out and put Diatomaceous Earth to prevent a further infestation. During the battle, I washed my day’s clothing and bedding every day. Also, I ran my pillows through the dryer everyday to control any fleas that got on them. And I took a hot bath with a 1/3 cup of laundry chlorine bleach added to a full tub (suggested by my medical doctor) to kill the fleas on me and in my hair before I went to bed. FYI, I don’t have any pets and I live very cleanly and orderly alone. To infusion evidently came from my neighbors as I walked along the hallways, since I am on the third floor. Heat rises and so evidently do fleas. I got a lot of confusing and misleading info when this first came up, hence the delay in results. But, when I figured things out, progress came pretty quickly. Your suggestions are sound. Good luck to anyone fighting this horrible situation!
Hi James, thanks for your kind words 🙂
Natasha I have put the borax down and I have treated the furniture with fine sea salt, I have 8 inside only cats age 8 to 3 months, I read to leave the borax down for 6 hour’s can I vacuum and shampoo my carpet to clean up. Also my cats do still have fleas but I’m using dawn and a flea comb. Can I shampoo the carpet and I’ve based all the toys and I have washed all the linens. I need to know if I’m doing everything right. Thank you
Hi Melinda, yes and it sounds like you are doing things correctly, keep it up!
Natasha, thanks for this information, very helpful. I had my house treated by a professional pest control company almost a week ago and I’m doing the vacuuming process every day (what a pain!). I’m thinking of using borax in a few days because of the severity of the flea problem. Do you think it will decrease the effectiveness of what the pest control company applied?
Hi Cheryl, it won’t, go ahead and use it. Thanks for your kind words.
I am using a Rug Doctor that I own to clean my carpets and hopefully get rid of the fleas. I’m adding Borax to hot water and then cleaning the carpets. Hopefully the brush action and Borax solution will penetrate deep into the carpets and also dislodge any fleas and get sucked up while killing any left behind.
Hi Brian, sounds like a plan, best of luck!
Your information is very helpful. I do have a question. These flee treatments you mention are for the carpet. Can I also sprinkle the salt and baking soda mix (or boric acid) on the furniture and mattresses??
Hi Chris! Yes, just keep in mind that you will have to clean it up afterwards hehe 😉
Hi, I’m building a new construction. My friend told me to put Borax powder on the ground inside the framing before hanging/closing drywall to prevent termite.
Does Borax powder work to prevent termite?
Thanks
Rudy
Hi Rudy! I presume that it would be for something like that yes, I haven’t personally done this myself.
I had a pharmacist who had his house built. He ordered enough borax to include between the interior and exterior walls of his house and has never seen any evidence of termites, That does work.
Hi Patricia! Thanks for the heads up, much appreciated.
Hi, I have a 13 week old kitten that I just got off someone on Monday, last night(Saturday) I noticed fleas on him, I bathed him in flea shampoo right away, and got him left in my laundry room till Monday when I bring him to the vet, how long do it take to get fleas in carpet and for the eggs to be there? Z
Hi Dani! You shouldn’t have any issues, just keep an eye on the situation.
I recently bought a house and after moving in discovered the basement had fleas. We sprinkled borax all over down there and then left it. We haven’t put anything down there yet. It has been 4 weeks since we sprinkled borax all over down there. Unfortunately I had friends over this weekend and their kids opened and went down into the basement – along with the kid went one of my cats. I didn’t realize the cat had gone down there until several hours later he was crying at the door. I let him in and didn’t think much of it because we sprinkled borax everywhere 4 weeks ago.. Well yesterday I discover a couple fleas on the one cat. I needed to do another dose of Frontline on them anyways so I did that immediately.. I woke up this morning and have bites all over my feet/ankles. I keep all the bedroom doors shut and the cats never go in so I’m guessing I got bit from sitting on the couch. The living areas are hardwood with some area rugs. I purchased DE last night and waiting for it to arrive but in the mean time am I ok to sprinkle borax on the area rugs? I cant take the cats anywhere so I wont be able to leave the borax on for extended amounts of time. To be honest I was really disappointed that there are still living fleas in my basement.. No one and no animal had been down there in the 4 weeks since we’ve moved in.. They didn’t die and now I am freaking out because we just installed brand new carpet in the 3 bedrooms upstairs. Anything else I can/should be doing? I’m so creeped out I don’t even want to spend anytime in the living room on the furniture.
Hi Tara! Yes you can do that. The DE should work well, just take it easy when applying it, it can be quite dusty hehe. If you are still at your wits end, drop me a message and I can organize a few free quotes to remove the fleas professionally.
Good morning Natasha! Thank you so much for this article and all of your research. I sometimes believe that you can drive yourself insane when you Google about a certain thing. I have had my dog for 10 years and this is the first year (that I believe) that I found a few fleas on him. I believe he may have brought them home from our groomer. I also have to share that I did not use Frontline for 2/3 months.. (I will never forget that again). I have been going out of my mind with just the thought of finding a few on him. I have cleaned and dusted my home on a daily basis with the hopes that they are not on my furniture, carpet or any floors that I have. I brought him to the vet and they confirmed that he does not have flea dirt on him therefore I hope he did not have many on him. My concern is now my house. I haven’t seen any fleas and do not have bites, however how could you know if you have flee eggs? I am assuming the only way to know is when they hatch which haunts me. I vacuum every day and throw away the bag. Can you recommend any thing else before I rip up my carpets. Thank you!
Hi Andrea! Its a pleasure! I suggest you make one of my DIY flea traps (article on this blog), it will instantly tell you whether you home has fleas or not. Let me know how it goes.
Hi! We are buying a repo house next week. The house obviously is vacant as it’s a repo. There is carpet and linolium in the house right now. We are replacing everything. One of the workers came in and said that he felt little bites at his ankles and thinks we have fleas. How do we know for sure what that is or should we assume it is fleas? If we are replacing the carpet and other flooring in the whole house, how should we proceed to get rid of the fleas? Should we do the borax and then rip out the carpet and replace? When you vacuum, isn’t there possible live ones that can go inside the vacuum and then come to my current house? Thank you for your help!
Hi Sheri! I think you should go and look yourself, it might be fleas but you would have to confirm it. Just take the carpets out, discard of them properly and then mop the floors with warm water and soap, that will kill fleas instantly.
It is a very dry Summer here at present, and I have a flea issue outside, and they keep reinfesting my pug. Will Borax work outside?
Hi Penelope! Yes it would but you will need alot of it lol. I rather recommend that you use a spot on for your pug.
Hi Natasha! I loved your article. Unfortunately I read it after going a bit borax crazy all over the house. We have confined the cat to a room with hardwod floors until her heavy duty flea collar kicks in. I havue two qestions. I know that you said the borax can cause breathing problems in cats and could be fatal. Should I be worried about this if I keep her in a seperate, borax free room until I vaccum everything up? Also we used one brand of topical flea treatment on her that did not work at all thenbught a higher quality flea collar that does the same thing as a topical treatment and put in on a couple days after her last dose of the previous treatment. She has had several baths in between. Should I be worried we might have over dosed her? Oh and what gets rid of flea eggs? Sorry that was an extra question. Again, your article was very well written and informative. Hope to hear from you soon !! Thank you
Hi Kristen! Yes you can do that, good idea. I highly recommend that you stay away from flea collars and yes, keep her off any chemicals for awhile, you don’t want to over do it. Have you tried something like Frontline? I suggest you check my article on flea eggs, all the info is there. Thanks for your comment 🙂
Hello Natasha, I think I have fleas and ticks problem at home. I don’t have pets but I do smelt strong dog smelt and urine when I cleaning up my laminated floor in certain areas. I believe previous renter must have a dog and I got bites and crawling since this April.
I have itchy ears all yhe time. I believe now fleas larvae live on my scalp but Dr could see them. Any recommendations on how to get rid of flea eggs and larvae on my scalp and feet if I couldnt get dr prescription?
Hi Pam! It’s unlikely that you have fleas/eggs/larvae on your scalp. I think you are having a skin allergy, ask your doctor for something to treat the itchiness.
Hi Natasha, I bought a 4lb bag of Safer brand DM and am terrified to use it on my carpets to kill fleas in fear of hurting my cats. Have you heard of this product?
It contains 77% DM with 22% other ingredients. I saw one Safer DM review that a person had to put down their cat due to contact with the DM powder. I’m considering Mule Team Borax as a safer alternative, but want to make sure I get the best flea eradication without harming my cats.
My cats have all received topical flea treatment, and I can keep them out of the treated rooms for at least 6 hours and while I’m vacuuming up the DM or Borax, then rotate them into the just vacuumed treated rooms while I hit the rest of the house with DM or Borax. Please advise the best treatment DM or Borax. Thanks!
Hi Susan! If it doesn’t say “food grade” on the packaging, I advise against it. Mule Team Borax is also a great option, both work. You could do that but you kinda want to leave the DE or borax down for a day or two before vacuuming it up.
I’ve been getting bad flea bites in my room, and I caught and killed two of them, so today I dusted my whole floor with 20 mule borax. The only thing is I didnt apply it under my bed as it would be heavy to move. Do you recommend moving the bed to apply borax there or would having it on a good portion of my rooms floor suffice. Also people in the other rooms have not been getting bit, but would you recommend using Borax throughout the house if the fleas have been only in my room? Thanks!
Hi Tom! Yes, I recommend it, sorry lol. If you feel that fleas could have reached those areas, yes do that as well. You could also use my DIY flea trap guide to check if there are fleas in those rooms.
My daughter has discovered fleas on her second story balcony. She has lived there for 2 years with no pets. I don’t understand how she can have fleas on a plank balcony. She is not sure how to treat the fleas because any treatment will filter down to the downstairs neighbors porch. Help!
Hi Linda! If they are confined to the balcony, I recommend just using dish soap and warm water to wash it down. The fleas might have come from a bird or something.
We are plagued with ants every where can I use borax to treat my yard without harming my dogs and cats
Thanks
Hi Martha! Yes, presuming that the weather is dry, borax can definitely help you treat the yard safely.
Hello,
I have been told to sprinkle Mule Team on the earth floor of my dogs outdoor kennel before I put the straw and cedar shavings down.
If this is okay, then I just “sprinkle” it around?
But not overuse it?
Thanks Natasha
Hi Leslie! That will be fine, you can put a little more than a “sprinkle” though.
I have an unoccupied rental house two hours away from where we live. It was vacated by renters but they left behind a giant flea infestation that we have been trying to squelch for five weeks now. We hired an exterminator twice just to remove all of the carpet and tack strip. We bug/flea bombed at least three times in all of the rooms. We sprayed the entire house with Dr. Martins IGR Spray and we continue to have fleas . We sprayed the lawn with Bayer Advanced yard spray, sprinkled salt and vacuumed daily for three days. The fleas are relentless. The floors that are left are bare and wooden, concrete or linoleum. Someone recently suggested Borax. What is your recommendation for the borax treatment? No one lives there but we have to drive two hours each time we make a trip. However we do have a man we’ve hired to help us with some of the treatments and vacuuming. Thank you for helping us!
Hi Melanie! I suggest finding another exterminator, he should be able to get rid of the fleas and its unacceptable that they are back. That’s the best option for you I think.
Hi Natasha! I have been reading all of your articles regarding flea treatment and I would greatly appreciate your opinion on our specific situation; although it sounds similar to Melanie’s. We bought a house and are not living in it yet but have discovered the new house has a have a flea infestation. We had the exterminator come out last Wednesday and spray the entire house, main floor which is all hardwoods and tile and the basement. When we go and check on the house we have noticed the fleas seem to be smaller so we are hoping this might mean that these are the new fleas that hatched? Our exterminator said that we would still notice some but the residual would kill them. He said he used a growth regulator so I guess these could be new ones but I would have thought they would have died from the chemical. When do you think I should use the borax treatment? I was trying to wait as not to interfere with the chemical from the exterminator but we have to move into the house in a week and I really wanted all the fleas gone. Do you think we are wasting money with the exterminator? Any advice would be greatly appreciated?
Hi AJ! I don’t think you are wasting your money to be honest. I also think you should wait a couple more days (for the chemical to take effect) before applying the borax. Hope that helps.
How do you get rid of fleas and their eggs on adult cats? Front line plus doesn’t work.
Hi Marsha! Give Advantage a try, sometimes it works better for some people 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I’ve starered seeing fleas in my house despite the fact that I have no pets. I have been reading lots of articles and decided to try a flea spray with growth regulator. I cleaned and vacuumed everything in my room and then sprayed the entire carpet. I came your article after having done that and I’m wondering if I can sprinkle borax on top of the flea spray or would doing that be counterproductive. I am not sure if the borax will absorb the flea spray on the carpet fibers.
Hey Wendy! It won’t be counter productive but rather wait for the spray to do it’s job and then apply the borax.
Hi my name is Kathy twice I have used Pet Armor on my dog for flea control apparently it did not work I have give him 3 baths a week after applying Pet Amror which is stupid ,also the fleas have gotten in my carpet which I have treated throughly ,and now I’m just kinda wandering if I might have them in my hair????And what I can use to treat my hair ?? I’ve even tried hair dye .please respond QUICKLY……………….
Hey Kathy! If you do, a simple shower will remove them, nothing to worry about 🙂
Thank you for this. I’m about to try this, I will let you know how it went…
Hey Jons! Sounds good, please do!
Hello Natasha,
I’m happy I came across your site. My husband and I are currently fighting the battle to get rid of fleas we brought into the house from our yard (and possibly the random neighborhood cat that likes to hang out in our front yard sometimes- that we’ve started ignoring now!) We had Terminix come do the house last week, but we’ll be bringing them back for a second treatment as the guy didn’t so such a great job in the basement. 🙁 ((We used a flea fogger down their today, but I still want the pros to come back in a second time)). My husband also just used yard treatment after cutting the grass to help reduce the fleas that are hanging out in our yard. But we were perplexed as to what to do with his car because it seems even after spraying and vacuuming numerous times, they weren’t going away. We’re going to try the Borax approach for the car, because it would suck for us to bring them back into our house after all the drama we’ve been through. The bites don’t impact his skin nearly as bad as me. They turn red, inflamed and basically look like I have some sort of plague. D: I’m all pinked up with calamine lotion right now as I type, lol. But anywho, I just wanted to say thank you for this article as I’ve learned something new about the Borax (and also the DE). We’re going with Borax since we don’t have pets, though.
Hey Nastassia, its a pleasure 🙂
I have put my dogs to live out of the house, since we are trying to get rid of the fleas. Is it better for the pets to live outside? We don’t want to have another flea infestion, and I don’t like pets in the house, but if they should be inside instead to make the problem better, I would rather that. Thanks!
Hi Jeanetta! Yes, that’s a good temporary measure, at least until you can get the flea situation under control. Get them a spot on treatment and let them back in (if you want) after a week.
Hey Natasha we’re two months into battling our fleas in our apartment with no pets. Finally got it down to where their not visible and not catching any in ours traps but we still get a new bite everyday I believe from stragglers we are going to try borax acid today orkin has sprayed precor 2000 3 times but I believe they are following us in from the car which isn’t infested just a few from the apartment in there but the going back in forth with them is what is making things more difficult but treating both today with borax I hope it works our fleas are tiny! Thank you so much for all the information!
Hey Jenna! It’s a pleasure!
I know you say not to get it wet, but I’ve gotten rid of fleas by dissolving about a cup of borax in the water tank of my home carpet cleaning machine. You need to use very hot water and then make sure to run clean water through the machine when you’re done so that the borax doesn’t recrystallize in the machine, which can cause it to clog. Don’t rinse the carpet, just let the solution dry in it. This method seemed to take care of the eggs as well and no more fleas after one application. This may not work for all carpets, and so anyone trying this should test a small concealed area first. Borax is used as a laundry additive, so I figured if it was okay for clothes it would be okay on carpets.
Hey Susan! That’s a great suggestion, thank you so much! I must admit, I never thought of doing that but since you have had success with it, I will do so (hoping I don’t any flea issues anytime soon though hehe). The community really benefits from ideas like this, thanks again for your time!
We moved into a flea infested house almost 3 weeks ago. Within 2 days, my dogs were loaded with fleas and I noticed that I was starting to get bites. We did the necessary dog treatment, bathing, combing, Advantix and as it continued, even used Capstar. My larger dog gets severe dermatitis, and this began to flare up as well. Landlady sent over an exterminator immediately. Countless loads of daily laundry, and flea preventative methods (used the DE in one bedroom, but it ruined my vacuum, as my filter clogged up and dust was everywhere, that was a nightmare!), I even took Dawn dishwashing liquid with water and sprayed over every surface of carpet and furniture . We plan on getting some of our carpeting replaced and one carpet man who came over for a quote, suggested the Borax. The exterminator came back a few days ago as more eggs must have hatched as the fleas made there presence on my dogs again, and I had bites everywhere, even after the treatments with Advantix and everything else I am doing for them. Just to be on the safe side, I purchased a couple boxes of Borax (hard to find, btw, I got mine at ACE Hardware). Today I am starting the application and just wanted to thank you personally for your wonderful post. It has been a battle that I intend to win, and it is comforting to know that there are testimonies and that I am not fighting a losing battle!!! Thank you Natasha!!
Hi Kim, its a pleasure! Sorry this is a little late 🙂
Hi, ive just found this post regarding borax and fleas, im in the UK, and have just ordered 1,kg of borax powder today from ebay after talking to my friend, do I need to every inch of carpet upstairs? Or just around the beds furniture etc? My cats have been treated with frontline and im still seeing fleas on them !
I suggest that you apply it where you find fleas. So if that’s in all your carpets, then do all of them. Yes, until your house is flea free, your pets will continue having a problem with them. Good luck!
WELL..We have NEVER seen a flea on my 8 dogs and 2 cats…until 2 months ago..WE ARE IN HELL!! To be clear, we see 2-4 fleas when combing pets but am panic-stricken. As an O.R.nurse, I thought the “strategy” to kill fleas would be simpler than working in a sterile O.R. environment..NOT!!! I wonder how others are preventing contamination from flea to pet to carpet?? We vacuumed,, took or threw out everything and used Martin’s adulticide and IGR twice, now. 2 Cats and 8 dogs had their 4th baths just now, but can’t put them in the prepared Borax room until they are dry. One cat had only 2 fleas prior to bath. The lazy heavy cat had many. The dogs have none or 1-2 fleas. We even filled a large white bucket with vinegar and water for the cats’ final rinse. I sit up at night with a magnifying glass, seriously. I put only white sheets on my bed and examine every single black dot. i wonder why no one has taken magnified photos rather than viewing as under a microscope. I learned, I think, that the flea excrement is like a curled “C”..Also, I observe something the size of a flea covered with beige little strings. I don’t know why this is important but for me, I want to know if tiny black dots are flea related or not. Do you believe that the inhalation danger of Borax powder is due to the ingredients or similar to harm caused by inhaling all powders? I vacuumed up one room of Borax after 3 days. Does the Borax continue working after I put the dry cats in there? But cats are waiting to dry in the Living Room. Once, we put them in the Borax room, we plan on Boraxing the Living Room. In a 3 story home. It is not only frustrating..It’s driving me NUTS, And yes, I use Frontline Plus on all 10 animals,. The dogs go outside at the most 10-30 minutes each day.. The cats have never been outside. I was asked if I see Fleas on the counter or do I get bitten on my ankles!! I replied, “NO”..Is this next? Am I ever going to be Flea-Free?.I have tried to develop a non-transfer of flea method but have failed. In two weeks.. 40 baths, 40 regular rinses, and 40 vinegar water rinses have been completed. And so, for 2 days, the cats will stay in the Borax room. I have bowls of H20 with gtts of soap under a lamp in every room. After chemical sprays, only 1-2 fleas after 3 days. I have done everything except salt, baking soda and coconut oil. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am so tired. I know my message is scattered but..last one…Is the chemical spray still working in my Living Room from 2 weeks ago. My wet cats are sitting on this carpet awaiting their transfer to the Borax room. If they are picking up fleas after being rinsed in vinegar water..I give up..I LOVE YOUR PAGE..and read it several times to make sure I haven’t forgotten something.Also reading it makes me feel better sometimes…Maybe because I realize that I am not alone. Thank You!!
Hey Fran! Thanks for your long and detailed comment and kind words 🙂
Hi natasha I have a litttle 3 old boy and a dog. The problem is now all the fleas are now in the sofa and in my little boys bed as in my bed as well . I have used three diffferent flea spray treatments from the vets and none of them have worked . Can I used the borax treatment on my mattress and my little boys mattress . As now the flea problem is really bad.
Hey Rachel! Rather use food grade DE (check my article on this) under his sheet (after hot washing everything of course), under the bed and any other places where you have a flea problem. Combining this with my DIY flea trap, you should be able to get rid of them fairly quickly. Good luck!
We have had a flea infestation for several months and we have tried everything – Foggers, cedar chips, pennyroyal, bombing 5 times, spraying, vacuuming, washing everything in parasite killing solution, mopping the kitchen/bathroom/laundry with insecticide, treating the garden and patio, etc, but we still have fleas! I have treated my 2 cats with frontline every month, but it just isn’t working. When we bombed, the second we walked back in, fleas jumped all over us. I can’t stand it any more, we can’t have people over, and if we can’t get rid of them soon I think we may have to call the exterminators. I really don’t want to do that, as it’s expensive ($450!!) and we’ve already been exposed to so many chemicals. Will borax work on them? I only ask because they seem to be immune to everything we try. Please help!!!
Hey Anna! Borax works great and I highly recommend that you give it a try before hiring anyone. Just make sure you follow the steps in this article and you should start to see results after a couple applications. Good luck!
Hi Natasha,
My husband and I really found your article to be very helpful in our situation. We recently moved into an apartment, and the previous owner had kittens which had fleas. Unfortunately, instead of the previous owners telling us this information we found out the hard way. I am on my second day of having the Borax sitting in our carpets. I am really hoping that we get some good results this way. My other question was, how do you go about treating the Eggs? We tend to have very shallow carpets in our apartment so I’m not really sure what to do from this point forward. Any other information you have would be so greatly appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time and energy to both thoroughly research and produce this article.
Thanks!
Ashley
Hey Ashley! Glad that you have found it helpful 🙂 The eggs can be removed with a decent vacuum cleaner or alternatively, a hot steamer or continueous application of borax (for a good couple weeks) will do the job. I highly recommend the first one though, even if you have to borrow one from a friend. Good luck!
We have horses eating the grass closer to house where dogs go, and we have fleas all over the house, our dogs get the flea pill monthly and baths. I’m going to try the borax treatment in house ,as fleas are jumping on me ,even with constant spraying of dogs,.Is Borax safe outside with horses munching grass in the treated area?Plus ,we bring the fleas in on us too. Help !Please remedy !
Hey Rob! I recommend that you use DE for the areas suggested. Make sure its the food grade variation (check out my article on using Diatomaceous Earth for fleas) as it is completely safe for animal consumption. You can even use DE inside your house, it wont put your family in any sort of danger.
Though you have helpful information, it won’t copy from my printer, which means I had to take notes from your page. Also, when I copy your info, I really don’t want to copy all the comments people make. There should be a way at the end of each article to print just the article. There are two problems here. I hope you will address both. Thanks. Arlene H
Hey Arlene! I am glad you have found my info useful 🙂 I will definitely look into those two problems, thanks for bringing it to my attention! In the meantime, you can just use your mouse to select the text you want to save and then paste it into a program like Word or even notepad. Hope that helps for now 🙂
Ok after using the borax how long should I wait before letting my 1 year old roam the floor? Should I vacuum several times before letting him back on the floor?
Hey Shanea! After vacuuming the stuff up (properly of course), you can let your child back in almost immediately. If you want to be extra cautious, just give the floor a mop as well (if its tiles, etc.) and you will be fine 🙂
I have flees in my basement can I just leave the powder there or I need to keep putting it down?
Hey Suzie! You can just leave the powder down, there is no urgent need to remove it unless it gets wet or damp.
Hi Natasha.. Im sooo upset. We have hard wood floors & area rugs. Yesterday I was sitting on the carpet playing with my 9 month old & found a flee. How can this happen..? LOL Im such a neat freak-vacuuming everyday, cleaning, mopping etc. I have an indoor cat who i give flee treatments to monthly anyway BC we have an empty lot of woods by our house-so i figure its better to be safe than sorry (we give him advantage II for cats) i recently rescued a cat from my friends apartment where i have his whole set-up in the garage i gave him hartz treatment monthly & a flee & tick collar, but recently he’s been running inside. I know it only takes 1 flee but im still so upset. Last night i vacuumed 1st then but borax in the container where the dirt goes the vacuum then sprinkled borax powder on the area rugs, put the cat in his room where his litter box is & put his food & water in there. Its been on the rugs for about 11 hours, im going to vacuum it up b4 the baby wakes up. My question to u is do u think that’s good enough..? Or should i do it again tonite..? And i know it’s not safe for the cat to walk on but i want to put some in the corners around the house, do u think i would be able to leave it there for a few days..? Your article was soooo helpful & im sure it sounds like im all over the place. LOL.. I look forward to hearing back from u w/ any additional advice. Thank you so much.
Love Lauryn 🙂
Hey Lauryn! If you are still giving that new cat a decent spot on treatment and use borax to kill fleas in the house (which it seems you are doing), that’s definitely a step in the right direction and you will see decent results. However, I cannot confidently say its all you will need but you are more than welcome to drop me a message if there are still fleas hopping after a couple days (its fine to leave the borax down for the entire time). Good luck!
hi weve had fleas in our home for almost 6 weeks now…… its just my husband and youngest child whos 4 that are getting bitten, weve used almost £50 worth of bob martin flea treatment and its done nothing, the council came on tuesday and sprayed everywhere and today i found 2 in the flea traps under our bed and my boys bunkbeds does that mean it hasnt worked yet again ??? ive just ordered 3 boxes of borax from amazon but im actually thinking if the fumigater didnt work is the borax im running out of ideas HELP !!!! 🙁
Hey Sue! The borax does a really good job at killing fleas. Sometimes, if applied properly, it can yield even better results then some purchased products. Just make sure you follow the instructions on this page and you will get the results you seek. Please feel free to keep me updated with your progress 🙂 Cheers!
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for gleaning all of the information about Fleas and putting them in one place (TheBugSquad)! It really is a wealth of information for people like me who have been finding fleas in their homes. I bombed the house Tuesday night and set out a flea trap last night.. found 2 fleas in the water this morning. I set out two additional traps in close proximity to the light source this morning and will keep at it. I also coated my carpet in a borax/salt mix and brushed it in with a stiff broom. I’m usually pretty lax but I’m always paranoid now, continually checking my socks/ankles with an LED flashlight for any unwanted guests. I REALLY hope that the Borax method with around the clock flea traps (with a lamp) will resolve this issue in the next few weeks. I just want to live in my house normally and can’t imagine how humans in other, poorer countries must deal with critters.
Hey Tom! Its a pleasure and to be honest, I really enjoy doing it. Sounds like you have taken the necessary steps to get rid of those fleas. The borax will definitely help you in your battle, looking forward to hearing about your progress so keep us updated 🙂
Hi there. Thanks for the great article. I live in Canada and wonder if you know where I could buy the Borax that works best.
I have two pets, cat and dog, and the flea problem most likely originated with the dog. Both have been treated with Advantage so I know there isn’t anything more I can do for them but I’m finding fleas in my house and they attach to my socks! I’m freaking out and don’t want to be “that person” who tracks fleas to work or friend’s houses!
What is the best process to follow when using Borax when you have to do every room? Can you use it on your bed? Does all the furniture have to be moved (move bed to use Borax under the bed, dressers too?) After the carpet is sprinkled with Borax can you walk on it, or sit on the couch, or do you have to leave the room for the 6+ hours before vacuuming? If I sprinkle the Borax on the floors in my bedroom can I still sleep on the bed? If it’s best to do one room at a time and keep pets out, wouldn’t the problem come back when you do the next room because you then have to put the pets in the room you just Boraxed?
Sorry for all the questions but this is all new to me and I’m dealing with this problem on my own so am looking for a fast and “easy” solution.
Hey Andrienne! I know that Amazon in Canada sells it so I recommend grabbing it online if you can. I usually put borax or DE in a plastic container and dust it around the room (kind of like a salt shaker). You can use it on your bed but put it under the sheets. It will also be a good idea to wash all your linen and clothes that have come into contact with fleas. Fleas will only die if they come into contact with the Borax so just keep that in mind 🙂 You can stand on it but rather just leave it for the day and then vacuum it up afterwards. As for your last question, its best to treat your dog, your house and anywhere else (that has fleas) at the same time to prevent another re-infestation. Good luck, hope that helps!
Was so happy to have found your article. I discovered 20 Mule Team worked wonders in an apartment a couple of years ago that had a major roach problem. Having just found fleas on one of my three indoor cats, I am preparing to give them medicine but was hoping that Borax would work as well with ridding the house of fleas as it did the apartment with the roaches., Your directions sound very sensible. I have carpet in the bedrooms but laminate and throw rugs in the rest of the house and am hoping a dusting and vacuuming with Borax all round will prove effective.(Actually, I use Borax in my laundry routinely and am betting that is why I haven’t suffered any flea bites myself although they must be around!).
Hey Trish! Glad that you have found this information useful! Borax is fantastic and I also find it very effective. Thanks for sharing and hope to see you back soon! Cheers!
Natasha, If you steam clean the carpets thoroughly with Borax in the water, would that get rid of the fleas?
Hey Daryl! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment on my guide 🙂 You won’t need to put borax in the steamer, the heat itself will kill all fleas if you use it properly. Take an hour or two (or however long it takes) to really do it properly and you will be flea free in no time 😉
Hi Natasha,
I had fleas in my apartment . I fogged the apartment and the building had an exterminator come and spray for fleas.
Moved to a new apartment and transferred fleas to new apartment and to my car. Had the apartment and car sprayed by exterminator. Now I have bedbugs in my mattress. Had exterminator spray for that. I was bug free for 5 weeks. Now I have a black crawling insect in my car which I tracked into my apartment. I have been dealing with this since July it is now October. I am so frustrated. HELP!
Michelle
Hey Michelle! Have you tried using borax in your apartment, car and any other place where you are finding insects? Borax does a great job at killing all sorts of insects, even bed bugs so I recommend you give it a try. Let me know how it goes!
Natasha,
I will use Borax soon. What solution can I use to clean my shoes to keep from tracking insects from my car into the apartment? If I need to apply Borax to my mattress for bedbugs how do I apply to the mattress and box spring? Also, do I need to apply the Borax to the head board and foot board of my bed?
Thanks, Michelle
Hey Michelle! Personally I recommend that you just give your shoes a quick wipe down each time, its really as simple as that. I suggest you place the borax under the sheet (in small amounts), focusing on the outer rim of the mattress and box. You don’t need to apply it to the headboard, just give them a wipe and you will be fine. Good luck!
Hello and many thanks for your helpful website.
We have a cat flea infestation in our house and I am planning to use the DE method (timing it with her next Frontline application) But could you help me further with a couple of questions:
We have 2 guinea pigs who live in a little box of hay in a corner of the room and basically roam around wherever they want. Could they be hosting the fleas (as well as my cat) and would the DE be harmful to them?
And my 2 chickens tend to wander in before dark for a little sit in front of the fire before going off to their roost.
Could they be hosting the fleas too? I know it sounds a bit mad (specially the chickens) but they do seem to enjoy it so! Would be very grateful to know if this could be contributing to the problem or whether the fleas are species-specific?
Many Thanks from Christina
Hey Christina! Its very possible, fleas can even get into your home when you have rats around. I wouldnt use DE too close to those pets as they are very close to the ground. It won’t kill them but it might make them breath a little funny. Chickens can also carry fleas but in both these cases, you don’t need to jump to conclusions. Take a close look at both of these animals and check if they have fleas. If you can visibly see them, let me know and we can see what options are available 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I read your great article about fleas, and I was just wondering does borax powder have the same effect on carpet beetle larvae. I have put the cats into boarding for a few days so I can borax my home. Please reply asap. as I only have a couple of days to do this. I am sooo stressed out. Horrible little creatures. Their needly hairs stick into me and it really hurts. I will be waiting on pins and needles for your reply.
Hey Heather! Borax should kill carpet beetles larvae as well. However, the larvae will actually need to come into contact with the borax so make sure you spread it around well. Sorry this is a little late, been having internet issues but I think everything is sorted out now 🙂
Hi Natashia, Just wanted to know how long does Borax take to kill carpet beetles and their larvae? How long does diatomaceous earth take to kill them? And if used together, how long will it take to kill them. Last but not least, does the Borax or diatomaceous earth stick to them after they have crawled through it? As I told you earlier, I have 2 cats, I have brought them home last week. But after a week, these damn bugs seem to be bothering them also, any suggestions on how to rid the cats of this? Sincerely Heather
Hey Heather! After these pests come into contact with either borax or DE (they both function in pretty much the same way), they will die after a couple hours. It doesn’t really “stick” to them but rather cuts and dries out their exoskeleton, causing their eventual death. Borax will not kill the fleas on your cat. I suggest that you take a look at my best flea treatment for cats article as it will give you some more insight into the process. Good luck 🙂
I used this and it worked amazingly well. I also use essential oils as a natural flea remedy and bug spray. I know some essential oils are toxic to cats but i do know lavander and clove are safe and work really well. They also leave the animals smelling nice too.
Hey Holly! Thanks for your kind words, I am very glad that you have found something that works. Thanks for sharing your experiences 😉
been battling fleas for weeks now. gave my cat a flea bath and advantage, i think he’s ok now but in our home is not. i’ve done a routine of washing everything, vacuuming (trashing bad after), and multiple sprays around the house, but i’m still getting bites. we have all hardwood floors and a bunch of area rugs. i’ve been avoiding the borax because i thought you needed to keep it in the carpet for a few days and i have a 4yr old and 6yr old that i am nervous about. is it effective if i vacuum after only a few hours or does it need to be left on for days? is it ok for the kids to be playing on the carpets after a few hours? thanks!
Hey Hillary! Since you have already treated (and sorted out) your cat’s fleas, borax will still be effective in your home if you can leave it down for about 16 hours. There is no exact number that works every time but I am confident that it will be down long enough to kill the fleas before you vacuum it up. Borax is natural but rather keep them away from the general area (considering their size). Hope that helps, keep me updated 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Thanks so much for this extremely important information on killing fleas without using the big name super toxic stuff. I have followed your directions and have had extremely good success with killing fleas in my apartment. I have somewhat of a unique situation as I have marble tile floors and no pets. The fleas were and are in my bed. Yuck! They are dying off rapidly though. They came to my place in my suitcase after a trip to visit family who do have animals.
I have an important question relating to killing fleas in my curtains. I live in Taiwan in a completely furnished apartment and if I take my curtains down to wash them, the staff will think I’m nuts. And if I tell them I’ve brought fleas into the building they will be REAL unhappy with me. My question is as follows: If I make a borax spray and spray the curtains, will it be effective? I am not concerned with discoloration of the curtains, I will gladly pay for new curtains out of my security deposit if I can get some sanity now. Also, the borax we have here hasn’t caused discoloration on my grey Ikea mattress or on my sheets.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Thanks!
Jack
Hi Jack! Its a pleasure, thank you for the compliment and I am happy to hear you have had some success. For your curtains, I highly recommend steam cleaning, that will sort things out nice and quickly. Just make sure that the material will be fine under heat though. Good luck!
Hi Natasha:
You article is very thorough. Thank you so much. I was confused when reading other sites about Borax…yours is the most thorough. However, I do have a couple of questions. I have 4 cats and I believe I need to treat all the rooms in my house as well as all the furniture and area rug with the 20 mule Borax to get ride of the fleas. The cats have been treated today with Advantage II. Where do I put the cats while the Borax is down? I can not take them out of the house, as one of them is 22 years old and one is feral. Will the Borax harm them? Or harm us? Do I put it down on the sofa’s, hardwood floors, etc? I am astonished because although I’ve seen a ton of flea dirt, I have not seen one flea. Also, when the larvae hatches, will the fleas jump onto our cats and die because of the Advantage II? Is it just best to get an exterminator out to spray? The problem with that is that Stanley came out to inspect our problem and said we had no pests, so they just did a general spray and now another exterminating company is saying they can’t come out for at least a week because something was already sprayed. One further question is…will getting a steam cleaning company to come in and steam clean all the sofas, chairs, carpets, etc going to help get rid of them? Does washing bedding, etc without Borax laundry detergent kill them? Thank you!
Hey Toni, sorry for my late response. Glad you have found my content useful, really helps keep me motivated 🙂 I usually keep my cat in the garage during the treatment. Even if you apply it twice, vacuuming up each time, they will only be away from the house for about 2 days. At the same time though, borax shouldn’t affect them too much unless they are very small (I just rather be safe to be honest). If baby fleas land on your cats while it has the spot on, yes it should die after a couple hours. Since you are looking for cat specific treatments, check out my guide on getting rid of fleas on cats, it will answer these and a couple other questions you may have. Steam cleaning is definitely a good option, kills all sorts of pests but remember that you will still need to treat your cats individually. Washing without borax will kill them. Hopefully I answered all your questions, have a good one!
ive tried everything.i have been at it for two months. i am going crazy…i used precor 2000 last weekend and it helped some.but i feel them jump on me still.i vacuum all the time and think they lay eggs on me ,bed.i vacuum and wash everything. i dont know what else to do.does ‘Flea Busters’ work? ….also, i dont see the fleas anymore but just feel them jump on me in certain areas of the house…i feel so defiled!
Hey Rosa, thanks for another comment on my blog 🙂 Fleas will not lay eggs on you so you don’t need to worry about that. I havn’t personally used Flea Busters but a couple of my readers have told me that it works well. Give it a try and let me know. Good luck!
I moved into a home a month ago and shampooed the carpets right away. I saw no fleas until about a week later when they were literally everywhere! I vacuumed, sprayed, used DE that was down for 4 days, sprayed again, used table salt, have a flea trap that I move around every day, used flea carpet powder, and just sprayed again yesterday (I vacuum everyday when I get home from work, the entire house which takes about 2 hours). I’ve done the furniture and every baseboard, crack, etc. each time with all of these methods and I have bought the expensive sprays that are supposed to kill eggs and larvae as well as adults. Three weeks later and I’m still catching about 3 fleas a day in my trap when it is left in one certain spot in my living room. The rest of the house is flea free and we haven’t actually seen any (just in the traps). I am putting down the borax in that areas today and will leave it for a few days. My questions is, when do I know that this problem is finally over? My thinking is that if the trap catches one flea, I need to keep the battle going. Is this accurate? It’s been three weeks and I’m so tired! I’m not even finished unpacking yet because all I do with my spare time is battle fleas. . . . .
Hey Christy! Congrats on following through with all those steps, sounds like you are really putting in the effort to get rid of these pests 🙂 Personally, the problem is over when fleas are gone hehe. If you find that your traps are free of fleas for a couple days then you have pretty much won the battle. Let me know how the borax treatment goes, would love to hear your experience with it. Cheers!
Hi I’m trying borax for the first time today is it okay to leave down longer than 6 hours?
Hey Miki! Yes, that is perfectly fine. I will update the main article tomorrow to clarify this point. Thanks for your comment!
Many articles I have read say to leave the boric acid powder down for 4-5 days then vacuum or leave it even longer. I see no great purpose in vacuuming so soon after putting it down unless you are trying to get eggs to hatch.
Hey Gita! I completely agree with you, the longer the better. However, the time frame that I list in my comments is purely a guideline, a minimum in fact, that I recommend to enjoy decent results. Also, while its preferable to leave it for long periods of time, due to living conditions it might not be possible. Thanks for your comment 🙂
Thank you for your great advice…I’ve found your site very helpful. I have an indoor cat who has fleas. We have a 2 year old and an 8 month old who are both always playing on the carpet. I’ve treated our cat with frontline, but am hesitant to use a flea spray or borax on the floor. Instead I sweep constantly and have tried putting down baking soda and salt overnight. It’s been a week and every time our cat comes into the living room, she still starts scratching and rolling immediately, even though we hardly ever see fleas. I am thinking they must still be biting her. Do you have any safe suggestions for us with our children? Thank you so much 🙂
Hey Megan! Its a pleasure, glad you have found the information you have been searching for 🙂 I recommend giving borax a try, any specific reason why you are avoiding it? Also, please make sure that your cat actually has fleas (check out my flea comb and flea bite article, it will give you some more tips to review). Its possible that your cat may just have itchy skin that is unrelated to flea activity.
Thank you for this information… It really helps. We have two cats and they both have fleas and are ripping their fur out. We went out and bought 20 Mule Team Borax and are going to use it tomorrow. So thank you for the information… We appreciate it!!
Hey Brooke! Thanks for your kind words, I am happy that I could help you out. Good luck and let me know if you have any further questions!
Any ideas about how to apply this in a car to get rid of a few fleas (we just started noticing them out of no where, doesn’t seem to be infested yet).
We have a 2 and a half year old son that would be in the vehicle but figure we would not use this vehicle for at least a week and vacuum it out multiple times after applying the borax.
thoughts?
Hey Dan! I recommend that you dust the seats and the carpets with borax and rub it in bit. Leave it for a day or two, vacuum it up and then repeat a couple times. You will see fairly quick results, good luck!
I just applied the borax to my car but I couldn’t really brush it into the upholstery because it’s not like deep carpeting. I sprinkled the seats and carpet with it. We’ll wait a few days before vacuuming it out.
Thanks a lot for your invaluable advice!
Okay, it’s almost been 2 weeks, but I didn’t want to jinx anything. Since applying the Borax into the car upholstery and vacuuming it out, I have not seen a single flea, not even a week later when potential eggs would’ve hatched.
Thank you SO MUCH for the advice from this article!!
Its a pleasure Dan, I am super glad that I have had the opportunity to assist you 🙂
I’m kind of torn here…. I bought the Borax but I haven’t used it do to some concerns I have after reading this…. I have a 5 month old kitten and I’m not really sure about using this… Also what about the dangers to dogs? I guess I’m asking is this worth a try with such a young kitty? Don’t want to endanger my little one!!!
Hey Perri! I recommend that you don’t use borax around cats (fine for dogs) as it can be rather toxic to them. A great alternative that I recommend for your home is food grade diatomaceous earth, its really cheap and will be safe to use around your cat. If you have any other questions, let me know! 🙂
Hey there! I’m a fairly new parent of an 8 month old puppy. I’ve had him for 6 months and I guess he’s a bit spoiled since he’s taken a liking to sleeping in my bed. Well about a week ago I ended up with random bites on my legs which turned out to be from fleas! I don’t have any carpets, just hardwood floors and linoleum. There’s a carpeted staircase to my second floor apartment. Since the fleas are probably on my bed and leather couch where the puppy hangs out, is it safe to use borax there? Sorry for the long explanation, bugs just make me nervous.
Hey Amanda! Cute, I have recently purchased a puppy as well and I must say, I sometimes let him curl up with me in the bed so I know what you mean 🙂 Yes, borax is safe to use around dogs but I still recommend taking your puppy out the room when applying the powder. Also take a moment to check out my DE article, it works much like borax but is even safer for home use (plus its cheap). Good luck!
Thank you for the article Natasha. You’re time is greatly appreciated. I’ve used 5 different flea poisons in the last month, and have had NO luck getting rid of the fleas. I have a pitbull that i bathe regularly and medicate with a flea pill from the vets office. I have fleas everywhere but the dog. I put 20 mule team borax down on all of my carpets last night but haven’t seen any results yet. Should I vacuum it up and put more down, or should I just leave it down until I stop seeing fleas? I’ve already spent a lot on this flea problem so I don’t wanna waste money on more borax if there’s no point. I’d appreciate any input. These fleas are driving me crazy!
Hey Joey! Its a pleasure, I am glad you have found the article beneficial 🙂 I recommend that you actually rub it into your carpets (I use an old outdoor broom) and leave it there for about 10 hours (might as well leave it for a day). After completing this step, vacuum it up. You may need to repeat a couple times, just make sure that you cover all your bases when it comes to the application of the powder. Let me know how it goes!
Your article has been so helpful, thanks so much for sharing!
One question tho, can any if this be used in the yard? If not what is the best treatment for the fleas in the yard?
Hey Lisa! Its a pleasure, glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Borax can be used in your yard but if there is any moisture, it will reduce its effectiveness. I recommend cutting back excess foliage (long grass, etc.) and using an outdoor flea spray to target the sweet spots in your yard. Let me know if you need some help with this, have a good one!
Natasha, used borax in the two carpeted rooms where we have had a bad problem. Could not get it everywhere because there is to much stuff in there. Will that reduce the effectiveness of the treatment? Those rooms were the cats rooms which we do not use much. I could leave the borax there for several days. Would that help the overall effectiveness? I have seen a few in other parts of the house should I treat the whole house? I am really concerned because we are going on vacation and I really do not want to return to a bad infestation. When we are on vacation should I close the door to the different rooms to isolate them from one another in the event there are some eggs upstairs that hatch?
Hey Dieter! Yes it will, however it wont completely compromise the treatment so give it a shot and let me know how it goes. Yes, leaving it should make a positive difference. In addition to that, I recommend leaving a couple flea traps (check out my article on this) in there to reduce the flea population. Lastly, before you go on holiday, its might be worth your while to use a flea bomb, if you have any questions on that, drop me a message and I will assist you personally 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I’ve been dealing with fleas in my home and on my cats for a few weeks now. I treated my cats about a week ago with a topical treatment and used the hot shot brand fogger on my house yesterday. The issue is I have a 2 month old baby who sleeps in my room and I did not put a fogger in there because I was worried about the strong odor and any chemical residue. The flea issue wasn’t too bad in my room to begin with compared to the rest of the house from what I could physically see. I knew there would be a good chance that there would still be some fleas hanging around in there and I right. I have found only 3 so far but I know it only takes one to get everything going again and I also have no idea what the egg or larvae situation is. I have no carpets just hardwood floors. I had 2 area rugs down but have taken them up and put them in a garbage bag to be washed. From reading your site so i figured I would purchase some DE but there is no food grade quality available. I will be purchasing some online and have got some boric acid for the meantime. My question is, is it ok to put that down on the floor in my room with my baby? The baby isn’t on the floor at any point ever and I would be sure to wear something on my feet to reduce any skin contact or track it into my bed. I’m not sure if that would make a difference.
Thank You
Hey DD! Glad you decided to avoid that room, that could have caused complications as there is definitely a chemical residue after application. Yes, its absolutely safe, just don’t put a massive amount down (imagine just “dusting” the floor with it). Use a broom to push it into any cracks, crevasses, etc. and vacuum it up a couple hours later. Its really as easy as that, its not toxic and while you can wear shoes, you dont have to. Good luck! 🙂
Where do l get diatomaceous and what does it cost
Hey Pat! You can purchase it from amazon (and other places, this is just one of them) and it should cost under $20 for a decent size bag. Hope that helps 🙂
Hi Natasha, I live in the country and have four 10 month old kittens. I keep them in a horse stall at night, to protect them from predators, that’s screened in with a dirt floor and some straw. We have a BIG flea problem in this stall and would like to know how you would treat/rid the stall, and kittens, of fleas safely.
Hey Cliff! My recommendation is to use borax (just follow the steps in this guide) or DE (I have a dedicated article on this subject). Both are completely safe (and very cheap) and will not put your kittens in any danger. Plus, since its indoors and will be nice and dry, it will be perfect for these compounds. Good luck!
Hi, I just tried the Borax in my home and it didn’t work as I expected. I left it down for 2days. It probaly did kill some fleas but when I vacuumed with my bagless, I could see them jumping around in there. Maybe the Borax drew them out for me to vacuum them up. I was excited to see how many was in that one room. I’ll redo the same room for a few days to see how many more I can catch. I like to put some purple pinesol in a cup and catch the fleas I see crawling on me or my pet. put them in the cup and it kills them. I tried pouring it on my floor and leaving it but it messes up hardwood.
Hey Cole! Did you use 40 mule borax? I know its not a necessity but I know that their brand is good quality and I have personally have success using it. My recommendation is “dusting” your floor with the borax and then rubbing it in with a broom so that it really gets into the fibers, cracks, etc. Leave for about 24 hours and then vacuum. After a few repeats, you will see good results. Alternatively, try using DE, you can find a detailed guide under the flea category on this blog. Hope this helps ya!
Natasha, I am SO glad you took the time to explain this to your readers. I’m aghast at all the misinformation and scare tactics being presented as science across the web. Having lived in Florida while rescuing stray cats, I can attest to the effectiveness and unbelievable staying power of the Borax treatment. I was absolutely overrun with fleas until a Vet reccomended it. $20 covered 1500/sq ft. I put it down for 24 hrs, then vaccumed. Repeated a week later to catch the next egg hatch, then 2-3 weeks after that.
I never, repeat, NEVER saw another flea. Its the easiest, most effective, and cheapest way to knock the snot out of an infestation.
My cats never got sick either.
I’d actually reccomend it to ANYONE getting a new dog or cat. Do it preemptivelyh and yhou’ll never be sorry.
Hey Steve! Its a pleasure, I am glad that people are finding this article useful. Thanks for sharing your personal experience, there are a large number of readers that see this guide on a daily basis and I am happy that they will be able to see how you found it in the past 🙂 Cheers!
….also, I have some DE and accidentaly left the lid off for several days in my carport.Is it still any good?
I thought moisture might be bad for it.It is a damp area somewhat where I live but the DE didnt seem clumped or anything.
Thanks again…
Hey Rosa! Is it isnt clumped it should be fine. However, I still recommend that you go and purchase some more if its convenient because the last thing you want is to go through the effort of using it, only to find that its not working as expected.
Hi. I tried boric acid last night and left on for about 5-6 hours and still they are biting.We’d only cat sit for daughter for about 3-4 days and I cant believe we have this problem now.I bought the Mule Team Borax today and am going to try that tonight.
I used a broom to smooth into the carpet also.Can it also be spread in our yard to help kill any thats in yard? If so, how to do that?
Wont it hurt the grass?
Thanks!
Hey Rosa! Awesome, let me know how that treatment goes 🙂 Use the broom to actually rub it into the fibers of your carpet and don’t use too much. As for your outside area, you can use borax safely for a single application on flora (in this case your lawn) but after that, there is a possibility that it will start damaging it. You can also use lime (bit more expensive) and this may be your solution as it can be reapplied multiple times without damage (unless the package says otherwise of course).
Hello Natasha,
I have this flea problem for the past three weeks. Initially, I didn’t know it was fleas until i went to the DR. and he told me that it’s not food allergy and it’s indeed flea bites or ant bites. I did my research and found your page 🙂
For the past two weeks I used natural remedy, salt/baking soda all over the tile floors and corners and vacuum vacuum. I thought it went away a week and a half ago when my legs healed up. Unfortunately, i had new bites on my back and upper body. I recently bought my dog Sentro Pro flea drops (he always been on Trifexis pill). Frontline is too expensive.. Yes i know…i’m suppose to get the flea drop first sighh…but we bathe him as instructed.
I also bought Borax a few days ago and been using. Do you recommend repeat process every day until you don’t see any more fleas on the tile? Spread borax, broom around and let it sit for 6+ hours before vacuuming.
Yesterday i was doing yard work and now i have new flea bites by my shoulders and armpits.. My legs were healing and now my upper body has flea bites sigh..Is it safe to spread borax around plants? I saw the flea on my arm when i was out there and i tried to killed it, but it jump off and the next day a red bump emerge.
Thank you for your help! Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long comment.
Hey Rosie! No apologies needed, I love it when my readers leave a long, detailed comment as it helps me understand their situation properly so I can assist them. 🙂 Yes, I recommend daily usage and your method of applications is perfect. Borax can be used around your plants but keep in mind that moisture will prevent it from being effective for pest control. As for those flea bites, check out my dedicated article on that subject as there are a number of natural ways to reduce their itchiness and inflammation. Good luck!
used this method of flea removal and am very pleased with it…thanks for the article
Hey Paul! Awesome, I am super happy that you have found it to be effective and that you have taken the time to share your experience. Have a good one and don’t forget to share this new knowledge with your friends and family when you get a chance 🙂
Perfect articles – Thank You.
I live in Kentucky and since Spring this year, have been struggling with bites to my ankles, legs and arms. Folks around here have been quick to point the problem at Ticks but after reviewing your article and seeing actual photo’s of other poor sufferers, it would appear that Fleas are the bane of my life (and my body). Will follow very closely your recommendations and a huge Thank You for putting this info out there on the net.
Phil
Hey Phil! Thanks for your kind words, they are much appreciated 🙂 I will actually be focusing on tick removal in the next couple weeks so you can stay tuned for that for future reference. Have a good one and see you back soon!
Hi Natasha! I have been battling the buggers for a week now in 90 degree heat/humidity in my no-airconditioning house—Two bombings, one spraying, one dusting powder and then vaccumming, vaccumming, vaccumming. Got a bite with my coffee this morning and want to blow up the whole house and be done with it. HOWEVER, I am going to try your borax method tonight when I get home. I’ve got the borax but HOW do you apply? It comes in a box. Do I just shake on? Should I grab handfuls and broadcast? Thanks for all your help!! Leyla
Hey Leyla! While explosives might kill the fleas, The Bug Squad doesn’t recommend it 😉 Haha, sorry that you are still having a problem with fleas, they can be a real bugger to get rid of (literally). I usually fill an ice-cream container (or something like it) with borax powder and after punching holes in the lid, I use it like a massive salt shaker to distribute it where necessary. Hope that helps!
Is DE or borax more effective on hardwood floors? How long do I leave it on before I vacumm? I also have 4 cats treated with advantage II and live with a person with heart/lung condition, so I want to be safe. Thank you.
Hey! Yes, in fact it works very well as it can reach into the little recesses that may escape other flea treatment products. If there are fleas in these places, it can result in a renewed infestation and much frustration later. Leave it for 4-12 hours, the longer the better the results. Borax is safe for pets but just keep an eye on your cats to make sure as sometimes it can cause irritation. Best bet would be to keep them out the house for the day, just in case 🙂
Hi Natasha! So glad I found your site. I have been fighting an uphill battle with fleas and have two young children at home (a crawling baby). I tried diatomaceous earth with no luck.
Do you recommend Borax 20 Mule Team or Fleabusters? Flea Busters states that they are less toxic than Borax, but I was wondering if you have any insight on that and it’s effectiveness. Thank you!!!
Hi Yan! Borax 20 Mule Team is great, I suggest that you use that. I havn’t personally used flea busters so I can’t comment on that. Good luck!
Excellent article and very helpful. However, as a chemist, I was skeptical of your 5mg figure under toxicity and looked it up. Mouse LD50 is 2g/kg, which makes it a bit more toxic than table salt. I wouldn’t be flippant with it, but you can assure your readers that it should be quite safe to work with. I’ve seen some comments about risk to cats. Cats lack some of the metabolic pathways of most mammals and so are more sensitive to many toxins, so caution should be used.
Hey Duane! Thanks for your positive remarks and for the excellent advice, your expertise is welcome here at The Bug Squad! I have made the adjustment to the article so that others can benefit from this additional clarity, thanks again!
I had thought I had fleas in the carpet around my desk but it turned out that they were “Little Fire Ants!” Apparently, they exist in some of the southern states (I am in FL) and can get into houses and live in carpets and even bedding… Google them. They are only 1.5 mm long – that is just a bit over 1/10th of a cm. No wonder I could never see them or find them. Another clue that they were ants was that I was only bitten at night, which is when ants are most active. I used a commercial ant bait and put a small spoonful behind my desk which has massive drawer units and is only an inch from the wall… so my cats can’t get back there. Within 3 days, I was free of the little devils! I couldn’t believe it! I also sprinkled some 20 Mule Team Borax close to the baseboard near the desk for a long-term solution.
Hey Mary! Thanks for sharing your experience with us, I really appreciate your input 🙂 I havn’t had to deal with that type of situation before but thanks to your comment, now I do. I am sure that there will be others that will also benefit from your advice in the future. Cheers!
Yes Yay! Only found 3 fleas, no more on cats/kitten 3 on me. Spent $$$ doing all pillows, rugs and bedding in house at laundrymat yesterday and vacuumed the DE up after I had it sitting for 3 days!
Hey Meeshell! Awesome stuff, I am sure that after a few more applications of borax, you will be completely flea free. If you are still battling after a couple days, please let me know and I will help you personally 🙂
🙁 I still have fleas… I guess more DE tomorrow, it has been a week tomorrow. I left it on for a few days but we caught maybe 50 all on Fritzi, my kitten. It has been so hot here and they are everywhere outside. I hope I get ’em w/next application… I will keep you posted.
I believe I finally conquered my flea situation…I read on another site where someone else used the borax on hardwood floors with no luck, thought due to borax wasn’t fine enough to penetrate. Thinking on that line, I put borax in my magic bullet in small batches, till I did get a finer powder…applied it and tedious as it was rubbed it into floor cracks and crevices by hand…left a couple days …vacuumed up and ….NO fleas and its been about a week I believe!
This after the DE, pinesol, vinegar, Murphy’s wood oil soap, etc was the answer for me on my hardwood floors! Hope it helps.
Hey Susan! I really appreciate the fact that you have taken the time to share this with me and this community! While I have used DE on hardwood floors in the past with decent results, based on your experience I think its safe to say that borax is more effective. I will definitely convey this to anyone who is in a similar situation and I am glad that you have finally got the flea problem sorted. Thanks again!
Hi , thanks for your article. Very interesting !
I’m pregnant and I use 20 team mule borax to clean the kitchen sink or the bathroom, etc.
I don’t wear any protection as a mask or gloves. I read in your article to stay away when pregnant.
It looks you know well about this product.
Do you think it can be dangerous for the baby when pregnant if we breathe when we use to clean ?
Thanks a lot for your answer. Best regards
Hey Jenny! Its an absolute pleasure, glad you have found my guide beneficial. Borax is a powder that contains borates and thats why its shouldnt be used when pregnant as it can be dangerous. I recommend using DE (I have an article on this) as its a safe alternative and works very well. Good luck!
I went to the store and am currently putting it down on rooms not used as much by my kitten.I plan on bathing the kitten tommorow and after cleaning up a room from the borax residue I am putting her in there and finishing up the rest of my house.I have only piece of furnature as I am moving and of course its where i sleep and it is full of fleas.I sprinkled borax on it today as well as my car because I live in a sandy area and have cats outside.I have bombed the house 2 x now so praying this works! Thank you as your articles were by far the most informative.
Hey Robin! Sorry this is a bit late but I am sure that you had success with your treatment. Your steps are good and I am confident that it went well. If you are still having any flea issues, please let me know and I will be more then happy to assist you. Also, thanks for your kind words, I really appreciate them 🙂
very informative and exactly what I was searching for…all in a well laid out article
Thanks for your kind words Santos, its much appreciated. After you have giving the steps outlined in this article a try and need some additional assistance, please let me know. Cheers!
Do you know is this helps to control spiders? Also send me the link on arthritis. Thanks
Hi Margaret. Based on my experience, its possible but since spiders are a hell of a lot more mobile then fleas (and don’t hide in carpets for example), they will have to literally walk through it to have an effect. It can be used as a proactive measure to keep spiders away but its not nearly as effective as using it for fleas. I have linked the arthritis in this article, which means you can just click on the words and it will take you to the resource. Hope that helps Margaret, let me know if I can help you further!
Natasha..I have no carpets, only hardwood and I have daily used the broom to redistribute the borax and hatch those darn lil devils..I go as far as to make sure the borax is worked into every crack until the crack is full and white even!
Hi Susan! I presume that you are not having the expected results? Or are you just checking to see if you are doing it correctly? Please let me know so I can help you if needed. Also, make sure that its Mule Team borax, its not an absolute requirement but that’s my recommendation as it has worked very well for me. Remember that you need to make sure that you treat your pets as well otherwise the fleas will just keep coming back, I have a dedicated guide for cats and another for dogs so perhaps take a look at that 🙂 Good luck! P.S: Sorry this response took so long, been having PC issues for the last couple days.
Used the borax on my carpets but left it for two days then vaccumed. Took apart my upright cleaner and washed all the filters and housing after. Was stunned to learn I had fleas when there was no animal in the house. Do we actually track flees in our homes ??
Hi Viola! I presume you are wondering if humans can attract fleas and bring them in our living spaces and the answer is yes. While we are not a favorite meal, fleas can feed on us temporarily while looking for a more suitable host (like a pet). I have an article on human fleas, check it out under the flea section at the top.
hey, thank you so much for writing this, im wondering if this is safe for someone with ferrets? I have two ferrets that are usually in their cage, but I need to get the fleas out and off of them because fleas can be fatal for ferrets, I dont have anywhere to take them while the borax is setting though. Im just worried about my babies!
Hi Angelique! It should be fine but since they are rather close to the ground, I would rather you keep them away from the places where you are placing the borax, at least for awhile until the powder settles. If you find fleas on your ferrets, just use a mixture of dawn soap and warm water and wash them with it. May seem a little strange at first but this method is fantastic and I encourage you to try it.
Any more suggestions? I’ve used the Salt..the diatomacoeus earth…used both together left down for a week…used pinesol and vinegar…borax been down three days…help!
Hi Susan! It sounds like you also have a flea egg problem. Remember that while salt, DE and borax can kill both adult and baby fleas, it cannot reach those unhatched fleas which can often only appear much later. Before you use a flea bomb, I recommend placing the DE or borax on your carpets and then give it a good brush with a grass broom (or a hard bristled equivilant) so that the fleas become active and you have an improved chance at killing them. Good luck!
Thanks for the info. I have read other articles on Borax and fleas, but yours goes a step beyond with the specific warnings. Bravo!
Its a pleasure Pam! I am glad that you found it useful, please feel free to ask me any questions and I will be more then happy to assist you 🙂
I have a bird also, will the borax affect him if I leave his cage in the living room (I was going to use it overnight)?
If borax will harm my bird, how much salt would it take? I only have a small one bedroom apartment (663 sq ft)
Thanks for all your help!!
Hey Carol! The borax will not affect him if you just sprinkle the borax powder low to the ground without letting it “puff out” when putting it down. Fill a plastic container with borax powder, punch some holes in the bottom and “sift” it over your carpets to ensure an even spread. Its a pleasure, I am glad that you have found my assistance beneficial.
Hi I have a 2 year old and we bought a couch with fleas we are both covered in flea bites and we live in a house with wood floor any advice please!
Hey Brenda, for some instant relief from flea bites (without the expense), check out my dedicated article on this subject by browsing the flea category on this site. As for the flea problem in your house, if there are tons of fleas (wherever you look), I recommend using a flea bomb and combining that treatment with Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) on your furniture (or wherever you find fleas).
Get tea tree oil and a spray bottle add water and spray yourself and child. I also make a strong dose for the areas that have the flea issue.
Where do you buy tea tree oil?
Hi NMcy! Any pharmacy should have it.
I used it all on rugs, closets, in couch and chair cushions, basically anywhere a flea might want to hang out and sprinkled as much as possible. I left it all out around the house for weeks and the flea infestation was gone after I finally decided to vacuum up the mule team borax. Stuff works man
Hi Mike, thanks for sharing your experience 🙂
if I am moving from one place to another, do i get rid of all furniture..because i know you can take them from one place to another?
Hey Alicia! No, you don’t need to get rid of your furniture! If you are moving, I recommend using borax on your couches, etc. that may be hiding fleas and that will get rid of them. Make sure that you also treat your pets as they are a more likely way that fleas will follow you to your new home. Hope that helps 🙂
I don’t have pets, and these things are a first for me. Never experienced them in my life…they are not pleasant..makes my skin crawls..now..I have sprinkled Borax all over the floor, and was all the clothes with the Borax, however..I am still seeing little ones. I guess this is an ongoing process until they are all gone?Should I use DE as well? I have a 9 month old and a 5 yr old in my house…thks..appreciate your insight.
Hey Alicia! Well since there are only the young left, at least you have killed off the adults. To be honest, its not usually a continuous process if you don’t have any pets and the like. The reason why you are still seeing fleas is because there were still eggs in your carpets, etc. that have hatched (the borax wont destroy the eggs). Either you can keep using the borax until all fleas have hatched (this can take a short or long time, generally between about 2-10 weeks) or use an IGR flea spray to stop them from hatching. Hope that helps!
Exactly the information I have been searching for and then some. 🙂
Thank you for such extensive research on your behalf.
Hey Jacquie! Its a pleasure, glad you found this information helpful and thank you for taking the time to leave your positive comment 🙂
Hi, really appreciate your advice, which sounds very thorough and precise. I hadn’t read about leaving Borax for 6 hours before. I’m wondering about mites. Do you know how to get rid of those? I’m not sure if that’s what I have but the bites fit that description. Either that, or I’ve developed a sensitivity to flea bites, which never bothered me at all before!
Hey Sally! I am very glad to hear that you enjoyed my article and I hope that you can put the suggestions to good use 🙂 As for your mites question, I will be doing some articles on that subject but if you have bites from those, I have heard that a natural way you can ease the itchiness is by applying mineral water or a cream specially formuled for these bites (such as a sulpher cream). As for your carpets, either use a water based vacuum cleaner or steam clean them for best results.
If you have mites or scabies its a huge uphill battle. Its not easy to get rid of. You can mix borax and bakingsoda and use as a body scrub and also has a non-shampoo shampoo. Its will still be very rough and doesn’t lather but it does clean and keep your hair soft. Its also said to be safe for digestion by adding a 1/8 teaspoon to a liter of water and drink, it acts like a detox for your body, don’t quote me on it cause i haven’t tried it. But its suppose to prevent the mites from laying eggs under your skin and the borox on your skin.
I have used olive oil on my mom’s dog, years ago for mites. I rubbed the infected areas daily with olive oil and used yogurt for ear-mites. At the same time we put pure and unsaturated apple cider vinegar in her food every day (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon). It helped and the mites disappeared for good. You can put olive oil on your skin, for sure it is harmless, but I am not sure if it helps on your bites. It smothers the mites and heals the skin. I hope this will help.
Hi Carolina, fantastic suggestion, thank you very much! I am sure that everyone will benefit from this tip, please share this page with your friends 🙂
I have a pit bull who is prone to mange, which is caused by the same or a similar mite as those which cause scabies. My vet diagnosed mange in a previous dog (I’ve owned pit bulls for decades) and wanted $40 for a sulfur bath (about 25 years ago, don’t know what the charge would be now.) I purchased some bar soap imported from Mexico which contained lanolin and sulfur, and cleared up 4 cases of mange for about a dollar. I keep some of that soap on hand. Also, in an older version of a Merck Manual, treatment for scabies was camphor and phenol in mineral oil. I use CamphoPhenique in mineral oil, after bathing the dog with the soap containing the sulfur. It seems to help with itching, and helps healing. The oil also blocks the entrance to the burrows under the skin and helps make sure all mange mites are dead of suffocation. I hope your readers will find this helpful.
Hi Patricia! Another fantastic tip, thanks again for your lovely contributions 🙂
This article is exactly what I needed. I appreciate the side note that diatomaceous earth can also be used. Thank you for saving my legs from getting all eaten up!
Hey Sim! Its an absolute pleasure and thank YOU for taking the time to leave a positive response like this, really motivates me to keep writing new and informative guides 🙂
I need help and have done everything. I have used the borax twice, vaccum every day, bombed twice, cleaned pet’s beds and have bathed them with flea shampoo two times a day. I have washed everything I can, use bleach water on floors. I have two black cats who are a nightmare and a dog, help
Hi Dan, in that case it might be worth getting an exterminator. I always advocate trying DIY stuff first but it gets to a point where the prolonged anxiety is not worth it. Sorry, hope this response helps you a little hehe.
If your cats are outdoor cats, you will NEVER get rid of all the fleas! Whatever you do, don’t use the same topical flea preventive on your cats as you do your dog. Some of them can kill cats! And if your bug bombs that you’ve used don’t contain a flea growth inhibitor (Precor is the BEST!), that could be part of the problem. You aren’t killing the eggs! Bleach, by the way, won’t kill fleas. Try bathing your dogs and your cats with Dawn, but be sure to not get it in their eyes. If you can, let the dawn stay on them for at least 15 minutes, then rinse. Dawn will kill any fleas on them. When I had cats, I put them in a pillowcase from the neck down after I soaped them up into suds, and let them “stew” for 15 minutes. Worked!
Hi Bev! Thanks for the fantastic tips. Having an outdoor cat doesn’t mean that you cannot keep fleas under control, it’s just much harder that’s all (I have two). Appreciate your input 🙂
Hi, I’m pregnant and also have a 1.5 year old. I just took in two 7 week old kittens yesterday. I woke up with 12 flea bites on my body. I have been letting the kittens on the couch. I’ve kept them off the carpet but they found a way to the carpet anyways. I’m wondering how to get rid of the fleas, I’m worried they are in my hair because the kitten slept on my pillow next to my head. Please someone give me an answer asap. I’m freaking out.
Hi Jamie, if there are any in your hair, a quick shower will sort that out. I suggest that you use a spot on (for kittens) or alternatively, try wash them in warm water and dawn soap (kills fleas instantly). Then you can treat the carpet with DE, which I have an article on this blog about so check that out. Hope that helps!
The problem witht this article is that it twlls you to vaccum after 6 hours. My research and even the borax sold in let stores all say do not vaccum for 5 days. Why? Vaccuming alerts fleas as to something walking by that they can leach on. They go to the top of the carpet and into the vacum. From there they will multipy quickly. This will now spread them across your house. A good borax treatment will start working after 6 hours but it won’t fully kill all the fleas until all the egs hatch which can take up to 30 days. After 30 days repeat the process if you still have fleas. Alsoalways put a tablespoon of borax in your vacuum to help stop the spread of them for future uses.
Hi Chris! Thanks for bring this to my attention, you are absolutely correct. I actually had a reminder to change this from 6 hours to 24-48 hours but for some reason it slipped through the cracks. Regardless, the article is now updated to give the borax time to work properly. Have a good one!
I stumbled upon your website by accident but glad I did. This summer of 2017 I have battled hard against the flea population. I have two dogs and a cat and bless their hearts they have not had a good summer. I did research on what to put on the animals and it seemed like the new fancy flea collars were all the rave. I never liked flea collars but money wise and the raves it well sounded to good to be true. The jury is still out on them but I am seriously thinking they aren’t worth a hoot. So three animals have the high dollar collars on and I noticed the fleas,,,yes,,,absolutely no mistaking, they are fleas! They don’t bother me thank goodness but make the animals miserable. I bought natural flea powder and spray and have put it down and around so much that my house is covered in what looks like dust, well, it is but flea stuff. I washed my animals—-even—the cat with some high brand of flea shampoo. Sure they all are happy for a few days but then it all starts over again. I never thought of using borax, I knew it killed roaches for sure but didn’t know it might kill fleas. I don’t mind sprinkling it everywhere and leaving it as right now my whole house looks like a dust bowl already. You had a lot of good information on here and lots of people saying the borax worked so I will pick some up today and for sure give it a try. it comes in a big box (where I live, grocery store) so do I put it into maybe the old shaker that the other flea powder came in as its almost empty? Keep up the good work. Ella
Hi Ella, thanks for your kind words, its people like you that make the time spent answering comments worth it 🙂 Yes, that should work well, let me know how it goes.
It would help if u get the flea and tick pill that give them once a month then keep doing what ur doing with everything else and u will c them start to go away from ur home believe me it works
Hi Barbara! Thanks for helping out Daniele, really appreciate it.
I sprinkled 20 mule team borax on my carpet and just as I was getting ready to vacuum it up, 1 of my 5 cats was licking carpet. Now he is throwing up. I don’t know if it’s the Borax or the Advantage I put on him yesterday. He’s just throwing up a little but acts like he isn’t feeling well. Please help
Hi Donna! Well it is a powder, so he was probably just gagging a little, much like humans would if we put chalk on our tongues. It shouldn’t be anything to worry about, just stop him eating it lol.
simple but not always easy to get rid of fleas on carpet. this summer 2015 in California was very hot for months. 10 yrs we have never had to give indoor cat flea med, now we do. she is scabbed all over, open sores from scratching and stress doesn’t help it raises their cortisol not to mention having toddlers chase her around. we use on all 3 pets front line, boraxfor carpoets, flee traps i bought on amazon, borax for our sandy backyard, dog beds inside and out..its alot of work. washing bedding, vacuuming every 2 days flee combing, just don’t want to the the fogger! im so paranoid as a mom, but i recall my family doing it all the time in our house..
we don’t have flees jumping on us humans . cat and one dog has them. i comb cat daily i find one or two. now gotta take her to vet for possible infection from scratching. i think i will continue this advice from YOU AND buy 6 more boxes of 20MULE TEAM BORAX for 4$ ea.
thank you!!! good advice. seriously helpful.
Hi Liz, glad that I could help you, hope it works out for you!
I have read many articles on killing fleas. Yours is truly excellent! We have four cats and one dog that just went through a flea infestation this summer. They are successfully on vet Meds that stopped their fleas. We eliminated fleas on our rancher main floor with constant vacuuming and vinegar. The problem now is with our basement where we have 100% stopped the animals from entering. Using 20 Mule Team Borax end to end followed up with Precor 2000 Plus spray after thorough vacuuming still leaves us with some fleas after 2 months of this hard work. Do you have any advice?
Hi Bob! Thanks for your kind words! 🙂 I suggest you try DE in the basement. Additionally, put a couple flea traps (article on this blog) down at the same time. This two pack punch will solve the issue quickly.
Hi.. I just bought the 20 mule team borax. This kitten I took in is highly infested and I keep losing the fight. Wondering if the 2p mule team worked for you as I am nervous to try. I haveb4 kids underbthe age of 5. 1,2,3 and 4yr old. I was told this borax can be harmful if I don’t get ALL of it back out of the carpet. So I haven’t tried it yet. Esp cause I don’t know if it’ll work. Tried lemon spray and used two different brands of bombs.. Treated the cat not with name brand stuff though.
Hi Jessica, don’t use the borax on your cat, rather get a spot on for your pet. Then brush the borax into your carpets (if there are fleas) and leave for 2-3 days (or longer), then vacuum it up. Nice and easy 🙂
There is a product called Capstar that will kill all fleas currently on your animal. It does not last. Bathing gently with Dawn (blue) will also kill fleas easily.
Hi Debbie! Thanks for helping Jessica, Dawn is great, actually posted an article on it a couple days ago, would love to know what you think of it. Will send you a link via email.
Cats n dogs have walking dandruff .it is a nightmare but keep using natural mite killers…vinegar salt dawn but tea tree oil .many things help n vet must be good vet.walking dandruff.no one tells you..check it out online.
Hi Dee, thanks for replying to Liz 🙂
Can you wash your dogs blanket and pillow cover in borax………and if so is it safe for the animal?
phil para
Hi Phil, it is safe but I would rather use something like DE, seems to work better.
I am fed up with fleas and I don’t even own pets. There is an infestation in my yard. Can borax help?
Hi Lou, yeah but its not a great option, either get a pro for your garden or do a little research on beneficial nematodes.