If you want to get rid of fleas, this seems the easiest way to catch and kill the monstrous fleas, yes a flea trap! If you give a bath to your dog with a dish washing liquid, you’ll be able to kill the fleas on its body too. However, a flea trap will enable you to clean up your entire house of fleas.
Get this:
Do this:
Warning: As you are using fire at night when applying this home remedy to trap fleas, you should be extra cautious. You may like to stay awake till all the candles get extinguished. Also, do not let your pets and children roam freely when you have laid a trap with soapy water and lit candles in the middle of each room.
If you have been thinking of a flea bomb loaded with chemicals to eliminate fleas from your house, you must reconsider once and give a try to this herbal spray instead. This homemade flea spray uses such ingredients as lemon juice and witch hazel. They are entirely safe for your pets and kids. Here’s the recipe for this herbal flea spray.
Get this:
Do this:
You need to do vacuuming and then spraying with the flea spray.
If you start using this non toxic spray just when the flue season is approaching, you will need to spray only once a week throughout the flea season.
As common an ingredient as salt can get you rid of tough fleas, especially from your carpets. How does it happen? Salt becomes a dehydration agent for fleas and dry out their bodies. So, how to use this inexpensive way to control fleas? Here’s what you need to do.
Get this:
Do this:
Boric acid, more or less, works like salt when it comes to eliminating fleas. It acts as a desiccant or a dehydrating agent which causes severe dehydration in fleas due to which they are killed. You need to sprinkle boric acid wherever you doubt there may be fleas, their larvae or eggs.
Get this:
You may even like to make your own shaker by taking an empty container with plastic lid. If doing so, prick the lid with pointed needle or a similar tool to make holes in it. Place some pebbles into the container to prevent caking of boric acid when it is stored away. Now fill 2/3 of this container with boric acid and your homemade shaker filled with boric acid is ready! Don’t forget to label it in bold with ‘BORIC ACID’
Do this
Precaution: Although boric acid is low in toxicity for human beings and pets too, it should be used cautiously when kids and pets are around. Keep it away from food items and also out of reach of kids. Don’t sprinkle boric acid on counter-tops, especially in kitchen where food is prepared.
Now what is this Diatomaceous Earth (DE)? It is the the microscopic remains of fossilized algae, diatoms. It is a very fine powder, just like flour. Diatoms are the type of algae that can be found in freshwater as well as in saltwater. But how does this Diatomaceous Earth kill fleas?The cell walls of Diatom are made of silica which in turn is a component of glass. The exoskeleton or the hard shell of fleas or such other insects are vulnerable to the sharp edges of microscopic diatoms. The silica shards in DE cut through the hard shell of fleas and dry them out. This leads to death of fleas as well as of their larvae. What is more important is that DE is non-toxic to human beings and animals. But the only one which belongs to food grade category and not the one used for pool filtration systems.
Here are the steps that you should follow to use Diatomaceous earth to kill fleas.
Precaution: Always buy the food grade DE. While this Diatomaceous earth is non toxic, it is still a fine powder that may get messy and irritate your eyes or throat. So, it is desirable to wear a face mask while working with any such fine talc like powder. Don’t ever buy DE used for pool filtration systems as they are hazardous when breathed in. Diatomaceous Earth, however, is not so effective in humid environments and also when it is wet. Use it in dry form only. Try to avoid DE from coming in contact of the skin of your pets as this may dry out their skin.
There are many varieties of the pennyroyal herb. European pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) and American pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegiodes) have been traditionally used to deter fleas. However, pennyroyal which belongs to the mint family, is dangerous for human and animal health. Native Americans had been using this herb for abortion. Dogs and cats too can face fertility problems if this herb is used for them. They may even die if the pennyroyal essential oil is licked by them or its leaves are chewed by them. However, when you don’t want to kill fleas and just want to repel them, you may like to use pennyroyal. But use it with all precautions.
If your house is not badly infested by fleas but yes if it’s irritating due to even a mild flea infestation, you can use the herb rosemary for controlling such flea problem in your home. You can use rosemary for flea control in several ways, as a powder, a rinse, or an oil. While dogs can be washed with rosemary water (made by boiling rosemary leaves in water), cats should not be given this treatment due to certain reactions in them. Rosemary oil can be poured (only a couple of drops) in your pet’s collar. However, because we are discussing flea control for overall house, here’s a recipe for rosemary powder that you can use anywhere in your home.
Get this:
Equal parts of:
Do this:
While you can get a lots of flea spray in the market, they all contain chemicals that can be hazardous in a long term. You can make your own herbal flea spray with such natural ingredients as lemons, rosemary and certain essential oil. Here’s the recipe.
Get this:
Do this:
Citronella oil has been used traditionally as a natural flea repellent. It is a volatile oil derived from stem of the plant Cymbopogon nardus (Ceylon citronella) or Cymbopogon winteratus (Java type citronella) along with greenish blue lemon scented leaves. It is a safe oil to be used not only for pets but also for human beings. Citronella oil effectively repels insects such as fleas and ticks, mosquitoes, black flies etc. You can mop your floors with a mixture of essential oils with citronella oil as one of the key ingredients. This will keep fleas away from your home.
Get this:
Do this:
Horse apple (Maclura pomifera) belongs to mulberry family and is commonly known as Osage orange. The other names of horse apple include hedge apple, monkey ball, bois d’arc, bodark, or bodock. Traditionally, horse apples have been used for repelling insects. You may also try this out.
Do this:
Whatever home remedies for flea control you decide to apply, it’s better to begin with the arrival of flea season or even before this season starts. Once your home gets infested with fleas, it becomes harder to get rid of them. Preventing the fleas from developing at the first instance will help you a lot in your efforts for flea control.
Information found at http://www.rapidhomeremedies.com/remedies-to-get-rid-of-fleas.html