Flea Trouble

If you have a pet, get Advantage for it and the fleas will all be gone. If not, I don't know - sorry! Good luck.

We just had them too and after spraying it took about 2 weeks to completely go away. You have to vacuum constantly because what happens is, the eggs are still in the carpet and when you step on them it hatches new fleas. So my pest guy said it takes about 2 weeks for that cycle to completely disappear. You may want to consider getting on a quarterly spray cycle with a pest company. Keeps the ants away as well. Good luck!

Hi A.,

Try Skin So Soft by Avon.....I have used it for years....as I seem to be ammune to fleas but not my son....they jump on him like he is a piece of candy. Skin So Soft also works for mosquitos.

It smells good too!

My house got infested in the midst of a heat wave. I got some scrap wood and spread it with oil of eucalyptus and put the pieces of wood behind and under furniture. Then i closed up the house. It got quite smelly for a few days, but the fleas were gone! I then kept some around and never got reinfested. I hope this helps you.

It is actualy 20 Mule Team Borax. http://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/index.cfm?page_id=56

It is the same ingrediants as the stuff people like Flea Busters charges hundreds to do for you.

I actually left in on for over a week, vacuumed it and did it again. You brush it down into the carpet with your broom so you can't see it at all anyway. Just get all areas. I was obsessesed, but I never saw them again. I actually used flea bombs too.

I use fleabusters. It works great. You can have a technician come out and put the powder down for you or you can do it yourself. I've done both and would have the tech come out and do it. It's non toxic. The first time we did it my daughter was a few months old and we didn't have to leave the house or anything. They also have a one year guarantee but we didn't see a flea for two years. Look them up online, it really helped.

Get a box (or a few) of Mule Team Borax... It is detergent and harmless to children and animals. Sprinkle it all over your carpet and let it sit over night, then vacuum in the morning and sprinkle it again and let that sit for about two days. From that point sprinkler it everytime you are going to vacuum, just so it about 2 hours before you vacuum so it can settle in to the fibers of the carpet. I would also wash rugs in the same detergent during the hot flea season!

Good luck!

This has been the worst flea season ever. I had them biting my son in his crib. No matter how many times I vacuumed or washed the sheets, I could not get rid of them. My vet switched my dogs to Comfortis (it's a tablet) along with Frontline (Advantix did NOTHING). For the house, my vet recommended Fleabusters. You sprinkle it on the carpet and vacuum it up. It worked right away. I was concerned about the chemicals because I have a 22 month old and a new born. My vet, who also has young children, assured me it was non-toxic. Good luck

20 Mule Team Borax. Spread it out on the carpet and in the couch. Use a broom to get it down there, then vacume. Leave it in the vacume bag for a while, for any eggs that hatch. Best natural anti-bug thing EVER. It's even environmentally friendly <grin>.

Seriously, 20 Mule Team Borax. Good luck.

Hi Ambyr,

I sympathize....believe me! You mentioned you had them on the front porch....

If you have a lawn anywhere on your property, get to your local nursery and find out if they can order nematodes for you. I have not used them myself but have a friend who has been a gardener and has pets and swears by them....they are a microscopic critter that you spray onto the lawn and they take care of the fleas.

Next, if you have fleas on your concrete or wooden porch, you might have critters such as possums or raccoons visiting in the night. We had an outdoor kitty whose food was left on the porch. Every night we had mr. possum show up for dinner and they can bring the buggers with them.

As for in the house, I have wooden floors now and have not had to treat for fleas in the house for a few years, but I have used 20 Mule Team Borax in the carpet and it has worked for me. It is located in the laundry section at your grocery store and costs around $3-4. Sprinkle it onto the carpet and "brush" it in with a broom. Don't vacuum for several days.

You may see fleas for another day or too, but the theory is that the Borax will completely dry them up (and the eggs) so the cycle is broken. When I used it regularly, I seem to remember only treating the carpet about once every six months.

I hope this works for you. I only know of one person it didn't work for and she had to call an exterminator. Good luck and blessings to you. R.

there is a very very fine powder you can get at the pet shop, it's ALL NATURAL, and you brush it into your carpet where they live. When the fleas breathe it in, it sufficates them. This will help, but the bottom line is, if you have pets you will never get rid of them until you do the following:

1. Treat the pets with monthly flea product such as front line
2. Treat the house w/powder
3. Treat the yard (the only thing that worked for me was having it professionally treated by bug company, and it came with a guarantee). Because of the cycles of fleas and their eggs, I was able to have the company come back and spray for free two more times.

This finally solved the problem by doing all of the above.

Borax is safe and effective. Sprinkle it on the floors, under the beds, pound it into the sofa and leave it there for a couple days. Even though it is considered "safe", watch your boys, I still wouldn't want them eating it.

Borax powder does the trick! It's non-toxic and easy to apply. Same stuff used by Fleabusters. It's a salt-based solution that you brush into your carpet with a broom. Leave it for a few days then vacuum. Some will stay in the carpet. It dehydrates the fleas so the eggs won't hatch. Lasts 1-2 years, depending on how often you vacuum and if you have your carpets cleaned.

I've found it for about $15 and Centinela Pet and Feed.

Good luck! I know those buggers are a pain!
Take care,
B.

What we do every year is spray the front and back yard with the bug spray that you hook to the hose. It takes care of most of the spiders and fleas and what not year round. We have two dogs and a huge backyard full of grass and have not had one flea. Not to mention not many spiders or anything else.

Do you have pets? If so, get them onto Advantage pronto, available from your vet. You will never see a flea again. Foggers and essential oils won't cut it.

If no pets, I'd call a vet anyway for advice. Meanwhile, vacuum the hell out of your house, dispose of the vacuum bag, and repeat. You may need to have rugs/carpets cleaned, but you'll want to get to the source as you say.

Wendy suggested the Mule Team Borax and vacuuming, and I suggest that too. My only addition to that is to BE SURE that as soon as you are finished vacuuming, take your vacuum outside away from your house to empty the canister or change the vacuum bag.

If it is a canister, empty it into a trash bag, tie up the bag, and then put that trash bag into another trash bag, and tie up that bag really tight to keep the fleas from escaping.

If it is a vacuum bag, take the bag out of the vacuum and put that in a trash bag, tie it up, and put it in another trash bag, and tie up that trash bag really tight.

When I was in college, I shared an apartment with some friends and one had a kitten. The kitten infested the entire apartment with fleas and it took us about 6 months to completely get rid of them all. First, we got rid of the kitten, then we bug-bombed the house and vacuumed and cleaned EVERYTHING, next we bug-bombed again and vacuumed and cleaned again, and finally we started using the Mule Team Borax and within days we had a noticable difference.

Good luck with this. It can really be frustrating, but it can be conquered!

Please be careful with pesticides. Not to scare you, but I read research that showed that the cases of leukemia went up in households where they used a lot of ant and flea spray.
http://www.envirohealthpolicy.net/kidstest/Cancer%20Pages...
At the Health food store there are lots of ways to clean your body out if you are exposed to toxins, and of course vitamin C, but make sure you check it out to prevent problems later.
There's a great lady who specializes in Health topics at:
http://www.brendawatson.com/

Here's hoping you find a good way to win over the fleas and don't get hurt yourself in the process!

Oooo, I hate fleas. I had that problem once and my solution was to bomb every two weeks and vaccuum every day. If you have a bagless vaccuum make sure you empty it outside and away from your house. If you have a bag empty it into the trash bin as soon as you're done and put it outside. Fleas like it dark so keep the drapes open all day. Get your pets cleaned now and then again in two weeks and get your carpets and furniture cleaned as well. I hope that helps.

Use Frontline or Advantage on your dog!! This kills the fleas in and out of the house. We haven't had any problems since we started using it! It used to be that you had to buy it at the vet but I bought Advantage at Target the last time. Good luck!

Do a Google search - you can use a 50/50 mixture of Borax and salt. Just be SURE you keep infants & pets away while it's out AND vacuum all the Borax up if you have an infant or toddler who might get some in her/his mouth. And read up on its potential hazards. Also, I don't know if you have pets or not, but our vet says Frontline and Advantage are no longer really working as the fleas have become more resistant. Be careful though if you are pregnant or have an infant. The chemicals are basically poison and can't be good to have around. Good luck!! We are currently infested and I have been giving my poor pup a Capstar when he seems really tortured. But that's just a temporary fix.

If the fleas are coming from a family pet, you may want to treat the pet with Advantage. It just takes a small amount of the liquid once a month. Any flea that jumps on your pet is killed and it breaks the reproduction cycle. Mind you, all of your pets should be treated. A flea that is able to feed is a flea that can reproduce. You will need to treat for a while too. Flea eggs can lie dormant for quite a while. I feel confident enough to use this product around my children. Once it is absorbed, it's business as usual!

I bought this special spray in the pet section at Walmart. It's specifically for fleas. Having fleas is not fun!! Good luck!!

Try Borax! Laundry section in a big green box.
Sprinkle all over your rugs and leave for a few hours. Then vacuum up. Repeat a few times to get all of them and eggs.

Yucky fleas!

Good luck!
E.

A.,

I have found that nothing works better than Advantage or Frontline. We have used both on our cat and our dog without any problems. You just put the drops between their shoulder blades once a month. IT WORKS!

This is from their website:

Cure your dog of fleas today with Advantage by Bayer. Advantage is the quickest way to stop fleas from biting your pet. Once applied to your Dog, it works to stop fleas from biting within 5 minutes. After 12 hours, 98-100 percent of the fleas are dead. Advantage can also be used to prevent further infestations of fleas if used on a monthly basis.

Fleas can cause hair loss or even open wounds to appear on your Dog because of frequent scratching. This is why it is important to have treatment program in place for prevention of fleas.

Dogs that have been treated with Advantage are SAFE enough to be around YOUNG CHILDREN or INFANTS. It only affects fleas and does not harm dogs, cats, or humans.

Hope this works for you.

D. R.

UGh!!! We just went through this! Our neighbors had them as well.
We hired a company who powdered our carpets with a salt-based non- toxic powder on our carpets and our downstairs neighbors have hardwood floors so they powdered their basedboards. The powder had to sit for 24 hours and then I vacuumed.
They also powdered underneither our house as well as the yard.
(which is where they originated from).I highly recommend this!
I then used Advantage on our cat. The process worked.
We are flea free!
Good luck!

Hi A.,

The only thing that I did was I ended up spraying(Fogging) my house 3 times and they went away then. That was some time back but that is what I did then. Man they can be a pain to get rid of too. Can't see them but sure can feel them.

Good luck and hopefully someone else will have better advice.

no need to spray or fog. Use advantage or frontline on all your pets, they should be gone quite quickly after doing that--give it a week i guess since it sounds like you have a bigger infestation. that has worked for us when we have noticed fleas on our dog. im not very good at remembering or writing down when i last put a dose on her, so when i notice fleas, its time for another dose. it works like a magic!

We treated all our animals with Advantage or something similiar purchased at our Vet and then we called Terminix for the outside, there were wild cats around our house so that was really the only way to get rid of both the eggs and fleas.

I just posted a resquest about fleas too! I didn't think that someone else would post it in the same day:) Geez...they are driving us crazy too!! We don't even have any pets! I will check out your responses too and hopefully someone can help us:)

Hey A.,

Borax...it a whittening washing powder!! Spread it all around, let it sit for twenty minutes and then vacuum or sweep up and if your vacuuming carpets put a "flea collar" in the vacuum and it helps elimate the flea's and their eggs!!! This the season!!! Good Luck

Hello A.
My name is L. and if you have indoor pets, you may want to try using a Flea comb. The comb will remove fleas, eggs and dirt from the animal. I rescued a kitten, she was bald she had so many fleas. Once I washed her and noticed the eggs and dirt on glass coffee table, I knew more was needed. All my cats from there on have been combed and brushed. As for outside, w/ 2 sm. boys, that makes it tricky. When I lived w/ parents and had an outdoor dog, I use to sprinkle Seven Dust around his area (this was 12 yrs ago). So far my husband hasn't had to use anything outside our home. This is used to ridding fleas, probably other pest. Maybe even mosquitos. Anyway, I hope this info. helps. Just be careful w/ the Seven Dust. Its in powder form and chemicals. Definitely go for the flea comb if the problem stems from pets...
One more thing, the inexpensive flea med. works just as good on cats, I haven't concluded for the dog yet. Going to try the inexp. route again today on my dog.
Good Luck, L. :o)

Do you have a pet? I know that sounds silly but I'm orig from Tennessee and fleas are common with or without pets. If you do have a pet you are in luck. I don't really like all of the chemicals either but if you will use frontline or advantage(that's the kind you put on the animal's neck) it will get rid of the fleas in your house, yard, etc right away. They say to use it monthly but I only use it when the fleas come back sometimes 9 months later! Good luck

This person posted a similar request a few days ago & got lots of answers that might be useful for you to peruse:

http://www.mamasource.com/request/6334952845183287297

This is messy, but it works and it is not toxic. Mix Borax and Salt 50/50 and put it in a flower shaker and put it EVERYWHERE. Let is sit for a few hours and then vaccuum it up really well. It is a pain because you really have to put it on all the carpet, couches, and bedding, but it works. There is also something called diatematious(sp?) earth. google it and it will know what you are saying and you can also see where it is sold. Good luck.

I once bought this contraption that had a bright light that attracted the fleas and a sticky pad they'd end up landing on. It was useful if I knew I only had 1 flea in a room and I'd leave it on in the room at night and catch the thing.

But, to get rid of a lot, bombing has been the best.

I'm the only one that gets bit in my family it seems. We visited a friend who has a dog over the weekend and now I have 10 lovely pink spots spread evenly across one leg. Ughhh...

I've even used bombs outside, I have found them very effective, just shoot them in all directions.

Good luck!

S.

We had fleas real bad last year... right before my daughter was born. A couple things we found to be helpful... Advantix! That's the only product that worked on our dog. And to get the fleas out of the carpet for good was renting a steam cleaner from the grocery store and just using water in it (I don't know if there's even a chemical to use with it). We never got them on the patio, so no help there.... sorry! One more thing, strip all the bedding and clean it often... once or twice a week should be enough. Hope this helps.... flea season is almost over, right? :)

My mother's house was infested a couple years ago. It was gross, you would walk down the hall and they would jump on your ankles. But nothing really worked. She hired a professional like terminex and she left the house to them for the day so no one was around when it wasn't safe to breathe. You might want to consider doing the same thing if nothing works.
Good luck

Hi A.,
If you want to do it yourself, check out Fleabusters dusting powder. It is nontoxic and kills adult leas and their eggs.
But, when we had an especially terrible flea episode and I just didn't have the time or energy, I hired a pesticide company to spray specifically for fleas...about $90 and we had to leave for about 2 hours, but they were all gone that day!

The best thing I have found for fleas is a device called PestOffense. It is similar to the little electronic box things you plug in but these aree much better. The work in tow ways. They emit the ultrasonic pulse like the others but these also backfeed the pulse through the wiring of your house effectively covering your house and yard. I have found that the cheapest place to get them is on ebay and just follow the directions on where to plug it in. It will take a week or so to completely eliminate the problem so you do need to be a little patient but they really do work.
We do have two dogs who are indoor/outdoor and in the 7+years that we have had them they have NEVER had fleas and we have never used any chemicals on them. We live in an area that is pretty sandy and normally there is a big flea population. But thanks to PestOffense we have NONE!

Hi, A..

If you have carpeting, Borax seems to work to get rid of the fleas indoors.

Sprinkle Borax on the carpet like you would a carpet deodorizer. I would leave on the Borax for an hour, some people say 20 minutes will do it, but I would opt for the longer time to ensure you get rid of the fleas. Then, vacuum up the Borax and that should get rid of the fleas in the carpet.

It's non-toxic and safe to use around your little ones.

Hope this helps!

E.

Call American Scientific. They use chemical-free extermination and they are excellent.

Hi A.: I'm so sorry to hear about your flea problem. I had a similar experience a few years ago and it was the WORST!!! We went away for three weeks in the summer - left a clean house and have no pets - only to return to fleas (no clue on how they got in the house or what carried them). I didn't know what to do and was freaked out about introducing pesticides in the house. I had a pest control company spray organic rosemary oil throughout the house. It was a greasy mess that stained my carpets and didn't work for us. After some research, I found Flea Busters. They work a salt solution (non-toxic) into the carpets that essentially dehydrates the fleas and their eggs and causes them to die. It took about a week and lots of vaccuuming after that, but the problem did go away. Knock on wood, we haven't had a problem since. The professionals I dealt with at Flea Busters were wonderful, very knowledgable and accommodating. They were a bit pricey - I think we paid close to $300 (it's based on the size of your home)- but SO worth it and they offer a money-back guarantee if you ever see another flea. Good luck!

The trouble with fleas is that they can be EVERYWHERE, so you have to get creative with your techniques :o) I worked at a pet store for 8 years, so I have some experience with this one! As terrible as chemicals are (I agree!), foggers are the best way to go. You need to set off at least 3 foggers (depending on the size of your house). You do this after going through with the sprays (or the carpet powder - your choice) and getting into the dark corners, under the couch, etc. If you have shaded areas in your yard, get the flea spray for the yard (they don't live where it's sunny, but any shaded areas are a perfect spot for them). It can get sorta costly, but if you do everything, you should be able to break the cycle and get rid of them. (I'm assuming you don't have pets, since you didn't mention them!)

Good luck!

Hi A. I got a solution that worked for me use a rosemary bunch of bush and rub your carpet with it then get your self some rosemary plant and plant it in your garden it works.
good luck
D. K:)

try using Borax. You can purchase this at the grocery store in the detergent isle. I have sprinkled Borax on the carpet as well as around the yard. It really works.

My dog is almost 10 years old and this is the first year I have had problems with fleas. My neighbors are complaining too! I have always used Frontline, Advantage, or Advantix on my dog. Most recently it has been Frontline. It seems as though it stopped working! I called my vet and he gave me a new topical treatment called Vectra. It worked!!! But, I also had to treat my carpets. First, I vacuumed 3 or 4 times. Each time I put the contents the vacuum picked up into a large trash bag (I have a bagless machine). I sealed up the bag and threw it into the outside trash immediately. Then, I used an exterminator (which I hate to do in the house and wish I knew about the borax idea). The extermintors treated the inside and outside of the house. I continued to vacuum at least once a day, immediately dumping the contents outside. The result is that I was successful in eliminating the problem!!! It took less than a week to fully get rid of the fleas! Yeah!