Summary: Learning how to get rid of fleas can be extremely difficult if you do not follow a very specific removal process. While cats and dogs are their common target, humans are also at risk! Yep, unfortunately, that means you! In order to get rid of fleas naturally on your pets, you can use things like yeast and lemon juice. Your yard may also require attention as fleas are known to find their way into your home from the garden and this can cause massive issues with pets getting reinfected over and over again.
Do you need help getting rid of fleas? Do you find yourself spending large amounts of money on all sorts of products that promise results? The truth is that fleas can make pets (and their owners) miserable, especially when scratching spreads fleas and their eggs all over the house. Others are concerned about the potential health risks associated with flea infestations and want to start the process of getting rid of fleas as soon as humanly possible. This article will outline the various steps that you need to take to eliminate fleas from your home.
How Do I Get Rid of Fleas on Cats and Dogs
Fleas on Dogs 
Firstly, I highly recommend that you remove any fleas on your dogs (or other pets) with a suitable, finely spaced comb. If you do not have one, you can pick one up at almost every convenience store. If there is not one in the pet section, you will probably find a fine toothed hair comb that will work well. Once you have one, give your dog or cat’s fur a good brush with this flea comb. This can take awhile, depending on how furry your dog or cat is but make sure that you take the time to do it properly otherwise its going to be very hard to control your flea outbreak. If you have a cat allergy, pet allergy or are sensitive to animal hair like I am, be sure to wash your hands afterwards and do not touch your keys during the process.
How to Get Rid of Fleas on Kittens (Very Important)
If your cat is under 12 weeks old, you need to be extra careful. Make sure that you use Dawn Soap as this is a very safe, non-toxic way to treat fleas on cats without exposing it to dangerous chemicals. The Blue Dawn soap is very effective and only costs a couple dollars, much cheaper then any flea exterminator will charge you to remove the fleas from your kitten.
For any of these suggestions, I recommend that you ask your vet for proper flea medicine if you are a bit unsure. Although I always recommend that you try out natural methods first, it is often a requirement to contact a professional so don’t feel like you are “cheating” if you do. But natural methods usually work so try them first! For older kittens, try these methods for getting rid of fleas:
- Use a flea dip – I only recommend this if your flea outbreak is very severe.
- Use a flea shampoo. However, never use anything that contains Tea Tree oil for cats as it is highly toxic to them! If the bottle mentions D-limonene, Carbaryl or Pyrethrins, I recommend you give it a miss, especially for kittens.
- Although I don’t recommend it, you can use flea collars to kill the fleas on your pet. Just keep in mind that there are a lot of flea collar side effects so please educate yourself before going out and purchasing one.
- Use a oral medication for fleas that is especially formulated for kittens or adult cats respectively.
Killing Fleas on Your Pets Bedding
It will be a total waste of time if you remove the fleas on your pets, only to have them relax on their blankets that are infested with fleas! This is actually one of the most common reasons why people battle to remove their flea problem and its vital to make sure that you clean all the fabrics that your animal usually hangs around.
Sometimes this even means that you have to remove couch throws! Usually you can just put the bedding or these blankets in your washing machine, but if your pets are spoiled and have a lot of these things, you could always take it to the nearest dry cleaners. They might charge you a small amount, but the good thing is that they have large washing machines that can accommodate for all the items and they will ensure its cleaned properly. Trust me its worth every penny to ensure that this step is completed thoroughly.
Getting Rid of Fleas in Your House and Carpets
Fleas often find their way into the fibers of your carpet. Once they have settled their, the females often lay cocoon’s which can produce in excess of 800 eggs, and when these flea eggs hatch, you are going to have major pest problems so its critical that you kill these adult fleas before they start exponentially growing in your home. The easiest way to do this would be to vacuum your carpets and rugs vigorously as this will get rid of any parasites. If you do not have a water based vacuum cleaner such as a Dyson or similar, you will need to repeat this process a couple times to get the desired effect.
I highly recommend that you invest in a decent vacuum cleaner for your home as this will not only the best way to get rid of fleas, but it will also help you keep your home dust free and remove any pests or tiny bugs that may be living in your carpets and beds. While you are doing a great job of cleaning these areas, be sure to put the pets away (in the garage, etc.) to make sure that they do not spread fleas to your nicely cleaned carpets! When you are done, seal the bag (so the house fleas don’t escape) and take it outside to ensure you prevent another flea invasion in your home.
Tips on Killing Fleas in Your Yard
If you are privileged to have your own garden, I bet that your pets have a lovely time running around and playing in it. However, did you know that it can be the reason why your pets have fleas! How is this possible?
Well these garden fleas love to live in damp, moist places where sunlight cannot reach them. It’s interesting to note that fleas cannot exist in broad sunlight, hence why they hide under hair, etc.
Although I have written a very detailed guide on outdoor flea control, here are some tips:
- Use a pesticide like Flea Away in your yard. Just be careful of toxic variations!
- Use Cedar wood (type of tree) chips in areas where your dog or cat typically plays or sleeps. (this is a great home flea remedy that is completely natural so its highly recommended by The Bug Squad.
- Use Beneficial Nematodes – these small worms pretty much kill fleas in your garden but can take a while for the worms to find and remove them, but it’s a nice long term solution.
- Prune and trim your garden foliage and expose damp areas to sunlight as this will prevent flea infestations. Also, mow your lawn regularly to prevent long grass for fleas to hide in.
- One of my favorite additions to my outdoor flea removal tips is Sulphur granules. Thanks to some feedback from my readers, I have found that they are excellent for flea control outside. Simply place them in your yard and water the garden to force all sorts of pests, including fleas, to run for their lives.
Are Humans at Risk? Tips to Protect Yourself!
Flea Bite Remedies
Humans can get fleas from their pets! Although we tend to wash frequently in comparison our pets (hopefully), its still possible that they can lay eggs or even bite you. This can leave painful, red marks on your skin. So how can you protect yourself?
- If you are walking in long grass, wear long sleeve shirts and cover your skin to prevent fleas from jumping onto you. This is especially important if you are hiking or spending a lot of time out of doors. Don (one of our readers) has recommended the use of Vaseline as it helped keep the fleas away from the skin so you can give that a try as well.
- A great natural flea remedy that you can use while hiking is to pack your pockets with Eucalyptus leaves as this will keep fleas away. I personally don’t like the way I smell afterwards though but its up to you.
- Wash and shampoo your hair regularly, especially if you know your pets have fleas. Try and minimize close contact with your pets until you have killed the fleas on them. If you already have flea bites, use a natural oil based flea treatment cream from your nearest pharmacy.
A Few Natural Ways to Get Rid of Fleas
Natural Flea Control
Another good, natural way to get rid of fleas is to cut up a few lemons (or use strong lemon juice from the supermarket) and put them into hot water. Once its cooled, and you have mixed it properly, you can apply it to your pets skin and other places (in the house or in the garden) where fleas may be present. Just don’t spray this mixture onto fabrics as it can leave a mark that is fairly difficult to remove.
A few people have reported that normal, household yeast is a very effective flea deterrent. Simply put a couple spoons in your dogs food and it will keep fleas away.
Although I have not tried this one myself, it has been recommended that you mix about 500ml of rosemary leaves into hot water. Wait for it to cool a bit and then soak your dog or cat in the mixture. Your pet will probably be a bit surprised and may hide away for awhile (especially if it’s a cat), but if they could speak they would definitely thank you for helping them to remove their flea problem.
How Long Does It Take to Kill These Fleas?
The reality is that fleas will only last as long as you let them. If your primary goal is getting rid of fleas and you commit yourself to the removal process, you can be flea free within a few days. Just a word of caution, please make sure that you address all the areas that I have outlined in this article as this is the only way that you will get rid of your flea problem properly. Many people have suffered for months with flea problems because they forgot or ignored a few of the steps. Although they enjoyed a brief period of bliss, their flea problem came back with a vengeance.
I will be writing an article on the flea cycle in a few days time which will also elaborate on dog flea control and other flea treatments. However, if you still cant get rid of them, I highly recommend that you take a look at a few of my other flea removal guides for any further updates and tips. I hope that this helps you with any flea problem that you may be having and remember, these methods have been proven to work!
Educational Video On Removing Fleas Quickly:
Editors Note: Flea Bomb Room Foggers – Make Sure They Are IGR Compliant!
If you want to use a flea bomb (otherwise known as a flea fogger), its very important to check the label of your preferred solution for the presence of Insect Growth Regulator (IGR). This ensures that the eggs and larvae of pests (like fleas) do not mature into fully grown insects. This is a great flea control method, especially for fleas in carpets. If you see something called Pyriproxyfen or Methoprene, you can be sure that your fogger will kill both the fleas and their offspring that lurk beneath your carpets and in other places.
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.
hello,
I had 2 small kittens who we kept in home, last week they got out, not sure for how long and we brought them back in, initially I didn’t see any fleas, over the last 3 or 4 days it has been unreal. My son and self are being ate up with the bites, as soon as I seem them on the animals the animals we rid of and all bedding for the kittens was discarded. I have washed all bedding and clothing and set of foggers and this has done nothing to the issue. This is the only thing I have tried. My home is all hardwood floors and there isn’t much in my home for them to hang around on and I believe this is why we are being ate up. What is the best thing to help the bites on us and to get rid of this problem with the animals being gone?
Hi Ashley, please check my article on food grade DE and DIY flea traps. Both are very easy to do and I think they will get you going on the right track. Let me know if you need help with either of them, my goal is to always get my readers flea free 🙂
FOR YOUR HOME – One of the best ways I have found to control fleas is a flea trap. Take plates and put about 3 to 4 in each bedroom. Any bigger rooms like Living rooms put 6-8 plates. Fill the plates with water and add just a little bit of dish soap so it gets on the fleas and drowns them. Then get a battery powered candle and put it in the center of the plate on something that is raised a little out of the water. I buy these candles at the dollar store by my house. The flea are attracted to the light and jump towards it and then get stuck in the water. You can also use this flea trap to count to see if your doing better or worse each night. Also the best spray I have found to use is Hot Shot Bed bug & Flea which is sold at Walmart for $9.97 a gallon. It’s a little more expensive then the other stuff but it works a lot better. Ive tried at least 4 other sprays and after about 3 days of spraying I’ve noticed a big difference. I also bought one of those pressure sprayers you see the exterminators use for like $20. But it works a lot better then the nozzles they send with the spray bottles. Not only does it spray a lot faster but it gets the carpet and even the padding wet underneath. And also make sure to spray and vacuum each day at least once. One other thing I did which seemed to really help was I have a carpet shampooer. But instead of using it as a shampooer I put a galloon of the hot shot in there and ran it over my carpets to really saturate the carpet and padding underneath all while sucking up some of the fleas. Your carpet stays wet for a little while but the fleas have nowhere to go and die. And continue to vacuum and spray for about 2 weeks after you see the last flea because they can lay dormant. I hope this helps whoever is having problems with fleas in their home because I know it is a nightmare and can take almost 2 month to get rid of them. You have to really treat it as if your in a war with them and a not take a day off from spraying or vacuuming.
FOR YOUR DOG – Our dog was infested with fleas and we never even knew because he never scratched or was acting any difference. We didn’t find out until we took him to get his hair cut and a bath. So we gave our dog Frontline Plus and put a flea collar on him a week later. We also bought some flea shampoo and gave him a bath everyday for like 5 days and it would kill all the fleas but when he went back inside they would just jump back on him. I had also seen on YouTube you can give your dog Organic Apple Cider Vinegar in their water. A cap full for every gallon but he didn’t seem to like it. So I put it on his dog treats and he loved them. They say the vinegar gets in your dogs blood stream and the fleas don’t like it. But eventually the Frontline Plus started working after about 3 weeks and he is flea free now. We still give him the dog treats with the apple cider vinegar on them just to be safe. We just gave him another shot of Frontline Plus because its been a month now and they say to put it on every month. They also sell tablets you can feed your dog and people have said it takes about 30 min to start working and the fleas will start to just fall off them but I never tried that. They should keep the tablets with the Frontline Plus if you wanted to try them. Hope this helps
Hi Brendan! What a freaking amazing comment, thanks for your contribution to the community! I loved your pointers and I am positive that they will help many people with their flea problems. Have a good one 🙂
Hi there! So I found this website a week or so ago when I found two fleas on my dog. She has been on Frontline Plus but just have picked them up at the vet when she had surgery. My cat then got a couple so I put her on Frontline Gold. I bought a spray and gave them each a dose of capstar. Didn’t see any for a few days but then saw a couple again. I set up a flea trap last night in my room under my bed where the cat hangs out and when I woke up there were no fleas in there. There’s only carpet in my bedroom and I haven’t seen any fleas in the carpet (it’s very low pile carpet). My vets office doesn’t seem concerned about this but of course I’ve been freaking out. If I’m not catching any fleas in the trap and I’ve only see a few on my pets, is it possible that’s all there is? I’ve got more capstar to give tomorrow and will give another frontline treatment to each as my vet said every two weeks is ok if I’m still seeing them. I don’t live in the south where fleas are resistant either.
Thanks! Your site is great!
Hi Alicia! Thanks for your kind words, yes it is possible that you are gaining the upper hand in your flea battle, so well done for doing that. Keep it up and if you see their numbers increasing, let me know and I will help you.
Hi there I have treated my dog for 3 months with a monthly drop and vacuumed and use DE in my home. I’ve noticed now again there are a few fleas here and there. How often should I be treating my hone to rid this problem
Hi Vanessa! The best thing you can do is to make a few DIY flea traps, put them in each room and leave them on overnight. I have an article on the topic, check it out. Hope that helps!
My daughter just moved not a room and the landlord has a cat. She has been bitten by fleas. The landlady had someone use a bomb on the room but still getting bugs in the dish with soap and water. She is going to move but is afraid she will take them with her. What should she do?
Hi Deb, she just needs to wash her clothes and make sure she takes a hot shower before she leaves. Either way, honestly it is not likely that she will bring them across 🙂
Me and my husband moved in with my parents cause with a baby on the way they said we can stay with them till we get up and going. I have 4 animals. A cat, dog, rabbit, and lizard. They live in the living space my parents made for us in their basement. We have no carpet down there just our furniture and their things they stored down there but for some reason we have them bad. My parents don’t have them upstairs and they have carpet. Is there anyway to get rid of these blood sucking pests without using anything that’ll harm my family and pets??
Hi Faith, I recommend DE and DIY flea traps. I have an article on both of these, check them out.
Since I got a new puppy with fleas I am assuming my bites on me are flea bites. Bed Bugs can be seen and leave blood traces. Since this started after getting the puppy and she was not treated for over a week, I am thinking fleas. I used DE on my mattress , between box spring too. I applied it around perimeter of the rooms and the room downstairs. I had been okay for a few nights and now tonight 3 more bites. They look like a mosquito bite as there is an indent in the middle and they itch like crazy. I am wondering if using the DE with water and spraying is more effective then shaking DE powder ??? I am vacuuming a lot and washed bed sheets and clothes and puppy bed blanket regularly. So really wondering if water DE or dry DE is the most effective?
Hi Kathleen, wet DE will not be as effective for killing fleas, I have done plenty of research about it. I suggest that you use DE in combination with a few flea traps, I have a free guide on them under the “fleas” category 🙂
Can you tell me what you use to spread the Diatomaceous earth? Also, do you need to leave the apartment for a period of time after putting it on the carpet? I have used foggers but there still seem to be fleas because I am getting bitten. I got Revolution from the vet and put it on the car a couple days ago.
Hi Peggy, I use a plastic container with a lid that I can punch small holes in. Then I apply the DE like using a salt shaker.
Hello. I have a inside cat and found some fleas on him. First I treated the cat. I have him a bath with dawn soap and put flea medicine on him. I put out flea traps. I put DE every where and rubbed it into the carpet. I put down insect control powder that also contained DE and left it on my floors and furniture for 48 hrs. I still found fleas on my carpet and the cat. I then used flea diggers all over my home and washed all my clothes and bedding. I have a toddler so after I bombed I bleached everything, gave my cat another bath and flea treatment, and bleached any where and anything my toddler would touch. I put out another flea trap and there are currently 9 fleas on it. I am vacuuming regularly and still finding fleas. I am losing my mind. What am I doing wrong? What should I do next? Please help!
Hi Brittney! Goodness, you should at least be seeing a reduction after all that effort. It has been a little while, how is the current situation? Sorry for the delayed response.
Hi there. I’m currently living in an apartment with 2 other roommates. One of my roommates has a cat and another one of my roommates found a flea in her room. Then there were fleas found on the cat and I just recently found one in my room. I would say this has probably been going on for about 2-3 weeks. I wasn’t worried because I hadn’t found one in my room yet but now I am freaking out! I read your article but I really hope it is not too late. She has already started treating her cat and we have been spraying natural remedies around the house. so hopefully they are gone on the cat but I’m scared when she comes back from Easter break she will bring even more home to our apartment. I want to use a flea bomb, but I’m worried it will not kill all of the fleas in my closet (with a lot of clothes) and other places etc. and everything on my furniture in my room and living room. since it has been over 2-3 weeks what is the best way to make sure they are GONE asap!? I have a fear of bugs, especially little ones so a fast response would be very much appreciated! thank you for your article and insight.
SOS, please help!
Hi Hope! I don’t recommend using a flea bomb, especially in your living areas. I recommend getting a shop vac (if you don’t have one already) and using some food grade DE, it is natural and kills fleas. You can also make a couple DIY flea traps, which are very effective as well. Hope that helps.
I like that you touched on how to get rid of fleas on beds and carpets. I think that many people believe that they only have fleas on their pets. However, you really want to be sure that you don’t have fleas on your furniture. Do you have any other tips about getting rid of fleas?
Hi Johnny! Pleasure, yeah I do, check out the flea category for all my articles on the subject.
i have an indoor out door cat. she has ALOT of fleas. what is the saffest, cheapest, and most affective product
Hi Vicky! The thing with fleas is, that I could recommend something like Frontline (spot-on), which works well, but if there are fleas in your home and garden, she will end up catching them again. Unless you keep putting it on, which is expensive and dangerous (personally speaking). I suggest that you try that spot on, see if it helps and if not, let me know and I will help you.
Fleas I hate them!! I bombed/fogged my house, took my dog for a flea bath the same day. Aired out the house, washed bed sheets n comforter in hot water. Flea free for 2 days before my dog started scratching again. Oh n I had put a topical flea treatment on him about a week prior to bombing. I checked him n yes 2 days later I’m finding fleas on him. I’m going to bomb again, get him a bath again, put flea collars in the vacuum cleaners n wash in hot water. Is there something I’m missing? This is getting expensive.
Hi Chelli! Sorry that you are battling with these fleas and apologies for the delayed response. Are you still having trouble? Let me know please!
Hello Natasha –
Thank you for investing so much energy into research for this site. Will DE interfere with the application of Advantage on our cats? We’re wondering if we should comb the dust out of their fur before re-applying the medicine, wondering if DE might absorb Advantage, prevent its spreading over their skin as it’s meant to do. Thanks in advance!
Hi Xan! It is a pleasure! It shouldn’t be necessary to apply DE to your cats. Use the spot on for them, DE for your home. Hope that helps!
Thank you so very much, Natasha! I didn’t apply DE on them directly, they’re just dusty from treatment of their beds, behind appliances, etc. Things seem to be going really well, once again, thanks a million to you and yours! 🙂
Hi Xan, it is a pleasure, please share this site with your friends and family 🙂
Hi, I’ve just found that I have fleas in my bed I have a cat but she is an inside cat that has never been outside. I also live in an apartment. What can I do they are biting me while I sleep haven’t found any in the living room yet I guess u should have known something was wrong when kitty didn’t come and get in the bed with me anymore. What can I do please help. Thanks, Nikki
Hi Nikki, put a spot on for the cat, wash your linen and use a couple flea traps around the apartment. That will get rid of the problem nice and quickly. Check my article on flea traps, it will outline the details.
Hi Natasha,
In september me and my family inherited my grandmothers large farmhouse…along with what i’m assuming to be a many yr old flea problem as my grandma was a crazy cat lady with indoor/outdoor cats and truthfully i don’t think she took care of them. We don’t have any pets nor do we have any rodents or anything like that hanging around so they’ve moved onto us. We have very slowly been making progress,cleaning and spraying here and there. I know we should be more proactive with this.. but my dad keeps on ignoring it and at this point i’m terrified to leave the house because i feel like i’m bringing them everywhere and i’ll never be rid of them!! if only the pests came with a therapist lol!! what do you think would be best to do in our situation? bombs? vacuum?? thank you so much for your advice btw….for some reason constantly researching this keeps me sane.
Hi Laine! That’s lovely (the farmhouse, not the fleas hehe). It really depends on where the fleas are? Is it an issue outside, inside, or where? Let me know and I will try help you.
We’ve been hit by super heavy snow so as of now only inside. Because my grandma had so many cats who roamed all over they’re pretty much in every room but are the worst in our unfinished basement (it’s more of a cellar type thing.. with cement flooring) and my room, which is strange because it’s been treated the most and i keep a tight ship. I do believe they’re dwindling in numbers overall, i’ll only get one on me in most areas of the house if i stand in one spot for a while, but i’ll get one to three in the span of a minute or two in the basement or my room. I don’t think the basement is vacuum-able, so i think insecticides are our only hope there….once again thank you so much for your time…having these in the holiday season is beyond stressful.
Hi Laine! It is a pleasure, I am here to help! Yeah give those a try in the basement, and you can try a couple flea traps in the other rooms (check my article on this). Please share this article with your friends 🙂
Hi Natasha, Just wanted to express how shocked I am that you advocate the use of ‘flea collars’, I have been involved in Cat Rescue for the last 20 yrs with both the RSPCA and Cat Protection League and I’ve lost count of how many horrific injuries I’ve seen that have been the direct result of putting a Flea Collar on a cat, not only from awful side effects from the chemicals, but also from injuries that are the result of the cat trying to get the collar off and getting its paw caught through the collar. As you are someone who is obviously familiar with cat welfare, I can’t understand how you wouldn’t be aware of these issues, it’s not only very disturbing that you would advocate flea collars, but you go even further by actually suggesting their use to people that are putting their trust in you and your advice. Please do a little more research into Flea Collars and their dangers than you have done….Kind Regards Toni Fluin
Hi Toni, I am super confused with your comment. I specifically say in the article that I don’t recommend using flea collars and then to emphasis that, I link to my flea collar article that heavily focuses on discouraging their use? Perhaps you missed that? Anyways, yes, flea collars are horrible and I honestly do appreciate your concern, it is important to always help the public realize their dangers. EDIT: I see a comment from 2013 where I agreed with someones decision to use a collar on their “adventuring cat”. However, note that it was followed up shortly with me saying that they are bad news.
Hi Natasha,
I have a terrible flea problem. I have vacuumed for about a month every day and they are just as bad as the first day I started vacuuming. I also have sprayed my house 3 times with the knock out spray from the vet and that’s not helping at all. I have a 2 year old daughter that wakes up every morning with flea bites all over her legs and back. We have resorted to sleeping on an air mattress and doing laundry every day to try to get rid of these things. I do not have any animals. We also have fleas in our hair so I’m soaking our hair in Apple cider vinegar and washing it out every day. Any recommendations on what I can try to do to get rid of these things?
Hi Jen, honestly, it sounds like you need to call in a pro so consider that. Alternatively, check out my articles on DE and on flea traps, both will help you!
Hi Natasha,
So, we have a flea problem and have isolated the issue to our backyard and 1 room in the house.
We have sprayed nematodes in the yard and fogged the house multiple time (professionally and store bought), but we still have issues in that 1 room. It has a leather couch which we are wondering may have the flea eggs?
We have sprinkled DE in the couch and on the floors and have bombed that room multiple times. We also have a flea catcher in there so we can monitor if the numbers are decreasing. The numbers aren’t really going down, though in that room.
We don’t see any more fleas in the other rooms and don’t see a lot of activity in the yard.
We have become quite obsessive about getting rid of the fleas and are getting close to tossing that couch. We have sealed it off so the kids don’t track fleas out of there.
We have no pets, so we are confused about where they are coming from. Can 1 room have a flea infestion? It seems strange.
We have ordered another brand of fogger (Precor) which has the IGR. If that does not work, we are tossing everything in that room!
What else should we try?
Hi Candice, very strange that it is only one room lol. I agree with your decision, chuck a flea fogger in that room that contains IGR and see how that helps. Keep me updated please!
Hey, I know that this was an article from several years ago. But I am suffering from a major flea infestation. I have a hairless Egyptian sphinx bambino cat, and a guinea pig. I can not use any flea repellent shampoos, sprays, or anything like those on the cat because it will kill him. I bath him every day using dawn dish soap and his natural sensitive special soap for his type of cat. I have tried so many different sprays for the house. I’ve tried the spray flea bomb and repellant, I’ve tried the big expensive brands of flea killer and repellent, I’ve tried natural repellents and killers, I’ve tired the powder and vaccum stuff, I’ve even tried house bombs. Nothing is working. I have hardwood floors. And no rugs. I am targeted by the fleas as much as out cat. My legs and arms are covered in flea bites. And I have a pretty bad allergie to them, I am covered in a rash from them. And where I get bit, although I clean the bites with the natural remedies, I still get sores that look infected. I’ve spoken with a doctor about them but they have nothing that they can give me to help. Our cat is an inside cat. We keep the lawn mowed and spray regurly outside for fleas. Please help I don’t know what to do. I am the only human who has such a hard time with this in my home because I am the only one with the allergie to them. Everyone else isn’t bothered at all. I don’t know what to do.
Hi Adriane! Honestly, since you have tried all that already, it might be worth just getting a local company to come and treat your home for fleas. If you have tried one in the past and it didn’t help, try another company. It will be the quickest way to get relief, let me know if you want a quote.
We do .not have a flea problem as of now, but years ago we had a bad problem with our Boston and Boxer, it just seems not matter what we did, nothing was working. So this is what we did that turned the trick. First we bathed the dogs in Blue dawn dish soap, the fleas fell off them in droves. We also set out silver pie pans with the dish soap and water with a tea light at night (careful nothing could catch fire) in the middle of the water. We tried several places that we thought were favorite sleeping spots for our dogs, in the morning if there were dead fleas in the water, we knew this was a spot in the carpet we needed to shampoo with, again blue dawn dish soap. After the carpet dried we sprinkled table salt all over the carpet, the shampooed areas and not shampooed areas. You can use borax too, but salt was in the cupboard. We left it in the carpet several days. The salt dries (or I am told) the flea eggs. It took some time, but it worked for us. Commercial sprays just were not working and the items we did use were inexpensive and easy to find. Good luck
Hi Dorothy! Thanks for the fantastic tips. In fact, what you describe is exactly the routine that I have been suggesting recently. It takes some time and effort but its cheap and works. 🙂
Hi! Just a question does dawn dish detergent work for fleas on animals ?
Hi Shirley, yeah, mix it with warm water and use it on your pets, kills fleas pretty much immediately.
Thanks Natasha i thought it did but wasn’t sure. And how much of each do u use jw
Shirley
Hi Shirley, I don’t usually have an exact measurement, but around double what you would put into a sink when doing your dish washing. Hope that helps!
We have fleas! We are keeping the cat outside and treated him with frontline. We have used the borax overnight and I’m vacuuming regularly. We set the water light flea traps. I am washing everything in hot water and borax. We sprayed everything with a vinegar, lemon juice, witch hazel, blend. We were not getting many in the traps for a few days maybe one or two. We left for 2 days and come home to many many jumping on us and in the traps. We fogged the basement which is where they seem to be concentrated. I really do not want to use a fiogger in the rest of the house as I have small children. We are getting very frustrated and are not sure what to do next, all of our time is going to fighting these fleas. It has been about a week and a half. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Hi Nikki! Sounds like you have a serious infestation 🙁 In times like these, it is probably just best to get an exterminator in. Otherwise, check out my article on DE, apply it (and brush it in), vacuum and repeat the process every 3 days or so. It works really well, hope that helps!
I have a cat and she was very fluffy. We adopted a stray kitten we found in a bush and he came home with fleas. I now found out that my fluffy cat is allergic to fleas and reacts to them by getting scabs while scratching. She has lost half her fur because she is trying to bite the fleas meanwhile pulling her hair out. She is also acting crazy and not rested. What can I do to get rid of fleas in the house, 2 cats and on 2 dogs the fastest and eaistest way possible?
Hi Josie! Sorry to hear that 🙁 I suggest you check my article on DE, it will help you do exactly that. Additionally, I have another two articles, each one discussing cat flea removal and dog flea removal, read them and tell me if you still need help 🙂
I have a Terrier (a Rescue) that I have had since 9/30/2015. He has always scratched a lot and chewed on his feet. At first, I just thought he was going to be a pet that had dry skin so I began putting a little oil (peanut oil) in his food. Now I am beginning to find fleas. In combing him, I have found several each time I comb, plus flea dirt on him and on the bed sheet (I think that is what it is). They are probably on my furniture because he gets on all the furniture plus the bed. First of all, he is strictly an inside dog, and I do not let him outside except when he escapes (which he has several times). I do have many, many squirrels that play in my yard. Could the fleas have come into my house without using the dog as host? I have read your articles, but do not understand the Borax part. There are many kinds of borax (and I am not referring to Boric Acid) so I am unsure which to purchase and use. I know there is a 20 Mule Team Borax laundry detergent. But, if that is what you have reference, what will keep it from foaming from the soap when you shampoo the carpets? 1. Surely that is not the one you have reference, or is it? 2. Can it be sprinkled on all fabric furniture? Your clarification on these 2 questions would be much appreciated. Your blog is very informative and helpful. Thanks in advance.
Hi Pat, yes it is possible but it is likely that your dog brought them in during one of his “escapes” hehe. 40 Mule borax powder is the one that works well but I recommend that you simply use food grade DE instead. I have an article on this subject, check it out and let me know if you have any questions 🙂
Hi Natasha,
My daughter has been bitten by fleas recently . I found this when she told me she was itchy and i found a tick in her hair by apez spot and my husband and i removed the tick, we took her straight to the emergency doctors and was treated with antibotics we use a anticeptic treatment on the bite. Today the her pediatrcian and the nurse check the bite and said she has been also bitten by a flea and was found with a dead flea buried at the back of her head. Now i´m trying to de-flea her bedroom by washing everything. Is there any natural essential oils flea sprays i can use on beds, furniture bedding etc. To get fid of them. Plus i have a 20 month old baby who sleeps in the same room. Could you give me some advice on what else i can do.
Hi Debbie, DE works well (check out my article on this blog) and is completely safe, just make sure you get the food grade one. I suggest you try that first and let me know how it goes!
Try running your vacuum on the bare floor setting. I have been battling my first real flea infestation with diatomaceous earth, soapy water traps, and vacuuming. Suddenly in the last two days I noticed a dramatic decrease in fleas and the only thing I changed is the necessity to use the bare floor setting because the vacuum broke. I suppose it’s possible they’re just dying from lack of food because we barely go in that room anymore, but that situation has existed for a while and this is a sudden change at exactly the same time as I changed my vacuuming habits.
Hi Lara, thanks for sharing your experience, that could be the cause in the flea count. Either way, glad that things are improving, keep it up 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I feel like the more I google whether or not I have gotten rid of fleas in my home I get even more paranoid thinking I did not. Long story short, discovered a flea on my dog Thursday night and killed it, it was extremely late so I could not buy shampoo or product to deal with it at the moment. Friday I bought flea shampoo and while I was massaging it in saw and killed another flea. I kept her isolate while I vacuumed my apartment and washed her bedding as well as other blankets she usually lays on. I also sprayed the apartment with a spray that kills fleas on all furniture. Once she was dry I looked through her fur to see if I found additional fleas but I did not (i also looked through her fur as I was bathing her). Saturday , because I was still paranoid I both the product you put on their back(example. Frontline) and used it on my dog. 2 hours after applying I saw one more flea on her ear. I read that after applying the product you may see more due to the fact that they are dying. At this point I had seen a total of 3 fleas within a 3 day span. I continued to spray furniture with the flea killer product. Monday because again I was still paranoid, I purchased a flea comb and flea carpet powder. I combed her yesterday and today. I check her at least 3 times a day since Saturday to ensure that I am not missing any critters I have also been vacuuming daily. My question is I feel like I am doing everything preventative to ensure that I get rid of the critters. I am hoping I got them since I have not seen any since the 3rd one I saw. Any tips on how to know if I got rid of them? Preventative measures from this point on? How to know what I see on my dog is eggs and not lint? I apologize if these are more questions then you may typically be used to. Any references or advice will be greatly appreciated.
Hi Melissa, honestly, I think you have won the battle. Just take preventative measures, keep an eye on your dog and watch out for any fleas around your home. Even if you find a flea every so often, it doesn’t mean you have an infestation 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for such a quick response. I will definitely continue to take all prevantative measures. And definitely stay subcribed to this page.
Excellent, hope you come right in the end 🙂
Hello,
I’ve posted on this thread before but can’t find the comment now. Just thought I’d let you know, after having a really bad infestation of fleas with our two long-haired, indoor dogs (we have carpet everywhere and couldn’t use flea bombs due to indoor and outdoor birds, as well as asthmatic people in the household). We had tried Frontline, Capstar, Advantix and various flea shampoos over months but nothing seemed to help. However I can now say that we have finally got rid of the fleas through using a new-ish product called NexGard (which is a once-a-month tablet/chew). I haven’t seen any fleas or ticks (we get bush, dog and paralysis ones in our area) since we first started using it three months ago. I will say though that it’s pretty potent stuff because we’ve been using the 2-4kg version for a 5.5kg dog and a 6.5kg dog, so if in doubt I’d recommend going for a lower dose. In saying that this may not work for everyone, just thought I’d post it in case it could help someone. Sorry if I’m not supposed to advocate specific brands here, again just wanted to post in case it could help someone.
Hi Rebecca, not too sure where your last comment went, I certainly wouldn’t have deleted it. Anyways, thanks for sharing, I am sure that it will help someone and thanks for taking the time to repost 🙂
We are a pet free home, however, our backyard is frequented by stray cats that like to hang out on the deck. Within the last month we’ve seen a handful of fleas in the house, mainly the living room and mostly by my husband who seems to be the only one being bit (I know my 5 Yr old hasn’t seen any, as she HATES bugs and would have screamed blooming murder).
We used a Hot Shot brand fogger yesterday. We left for 5 hrs, and aired it for a little over an hr. I vacuumed before fogging, and was planning to vacuum again today. Would it be better to leave it for a day or two before vacuuming again? I did find one on the kitchen floor last night while I was wiping things down, that was kind of rolling around….good sign or is that normal behavior?
Also, we heat our house with a wood stove so I was curious how that might effect things. We live in Oregon so it rains ALOT, especially this time of yr. What would you recommend using outside on the yard/deck that will work even with all the rain?
Hi Stacy, yes, leave it for a couple days first. I don’t think that the wood stove would make a difference honestly. However, let me know if you want a free quote to get rid of any insects and I will hook you up 🙂
What about fleas on humans? and whole-house infestations?
Hi John, I have a couple other articles that cover these topics, please find them under the “fleas” category.
PLEASE HELP!!! i have treated my entire house—that doesn’t have carpeting btw!— washed linen, bathed dog with dawn and even vinegar, vacuumed beds, bought frontline the liquid medicine that goes on back and even a flea collar too!! and fleas keep getting back on my dog! how do i prevent it?! nothing works!!!
Hi Ree! I will PM you shortly.
Will I be inhibiting the bombing process if I put newspapers on top of things on countertops?
I bought a new mattress/boxspring a few months ago, and have a case that is supposed to keep all bugs out, on each. Two nights ago, I felt like I was being eaten alive in my bed… Can I rest assured that the fleas have not gotten through the case? Or do I need to do something else???
Hi Karen! Feel free to put newspapers on the counters. If the fleas are in the case, they wouldn’t be able to bite you. Can you actually see any evidence of them on the bed?
Hi. So we have 3 dogs and 5 cats. They all have fleas, and unfortunately we didn’t even know till we took the dogs to the vet to be groomed. I have combed 2 cats and 2 dogs, and I have yet to spray anything only because I’m pregnant and worry about my health. We used a flea spray from the store on the 4 animals, and I also have the 1 dog a bath. The bed were they sleep the sheets were washed as well. The dogs fleas seemed to have come back almost instantly. I’m not to sure how to rid the fur of fleas first because as soon as I do they are back.
We have carpet in the basement only, and rugs in a few rooms. I’m not sure where to start as we have never had fleas before. Am I washing ALL the clothes, bedding..just everything? We have 1 leather couch set and 1 fuzzy sofa. Do I spray both? Am I spraying under the couches and chairs?
How far do I need to go to get rid of these little buggers? They are biting my 4 year old, and she’s just as miserable as my pets. Also the animals go in my rooms but not a lot, am I spraying their rooms/rugs too.my toddlers love to make messes with their clothes, so I’ll have a piles of clothes be it clean or dirty on the floor. Do I re wash them? I’m really sorry about all the questions. I read the article and re read it too. Thanks for reading my short novel.
Heather.
Hi Heather, will PM you.
Hi. I have a 6 year old cat who has never been outside or too the vet. She typically stays in my room, only occasionally roaming the house. My parents don’t like her anywhere other than my room because she sheds a lot. My brother just got a dog and he is mostly an indoor dog. His previous owners had him outside 24/7 but my brother didn’t want to wash him with flea shampoo since he’s 3 months old. We saw something about using dawn so we did and there were a lot of fleas (he’s a really fluffy dog). Anyway, that puppy has been every where in the house and I’m worried he might spread fleas to my cat. My room has carpet so I’m really worried about that. We are having financial problems due to a family issue so we can’t be spending too much money to get rid of the fleas. I really don’t want my cat catching anything from the fleas and she absolutely hates baths. I could try to bathe her. If I were to bathe her, would I be able to use the dawn dishwashing soap or can I not use that on cats? I’m really worried for my cat, she’s my world and means every thing to me. I don’t have the money to take her to the vet and I never thought I needed to (since she’s strictly indoor). Please let me know an inexpensive way to get rid of fleas in carpet and from a cat. Also, possibly the rest of the house? Can my cat get fleas if she were to just walk out the room once? She sometimes likes to follow me when I leave my room. I think the puppy is almost relieved of his fleas. We’ll be giving him another bath in dawn dishwashing soap. The puppy has been on my bed, is it possible fleas could be on there as well? Thank you, sorry for the long response! I’m really concerned for my cat <3
Hi Kim, if you are strapped for cash, yes, dawn soap and warm water will work well on your cat. For your carpets, use DE, I have an article on this blog that will help you with that. Good luck!
We noticed some fleas a couple weeks ago on our couch. Our son had been bit up quite a bit for about a month, we thought it was a reaction to soap. We didn’t realize that we had fleas at the time because neither my husband or I were suffering from bites, and the dog wasn’t scratching any more than she usually does. We treated the dog and I had gotten an all natural peppermint spray from the pet section at walmart and sprayed down the couch and carpets then vacuumed. I noticed the other night a flea crawling on me and then again this morning. I don’t believe it’s an “infestation” because I’m only seeing one here and there. I’m assuming it’s some eggs we missed that are now hatching and I have been vacuuming the couch and carpets like crazy. My question is this: how long does it take for them to really taper off? My kid is 3 so I don’t want to use any harsh chemicals and I’m hoping by staying on top of vacuuming the couch and floors they disappear completely very soon. Thank you in advance for any information.
Hi there, yeah doesn’t too bad to be honest. I suggest you read my article on making a DIY flea trap, that should be all you need. Hope that helps!
Good Evening,
I have 3 cats and when I was at the vet yesterday with one of them, I noticed a flea. The vet used a flea comb and found flea dirt on her. (I have never had to deal with this in the past) The vet said it did not look like a bad problem and recommended I treat all cats with a flea control treatment and vacuum and wash bedding. Websites are saying that the fleas should die within 24-48 hours, how do I get the flea dirt out of the cats. DO I need to give them all baths? I have only seen the 1 flea but they all have a little flea dirt on them. I guess I just don’t know what the next few steps are?
Thank You
Hi Jen, yeah just give them a bath, easy 🙂
Hi our cat has had fleas for months, she is a long haired cat. We have bombed, sprayed, given her the flea treatment on her skin many times. Took her to the vet got pills, flea spray and treatment for her skin. My husbands legs are all bit up, we have shaved our cat and they are still there. Where can i find these insectide sprays orsomething called diatomaceous earth? What is it, any comments of anything I can do as this is getting ridiculous. I also wash all the blankets and bedding every other day it seems.
Hi Connie! I have an article on DE and where you can get it, check it out under the “fleas” category on this blog. I will also send you something to help you, give me a couple hours though.
Hey Natasha I have a quick question. My son is doing an internship and is renting a house that is having a problem with fleas. They have done the fogging procedure and sprayed a couple of times. I am concerned that when he is done with the internship and moves back home he will be bringing the fleas with him. Do I need to be concerned?
Hi Joanne, just wash his stuff and you should be fine, nothing to worry about it you do that properly.
Hi Natasha! Thanks so much for all your helpful advice. We recently treated our home for fleas by vacuuming and using an IGR spray. However, we aren’t able to use frontline on our dogs for a few weeks due to our vets recommendation because we used Hartz and had no luck. My solution for the dogs was to give them capstar, and then a bath while simultaneously treating our house. My concern though is that I only used regular shampoo on the dogs. I know capstar doesn’t kill flea eggs but do u think a regular bath did the trick? i am worried that any residual eggs from the dogs fell on to our treated carpet. Thank you for your help
Hi Rachel, it is a pleasure! Glad you had some success! Yes, that will remove the eggs on them but there might be eggs in your home. Get something with an IGR for that or just keep an eye out for the fleas, you might have already won the battle.
Hi there,
I have had fleas for a little under a month, and I’ve been using Revolution, and have sprayed the couch and area rug with knockout. Since my Cat is disabled she doesn’t have full use of her hind legs, so she can’t jump over some of the barriers we’ve put up to keep her away from the area with the couch. We have taken the rug out of commission, and I’ve been vaccuuming once a day every day (I even bought a new vaccuum a few days ago) and flea combing her with dawn everyday. I’ve given her two or so flea baths, but I still seem to find 10-15 fleas, some alive and some dead.
Since we’ve put up the barriers, our cat is strictly in hardwood floor area, where there is really only one upholstered desk chair. The entire apartment is mostly hardwood floor and some tiles. Nobody seems to get bites anymore, now that we took the rug out of commission, and we’ve kept her out of our rooms. We seem to only find fleas on the cat. Do you have any advice? We basically have been trying to quarantine her, so I don’t know where the fleas are coming from now. Should we be looking into flea bombing? We don’t really want to go that route, so if there are alternative options, I’m all ears.
Hi Justin, if you cat is the only source of fleas, I recommend using Frontline or something like it, it works well and will kill those fleas quickly.
Hello,
We had Orkin spray our house and have been vacuuming like crazy. We haven’t seen a flea in 7 days. Is it safe to back off vacuuming or keep the 2 hour routine up? Before we called the professional we bombed, borax the carpets and were vacuuming for a week. But with a newborn and 2 year old we needed to get rid of them quickly. Orkin was amazing! How long should I vacuume and check the tank before I know the battle is done?
Hi Amy, I think you can stop now, well done!
I have done everything and an at my wits end…wash animals, frontline drops, flea collar, zodiac spray on animals, vacuum daily, wash bedding repeatedly, zodiac carpet spray that’s supposed to kill eggs and larvae, borax on carpet, salt on carpet, finally used advantage foggers today. After vacuuming, there were STILL live fleas in the vacuum canister! Will it keep killing them over the next few hours or do I now have to call the professionals?
Hi Heather, sorry you are struggling and I apologize for the late response, are you still having flea problems?
I have been trying to get rid of fleas in my apartment for over two months now (realized we had fleas in the beginning of July after finding TONS of bites on lower legs). I don’t have any pets, but a few months ago there was a stray cat that was continuously hanging around outside the entrance to our apartment. I have used flea bombs multiple times, continuously vacuum, and had an exterminator come a few weeks ago to spray all of the carpets. For about three weeks we didn’t see any fleas and weren’t getting any bites. I just vacuumed today and all of a sudden my legs were itching again and I noticed I had multiple bites on my lower legs. I am at my wits end trying to figure out how to get rid of these little monsters. Any suggestions or explanations as to why they are all of a sudden starting to reappear and how to combat this especially because it seemed like they were gone and I have been adamantly trying to get rid of them. Thanks!
Hi S, sorry for the late response. Are you still having an issue, I would love to help you!
I forgot to ask: Will using DE outside harm other beneficial insects like nematodes or bees or earthworms?
Hi Lesli, probably to be honest. Rather just use nematodes outside and DE inside 🙂
Okay my dog is allergic to fleas and we have tried just about everything to keep the fleas gone but they manage to infest my dog badly and it is like we can’t get rid of the fleas. Please tell me some very good ways to eliminate the problem. Thank you
Hi Billie, check out my article on removing fleas for dogs, it has all the details.
hey there, so i just bought 2 kittens about 1 week ago from kijiji, The lady i bought them from told me they were dewormed and everything was fine. I took both of them to the vet yesterday and turns out they had fleas. i freaked out i had to give one away since i was only able to afford to pay for ones treatment. I am freaking out, i haven’t seen any fleas on the floor or on the cat till the vet brushed him out. I vacuumed the room/ basement he was in several times. i sprayed the spray the vet recommended for us and i sprayed vinegar everywhere i also sprayed salt on the floor and will be spraying the floor with lemon and water. i just hope all of this goes away
Hi there! If you don’t see any, I wouldn’t stress. Good job on being proactive though.
Help my basement is invested with fleas. I have bombed twice in the last 2 weeks and I still can”t get rid of them. Have flea bathed the cats and put flea meds on them but still can’t rid our home of nasty fleas. what can I do without costing me an arm and a leg.
Hi Chris! Since its in your basement, maybe set off some flea bombs, three days in a row and make sure they have an IGR component. That should work, else I can get you some free quotes for a pro, they are usually pretty affordable.
Hi Natasha, Thanks for all your great articles. I discovered fleas on my indoor cat and I’m freaking out. I’ve been following your steps – got Revolution for cat, vacuum everyday, putting down flea traps. I’m getting D.E. delivered tomorrow, and then I’m getting someone to come spray the floors with a treatment to deal with the flea eggs. But I keep thinking of everywhere the eggs and fleas can be – I have tons of bookcases, baskets on top of bookcases, a balcony with tons of plants, in between appliances. I’m making myself sick just typing the email.
So, my question – do i wipe the bookcases/books/cds with anything? Just vacuum and dust them? Am I over paranoid that they are behind or on top of the bookcases?
Hi Ronda! To be honest, after that sort of treatment process, you will be sorted afterwards. If you really have to, just wipe everything down with some soapy water 🙂
I’m ready to pack up and move away!! We have a kitten (that we didn’t know had fleas) that we let inside only for about 30 mins one evening. It was only in the TV room, the only furniture that it came in contact with was the couch and one rug! We have treated with the spray several times over the past two days and have vacuumed everything. We do not have any carpet downstairs which I feel like is great considering the fleas have made their way into our home. My husband is going to set off a flea bomb tonight! How often should we set a bomb off? I don’t know what stage the flea’s are in, I just know I have bites on my lower legs around my ankles! I’m really starting to panic, cause I can’t see a resolution to these horrible things! I feel like they are on me, I don’t know that they are maybe its all in my imagination. Please give me lots of advice for I’m ready to burn all the furniture & rugs! PLEASE HELP!!
Hi Ksk! Its usually one bomb per room but check the can for instructions. Afterwards, wipe all surfaces, mop the floors with soap and warm water and use some of my DIY flea traps (on this blog). Hope that helps, don’t throw your stuff away lol.
Hi Natasha,
My wife picked up a kitten from a friend of hers, and the little bugger brought a boatload of fleas into our house! We are both miserable, the kitten comes into our bedroom frequently to get attention from us, and now our room is a nightmare. My wife says that we just need to sweep the floor and they will disappear, I say we need to buy a good flea bomb and shut the door to the room while the bomb does it’s job. What are your thoughts on this? I can’t even get a good nights sleep with all the fleas hopping on me!
Hi Cody! Either try that bomb or get a pro in to help you 🙂 I also have a few other articles that I suggest you review for other options.
Heeeeeeelp,my cats have infested my home, ive been using natural spray to no avail. Ive even laid out GLUE TRAPS cuz its been the only REAL things that I CAN SEE THEM TRAPED. BUT I FEAR THAT THINGS WILL GET WORST….
Hi Leia! I suggest you read the articles on effective flea removal on my site. I have about 10 or so, they will help you.
Please help… My house is infested with fleas. I’ve got one adult cat and one kitten, that is as of now almost 1. I live with my parents (40 and 39) and my sister (5), and I can’t find Dawn products. I don’t know how we got fleas, but now they’re everywhere, especially in my room (it’s almost the only carpeted room). I need to use products available in the Netherlands, since I live there.
I’ve combed my cats and the adult cat had at least three fleas that I could catch, the kitten only one. They seem to poop more on their backs and tail, strangely.
Hi Julia! You will need a spot on for your pets and I suggest using my flea trap if you are on a budget. Let me know how that goes!
Does fleas only get into your carpet or do they move around on the walls also?!
Hey Vanessa! They could but it’s not a common sight as they prefer to hide.
Thank goodness I found your website, this thread has been very helpful. To add the inquiries, I just want to ask about my specific circumstances. My friend has an apartment with two rats who have had fleas for months – not treated bc she has been out of the country and the person who has been living here has just been living with getting bitten occasionally. Naturally the fleas have spread throughout the apartment. I have been staying here with a few backpacks and a suitcase of clothes for two weeks while waiting to move into my new (uninfested) apartment sublet, where I will be living with an indoor cat. I have been itchy and getting bites all over, and am awake right now because I’ve been scratching all night. Also this kind of relentless parasite/host stuff really freaks me out. What all would you recommend I do with my things and myself before I move out of this flea palace and into my apartment?
Hey Carissa! I am glad you have found my website helpful 🙂 I recommend giving all your clothes a hot wash, that’s pretty much it. Also make sure that your bags are flea free and you will be good. Good luck!
Help! We have a terrible infestation that gas seemed to pop up over night! I have a 6 month old who is getting bitten and I just want to cry for her because I know how much they itch! Is there a baby friendly way to get rid of fleas?
Hi Britt! Hot wash all the linen and use a flea trap in the room, that should definitely improve the situation. I have an article on the flea trap, check it out 🙂
Every time I get control of the fleas in my house, they come back soon after. I think they are coming in from outside. The problem with that is I have treated the yard but we live in a neighborhood that has the homes pretty close together. I live in Florida so we never even have cold weather that could even thin the flea population. It always hot and humid. We have more squirrels than I can count. Several of our neighbors have cats that wander wherever they want. We have to walk our dog on the same path that all of our other neighbors walk their dogs on. I can’t control all of the variables in our flea problem. Is there any solution?
Hi Denise! Your best solution would be to be proactive. In other words, apply DE and vacuum every few weeks, encourage your neighbours to treat their pets with spot on treatments and try giving my flea trap a try to gauge if you have an infestation on your hands. Hope that helps!
I have a horrible flea infestation and has tried everything! No pets, but living in Louisiana, my property sinks so I develop holes big enough for critters to hole in, mainly opossums. After our yearly task of using dirt and sand to shore up the gaping holes, we have now trapped what I think is an opossum that is now dead and rotting, and with that fleas. We called our pest guys who came out and sprayed termidor(?) around the house and we’ve also sprayed Ultracide and Precor within days of each other. We treated before with Nyguard. Still fleas! Vacuuming daily and once we think we get relief, another pops up. We mopped the whole house (mostly wood floors) with a mixture of dawn soap and water tonite after we vacuumed. I’ll buy bags of DE tomorrow mainly because that is what our pest guy have us to absorb the smell of the rot. We haven’t use it on the floors. What else can we do? Salt? I do this elaborate dance of putting on white socks when I go thru the front door and not allowing my children to step foot near the rooms where we’ve caught the fleas. I almost started crying at Sunday services today because I am at my wit’s end. Help!
Hi Abby! That DE is really going to help, I recommend using it for both the smell removal as well as flea control. Apply it in any areas where you think fleas might be hiding (no damp areas though and apply it carefully as it can create quite a dust storm lol). After you have done that for a couple days, let me know 🙂
Can I use the DE on wood floors and baseboards? I only have two rooms of carpet and the rest of the house is tile or wood floors. And I leave it down for at least 6 hours before I vacuum? Is it dangerous for my children? Boys, aged 2 and 6. And how often should I do it once I (hopefully!) see some improvement? Going to the feed store to get my DE right after work!
Hey Abby! You can apply it as much as you like, wherever you want (food grade though). Its a bit of a mission to vacuum up because it tends to go everywhere but its natural and works wonders. Do it once and see if it helps, if not, repeat once more. Good luck!
Hi!
This is my first time owning a puppy (he’s 7 months) and after finding him constantly scratching and chewing himself insanely I checked his body and found flea droppings. I bought some flea product (Rufus & Coco – 7 Day Flea Fix) and sprayed him with it today around his body and by the time I got to his belly, found at least 10 fleas running around trying to avoid the sprayed areas! I feel horrible letting this happen to him. Any flea I’ve caught I have squished between two nails til it ‘pops’ like lice. Going to run to the shops tomorrow for some flea shampoo and spot on treatment, also washing our sheets & his bed and vacuuming the floors. Is there anything else I can do? How long should it be before they’re gone? He is primarily in our room as we still live at my partners mothers house.
Thanks in advance, worried fur baby owner xx
Hey Linh! Don’t stress, it happens to the best of us. I have a couple tips that I could share but they are pretty much all in my dog flea article. Check it out under the flea category and let me know if you have any questions, will be happy to assist!
Hi Natasha,
Just an update on our flea infestation since last time!
After bathing him with flea shampoo every day for a week, using Fido’s IGR flea bomb, vacuuming the room everyday and even using Purina’s Total Care spot on treatment had ALL FAILED I chose Frontline Plus as my last resort. Within an hour fleas had started falling off him dead. For a few days after I still found some fleas on him but no flea dirt in the usual areas and he was still itching insanely. Not to mention the fleas had then turned to my arms and legs for a source of food. Now after a week, he has stopped itching and I am no longer waking up with burning itches all over my legs and feet. Now I just have to wait for all these scars/scabs to disappear!!
Thank you for your blog & advice 🙂
Hey Linh! Fantastic news, I am glad that you found some relief. Frontline works really well for some pets and not so well for others, I think it depends on a number of variables but either way, grats on finally beating those fleas, may your experience give confidence to others that are currently fighting them 🙂
Hi Natasha, I too am freaking out about fleas. My dog is 7 and never had fleas when we lived in Chicago. Just moved to Texas 8 months ago. A little over a week ago I started to notice a bite or two in a couple of days in the morning that were very itchy! I am allergic to certain plants, dust, mold, and I now think I am with Fleas because they swell up like mosquito bites. Thought at first it was a spider bite, but after the second night of getting bit I thoroughly checked my bed and found about 10 pepper sized things in bed and put them in a baggie to show the vet. She verified that it was fleas and gave me the pill to kill them and the frontline prevention medicine to put on her. So I am wondering how she got them. After about 3-4 days my brother in law stayed with us,(who has been bombing his apartment for roaches for the past 3 weeks and says he didn’t have fleas–how would he know–it’s a pretty unmaintained place! Could it be from him??? He was staying in our upstairs bedroom and my dog a couple of times would go up there and lay with him in his bed. After a couple of days, I’m itching and finding fleas in my bed. He had tons of dead ones in his too, but he had no clue. Could he have brought them to our house with his clothes (that were on the carpet at the apt) and his bag he brought them in. My husband thinks I’m being crazy to think he brought them here! He is in denial and I refuse to let him back in our house for the time being! He thinks I’m being ridiculous! We have never had a problem, but I know we are in Texas and it’s more of a problem here. So, then I’m thinking we have been going under our deck to get our canoe the past two weeks. In there it is shaded, damp rocky/sandy floor with latice surrounding it. So then I wonder if we tracked it in when we were down there?? I guess my main question is: Could my brother in law have brought them to our house??
Hey Jane! Its possible but it would be hard to be certain. Fleas can be taken indoors from outside areas and that description does match a potential flea hideout, again I cannot be sure but it might be worth checking it out because if it is the case, thats your source. If you find any insects, please feel free to use the contact form to send a picture and I will try and help you further.
I have a three year old Siberian husky and he has fleas on and off . I think it is because of the places he goes to use the bathroom. He is an indoor dog so we take him out to go pee. I wanted to know if I could give him a bath in dawn soap. He does sleep in my room so I wanted to know what I can use that is cheap and all natural since we have a newborn in the house. I am pretty sure there are fleas on my bed at this point.
Hey Jesica! Yes you can definitely do that, just make sure you rub it into his fur (right to his skin) and cover the entire body. As for your bed, make sure you give all your linen a hot wash and preferably apply some DE under your sheet and around the bed.
Hello all,
I hate using hard chore chemicals on my pets that can cause liver, kidney, or even lung damage. So i came into Diatomaceous earth. What i can tell you is, i had a friend (?) who kept bringing her dog to my house, swearing she had no fleas. Not four days ago, she bought (finally) a flea comb…arrrghghghg. After using frontline and my dogs still itching, scratching, digging, and biting to the tune of losing wayyy too much fur. I tried gently combing in Diatoms over their fur (after confirming with the Good Earth Co.). It made the fur feel stiff and dirty if you will, but for the first time in 6 months, they have stopped destroying their bodies. It took two days. But I still have to do the whole, home clearence ordeal, but i will keep brushing it in every few days until the house is clear. Put it right on their fur, very gently so not to create a whirlwind of dust, use the flea comb or a brush, and slide it over their fur and work it in (only a few minutes). it WORKS!!!!
Hey Bre! Thanks for taking the time to leave some feedback, I am very happy that it has worked for you. Yeah definitely important to apply it carefully, it can cause quite a dust cloud if used incorrectly lol. I hope you have a fantastic, flea free weekend 🙂
I need some advice on the best way to move and get rid of fleas.
We have 2 cats that have fleas, we’ve tried diatomaceous earth, they’re front lined, they’ve had oral flea stuff… Still can’t get rid of the fleas. Now we’re moving and I was just wondering the best easy to go about it. We will technically have 2 homes and a storage unit for at least a month, and the homes are close enough to go to multiple times a day. Would it be best to put the furniture into storage where it will be cold, the cats re-treated in the new house, and us in the old house? Do we trash bag all of our clothes except for like a wks worth that can be rewashed and put them in the storage unit? I know the fleas aren’t only on the cats, so I’m just trying to make sure we bring as few as possible w/ us so that if they do try to get on the cats, they won’t stick around b/c of the front line. I’m sure I don’t have to say this, but I am beyond frustrated w/ all of this. We have the opportunity to start over, and I want to make sure we can do it right.
Hey Colleen! Putting your stuff into storage won’t be cold enough to kill fleas. Additionally, fleas can lie dorment for ages so thats not really going to help too much. I recommend that you hot wash all your clothes, use a spot on treatment before you get to the new house and as a last precaution, use DE on the carpets and pet bedding before they arrive. Hope that helps 🙂
Hey Natasha,
I just got a puppy and he came from a not so clean environment. I brought him to the vet right away and got him on advantage. Ive been cleaning my apt regularily and my puppy as well but I cant seem to nip this in the butt. My question is how can I treat hardwood flooring and leather couches? I have removed all other fabrics from my home except for my own bedding and clothing . Im in an apt without laundry so if there is a method that works without having to bring everything in to wash that would be great 🙂
Hey Michelle! You can use something called Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) on your hardwood floors and couches. It makes a bit of a mess but its completely natural and kills fleas super fast. Check out my article on it and let me know if you have any questions 🙂
My husband and I are traveling, and have numerous flea bites on our lower legs after some hiking / staying at a primitive lodge. We initially though they were just mosquito bites, however, they’re consistent with flea bites. We’re fearful we’ll bring the fleas home when we return via clothing and luggage. My plan is to shake out each article of clothing, stuff in a plastic bag, and then when home take directly from car to the washing machine. The luggage I plan to hose out, in the driveway, with some dish washing soap. We’re no longer at that same lodge, and I haven’t definitively seen a flea, but we’re pretty sure we were bitten. Also, we have NO pets.
Anything else we should be doing?
Hey Cathy! I think that you should be fine, just make sure that you also give your clothes, etc. a good hot wash and you will be fine. Even though we are warm blooded, fleas do not specifically target us so don’t stress to much about it. However, let me know if you start having a flea problem at home and we can take steps.
I have 2 cat’s 5 years old I put Hartz flea stuff on them and they started foaming at the mouth and gagging right away. I looked up the product and it said it made cats sick and some passed away. My cat’s are fine but have fleas still. I am going to try everything you said to do this weekend. I just would like to know why is it these fleas seem to like my hair? I have itched myself raw
Hey Sandra! That’s a terrible story, sorry that happened to your cats but at least they are fine now. Its probably just a good place for them to hide I guess. I am positive that if you follow the removal tips from this blog you will get the results you are looking for. Good luck!
Natasha I forgot to ask you we have a bird will the DE dust hurt the bird? Also I have noticed the bird itching also do you think he may have fleas?
Hey Sandra! Don’t use the DE in close proximity of your bird. However, if you apply it correctly, the “dust” will not reach him and can be used safely around (not inside) the cage. Its possible, I recommend you take a moment to examine it for fleas and if you find any, we can look at our options 🙂
, Hello, my home has dog fleas and we’re not sure how to treat. My kids have seen a few jumping around a couple of different rooms. I have vacuumed and used different types of sprays but am still getting bites. My home is about 2100 square feet. I am thinking of either trying DE or hiring a professional to bomb the house. I would rather save money and use DE but am wondering how much work that will be. Will I have to move all furniture (couches, beds, dressers etc…) to fully saturate carpet? Also, will I need to do all furniture too? This seems like a ton of work…any suggestions/help will be highly appreciated. Thanks, Lynda
Hey Lynda! The DE application does take a little effort to apply (you will have to move furniture as the fleas will only die if they come into direct contact, meaning the DE needs to be everywhere) but its definitely not that time consuming. I reckon that if you get all the kids involved, you can have it all done in an hour or two. Good luck! P.S: I have an entire article dedicated to using DE for fleas, check it out and let me know what you think 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for such a great site! We have a 1 year old goldendoodle who has had fleas for about 2 months now. We have started Frontline Plus and done it twice (once in September and once in October). I haven’t seen fleas in the house but when I have looked on him every couple days I find one or two. But he is itching constantly and he does have some scabs where he has licked and itches, thus they are hard to get rid of.
Our house is mainly hardwoods but carpet in the bedrooms. About three weeks ago we did have a company come out here and they sprayed 2 cans of precore on the carpets. But I just recently found two fleas on our dog. We vacuum and clean frequently.
Does bathing him frequently lessen the effect of the Frontline. We waited 5 days before we gave him a bath after applying frontline. Any other suggestions you have for us?
Hey Heather! Its a pleasure, I love helping people with their pest control problems 🙂 Yes it does, in fact, I recommend waiting at least two weeks (before bathing your pet) after using a spot on treatment such as Front Line. My suggestion is that you use DE on your carpets (in the bedrooms), mop the floors with a lemon based floor soap and after washing (and completely drying) the dog, apply a spot on treatment. This will solve all your flea problems. Good luck!
Hi Natasha,
I just bought a couch and I think it has flees. It’s a hide-a-bed too. I’m moving later this week and am wondering what’s my best coarse of action. It’s currently in my van and i was thinking of either flee bombing it in the van or moving it into the apartment opening it up and bombing it there before I move in the rest of my stuff. I was also thinking of vacuuming it and steam cleaning it. What do you suggest?
Thanks
Hi Carrie! Don’t flea bomb your van or take it into your new apartment while it may have fleas. I recommend taking it to get steam cleaned. The high temperature will kill all those fleas without using any chemicals. Alternatively, take it apart (as much as you can) and use a flea spray that contains IGR on it. Good luck!
Hello, i need some help.. me & my fiance cant seem to get rid of these dang fleas.. we have a dog who sadly has been itching like craz we feel awful.. we also have 2 kittens, they were statys& we believe they r over four months old.. the have the fleas to but they dont scratch as much as the poor dog.. our dog is paet husky so his fur is so thick.. weve given them all baths at least once a week if not more.. we used a flea spray on the carpet & sweepted/washed ours & thier beddings & we still havr them.. me & my fiance r now getting bit too.. but every time we look on the kittens or the dog we never see anything.. we need to get rid of these pests asap for me & my fiance have a 2 yr old daughter & r worried that now rhat were getting bit that she will be soon too. We r planning on using a flea bomb.. we just need something that will get rid of these suckers fast & for good.. please help.us for were at a loss of wat we can do.to help our pets & now us.. :-\
Hey Tiffany! I recommend setting aside a day when you can apply a spot on treatment to your pets, flea bomb the house and then leave DE (or borax) on your carpets/bed/etc. These three steps will definitely get rid of all those fleas and will work best if you do them all on the same day. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Hello! My husband and I are going to set aside a whole day to conquer our flea problem using your suggestions. My husband insists that we take all the clothes, sheets, and blankets out of the house before we begin. As you can imagine, that will be quite a task. He wants to then take everything to the laundry mat to wash/dry them before bringing them back into the house. Is this a little too extreme? He doesn’t want to wash/dry anything at home because he thinks the fleas can jump right back on them and reinfest the house after they are taken out of the dryer. We honestly don’t have that big of a problem, although we are treating our house as if its really bad. We have two hairless dogs who have never had fleas, but since we took in a stray cat, I have found one or two under their sweaters ( they are truly “naked” without their clothes). We have hardwood floors and microfiber couches, so I think that has kept it from getting so bad. Thanks so much for your help.
Hey Lanie! A little extreme but I agree with his arguments, its better to be safe then sorry and doing that will ensure that all the fleas are gone in those areas. However, doing it at home will definitely be fine. If you want make sure that they all die, I recommend using DE or borax (check my articles on this) on your carpets, etc. at the same time during your day off. Good luck!
Hi Natasha, what type of cleaner should I use to clean drawers/cupboards from fleas and their eggs/?. I like the natural cleaner. Can I use essential oil like lavender?. Pls. suggest me with the brand of safe natural cleaner that I can use.
I clean my carpet with DE. Should I wash all of clean clothes in my drawer and closets too? Thank you for your advice.
Hey Maria! Yes you can use an essential oil based spray to kill fleas. However, it will not work on their eggs (unless they actually hatch of course). I suggest you dust your carpets with DE as you suggested, wash your clothes that may have come into contact with fleas and use an insect growth regulator (IGR) spray to stop those eggs from hatching. Hope that helps!
Hi Natasha, Glad to found your site. I have flea problem from my dog. I already order DE to treat my lawn and carpet, and Frontline for my dog. My question is how can I clean my stuffs, furniture, inside clothes/linen drawers and closets? What solution should I use and how? Should I laundry everything before I put it back in the drawer/closet?. Because I got bitten several time after wearing clothes from my drawer/closet. It seems the flea hiding inside my clothes. Thank you for your advice.
Hey Maria! You can use DE in your draws, closets, etc and your clothes can just be hot washed to kill any lurking fleas. If you are having an adverse reaction to those bites, check out my article on flea bites to learn how to protect yourself. Good luck! 🙂
Hi, we have 2 dogs, a bishon and a terrier, both have fleas, both are on sentinal pills once a month also gave them capstar for six weeks, we have been vacumming, washing scrubbing, tried spritzing with lemon – at my wits end. We have a pest control person coming tomorrow.
When they spray the house will this get rid of the fleas?
Hey Diane! Yes, its very likely that your flea problem stems from flea eggs (check out my detailed guide on this subject) and by sorted that out in your home (combined with treating your pets as you currently are), it will get rid of those fleas for good. Hope that helps and sorry this got to you a little late, hope things are sorted now 🙂
Hi, I have been dealing with a flea problem since I moved into my new apartment about a month ago. I have been gettin a few bites daily, but my boyfriend never gets any bites. We are sure they are not bedbugs, no signs of them, and the bites are all around my ankles and occasionally on my wrists. The bites are just like flea bites I have had before when I had cats, but we do not have any pets. I bombed two weeks ago, and I was bite free for 4-5 days. I bombed again two days ago with a bedbug and flea fogger just in case and am still getting the random occasional bite, but not as much as before. I sprayed all the corners of the rooms and floorboards and under the bed and couches. I have no idea what to do next as this is very frustrating and is making it hard to enjoy our new apartment. Especially thinking that the bites only started right when we moved in, so the fleas were probably here before we were. Also flea traps never turn up any fleas…which is odd. Also we do not have carpet, just a rug in the living room. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Hey Allison! To be honest, aerosol based foggers do not always work 100% as they fail to get the insecticide into all the crevices, etc. around the home. My recommendation is to try diatomaceous earth, I have a easy to follow guide that you can use to apply it effectively. Its cheap, effective and non-toxic so its will be great to use in your new home. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
I have 2 cats, and fleas have invaded my home! I have a exterminator coming next week, and sending the cats out for a flea bath at the same time. I am hyper Allergic to fleas, and they love me! If anyone is looking for cure of them biting I found that rubbing Vaseline on my legs prevents them from biting me. Not sure why, but I guess it holds in my body heat, and gives me a smell they are not attracted too. Any way’s just thought I would let you know. I been battling it for weeks, and I am sure others are also.
Hey Don! Thanks for your input, I have added this feedback to the original article, really appreciate the tips and I am sure that others will as well! Let me know how the flea treatment goes, I am sure the community will benefit from your experience 🙂
I’m dealing with a nasty flea infestation in my home right now. I used a fogger a few months ago; seemed to work for a few weeks then the fleas were back. We used 2 foggers at the same time the other day and that didn’t seem to make a difference at all! Help! I’ve already tried most of these ideas you’ve mentioned and I now have not only my family but guests staying in my home!
Also, when flea combing pets, drop the fleas in a bowl of hot, soapy water. The soap prevents them from escaping and the hot water pretty much burns them to death. This works for me everytime so my cats are flea-free. Although now my home isn’t 🙁
P.s.
My cats have been living strictly outside for the entire summer so they aren’t bringing the fleas back in.
Hey Kristina! Are you using a fogger per room? I have a guide on how to use them properly, check it out on this blog. Glad to hear that you are having some success with your cats 🙂 After following the steps in my flea bomb article, I recommend giving Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) a try, it works really well and its fairly cheap 🙂
By far the best site on the subject. You are the greatest. Im about to put down DE to solve this years nasty problem. Also using Dawn bath on the cats. Luv ya.
Hi Irwin! I really appreciate your comment, I always try to provide the best information and its really a “pick me up” when I receive positive feedback 🙂 Have a good one!
Hi Natasha, Glad I found your site. Thanks for compiling an excellent resource. We have 2 Shelties, one near age 16. I’ve bought Red Lake Earth food grade Diatomaceous Earth, but have been reluctant to actually use it for fear it could aggravate my older girl’s coughing and labored breathing due to beginning stages of congestive heart failure. Any thoughts on whether the crystalline substance could pose any risks for older pets? I read that only 0.5% crystallines is best, but the manufacturer of this product states as less than 1% crystalline. Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Hey Debbie! I am glad that you found it as well and thank for your kind words! You have definitely done your homework correctly, usually anything below 0.7% is decent. I recommend contacting the manufacturer and getting a more accurate percentage, I am sure that they will be able to tell you more details. If you use food grade DE, you should be fine but since it can be applied and then vacuumed up (remember to rub it in with a broom) after about 10 hours, you might as well keep your old pets out the house for the duration. Good luck!
Hi Natasha, Thanks for your reply to my [first] query. It is comforting to have you there at what is quite a stressful time! My new question concerns flea eggs. I have used Frontline Combo on my kitties, which has certainly cut down on their paranoia, but they are still shedding eggs (although not as many), and being cats, this is not just on the – daily – vacuumed floor. Each day I check my desk and find a few, for example. The blurb on the Frontline says it has an IGR, so why the eggs, and will they hatch? Thanks in anticipation.
Hey Suzie! Its a pleasure, glad I could be of assistance! If it contains IGR and it comes into contact with the eggs (this is important), they won’t hatch. You can check out my flea eggs guide (on this site) to learn the exact steps on how to deal with them properly so you do not experience a repeat flea infestation. Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Hello fellow Flea solution people. I had fleas in my home last year and they were all over the place. I tried to get rid of them to no avail. After 2 weeks we called an exterminator and he sprayed for fleas. 2 weeks later they were back and our cat had not been outside. It was the middle of summer and so hot outside. I was talking to a neighbor about it being so hot. He had mentioned something about animals getting in under the house and laying on peoples ductwork to cool down. So I was curious and I went under the house in the crawlspace to look at all the duct work. Come to find out. We had 2 outside cats living inside our ductwork. They actually made a hole in the duct work and were sleeping in there at night. So make a long story short. I fixed that ductwork and closed off where the cats were getting in from up under the bay window in the front of the house and then we were able to get rid of those pesky Fleas. It ended up being a month long ordeal.
I am on this website because we now have an inside/outside dog and we have fleas again…UGH!!!!!!!
Hey Eric! Thanks for sharing your experience! Luckily I haven’t had the same situation at my place but I am sure that your comment will help my readers find a potential breading ground for fleas and deal with it accordingly 🙂 I would be happy to assist you with getting rid of those fleas but before I outline the steps in this comment, please take a look at my two articles about dog flea control (on this blog) and let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!
Natasha first off I just want to say that all of this has been very helpful!!! I’m getting ready to move into a new house and I just picked up the keys yesterday!!! Yay! But I go in to look around and take pics and when I leave I look down and my pants are COVERED with these little buggers!!! I have never seen this many fleas in on place! The house is completely empty and only carpet in the 2 bedrooms…so I feel like I’m at an advantage as far as getting rid of them. The landlord is going to bomb the place but my main concern is that I have a dog and I do not want him to get fleas when we move in and I don’t want my things to be infested! What should I do o further prevent this from happening after they bomb the house?
Hey Nyra! I am glad that you have found this information useful. 🙂 My recommendation is that after your landlord bombs the house (check out my flea fogger article to make sure that he is doing it properly), simply use a spot on treatment on your dog to make sure that he doesn’t pick up any fleas after the move. Once you have settled, keep an eye on his fur on a daily basis and you should be fine. Let me know if you have any further questions.
I have read through all of your information and everyone’s posts. Thank you for the information and for validating that I am indeed not nutso! I have a 15-year-old cat who stays inside and we are under attack something fierce. I’ve used everything mentioned except the DE, Borax (I can’t find anyone who carries it anymore) and even taken my feline friend away while the house was sprayed with safe stuff. Every time I clean, here she comes to flick fleas all over again. Frontline doesn’t even keep them off of her while I spend my life cleaning…this is now my life…cleaning! I also find myself angry at my dear feline friend for daring to flick fleas about and get me bit yet more. I’m worn out and broke. I need to quarantine my dear kitty somehow or we are never going to be over this nightmare. We never had a problem until this past two years and now it is so horrid I refuse to sit down for hours after spending hours daring to actually lay in my bed! Professionals don’t help a darn bit — one even dared tell me that fleas don’t jump or make “pinging” noises when they hit a hard surface. {Go ahead and laugh…I know I am!}
This guy and his boss both told me that this was likely all in my head. Yeah…I’m pretty sure I don’t suffer from delusional parasite sitings! I’m also pretty sure my cat is not magically producing them out of her body!
I am unsure where to safely keep my little furry friend to get this situation taken care of. I can’t afford boarding for her. I do have a large carrier, and a larger “crate” that is made for puppy training. I’m not sure how long she’d have to stay in either of them because bugs seem to beget more bugs (oh joy!) and I’m wanting them gone and I want to feel safe in my own home again.
Long story short…nothing has worked and I will try the DE and Borax (the only two left on the list other than fogging which means I have to get her out of here and I’m out of money and don’t want to deal with the gas shut-off stuff and…oh to have someone just come in and do a flea exorcism!
Hey Lori! Your comment left a smile on my face, love the way you have described the situation and glad to see you still have some humor left over, despite having to deal with those fleas every day lol. You shouldn’t need to move your furry friend off the property for a long peroid of time to get rid of the fleas but you will need to try and get all the necessary tasks done in a day or two to maximize results. Here is my recommendation:
1) Rub DE in your carpets and after a couple hours, vacuum it up. Repeat for two days (you can buy DE online btw)
2) Wash your cat in warm water and dawn dish soap (yes you may need some heavy armor and a shield but its worth it :P)
3) Hot wash all your linen that has come into contact with fleas, especially pet baskets, etc.
4) Use a flea bomb (that contains an IGR) on day two (take your cat to a friend for the day) in the house.
5) After cleaning up and wiping everything down, I suggest you perform a celebratory dance to mock any dead or dying fleas 😉
Hope that helps!
First of all thank you so much for maintaining this site! What an awesome resource to have for us people going through such a stressful time! I just moved in to a basement suite (all laminate and tile floor, no carpet) and after moving in a few things (no furniture, just some shelving and plastic play sets for my son) I found an infestation of fleas. The cats that were with the last tenant moved out about 2 weeks before I took the place so from what I’ve read I would think that the adult fleas that were there died because there was nothing to feed on and the eggs stayed dormant while the suite was vacant. Then when I started moving in all the eggs hatched and now they’re everywhere! So we had the place fumigated yesterday (he used Dragnet 1.0% Parmethrin). I went back in this morning and had a few jump on my legs when I first walked in and there were quite a few dead ones scattered across the floor. I thorough vacuumed everywhere and threw out the vacuum bag. I returned hours later at the end of the day and saw a few more dead fleas on the floor so did another thorough vacuum. The fumigator said what will happen is that eggs that were in the pupa stage may still hatch over the next 2-3 weeks and once they touch the residue left on the floor they will die within minutes. So I may see a few fleas pop up but if I vacuum every day they won’t be a problem. Now my worry is I am due to finally move in to the suite with my son and dog in just a few days. I am extremely concerned to put my couch and bed in there and my dog which will all be great targets for the fleas. I’m also concerned to put anything like DE around my couch cause I don’t want it to interfere with the residue left on the floor. I am so stressed out! Staying out of the suite isn’t an option cause the eggs will just go dormant again. I’m itchy just thinking about living there! Is there anything else I can do to protect my furniture and make sure these fleas don’t come back? Am I right to think that the eggs should have all hatched when the place was sprayed because there’s been nothing for them to feed on since the place was vacant? Thanks for any input!!! 🙂
Hey Danielle! Its a pleasure, I am super happy that so many people are finding it useful. I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with people on this blog and its great to have such appreciative readers 😉 The fumigator is correct about the time frame and the fleas will die when they come into contact with the insecticide. I recommend leaving it for a couple days (after the date of the treatment) and combining your efforts by using DE. Its absolutely fantastic and it will give you the results you are looking for. To be honest, the exterminator should have used an IGR spray so that it prevents them from hatching in the first place so I suggest you find out from him and let me know. Hope that helps ya! 🙂
Thanks so much for the quick response. DE was actually my next move. I ordered it from Amazon, just came the other day, it’s still in the box. The Precor seems to be working for now, but slowly. Will post an update once we are flea free….I have faith! 🙂 Thanks for your support.
Hey Kelley! Fantastic, I am glad that you are taking steps to get rid of these pests as soon as possible. Looking forward to hearing from you! Cheers!
Honestly nearing the end of my rope. I’m exhausted. We have 2 indoor cats and 1 dog. Dog was treated with Sentry Natural Defense (didn’t work) My son is best buds with the dog. He woke up 2 weeks ago covered in 25+ bites. Per my husband the pets are no longer allowed in the house, I can’t argue with him (They belong to me and the kids, he never really wanted them anyway). Dog is in the yard/ garage and cats are on the patio. Very little contact (breaking my heart). Vacuuming, washing daily. Tried flea powder, baking soda, borax, precor (adulticide and IGR). They fear nothing. No one is allowed to wear shoes (except flip flops), or long pants. You must check for fleas before leaving or entering a room. It really is like military drills. There are so many grooves, and nooks and crannies it’s over whelming. We coat our legs and feet in coconut oil to avoid bites. They still jump on you with coconut oil and essential oils. Tea tree keeps some away. They will still land on our feet and legs wet and or soapy. But not bite. They are just looking for a ride. Some days I just feel like I want to cry. One of the cats is 14 and has never had fleas in all her years. The dog hates it outside and barks all night. This is day and night cleaning to no avail. We have too much stuff to set off bombs. But the amount of moving and cleaning we have done, the house could have been empty and spotless by now. Oh and we don’t have carpet. What ammo do you have for fearless, mutant fleas that just won’t go away??
Hey Kelly! I am going to make a suggestion that will definitely help you in your specific circumstances. I have had a massively positive response from using DE (see my article on Diatomaceous earth) and since you have a number of little places that these buggers hide, this is perfect for you. Its also completely natural, is safe for your family and is very cheap. Follow the steps that I have outlined in the DE guide and after doing a final treatment on your pets, life should be able to return to normal. I sincerely hope that helps you 🙂
Hi, I am in a room with no carpet or pets and have a brand new bed, there is one, or maybe a few fleas in here that must have come from a pet that was in here one day. I am getting bitten every night. Will they reproduce and cause an infestation if there are no carpets or pets? Also that trick about putting a shallow dish of soapy water under a light at night doesn’t seem do anything, for anyone esle who has found that on the internet.
Please tell me how to find the flea(s) and what to do. I first started getting mysterious bites a few weeks ago, and saw a single flea hopping around on my bed a few days later but it escaped
Hey Itchy! Yes its possible, while they will need an animals blood to fully develop, they can feed on humans for a short amount of time. I actually have a variation of that trap (its under the flea category) that works very well, I encourage you to try it and leave some feedback when you get a chance. If you still battling with fleas after using them, let me know and I will make a few more suggestions.
Hi,
I have a huge problem, We have a rental house., After the last renters moved out we went to check the house, The carpet was actually moving with fleas. We pulled the carpet up. We put off 2 bombs. Sprayed the house. Dusted the yard with 7 dust. They are still as bad as they were. Could they be in the walls as well? There is no furniture in the house except a stove and frige. We will try anything. Thanks for the good job you are doing with this sitel
Hey Shirley! Goodness, thats a serious flea infestation if there ever was one :O To be honest, its very unlikely that they are in the walls. Did you perform all of those tasks over a day or two? From what it sounds like, you may have killed the adult fleas but since the eggs were untouched, you had a repeat problem in a week or two. My recommendation is that you check out my flea eggs article, follow the steps and then when you take the necessary steps to kill the adult fleas, get rid of the eggs as well. Let me know how it goes. Cheers!
Hi there, our long hair cat seems to have a pretty awesome case of fleas. I keep reading the “wash him with dawn and warm water” and am wondering how in the heck do I keep him from ripping me wide open 😉 We’ve just recently used vets best for the home as our cats are indoor cats and have no place to go for fogger. I’ve seen the live fleas die, but how do I make sure the eggs are dead too?
Thanks!!
Hey Shyla! Your comment made me laugh as I know exactly the feeling of dread when it comes to washing a cat (or even getting it to swallow pills or anything lol). I recommend a full suit of armor and at least 20 friends that can assist you with this process. 😉 Haha jokes aside, I know it can be hard but I am sure that your cat will thank you in the long run. As for the eggs, I recommend you check out my guide on this subject as I have detailed the steps. Good luck!
Hi,
We have a small holding and have goats turkeys geese of course dogs and cats since cutting sunflowers and corn I find I have fleas so does the house (which has solid floors) few rugs while we can keep the animals free of fleas I cant seem to get rid of them in the house and on us as we are in and out of the garden all the time. It seems we are bringing them in from the garden is this possible
Thanks
Heather
Hey Heather! Yes, that is definitely possible. I recommend using DE outside if you have a couple dry days (moisture reduces its effectiveness) as its safe for your animals and very effective. Since this is not a permanent solution, you are going to have to be fairly proactive with your flea control. I recommend each time you notice there are fleas in the house, either use flea traps (check my article on this), borax or DE (can be used inside as well) to get rid of them quickly. Good luck!
I have a flea problem and i was also bit by a bed bug yesterday, I have only had 3 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours I tried the DE and i just sprayed everything down with a mix of %91 alcohol and palmolive dish soap, I thought this would work but sitting here for one hour i have killed two fleas on me. the cat that was infested is now gone. If i rip up the carpet would this help? I dont know what else to do.
Hey Sean! Sorry you are loosing sleep over this, I know it sucks to have bug problems in the house. I think the issue is that DE was not administered properly. Basically, you need to apply the diatomaceous earth in the problem areas and rub it in with a broom. Leave it for a couple hours (preferably the entire day) and then vacuum it up and repeat for a couple days. Don’t use your spray at the same time as moisture will make the DE completely ineffective. Don’t rip your carpets up, just follow my instructions and you will see results 🙂 Also check out my other article about DE (on this blog), I have written an entire guide on how to use it properly 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I have an infant son and a 15 year old cat who rarely leaves the bedroom since we moved into our new home. He was starting to get comfortable and went into the back yard a couple of times and now he has fleas worse than I have ever seen. I gave him a bath and then gave him frontline. We vacuumed really well a few times with our dyson pet vacuum, then I tore the bedroom apart and salted and put boric acid on the carpet, brushed it into the fibers and let it sit for a few hours and then vacuumed it up. We dismantled the bed and vacuumed under it and in the closets where my cat likes to sleep. We flea comb him nightly and vacuum every couple of days and are still finding 3-8 fleas a night on him. We put all of the brushings in a zip lock bag to trap the fleas so that they don’t just jump away and crawl back on him. I wash all of the bedding every 3 days and am at a loss for what to do. I do not want to use a fogger because I don’t want to lock my poor cat out of the house for the day. We have no garage. He is such a nervous cat since the move, and there is also the baby. Trying to dust all the surfaces and wash all the clothing etc seems overwhelming with a baby crawling and getting into stuff.. I don’t mind using some chemicals like frontline but really do not want to fill my entire house with poison or even just the bedroom where we all sleep. I have ordered a different flea treatment and can administer it in two weeks when the frontline has wore off. I will bath him again before I put on the new treatment. My cat is unable to wear a regular collar so I know a flea collar is out of the question. I am currently not letting the cat out of the house because I am certain that our shade garden with underground springs has made our yard a breading ground. My yard is overgrown, and I simply do not have the money or time to tackle it at this time. The baby loves being outside the most so I want to treat it with chemicals that will be safe for him and the cat. We have tried pruning some, but between the baby and keeping up on the house, and working full time the yard is getting neglected.
Any suggestions on how to remove the fleas from my house without a fogger and on a chemical flea treatment for outside that will be safe for my baby and cat?
Hey Kory! I bet he didnt appreciate the bath, my cats hate me for days when I try and give them a wash lol. Giving your circumstances, i think that staying away from flea foggers is a good idea due to the chemical residue and I am happy that you are not going to use a flea collar, those things are horrible! I recommend using diatomaceous earth (food grade) on your carpets and other places inside the house (its completely safe for your baby (and pets, just make sure its pure) and for outside, I recommend using a mixture of salt and borax. Since all three of these compounds are cheap, this will be an affordable solution that is safe and will yield decent results. Remember that you can also make a few flea traps and leave them out at night (check my article on this subject), I have had many of my readers confirm that they have had excellent results with it. Good luck!
Hi there, I just recently moved to a new place two weeks ago. A week after the moving, I got some itchy bites during night time sleeping (my room has wooden floor) and also a few day times while I sit in the studio room (carpet) I tried to see if this is the bed bug but I didn’t find any signs (I have new beds and mattress). I asked my co-worker and he suggest it may be the fleas.
I am the only who got bite in the house, and I could get 2~3 bites per day! especially on my legs and ankles. I tried to search for fleas but could’t see any. I’m kind of panic right now because I never got fleas in our house before. I don’t have pets, so I have no clue how did these bugs come to our house.
I’m gonna try some essential oil pray first and also on my body, and maybe the flogger later if that doesn’t work. I’m just wonder how fast could those fleas grow? I really want to get rid of those as soon. It’s such a nightmare!
Hey Summer! If you are only finding a couple fleas, chances are that you don’t have a bad infestation. Before you use a fogger, try placing DE under your sheet at night as its a completely safe way to get rid of both bed bugs and fleas. Essential oils is a good idea but you need to get down to the root cause if you want to enjoy lasting relief. Let me know how that goes! Cheers!
Hi Natasha,
Thanks so much for you advise. We used a fogger todday, but since I’m out for work in the afternoon, my dad use the fogger just in one room (he stayed in the living room), and I don’t know if this would work because im worry the fleas will get out to the other rooms….
Also, what is DE?
Thanks!
Hey Summer! Did you get the results that you expected after using the fogger? Please let me know, would love to hear your experiences with certain brands in your country. DE is diatomaceous earth, a very useful powder that can be safely used in the home for all kinds of pest control purposes.
I have an outdoor cat who’s getting old and I am making him come in now at night. He is regularly anointed with Revolution or Frontline, but still seems to be scratching.
He used to stay in the basement – had a doggy door, as we had a lab who has a new home now – but we had a HUGE problem with rats over a year ago and although they are gone, I think they left fleas. The cat doesn’t like to stay down there unless he’s way up on a box close to the ceiling. Part of the basement is dirt, and when I was down yesterday, I had tons of fleas all over my light colored pants. I got them picked off and sprayed myself and all around with some spray I had down there, which isn’t very strong.
I’ve got to get rid of these! I use a pest control service for termites, roaches, etc. as we live out in the country, but don’t know if I could do the fleas myself or not. I tried Raid Fogger in the basement twice (2 cans in 2 rooms, then the 3rd can later in the dirt part). Actually the fleas are worse now. This wasn’t a fogger where I had to shut off the pilot light on the water heater. Do I need to do anything with the furnace also as we’re on propane for heat?
I’m having the carpet cleaned next Saturday, but just the two main rooms and hallway. I can’t do much vacuuming – bad back, but my cleaning lady will be here Wednesday and I’ll have her double vacuum and make sure the bag is thrown in the trash.
What else would you suggest? Where can I buy Diabemaceous Earth.(sp)
Hey Linda! If most of the fleas are confined to the basement, you should be able to get rid of them yourself. I recommend using a fairly permanent application of either DE or borax (I have articles on each of these, check it out). This substance is completely safe for your cat, even though he is getting on in years. It seems that you have already heard of DE which is fantastic, I highly advise that you give it a try. You can pick some up at most home improvement stores and if they don’t have, try a local nursery or order online (they should deliver to your premises, even though you are a little far out) Hope that helps, good luck!
I hope you can help me to. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats, 1 had a liter of 4 kittens they are 3 weeks as of 7/14/2013. I have bathed all except momma kitty i’m not sure what i can do for the kittens they have them too. And i know as long as they have them i wont be able to get rid of the fleas. Any suggestions on how to handle this. I’m so done with the fleas.
Hey Lori! To get rid of the fleas on your kittens, I highly recommend a natural methods such as dawn soap (or any lemon based dish washing liquid, preferably organic) and warm water. This process is explained in my cat flea article, check it out by clicking on the fleas category and then onto the article. Let me know if I can help you further after you have taken a look 🙂
Help!
I found fleas on my cat and dog. I noticed fleas on the dog during his bath the day before I applied his Frontline Plus. So on the next day, I treated the cat and the dog with Frontline Plus. Both animals have received Capstar pills and in the following week have both received baths. The dog had a 40 minute bath with a natural flea shampoo and the cat went to a groomer. The cat and dog have been flea combed daily. The dog has residence in the kitchen and the cat is in the basement.
Upon finding the fleas on the animals, we went into treatment of the house the following day. I steamed cleaned the carpeted areas of the house. We applied Virbac Knockout Es area treatment to all carpets, rugs, curtains, couches and cushions, mattresses and along all baseboards. We have been vacuuming daily. Vacuuming everything, moving furniture, all rugs, all carpets, all couch cushions etc. We have used DE along the baseboards in the kitchen and basement. During the initial treatment day, we washed everything. All blankets, all sheets, clothes that were in baskets in bed rooms, etc. I also threw away both dog beds as they were not washable.
We then treated the yard. Mowed, watered, sprayed with Ortho Bug b Gon. We are re-treating the yard as I type this. Mowed yesterday and re-spraying the yard today.
We are now 11 days out and still finding fleas. I set the light and dawn dish soap traps nightly in our living room, play room for our 2 year old, kitchen, and basement. Each night we find 2-5 fleas per trap except in the basement. We have yet to catch a flea down there. During the day, we darken our upstairs bedrooms, set the traps and catch 1-2 in there.
What else should I be doing?! It feels like it’s never going to end.
Hey Beth! Thanks for your detailed comment, I am going to try my best to assist you. It seems that although your flea treatment process is excellent, I don’t see anything that would stop the flea life cycle and I am almost certain that its the “piece of the puzzle” that is missing. I recommend following your same process for flea control but additionally use an insect growth regulator spray (IGR on the bottle) so that flea eggs don’t end up hatching a couple weeks (or months) later. I actually have an entire article on flea eggs, I highly advise you to check it out when you have a moment 🙂
Thanks Natasha! The Virbac Knockout ES area treatment contained an IGR in the spray. It is an adulticide and an IGR. Any other ideas? I think we may be calling in the pros….
Hey Beth, sorry this reply is a little late. Since you have reaped little results even with a solution that contains an IGR, not to mention the other steps that you have taken, I think that calling a pro to come take a look would be the best bet. Let me know how it goes and if I you have any questions, feel free to contact me!
I hope you can help! I have just moved with my two dogs and family to an old, very old farm house that had been rented out and we are going to fix it up. Here is our problem and please if anyone can help…we have all our stuff crammed into a few rooms of the house (those not targeted for demo first thing) and we are living in a camper while the work is going on. Now the major problem is the people that rented the house had a cat and a dog and were invested with fleas, now when I say invested I mean it! You can walk in in within minutes you can see them on your legs.
Let me spell out what I have done, I think it was Friday the 28th of June we bombed the house. We moved in on the 4th of July and didn’t seem to be notice any fleas (I thought good we got them) nope didn’t get them, we saw more after we moved in, now lets not forget we are in a very old farm house that needs more work than you an imagine (I am talking dirt basement and places where you can see down through the floor). At this time we have all our stuff in boxes mostly in 3 rooms, so yeah cramped. We are in the camper and just got into the house to get what we need and then back to the camper. We have two dogs (lab and chihuahua) and I have always treated them with Top Spot, they even got some on them and I treated them again and also sprayed them, good news is they have been flea free. Since my first bombing on the 28th I have bombed 2 more times. Got home from work and went into the house to get something came out and saw a fea on my leg…GRRRRR…so I have gone to the store bought some spray and did all around every room (almost). While doing that I could look down and just see them on my legs! Finished that and set off some bombs.
I know you say vacuum but my issue is I really can’t. Any thoughts? What can I do!!!????!
Hey Maggie! Sounds like a fairly serious infestation, let me see how I can help you. Since you are moving into an old, fairly run down place, theres always (or well, most of the time) going to be a pest problem somewhere. In your case, it seems that you have a couple generations of fleas. Here is my recommendation, step by step:
1) Cover your entire floor space with food grade diatomaceous earth, a fine layer is fine. This is 100% safe for your family and pets. Leave for an entire day and then vacuum it up at night, repeat for a couple days. (its very cheap)
2) For those places where you have holes in the floor, etc, use borax powder in those areas. If its a large area (like your basement), use a flea bomb in this area (check my article detailing this subject)
3) Keep up the treatment of your pets and use a flea comb each night on their fur.
After about a week, you should be completely flea free. Good luck and I hope that this information helped you 🙂
I have an empty house with hardwood floors and no pets that is infested with fleas. We have been fogging and spraying and powdering the house and yard for 3 weeks and they die down a day or two and then come back full force. We vacuum every day and seal the bag. We really need to move in but can’t until they are dead. What do we do?
Hey Amber! Have you tried DE or borax powder? Since the house is empty, you can use a good amount of one of these on the wood floors and leave it there for a couple days. Both are natural and are very effective. Also consider that fleas may be coming in from outside, not because of suitable hosts but because of the warmth and shelter, especially if its very cold in your area. Check to see if this is the case and feel free to get back to me, will help you through this process as much as I can 🙂
Hello,
I have three dogs and a cat, just had a little baby and my animals and home is suffering from fleas. We have given them baths and all that they lay in. I have read your steps and went out and bought some spray for the outside, as well as for the carpet. I’m getting new couches instead of salvaging them, and I plan to bomb the house while the pups are at the groomers. I sure hope this works! Any extra advice would be appreciated!
Hey Morgan! It sounds like you have a good plan, let me know how that goes! The only thing that I suggest you add to your strategy is the application of DE or borax powder on your carpets and fabric based items. If have an article dedicated to this subject, check it out! This works great and will ensure you kill those fleas for good!
Hello-we have an 11 year old cat who has had a bad infestation of fleas (and the house too). We were able to get rid of the fleas with Dawn dish soap baths (luckily he’s declawed), cedar chips around the perimeter of the house, bombs, etc… We have had another infestation again recently with a vengeance. We just found out our daughter’s boyfriend and best friend both have bad fleas in their homes! How do we get rid of the fleas this time without banning the boyfriend and best friend from our home? thanks!
Hey Annette! To be honest, unless the boyfriend and best friend brought their pets around, humans often don’t carry fleas from one place to another so you won’t need to ban them from your home 😉 If it happened at the same time, its probably just coincidence. I recommend using a few of the natural methods in this article (like the dawn soap solution) and following the same steps that you did before. Since it worked to get rid of the fleas previously, rather stick to what has worked in your home. Let me know if you need any additional assistance.
Hello! What kind of IGR spray do you recommend using? And I assume this is not natural? Should I try this before or after Diatomaceous earth?
Hi Andrea! I recommend using DE first and after a couple days of treatment, keep an eye on the situation. If you don’t find any fleas, the problem has been solved and this will save you the trouble (and expense) of getting a flea spray (or bomb) that contains this chemical component. Since its not natural I usually like trying things like borax and DE first, let me know how it goes 🙂
We live in a desert and fleas do not normally live here. My daughter move here and her cats and dog have fleas. We are doing all the steps to get rid of them. Do we need to do anything outside? The humidity is between 5 to 15%. I really need to find out if it will be OK for are pets to be outside now after treating them.
Thanks
Donna
Hey Donna! Sorry for the delayed response. To be honest, they should be fine but just check their fur each day (for a week or two) for signs of fleas. If you find some, then you can take measures to treat your yard. I recommend using DE for killing the fleas in your home as its completely natural and works very well. Good luck!
Hi Natasha,
A few months ago we found a couple of fleas on our new puppy. We bought a spray with IGR and thoroughly cleaned & sprayed all areas in our apartment including dog bedding & kennel, carpets, our bedding, couches, etc. We also apply Vectra every month to our puppy. A few times since then we have found a random flea or two on her and now I have found 2 in the past couple of days. What should I do? Should I start from the beginning and clean & vacuum and then use a spray? Your page has been very helpful but I just want to be done with these things permanently. Please let me know what you think. Should we be washing all clothes of ours too or is that not necessary? Also, do you know how quickly the sprays work to kill the fleas? Thank you!
Hi Hannah! If your clothes may have come into contact with the fleas, its a good idea to give them a hot wash. Might not be necessary but its just worth being safe. As for a permanent solution, unfortunately fighting off fleas is a constant task. However, as suggested by Ali, using natural products like Diatomaceous earth or borax in your carpets and other places every couple weeks (especially in areas where your pet likes to sleep, play, etc. can potentially stop an infestation. Its all about being proactive and preventing the fleas from multiplying before you have a chance to get rid of them. If you use a flea spray just make sure it contains an insect growth regulator as this will stop the flea eggs from hatching. I have dedicated articles on flea eggs, Diatomaceous earth and borax that I recommend you check out, I am sure that they will be beneficial and will help you battle those fleas that are quite literally “bugging” you 😉
One person’s response on here is correct so far! Diatomaceous earth kills them and other pests! Get the food grade product as it is safe inside house as well! You can even put it on veggies in your garden! Farmers have been using it for years! Don’t waste any money on other crap cuz it’ll never work! You can get this stuff for $25 for 30 pound bag! Plenty to treat house and lawn! Everyone remember this is all you need and fleas Cannot become immune to it as it eats away their shell!
Hi Ali! Thanks for your recommendation, I also promote the use of Diatomaceous earth and actually have an entire guide on that subject, check it out and tell me what you think 🙂 However, keep in mind that its not a “one stop solution” for everyone and I have had many people that have tried it without success. I have had clients who used it on their pets and they developed a bad rash because it can dehydrate their skin cells in certain cases. While this doesn’t make it dangerous (its still completely natural and to be honest, safer then many over the counter flea products), it wont work for everybody. On that note, I have used it for the last couple years and have had good results so I do understand why you are recommending it 🙂
I have 2 cats and 3 dogs at home, they are all inside animals. I recently took my long-haired cat to the groomer to get shaved and was told that he was covered in fleas. They dipped him and I immediately went home and gave all my dogs a bath and put flea serum on them. I washed all bedding and dryed it thoroughly. It is now 24 hours later and I am seeing fleas on the cat again and am guessing they are on the dogs too. I am thinking of buying the diatomaceous earth to put on my lawn and all around my house, but am wondering if there is something else I can do to get rid of these also. I don’t want this to become an infestation that I can’t control or get rid of. Please help with any suggestions. I am also looking at the best IGR products out there that I can use on my furniture and such that will not be harmful to my kids. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Hi Sheryl! Diatomaceous earth is fantastic, I highly recommending using it in your yard and in your home. When you use it outside, just make sure that its a nice and dry day otherwise it renders it useless for killing fleas. Other then DE, you can try borax as its also a great option for natural flea control and is fairly safe for home use in comparison to flea bombs, etc. I have a dedicated article on DE and borax for flea control, check them out for more details 🙂
Hi Natasha I am so impressed with your page. Also I thought I was losing my mind when last year I used advantage on my two dogs and I also found that it wasn’t working as well as it use to. Glad to hear I am not alone. I would like to try the yeast for my guys and I was wondering how often do I give them the yeast? Thank you so much for all the information you have posted
Hey Jacky! Thanks, comments like that help keep me motivated 🙂 I recommend using yeast in two ways, Firstly, use a teaspoon of yeast (brewers yeast) in their food each day. Secondly, rub the yeast into their fur if you can visibly see fleas on your two dogs. Good luck!
Hey I have a quick question.. I have three dogs and I hardly ever had flea problems,, I use the dawn dish liquid and it works great.. but I learned here in the last month or two that my oldest dog is a diabetic. and Every time he gets a few fleas on him he starts getting sick again.. what can I put on him to make it not so bad for him?
To be honest, I haven’t dealt with a situation like that before but based on some research, I presume that because of a weak constitution, flea bites weaken him more then other dogs that don’t have diabetes. However, even in that case, using dishing soap would be completely safe for a diabetic dog, its not like he is swallowing it and unless its really bothering his skin, I would recommend that you keep using it.
PLEASE help I believe my dog has brought fleas into my house he is strictly a basement dog he’s a lab I’ve got the fleas cornered In the basement. I need help I had them last year and got rid of them in the fall. Now they are back I use ortho
Hey John. The simplest solution would be to use a flea bomb in your basement. Once its done its job (4-6 hours later), dust your basement with borax powder and your problem should disappear. Let me know if you need any further help 🙂
Seven dust from Home Depot.About 8.00 for 32 ounce(?)powder.It has a shake top.I have used it for years and have always put it on the dogs if I think they have them too.Just sprinkle all over carpet or bare floors.
Thanks for the tip Denita!
Please help! My rental home has been professionally treated 4 times, including the lawn within a 12 day period. i have also sprinkled hartz powder and used Fleabusters on the 14 day old carpets for an extra push to get rid of the problem. I have vacuumed the carpets everyday and removed all bedding. We are in the 2nd week of this problem. The new tenants are frustrated, as I can only imagine. They do not have a pet, but the previous owner had a Boxer. Any suggestions?
Hey Sam! Since you have had your lawn treated that many times, the flea problem cant be coming from there. To be honest, I think this is another case of fleas leaving behind their eggs (check out my dedicated article on this subject) and although the adult fleas are being killed, the eggs remain. Try this:
1) Get everyone out the house for a day, use a flea fogger with an insect growth regulator (stops the eggs from hatching)
2) Use borax powder on the carpets, once per day for 3 days.
I am almost 100% sure that this will solve your flea problem 🙂
Let me know how it goes!
Hi Natasha, thanks for such a great resource. So I am in a rough situation. I run an in-home daycare (with 12 children) and have a single large, long-haired cat. He has become infested with fleas as he recently started going outdoors (in the last month). We have a big house (we moved in just in March) and a big yard, and the children are all over the place all day long, upstairs and downstairs, inside and out. Most of the upstairs is carpeted. Well, the worst of it is that my young 2-year-old is getting eaten alive in flea bites. I got the cat some Advantage last evening, and I’ve been vacuuming and dusting and washing laundry, but it’s getting worse everyday and today was pretty bad. He’s got so many bites. I’m also putting the diatomaceous earth all around the house. I hope it’s helping. I just need to fix this problem fast! I’m wondering if you have any other suggestions for me. Also, what do you think the chances are that he’s getting bitten while outside in the back yard? We have tall grass, shady areas, it’s been rainy but also warm some days…it sounds like flea heaven. Thanks for any help!
Hey Nellie! Its a pleasure, I am glad that you like it! 🙂 Based on your description, I can see why you want to get the problem resolved asap. Also, since it seems that there are multiple problematic areas (the garden, inside, etc.), I recommend treating all the areas at once. Since you run a daycare I suppose this will have to be done over a weekend, preferably a sunny one (not that you can control the weather lol) as you will have lots of work to do. For the yard, I recommend getting it professionally treated, this should cost too much. On the same day, you need to treat your cat for fleas and keep it separated and out the house. Use a fogger inside and make sure everyone is out the house for 6 hours. Make sure that it contains an IGR. The trick with removing a flea infestation like this is wiping them all out otherwise they just keep breeding and it gets out of control. I have a number of guides on these subjects, check the flea category for more details! Good luck!
Hi! There were a few stray cats who managed to get under our home and they brought fleas with them! we managed to get the kittens out and to safe homes but the fleas stayed all over our yard, under our house, and inside! we cant seem to get rid of them. we have tried many different sprays and even fogged our house. many of them were gone for about two days but they have multiplied again! most are babies so i assume eggs just hatched? none of these store bought sprays are working. please help! the infestation is coming from under the house where the cats made home. i hope you can help us find a solution!
Hey Mel! I certainly can help you! Unfortunately not all of the flea fogger/bomb products contain an insect growth regulator. This is just a fancy word for a chemical that stops the flea life cycle. While the flea bombs that you used would have killed the adult/young fleas, it wont be able to do a thing with those eggs while an IGR will prevent them from ever hatching. I recommend using DE or borax on your carpets inside, getting your pets treated (if you have) and using foggers with this component for getting rid of your flea problem. Good luck!
Hey natasha. Nice article. Two weeks ago I have many cat a bar with some flea shampoo from Wal-Mart and some drops afterwards (right guard) They did not work! Plus the same day I used 4 foggers in my house and vacuumed. But my cat was still infested. Today itook him to the vet and they gave him two baths and revolution drops. They are gone! Off him at least. It cost a lot so I don’t want them back. I have a couch in my room that he sleeps on. What should I do to get the fleas off of it? There is another cat and dog in the house full of fleas. If i just leave my cat in my room secluded from the others will he be ok.
Hey Melissa! I am glad that you have managed to get rid of the fleas on your cat, now you just need to keep them away like you mentioned. I recommend using a powder called “food grade diatomaceous earth”. Its completely safe and natural (just dont get the “pool grade” version) and you can use it in places where your cat likes to sleep, it will keep those pesky fleas away 🙂 As for your other pets, you could keep your cat away from them but they will leave fleas around the home (not to mention their eggs, which will hatch at a later stage) and this will obviously create a massive, long term problem. I suggest you try use some of the natural solutions suggested in this article or check out a few more of my flea articles that deal directly with removing fleas on dogs 🙂
Please help we have a cat that keeps coming into our garden with fleas we daren’t go to this persons house and tell them and cause problems. We have never had fleas in our new property now this cat keeps coming and we are finding fleas in our garden and in our home. I dont really want to use toxic flea spray as my dog likes to lick the carpet please help im feeling miserable.
Hey Anon! Although you can use things like borax and a few other things to treat fleas naturally, those treatments are generally for the house and not for direct application to pets. After trying a few of the suggestions in this article, if you still dont want to tell your neighbour to treat the cat, maybe try using a product that keeps cats away, especially from inside your home. You can find something like this at your vet and you can spray it on your window sills, door entrances, etc. Sorry I cant be of more help but you really need to have that flea infested cat treated otherwise you will be fighting a loosing battle.
Hi my name is jennifer I have a 6 year old cat and I got a new kitten to keep him on his feet. I didn’t know that she was loaded with fleas. I have tryed the salt in the carpet there’s still fleas, I have tryed sentry flea home spray there’s still fleas. What should I do? I need some advise because I’m being eat up from these monsters.
Hey Jennifer! Would love to see some pictures of your kitten, I bet its real cute! I recommend using something called Diatomaceous Earth on your carpets (the food grade version) and combine that treatment with a flea trap. Guides on both of these can be found under the flea category on this site, I highly recommend that you check them out for more details. 🙂
A friend of mine recently gave me her cat. It wss in my apartment for around 10 hours and it got out when I left for work. I keep getting these red bite marks and it feels like somethings on me but I dont see anything when I look. The cat was filthy and scratched while it was here. Could that be fleas by chance? Can cats carry bed bugs? The bites are behind my ears…neck arms belly snd back. Please help!
Hey Lisa! Its probably flea bites and they can be treated rather easily. I recommend checking for flea dirt and if this is present, you have a flea problem on your hands and can follow some of the instructions in this guide. To help you further, check out my dedicated articles on kill fleas on cats, identifying flea dirt and treating flea bites by clicking on the fleas section at the top of this website. Have a good one and hope that helps 🙂
Is it safe to use the dish soup method on my 2 month old puppy? I actually got her from her previous owner about 5 days ago, and I’ve seen her scratch a few times though the owners never mentioned if she had fleas. Just want to know if its safe (first dog I’ve ever had so I’m really catious.) Thank you for all the information you’re providing.
Hey Mirian! Sorry for the long delay on my response! Its 100% safe, just dont do it all the time as it can remove the oils in their fur. Its more for treating fleas then a precautionary wash 😉
Hey AMR! Thanks for leaving another comment on my blog, nice to see you checking in from time to time 🙂 Your question is a good one, my personal interpretation of severe is a flea infestation that is not removed by simply treating the pets and giving the house a good vacuum daily for a week or so. However, its completely up to you as flea bombs do work, I actually have an article about it on this blog, check it out. I just try stay away from harmful insecticides as much as possible.
You’ve mentioned to only use dips and foggers only when an outbreak is severe? Can you describe a severe outbreak vs. mild, medium, etc.?
We have fleas in our carpets and who knows where else, I have been vacuuming as much as I can but my oldest is scared of the vacuum, which makes it tough, but I have a 6 month old and an 18 month old and really no where to go to let stuff sit on the carpets for days at a time…..I am terrified of using something that might hurt my babies, help! please!!
Hey Jhbunch! Since you have small children, I recommend taking them out the house for a bit while you treat your house for fleas. Treat your dogs with a sport on treatment (or whatever pets you have), use diatomaceous earth on your carpets (brush it in with a broom and leave for a couple hours before vacuuming) and if you are still having issues, use a flea bomb while your younger ones are not at home. Maybe leave them with family or friends for a day or two if you want to be super cautious. Good luck!
I recommend Precor- an Insect Growth Regulator. I suffered for an entire year with fleas in my home and car and the pest control service for my apartment complex was completely inept in getting rid of the fleas, as well as other do it yourself products I tried. Precor was the ONLY thing that fianlly got rid of those suckers. I have since heard that cedar oil works too, but I never tried that. Good Luck!!
Hey Jenny! Thanks for the recommendation! I havnt personally used it but its good to hear that you had success with the product. I will give it a shot in the near future 🙂 Cedar oil does work but make sure you never use it on cats as its highly toxic to their bodies. (They don’t metabolize it properly)
Hi, my Mutt is having fleas 🙁 i’m planning to buy a flea medicine for him. Now my question is what’s a better brand? K9 Advantix II or Frontline? I’m gonna get the money straight from my pocket so I need a good long term brand for him. People said getting rid of fleas might take days. Is this true?
Hey Mutt! In my experience, I have found Front Line to be the strongest (if other ones have been unsuccessful, definitely use this) but Advantage seems to keep the fleas away for ages. If the fleas are only on your dog, the fleas usually die within a couple hours when using one of these products but if they have infested your house, it could take much longer as you will need to take steps to remove them from there as well. Let me know if you need help with that 🙂
Hey Ncladyrose! If you are referring to a repellent that you can use to keep fleas away in areas where there is a large flea problem, I recommend using a month to month spot on treatment. If you dog gets fleas each time you take him for walks then this is pretty much the only way that the fleas will leave your dog alone. Cedar wood chips in your garden does wonders but you may need to get your yard treated by an exterminator if its a serious infestation. Good luck!
Hi, I just moved to eastern North Carolina and the ground here is very sandy. I faithfully use Frontline on my dog every month but since Ive moved here she seems to have fleas and the eggs on her. I now have them in my house also. I will do all you have suggested here. My question is this, what can I wipe on my dogs paws and legs before/after I take her for her walks, to repel the fleas. Im pretty sure our yard is where they are coming from. And what can I put on my yard to keep them away. I have 3 grandchildren that are getting bitten when they come to my house. Thanks for any help!
I read something about a trap? Water dish lamp and dish soap and sprinkle salt on carpet how do I use those three items? How do I set that up?
Hey! Simply suspend a light over a wide bowl of water and after the fleas are attracted to the light, they hop right in and drown. You can use salt on your carpet but a better option is diatomaceous earth food grade, grab some and use it in those areas 🙂
hi ive still got fleas ive phoned a company to come round tomorrow and spray the house they said it costs 50 pound and only spray the floor. does this sound ok..?will it work they said i will still see them up to 3 weeks later. i no longer have a cat so how long till they go to you think as there biting my children. do u recommend any company?
Hey Kim! 50 quid sounds about right. Depending on what they use, its possible for a few fleas to survive in your home for about 2-3 weeks so yes. Unfortunately I dont know any local companies in the UK but just go with a fairly reputable one and make sure that they use an IGR chemical component in their treatment to make sure that they stop flea eggs from hatching. Good luck!
Hello we just found out our house has rats I was wondering if you knew any way to get rid of the fleas that they are carrying they have gotten quite severe inside the house and we have no pets and our yard is quite open we’re wondering if you had any suggestions thank you
Hey! The best way to prevent a flea problem in your home and yard would be to get rid of those rats. The Bug Squad doesn’t really deal with rodent removal but do a little research, its not too hard or expensive. Once those rats are gone, so will the chance of a flea invasion 😉
Hi i have got fleas inside my home i thought i got rid off them last week as i had no flea bites or signs off fleas for a week but i noticed they had come back yeasturday I bought the same products as i did before carpet power spray and a flea fogger/nbomb in every room exsept my bathrooms and hallway i left the house for 7 hours came back and since ive been back leass than 3 hours ie found two fleas, should they be dead already? I dont know what else to do, the cat is living in the garage and hasant been in the house for a week. can u help?
Hey Kim, sorry for the delayed response, had a bit of a hectic week 🙂 Not necessarily, quite a number of flea bombs kill fleas by leaving residual insecticide on your floors/etc. and some adult fleas will only die after about 24 hours. Its important not to clean during this time as it will remove the poison. Since you will probably be redoing your house, I also recommend giving the floors a vacuum just before you flea bomb as this makes the fleas active and increases their chance of exposure. Good luck!
Hi, I started scratching last week for no apparent reason. I pulled out winter blankets (they had been in storage) and at first I thought it was bedbugs. I vacuumed and steam cleaned my mattress. I called pest control. He said that he couldn’t find any bedbugs but that it might be fleas. He sprayed, I steam cleaned my carpet, and sprayed Raid bedbug and flea killer behind him. I got a Hartz One Spot flea treatment for my cat, she’s an inside cat and doesn’t go farther than our front porch. I put a mattress protector on my bed, washed my bedding, and vacuumed again. I thought that I had gotten what ever it was that is biting me. I’ve never seen any fleas, bedbugs, or anything else. I started scratching again this evening. I vacuumed again and sprayed the inside of my closet. I have a 9 month old who sometimes sleeps in my room. I need to get rid of whatever this is. Any advice?
Hey Angela! Congrats on the steps you have taken so far, they are great! Based on your description, it sounds like you have mites. Since you cannot find any fleas or bed bugs, this is a definite possibility. However, are you sure that you havnt developed an allergic reaction from a change in diet or even from a new outfit (especially pajamas)? I have found in the past that many automatically presume that redness or itchiness is the result of a bug bite but its possible that its just an allergy. Let me know, good luck!
Hey Jen! As I mentioned a little earlier in these comments, fleas often come from the garden. I recommend mowing the grass nice and short and exposing as much of your garden to sunlight as possible. Alternatively, you can get your yard treated for fleas to kill off the adults and eggs that may be scattered anound your home. Hope that helps!
Hi! We have two dogs, two cats, and three kids and a horrible flea issue! We have bath the dogs in Adams flea shampoo, it has an IGR in it, put the topical stuff on all of the animals and sprayed the inside of the house and around the perimeter with black flag I think. I vacuum almost everyday and all of the animals still have fleas and now my kids are getting bit. We have all hardwood and a small area rug in the living room. This is driving all of us nuts! Don’t know if it matters but we live in Florida. Please help!! What do we do?
Hi Natasha
My Mum and her two cats came to stay with me over Christmas and although they have long gone (and they were deflead with Frontline) they have left fleas in my house. They bite my legs and feet, can they live off me?
Hey! Sorry to hear about your bite marks, they can be very itchy but you must resist the urge to stratch them as it will only make the problem worse. They can live on humans but its not very common since we tend to wash ourselves more often then pets, etc. (hopefully). Visit the flea section of this blog and you will find a great article on dealing with flea bites 🙂
Hello, I started to notice about four days ago that when I put my son on the floor to play, fleas jump on him. We do not have any kind of animal, so we are not sure how we attracted the fleas. It has rained where I live for the past two weeks, can they live outside in this kind of weather? I am sorry for all of the questions, but I am tired of my son getting bit by them. I would LOVE to get rid of them. I heard that you can sprinkle salt on the carpet, and then vacuum? Is this correct?
Hey Lacey! Thanks for your comment! Fleas dont always get inside from pets, they actually often find their way into homes from outside, especially if you have long grass and shady areas in your yard. Fleas are actually rather resilient to the elements. Yeah salt does work but use it in conjunction with a flea trap. (just a water dish, lamp and dish soap). I usually sprinkle salt in all areas of the carpet except where the trap is located. This will cause them to gravitate towards it and drown when they jump into it by mistake 🙂
Hi there! We have 2 inside small dogs and have never had a flea problem but now we do. I have 3 small children that they are biting…I have my bug man coming tomorrow but how do I get them off my couch? I don’ t know if they are on there but we have no carpet?! Please help!
Hey there! If you have got rid of them before, its possible that their eggs were not removed and the next generation has come into your home. The exterminator will likely either use steam or a flea spray but just make sure it has insect growth repellent to stop the flea life cycle. You can also use it to treat your couch but if that guy is coming anyways I recommend asking him to do it for you 🙂
That was extremely helpful for me and I’m going to try all your remedies… There in expensive and sound beneficial… Thanks for the tips…
Its an absolute pleasure Mel, thanks for taking the time to comment! Let me know if you have any other questions and I will make myself available to answer them 🙂
I found a few fleas on my cat so i bathed him put frontline treatment on, combed him, gave him tablets. Meanwhile i fogged my house (effective for 7 months apparently), used flea spray, hoovered and steam cleaned everywhere. my cat stopped scratching but i still kept finding bites on myself. I sprayed the whole bed again believing thats where they were hiding.
3 days on my cat is scratching again i have loads of bites all over my body.
My cat has never been outside, i followed everything to the book, threw my bin contents straight out. What else can i do? I’m not made of money and all the things ive tried in the past week has really put a dent in my pocket. Should i fog my house again?
Hey Amy! Its good to see that you have already tried a few things to help your cat with the fleas 🙂 Firstly, to deal with the bites I recommend taking a look at this article I wrote a couple days ago, here is the link: https://www.thebugsquad.com/fleas/flea-bites-solutions – Secondly, the problem with fleas is that you need to pretty much attach all problem areas at once. I know that its a bit expensive but have you tried doing everything within the space of about 2 days? Use a few natural remedies to get rid of the fleas on your cat and then use a flea bomb (with IGR) in your home. Then vacuum, clean and optionally, give any clothes that may have come into contact with fleas a good wash 🙂
Hello Natasah, I have one inside dog, have used a lot of flea shampoo and a few of the medications you dip the dog in. For a while we had no fleas at all I flea bombed the house and cleaned everything vigorously. Now my dog started scratching a lot again. I can’t get ahold of the stuff to dip her in and have use flea shampoo twice and she still scratching even though I cleaned the entire house as well. There is snow on the ground so I don’t believe its coming from outside. What do you suggest? Also we have all hardwood floors no carpet.
Hey Jordan! Sorry to hear you are still battling, fleas can often be a rather hard nut to crack. If its snowing outside its unlikely that they are coming from outside as you have correctly stated. Please take a moment to check the flea bomb for something called an “insect growth regulator”. This is specifically to stop the flea life cycle and is important because bombs often only kill adult fleas. Looking forward to your response 🙂
Hi, It’s about 4 months that I’m challenging with fleas one by one . We dont have any pets . They entered just by accident , I think.
using regular vaccum cleaner and insecticide killers ( containe permetrin ) dont work at all . I have no access to any special flea killer.Do you know how many of them are in here? I think here is no major source (like a pet) to produce lots of them.
How can I get rid of them quickly. Apparently I am their only host among all of us ! Thanks in advance for your help. Moji .
Hey Moji! Thanks for leaving a comment! You actually don’t need to have pets to get fleas and it seems that they may be coming in from outside. For those that have had a similar situation before, I have found that they usually have long grass in their yard or an excessive amount of shady and moistness. Fleas tend to hang around these areas and its critical to get rid of them in those areas. My recommendation is to treat your home properly and also get your yard treated for fleas. Let me know if you have any further questions 🙂
Hi Natasha i found fleas on my dog 3 weeks ago, i washed him in flea shampoo and put advocate on him and sprayed my house with RIP Fleas spray,but a week later he had fleas again, I have sprayed the house again, I am now on my fourth spray, 4 days ago he had 3 fleas and today he had 2. I have had him for 9 years and another dog previously, but never had fleas. I am hoovering daily with a dyson, an checking him daily. I am now at the end of my tether. I am a very clean person and cant believe this is happening should I get professional cleaners in. Please advise…. Maureen
Hey Maureen! It seems that the fleas are finding their way into your home from outside. Either you have a flea problem in your yard (more common then many people realize) or your dog is getting them from another pet, perhaps the neighbours. I recommend investigating the dark and damp areas of your garden (if you have one) for signs of fleas and taking it from there. Fleas cant stand sunlight so it also helps to trim back your garden a bit.
Hi Natasha, I understand that after you spray with something like Precor 2000, you want to not vacuum for a couple weeks, right? I am concerned about the health impact of allowing my cats to live in areas that I’ve sprayed, however. Is it detrimental to them at all? How long after spraying should I wait before allowing them back into that area? Unfortunately, I don’t have a place to keep them aside from my own home, so I wonder if I’ll need to confine them to one side of the house until it’s safe, then confine them to the other side while I treat the first side… if that makes sense.
Hey Michael! I havn’t personally used Precor 2000 but if the requirement is that you cannot vacuum, etc for a couple weeks (is this on the instructions?) I would suggest looking for another product. After you have used a flea bomb or spray, keep the cats out the house for a day or so (perhaps in the garage or something in your case) and after things are nicely cleaned up, they can come back into your living areas. 🙂
Precor has you vacuum before and after you are flea bombed. and sprayed
Hi DS, thanks for helping Michael, he should be notified about your comment 🙂
Hi natasha my name is sara we just foud some flees last night we do not have any pets i don’t know where they came from my husband wants to throw away myddaughters stuffed animals she is very upset you think they can live in stuffed animal should we get rid of them!
Hey Sara!
While its possible, fleas will definitely not target stuffed animals as they pose zero benefit for the insect and they would rather find a warm blooded host to lay eggs, etc so you will definitely won’t need to throw away any toys. You dont actually have to have dogs (or any pet for that matter) to get fleas in your home and they can come from other sources (such as your garden) – I hope that helps, please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions 🙂
Two ideas:
Nitenpyram is the generic name for Capstar and comes in flavored capsules that can be opened and mixed into food for easy dosing. Safe for dogs & cats, starts killing fleas within 30 minutes, out of their system in 24 hours, and can be found for about $1 p/pill on ebay or Amazon.
Food grade DE (food grade only) kills fleas by mechanical action. Can be used on bedding, carpets, outside, or directly on pets.
Kill them all.
Hey Eljay!
I really appreciate the suggestions and I am sure that the readers of this blog will find them very useful. I will definitely give Nitenpyram a try the next time I have a flea problem and will report back on its results. Hope you have a fantastic week!
Hey Julie! I apologize for the late response, things have been a bit crazy my side. If its a continuous problem like you have mentioned, I suggest that you get down to the root cause before applying anything to your bed. If you havnt tried the dish soap remedy (as recommended in the article), give that a try for a week or so and see if the problem disappears. While you are doing this treatment, I think it would be best if you keep the dogs out the room or at least wash the linen every day in hot water. If you still do not get relief after two weeks, drop me a message and we will explore a few other options 🙂
Hi, my name is julie and i have two dogs. they like to sleep with us in bed usually at the foot of our bed or sometimes between us but only one does that because shes spoiled. but i was wondering how to get rid of them on my bed sheets and bed, easily and safetly. we get bit every night from them, not extremely but enough to bug me. can you help?
Hey Woolwine! When trying to solve a flea problem, its critical to treat the entire house and your pets (and even your yard) within a fairly short timespan. In fact, I usually recommend setting aside a full day to deal with a flea infestation. Get yourself an insect growth regulator and use it in conjunction with a decent flea bomb. In the meantime, keep your pets outside and use something like frontline if you want a quick fix to kill fleas on your dogs and cats. After a couple hours, make sure that you clean the house from top to bottom and run your linen through a hot wash. If you follow those steps, I can guarantee you that you will have success 🙂
I think this helps out a lot to now them more better but for 9 months i have tried natural and unnatural methods and we just can not get rid of them, do u have any more ideas please we have 3 cats and 3 dogs we need help. My dogs are eaten up by them and we sat here for a hour picking and killing fleas, we have seriously tried every thing, really need some advice!
I’ve been trying to get rid of fleas but it seems they still here. I don’t have any pets an we don’t have any carpet only wood floor.Do you think a mouse carried them because i can’t find other explanation.I been using borax but i still feell itchy as soon as enter to my house i think the couch is infested because i saw a mouse under it I don’t know what else to do PLEASE HELP ME!!!!
Hi Sorely! Its possible that rodents are the reason why fleas made their way into your home. Since it seems that you have a bit of a mouse problem, I recommend first dealing with that and then focusing your attention on your flea problem. Even if its something as simple as a few mouse traps, (personally hate the things though) you need to get that sorted. Have you followed the steps in this article? You don’t need borax, just try the methods in this article first 🙂
We just purchaced our first home , that is completely carpet and rug free and we have 5 indoor cats. I know its possible to carry fleas in on your clothes and we are in and out often. I know when we moved the cats had fleas as well. I have gone through 3 doses of flea medication, as well as a tape worm medication. Our Last place was partialy carpeted and with no sucsess after all the constant vacuming, shampooing, medications and what not….still have fleas so not only did I find it to be a bad year for fleas but we brought them with us too..The previous owners also had at least one cat, so who knows why our flea situation has gotten as bad as it has. All I know is that we are having a tough time getting rid of them. I have even found fleas biting our babies….this realy gives me the willies…..any sugestions
Hey Michelle! Congrats on purchasing your first home, I am also in the market and looking forward to having a place of my own. Anyway, it seems that your flea problem is getting a bit out of hand and I am sorry to hear that. While you don’t have any carpets, remember that fleas can jump and lay their eggs on many other suitable places around your home (like your couches, etc). While I always prefer natural methods, after you have tried the ones in this article I recommend getting a flea bomb (you may need a couple, depending on the size of your house) that has insect growth repellents. This will kill the fleas and stop their eggs from hatching. Keep your pets and family out the house for a couple hours and make sure to mop up and wipe down all surfaces when its finished. Take this opportunity to ensure that your cats are completely flea free before they are allowed back into the house.
Hello Natasha, Could you recommend a safe flea treatment for my yard that will still allow my dogs and cats to wonder in the yard? My land is completely fenced in so the dogs can roam and my cats have a completed enclosed area to themselves outside.
Hi Penny!
Besides doing the steps suggested in this article (getting us much sunlight in shaded areas, cutting the grass, etc), I recommend using a Diazinon spray product. They are usually pretty good and you can just Google to find their products, no affiliate links here! However, I would still keep your pets inside until your outside area is completely dry, just to be safe.
Can I just bug bomb my house and treat my pets? Or do I have to wash everything, I’m so busy these days and don’t have money to treat the dogs and wash everything. Doing all the extra laundry isn’t cheap let alone buying the chemicals to treat everything.
Hey Natalee! Yes you can, make sure you get a reputable brand and check if it has insect growth regulators! As previously mentioned in my response to Sarah (below), try do all of it in a single day 🙂
I need help! I don’t have carpet in my apt, just a few rugs. I thought if I treated my dog and washed the bedding it would be an easy process. Seems like we have more instead of less! Guessing I should wash the dog again and treat the furniture and rugs,rewash the bedding also? Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help!
Hey Sarah! Sorry for the delayed response. Yes, that would be advisable but you need to make sure that its all done in the same day otherwise you will be fighting a loosing battle. I also recommend that you get an IGR spray for when you have finished that to ensure that any flea eggs do not cause another wave of fleas in your home.
Hello, I have gotten two puppies then had to move in with my mom. these puppie were littered with fleas from day one and now I am fighting a losing battle. my poor puppies are scanned up and bleeding all over their shoulder areas that I have coned them and put Vaseline on the worst parts. my problem is while I am trying to keep my dogs and kids from this torture my siblings don’t care about their dogs and hardly bathe them right. I don’t want to bathe and comb four dogs and pay for everything myself but I don’t want my puppies to suffer as they are. any ideas on what I may be able to do would be great. they are only eights weeks old and don’t even weigh a pound yet so I’m worried about hurting their delicate skin. I am at the end of my rope and am ready to go punch the breeder for letting it get this bad but my main priority is to help my puppies before severe becomes deadly.
Hey Ashley! Finally got around to replying to the comments on this blog, sorry for the delay. I also can’t stand it when people don’t look after their animals, especially breeders! If you do purchase a flea product for them, just make sure that its marked for use on puppies otherwise the result can be fairly disastrous. Since you are on a tight budget, I highly recommend using the dish soap + warm water method everyday for a week. I know it will be a ton of work but its very effective and very cheap. Let me know how it goes 🙂
I just moved into a new apt and my poor miniature schnauzer is being tortured. We have given her flea baths, powders, Frontline, collars and they keep coming back. I vacuum the floors and powder/spray the furniture twice a week. Because this is a multi-floor apt I’m afraid to let a boom loose and bother the other tenants.. The carpets are really old here and my dog has never had fleas prior to this… I feel like pulling up all the carpets or just plain moving… Any thoughts
Hey! Based on your current attempts to kill the fleas in your apartment, I think that the problem is a result of the methods not including a insect growth repellent. There is a high chance that those fleas have laid tons of eggs that progress into more fleas after the initial treatment has been complete. Try and purchase a flea spray that has the IGR and treat your carpets, furniture, etc. after you have cleaned up and ensured that your schnauzer currently is flea free.
hi natasha, A neighbor has a cat that has adopted my family, with the weather getting cold, she is not bringing him in, ive taken him home and knocked on the door, hes gone home himself and nothing, i want to bring him in, but he does have fleas and i have cats and dogs of my own, can i bath him in dawn, or shoukd i use a flea shampoo? we have already treated him with frontline a few weeks ago, but hes still been exposed. Thanks so much!!
Hey Trish! Yes, a flea shampoo will work well. However, I recommend giving the cat a wash with dish soap and warm water before you purchase anything as its a cheap alternative that does work if you do it everyday for a week or so. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will be more then happy to assist you 🙂
Hi Natasha. My name is Brenda. I have two small dogs. One is 3.8 lbs and the other is approximately 8 lbs. Do I need to be concerned about the smallest dog, or both for that matter, if using a spray and/or bomb that contain the IGR? As for the yard, we have now had a hard freeze. Is it true that will kill the fleas in the yard? I’ve never had a flea problem and it is extremely frustrating! Thank you in advance for your help!!
Hey Brenda, thanks for taking the time to comment. There is no need to worry, just keep them out the house for the day and make sure you mop up your floors properly to ensure that no residual is left over that could potentially harm your small dogs. Yard freezes have never really worked for me to be honest, you are better off trying a DE treatment.
Hi there,
I came across your site and was very interested and surprised with how well you reply to all questions, very informative information. I’m visiting at my mothers house, possibly moving back with my 3.5 year old daughter. Anyways, when I was here last week I noticed I had a bunch of red marks that were itchy at the bottom of my leg above my ankle. I thought maybe a spider just bit me but last night when we came back I went to lift the comforter up and noticed a bunch of what I believe are fleas, I felt one jump on me and saw a few jump away and disappear. Sitting on the couch downstairs I kept getting itches and feeling things were on me all day. I made my mother go out and buy some stuff to put on the cats neck and a flea collar to either put in the vacuum or on the cat. All of the floors are wood and the couches are leather, was wondering of that makes it better and or easier to get rid of the fleas? I’m washing all the bedding from all the beds and now probably some of my clothing before I leave tomorrow. I tried to vaccinate the floor in the one bedroom today and the couches. I took a couple pictures if you were interested to see? Also, my mom and my daughter have not been getting bitten, so it’s weird that it’s just me.
There are so many spots in this house the cat goes so im worried they will never go away.
Hey Sheri, sorry for the late response. Thanks for the compliment 🙂 If they are jumping around and not flying, yes they are probably fleas. Yes, leather does make the cleanup easier as the fleas cannot lay eggs in the fibers of your couches, etc. No need to fret, I recommend giving the cat a dish soap wash every day (just mind the claws and the death stares) and purchasing a insect growth repellent flea spray. Use that around the house after you have vacuumed, etc. and after some time, you will get rid of your flea problem 🙂
I have one yorkie & 2 other dogs basically inside dogs. Had yorkie for 12 years now, once a year have flea issues but frontline or and capstar always always took care of the problem. Past two months i have use frontline plus, dawn baths flea spray on all 3 dogs. They still biting leaving big red pluse score bites still all over my yorkie. Went this week to vet they say bad strain of fleas this year & recommended a pill called comfortis …..supposed to be the best on the market now. Well today had about 10 fresh red bites on my yorkie…they are not going away never seen fleas like these before, they are huge.
I guess time to wait for winter to strike to kill these awful pests…good luck everyone!
Hey Lisa! Sorry to hear about your flea problem, it sounds fairly severe! Please can you send me a few flea pictures so I can give you some assistance, looking forward to helping you!
I’ve used Frontline on our animals for years, but it’s not working anymore. Would it be possible to use Advantage 2 weeks after Frontline and rotate them as needed? Or are they the same thing?
Hey! They are basically the same product but I have had good experience with Advantage in the past. Just don’t use it on your pets for weeks on end, its not healthy for them. Have you tried all the natural methods suggested in this article?
Same thing happened to me. Go to a vet and get the pill for fleas. Works great and fast! Cost me about $100 for the vet visit and 6 mo of the medication but well worth it.
H April! Thanks for helping Tishlu out 🙂
i have 2 3 year old cats and 1 7 month kitten. and have never had a problem with fleas until recently. We started to see the fleas and treated the cats with a store bought remedy. It seemed to work at first but 3 weeks later they are back. I’ve washed the bedding, steam cleaned the carpet and vacuumed. I want to try some natural remedies but I fear the sores the cats have from scratching will react. Will the yeast or lemon bother them? I’m willing to try anything to help them. The 2 older cats are misserable and covered in sores.
Hey! Lemon will not bother them but from my experience, cats do not take kindly to being washed so be sure to protect yourself 😉 From what it sounds like, those fleas left eggs behind and those hatched after your treatment. Find a spray that has an insect growth regulator compound (should say so on the product) to stop the flea life cycle
Hi. My name is Anna. I am reading your article here and I like the lemon idea. How do you use the lemon to kill the fleas? I read you can’t spray it on fabrics so I am a little confused as what to do with the lemon mixture. As far as bedding goes, can you use it for that or do you recommed something else? Also, is there any type of sprays of powders in stores that can also help with this infestation? Thank you for your time.
Hey Anna! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! The lemon juice remedy is pretty much for treating fleas on dogs to be honest. As outlined, you just mix a decent amount in warm water and apply to your dog every day for a week or so. For your bedding, I have had great success with steam cleaning. You can even rent a steam cleaner to blast your bed and in other places where fleas may be lurking. The heat kills the fleas and its a great natural method as well! Flea bombs and sprays do work well but try the natural methods first, they are very effective and safe 🙂
First thank you for answering my questions. Also, for the carpet. I know it says to vacuum often which I am doing every day. Do you recommend putting anything down on the carpet like a flea powder of anything like that?
Its a pleasure. Yes, find an IGR compliant flea spray and apply it after vacuuming 🙂
So I have been living in this apartment for 2 1/2 months now. I don’t have any pets living with me at the time. Also I have a air mattress as a bed. I have had the A/C on since the first day I moved in. Then one day 3 weeks ago I turned it off and I got bitten multiple times like 30+.They are mostly around the ankles and lower legs but have a few from my knees to the top o f my head. I have a 10 month year old baby. And he has not at all gotten bitten at all except maybe once. My landlord called a exterminator to come in. And it has been two weeks since he has sprayed and have received a couple more bites plus also have seen a couple fleas still on me and then hop off me. I for myself have tried all the remedies except calamine. And the itching is worse than multiple fire Ants attacking me ( Had fire ants attack me one day in the grass after a day at a car wash). I am low on funds to buy tons of things to stop this itching. I have lost alot of sleep because of this. My landlord won’t do anything more to this horrible situation. And I am going mad crazy. My landlord said that the previous renters did not have pets and put brand new carpet in. HELP. Never had this much of a problem with FLEAS…. My thought is that they are living in the creases of the baseboards on the walls that are close to the floor. Is it necessary to wash all of my cloths except the blankets with that I have no washer or dryer and have to put money into them to do loads of laundry at the laundry mat?
Hey Rachel, sounds like you have a bad flea infestation, lets see what we can do about it. I don’t think the air-con is related but I do get the feeling that since you have already had an exterminator around to get rid of your fleas that they may be coming in from your garden. Do you have long grass or is your garden mostly covered in shade? Also, you said that the previous owners didn’t have pets but you didn’t mention if you have them. Do you have a dog or a cat in your home? Looking forward to helping you solve this issue 🙂
Hiya, I’ve got two cats and one dog. They all get treated, the dog doesn’t have any fleas whatsoever but cats are always getting them. Frontline has stopped working so I have switched to advantage, which I applied a week ago, I washed the pets bedding, hoovered all the carpets and applied flea spray on every surface possible, I don’t have grass in the back yard! And I can’t stop the cats from going out I guess. All was good, I havnt seen a flea on my cat but yesturday I saw three fleas crawling up my trousers in my bedroom, the pets arnt allowed in the bedroom so I assume the fleas have travelled up in fabric, and this morning I woke up with three bites on my ankles, so I can’t understand why they are still about? Or have I just not waited long enough for them all to die. I have sprayed all the carpets again today
Hey Courtney! It seems from your description that you didnt use or apply an IGR (insect growth regulator). Basically, what I think is happening is that you are successfully getting rid of all the fleas in your home, on your pets, etc but their eggs are remaining unaffected. While I prefer natural removal methods, your process will work fine if you just use IGR to stop the flea life cycle. Hope that helps 🙂
Hey Louandom! Are you use that these bites are coming from fleas? If you havnt got any pets its still possible to have fleas in the home but its more then likely bed bugs or something like that. Have you actually seen the fleas? Looking forward to helping you out 🙂
please i need your help i need to get rid of fleas on my 3 adult cats, what can i use and how do i do it, i,ve vacumed and washed everything, what next, please help!
Hey Lorne. Simply try a natural method first, I highly recommend the dish soap and warm water method (applied daily for a week or so) and just make sure that you use a flea spray that contains IGR’s if you have carpets or think they may be flea eggs in your bedroom. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask, I am more then willing to assist where I can 🙂
hello there i havent had cats for about 2 years they where indoor cats too. my little boy keeps getting bites from fleas ive done my whole flat with flea spray used about 4 bottles i cant take much more please help x
Hi i live in Durban and have just washed the dogs again last week and the fleas are back and they are big ones the dish soap is that what you wash the dishes with and i see the yeast can it be any kind. I am desprerate the poor dogs get so irratable and the are in the house most of the day.
Hey Lorraine! Yes, just ordinary dish soap if they are not small or young dogs. Any yeast should be ok, just let me know the name and I will get back to you 🙂 I highly recommend washing them with dish soap once a day for a couple days (the longer the better) and Marygilreath (previous commenter) also said that it worked well for her! Good luck!
Hi we have an 8 month old cat and are due to have a baby in 6 weeks, we don’t have much money to spend on expensive flea removers for the house or the cat. I’ve been hoovering every day (carpets, rug and sofa/armchair), we’ve washed and hoovered his bedding, washed all of our clothes and bedding, put 3 lots of flea treatment AND a flea collar on him and there’s still loads of fleas. He’s an indoors cat and never goes out. He managed to escape once a few months ago and someone found and returned him the next day and he when came back I was worried about fleas so we put treatment on him just to be safe but it didn’t work and before we knew it we were spotting fleas everywhere. We’ve tried everything but bombing and floor powder as we’ve not been able to afford it what with the baby things to buy and I’m at my wits end now, please help!
Hey Jess. Been doing a little bit of catch up with all the comments coming in, sorry for the late response. Sorry to hear about your cat 🙁 Since your cat seems fairly happy inside, try and keep him inside for about 5-7 days for this process. First, ensure that there are no fleas on him and check him at least twice a day for fleas. Additionally, rub some yeast on his skin a couple times a day. Then go through the process of cleaning out your house for fleas, following the steps in this article like you have been doing. Make sure its done thoroughly and keep up the cleaning process for all these days. Lastly, from day 1, spray your couches, carpet, etc with a natural free spray that is IGR compliant as this will stop the flea life cycle and prevent the eggs from hatching. Hope that helps! 🙂
My mom would use Sevin Dust for controlling bugs in the garden. She would sprinkle it on the carpets or whatever & let it sit overnight, cover with blankets & then vacuum in the morning.That stuff killed any kind of parasite in the carpet. Try that for fleas on carpet or furniture.
Hi Lisa! Thanks for helping Jess, I really appreciate it!
First can I just say what an excellent site with really great advise.
My old boy has a flea problem at the moment and I’ll try some of your tips but I don’t think it’s me that’s the main problem. I’ve used Frontline for ages but it just isn’t working and he’s covered daily. I use a comb to get rid of lots of them, vacuum daily, wash bedding etc. My real problem is that he is a wondering cat and goes to the neighbours garden. Unfortunately her grass is extremely long and I think he’s picking up most of his fleas from there so I can’t tackle it. Is there anything that I can do for him that might stop the fleas from liking him so much? He’ll be 15 next week and must be feeling miserable. 🙁
Hey Lisa, thanks for the compliment! 🙂 The site is growing nicely, I just wish I had more time to write these articles, life gets really busy! Wow, 15 years and still going strong, what a legend! Yeah, its highly likely that they are coming from your neighbor’s garden. While I don’t usually recommend them, it seems that a flea collar would be the right choice in this case and won’t stop your cat from going on his adventures 🙂
Please be careful with the cat and dog Flea collars. I used the product beginning with H because it was more reasonably priced. My cats got very lethargic and one went and hide the whole day and part of the night. I went on line and read very disturbing information. Some animals had died while some suffered renial failure. I quickly removed the ciollars from the dog and the one cat I found. I thought my one cat has died in the closet somewhere. I called her and called her. She did niot come out to eat at dinner time. I moved some boxes around in the closet, but no cat. She finally came out of the bedroom and looked really lethargic. Once I took the colar off and wiped her down with a towel she came around. I was afraid I was going to have to take her to the emergency vet. I used a Flea product from the vet that killed a number of parasites on the cat.
Hi Gail! Yeah they are bad news, thanks for sharing your experience.
I don’t understand quite what it is you are supposed to do with the yeast, and my bigger problem is that we moved in recently and are surrounded by boxes and places for the little buggers to hide. I get them off the dog and it kills my back by time I;m done an hour or so of combing it seams they come right back in a couple of hours,. I had gotten a spray the repels them and then I comb the dog and you can see them trying to escape, but they are right bck with a vengence, and they love me too. we also have a cat that is in no way going to let you either bathe him or comb him, he is a nasty little bugger, but doesn’t seem as bothered by the fleas, I think they may even be afraid of the cat, LOL. anyway, with so much around, and being disabled, I wonder if I am just going to have no choice to bomb but I have no where to put the animals while I do it. I have had animals for 25 years and this year is the first time they’ve ever gotten this bad, anyone else think this is the worst year ever?? I live on the east coast on long Island, and this is the only infestation I’vve ever had. we managed to get rid of every bug around except the fleas and a mole or 2.
one other thing, I seem to remember a remedy of using a nightlight and I cant remember if it was a bowl of soapy water or beer, I can’t remember which one, I think it was soap, does this sound familiar to anyone, I remember it worked pretty well, they are attracted to the light and I think get stuck in the bowl of whatever it is you put in it. grrrrr, I think it’s soapy water, but should i worry the animals will drink it, I don’t need a drunken dog in the middle of the night throwing a party, LOL. Then again it could loosen up the cat a bit, maybe he’ll stop harassing the dog??? it was so long ago. what ever it was it does work, but that’s for when they are under control. an you only have a few left. Myu old dog would have never been a problem, he never would have drank a whole bowl of either, but this one isn’t too bright kwim, we love him, but have to be so much more careful about what we leave around. I think either way he’d drink it, and if it’;s beer, I don’t know about the cat.
Hey Ellen, thanks for taking the time to comment and sorry to hear about your flea problem. Lets see what we can do to get rid of them. The biggest issue with flea control is that you have to try and do everything at once otherwise they just come back. Additionally, in your case you must use a spray that is IGR (insect growth repellent) compliant otherwise a new batch of fleas will pop out eggs within a couple weeks. Since you recently moved in and given you current circumstances, its going to be rather difficult to clean out the entire house so a flea bomb would be the best option. Keep your pets outside for at least 12 hours after bombing the place. Then take a couple hours (perhaps get some help) and wipe down surfaces, mop the floors, etc to ensure that your pets wont be harmed.
Its blue dawn dish soap, vinegar and water with a light. I just did this
Thanks for your feedback, hope it worked well for you!
Hi Ellen. It is a light and a shallow dish with warm, soapy water (Dawn) in it. What the soap does is cause the fleas to sink in the water (it changes the water’s ability to support the flea on the surface). If you just use water without soap, the fleas will not sink and will just climb or hop right off the surface of the water. Hope that helps.
I have used soapy water in an upside down frisbee. Hung a night light over it. You have to make sure it will not fall in. It works but you have to keep doing it till no bugs in the water. Treat for eggs.
Hi Joanne, thanks for the tips!
I want to caution against giving your kitties yeast to try to fight fleas!!! I had 5 indoor-only cats who got fleas simply from my leaving the wooden front door open (with the screen door locked) a couple of summer evenings. Among other things, I gave them yeast tablets (ground to a powder and put in their food – a small amount, not a lot). One of my dear kitties got a terrible fungal infection and eventually died as it went to his respiratory tract. It also affected his paw pads and toes terribly. I believe this one cat was probably pre-disposed to being vulnerable to a yeast/fungus infection, but I also noticed a much milder effect on the paw pads of a couple of my other cats. A fungal infection in cats is very, very hard to fight. My kitty suffered very much before he passed away at the emergency vet’s office. (I chose to have him euthanized as he was suffering so much and nothing could be done for him in time to help him.) DON’T give yeast to your cats!!!! You can never know if one of them might be vulnerable to getting yeast infections.
Also, I see essential oils mentioned. Be careful! I understand that Tea Tree Oil, among others, is highly toxic to felines.
Hi Carolyn! Appreciate you providing that guidance to Ellen! All your points are valid and I am sorry about your loss. We need to make sure that pet owners know about this kind of stuff and your comment is a great contribution.
Hey Jessica. I strongly advise you stay away from those sprays if its making your cat sick, it can even be dangerous for it! It sounds like your flea problem is coming from outside, do you have lots of shade and dark around where fleas could be hiding? I suggest following the instructions on this article, especially the cedar wood chips that you can put in your garden. Secondly, use a couple of the natural removal processes that are shown here, they really do work and your cat deserves it 🙂
Hi, could you please help. I’ve let my cat out for the first time into our garden, and two days after letting him out, i noticed a little black bugger sitting on me. Knowing me, i am terryfied of these, so i jumped up and just started shaking because i didnt know what it was. Ive tried spraying flea spray on my cat, but it just makes him vomit, and i hover whenever i can, spray some flea spray along the carpets, but after a week or two, they come back! Im really stuck here and i dont know what to do, my poor cat’s even crying because of them! I dont know what to do 🙁
I need help! I had a kitten and she got fleas. I no longer have her as she got hit by a car 🙁 but my house still has fleas. I have a 1 year old son so I want to avoid using chemicals i need to find a quick way to get rid of theses and I am the only one getting eaten alive. Please help!!!?
Hey Amanda, sorry hear about your loss. The best and easiest way would be to read over this article carefully and follow each step. I have another article on fleas that you can also read, just click on the flea category at the top 🙂
Hi Amanda (and Natasha). Fleas hate essential oils – and if you even touch them with a drop they die IMMEDIATELY. I use tea tree, lavender and lemongrass oils. I probably use more than most people if there is a flea problem… like 60 drops each in a 32 oz spray bottle and shake vigorously. Remember, oil and water don’t mix so you must keep the mixture shaken when using it, otherwise the oil just sits at the top of the water! Next step… spray your legs — and any fleas you see… they won’t touch you. If they do happen to jump on you, they’ll jump right back off you.. You can also get a carpet cleaner… clean your carpets and then, after you’ve cleaned them, put a mixture of essential oils into the cleaner and get that into your carpet… it will kill whatever is there. Hope this helps.
Can u spray dogs & cats with thd essential oils??
NO! I think it is ok for dogs but some essential oils are harmful for cats. Best to ask your vet about it first!
Hi there . Well i have 3 Kittens that are 1 and the moment,Their infested with Flea’s and such. I bathe them about 4 times a week with several natural flea products,it doesn’t work at all. We used powder’s,brushes,and shampoo,it doesn’t seem to work either.Do you have any advice on how i could get rid of them. Im really pissed and frustrated at the moment. :/
Hey Tay Tay, sorry for the late response. I am not 100% sure what you mean by “3 kittens that are 1” but before you purchase anything hardcore (just be careful since they are kittens), have you tried using dawn soap on them? I find that its a very effective option. Please keep us updated!
Nothing worked (vacuuming twice a day, Hoover carpet cleaner, and flea powder left on the carpet and couch over the weekend while we were away) until I used diatomaceous earth. In a garden sprayer, I mixed one quarter cup of diatomaceous earth with one gallon of water. I sprayed the carpets, furniture, and beds. The fleas were down 90% in 18 hours. It has now been 48 hours and they are now down 99%.
Hey Garlicman, thanks you for that fantastic suggestion. I am sure that others will also find it useful for their flea problems and I will definitely keep it in mind if I ever have another flea infestation! 🙂
Thank You Garlicman!!! I hadn’t thought of using the Diatomaceous Earth for fleas until I read your post! I used it several months ago on our rental property after our old tenents left us with an infestation of COCKROACHES and paired with BORAX and Bug Bombs it worked exceptionally well! Our new tenant hasn’t seen a single Roach!!! Will give this a try on our new flea problem! Thank!!! Sarah
Can u tell me what brand you used? I see there is a good grade and one that isn’t. And I read to use it as a powder and you mixed with water.
Maria…did you ever get a response to what brand? Im curious to know myself
I don’t think the brand is important as long as it is food grade so it will not hurt your pet!!! I have used this on carpet furniture and directly on my pets with no side effects and really good results!!
Hi Lina! Yes 100%, thanks for helping Kim! Appreciate your comment, have a good one!
Hi,
I don’t own any pets but found two leaping fleas last week and my husband had gotten several bites on his abdominal area. After some reading on the web, I applied DE 5 days ago. No flea issues since but my question is, does DE kill all stages of the flea’s life cycle? If not, when do I need to retreat with the DE?
Thanks.
Hi Liz! No, but if you leave it down for a couple days, shopvac it up and repeat a couple times, you will almost always get on top of the situation. Hope that helps!
The brand shouldn’t matter as long as it is FOOD GRADE. Only use food grade.
Hi Miqui, thanks for helping out Maria 🙂
Maria: Food grade diatomaceous earth is what you want. It is non toxic and will kill fleas. It is edible and won’t hurt if they eat it. Just make sure it’s food grade. Not sure how long it takes though. I just bought a 50 pound bag of the stuff because I’ve been battling fleas all summer. I have two dogs and two cats and both my cats had kittens about a month ago. I waited too long to get them spayed and I didn’t know there were male cats around. Anyway I had a small bag of diatomaceous earth and we started using it on them. It helped but I haven’t been able to get rid of them completely. We have been giving them baths with Dawn at least once a week and I got a flea comb and have been combing them once a day. That helps too but they still have fleas so that’s why I got the 50 pound bag of diatomaceous earth. They have to be coming from outside so I’m going to dust the whole yard. Hopefully that will kill them off. I have some chickens too and will put some in the spot where they take their dust bath. I also have flea traps set up in a few places. I use a night light with a small plate or bowl of water with Dawn dish soap in it. I’ve also used other dish soap (Gain) and it worked. My poor dogs are just miserable 🙁 I really have to get rid of these fleas. Hope this helps
Hi Lynn, thanks for helping Maria, I really appreciate it.
I am unfamiliar with this diatomaceous earth. Where can I purchase such an item?
Hi Celine, it has been a little while and Lynn hasn’t got back to you so I will, you can buy DE from most garden shops or from a number of online stores (just google it). Hope that helps you.
Diatomaceous earth will definitely work. Mix it liberally into your carpet and leave it for a few days and you should be flea free.
Hi Joab! Thanks for helping Garlicman, appreciate it!
Hi can you help. My two young children are waking covered in flea. Bites. My cat does not go upstauts at all but somehow the little buggers have got there. I have flead the cat and can not see flea. I have used shake and vac flea repellent. Flea spray and flea bombs but I’m sure they are still there. I feel like crying now as nothing is working x
Hey Tashy, thanks for your comment. Are you sure that these are not bed bugs? I will be doing an article on those in the next month or so but in the meantime, check out a few pictures and see if your problem is not being caused by them. Please let us know 🙂