safe flea treatment for home?

[iloveskittles]

hi there,

not sure if i am putting this in the right spot...

my dog caught fleas, (we have a ton of feral cats in the area). anyway, he has been treated with a flea treatment from the vet. however, we need to get rid of the fleas in our house.

aside from vacuuming and washing/drying linens, we were told to spray/and or fog. i have a feeling this is not good for the chameleon nor the geckos.

does anyone have any suggestions?

mods, feel free to move this to a more appropriate forum.

 

[Scoobthenoob]

Friend neighbour or family..

Fleas are a real P in the A to rid from your house without using really nasty chemical cocktail.

Even then the treatment needs to be repeated, due to eggs.

I would consult with pest control or if you go DIY then try to re-house all your livestock for 48 hours during treatment dates.

Unless someone knows of a better solution.

 

[Scoobthenoob]

Depends on how fast you want rid ofc.

One method is the baking soda method, unlike the fog method of chemicals you will need to spread in all carpets and soft furnishings.

You will need to work it in to carpets, spreading a layer on everything and leaving overnight then hovering up in the morning, you will need to do this religiously until no one is getting bitten, then add a fortnight.

The baking soda will break the life cycle, however this method will leave you and your family being walking snacks for longer than a chemical approach.

 

[Scoobthenoob]

A reasonable guide, better than my rambling.

http://m.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Fleas-Naturally

 

[RyU]

You can try a heat gun with adjustable heat settings. I'm not sure at what temperature fleas die at, but you will have to find a good temperature that'll kill the bugs without burning furniture and carpeting. Also, diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic way to kill most bugs.

 

[Scoobthenoob]

Silicate dust..

You can try a heat gun with adjustable heat settings. I'm not sure at what temperature fleas die at, but you will have to find a good temperature that'll kill the bugs without burning furniture and carpeting. Also, diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic way to kill most bugs.

Sorry but I have to disagree diatomaceous earth is a silicate known to be harmful to lungs, other than being absorbent it holds no real benefit over baking soda.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth#Safety_considerations

 

[RyU]

Sorry but I have to disagree diatomaceous earth is a silicate known to be harmful to lungs, other than being absorbent it holds no real benefit over baking soda.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth#Safety_considerations

Food grade has less than 2% silicates. You would have to be breathing in clouds of the stuff to have harmful effects, it would probably irritate the hell out of you to breathe the stuff in but I'm sure baking soda would be no different.

 

[Scoobthenoob]

I differ

It is a silicate, thus can cause silicosis, ok that is reactionary, but silicates are not water soluble bicarb is.

 

[little leaf]

try this- I have heard it works well - we have never really had a flea issue - so I have never tired it my self, but other ppl say it works well - 100% safe for all but the fleas

http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-made-flea-trap/

 

[Decadancin]

Diatomaceous Earth is a good product to use around the yard. It gets into the exo-skeleton of the insects and is quite an irritant. I use it as a border around my house to help minimize bugs getting in without using chemicals.

As for the fleas, sprays and foggers are garbage. Don't waste your money on them.

The only product I would ever use is Flea Stoppers Powder. It is designed to get down into carpets and not get vacuumed up quickly. It is not dusty but more granular so you wont be breathing it in. If your animals are on the furniture it can be used there as well. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...54LABQ&usg=AFQjCNELqFXc0jMF7s1eps9rNR1nhY0Y8w Even can handle carpet shampooing. It will be ingested by the hatching larvae and causes them to dehydrate and die. This is the best way to break the ongoing cycle of the fleas. You may want to consider a pill such as Capstar to give your dog. (Talk to your vet first.) You can give one every three days for a week or so to make sure the new fleas will not survive. (Any that do lay eggs will be stopped by the next dosage.) And most important thing is to thoroughly clean under the kick plates and in all the corners, and under any chairs or furniture to make sure to get all those buggers.

The best part of this product is that you apply it once and it will keep working for a very long time. No need to re-apply and I know from using it that it works quickly!

Good luck getting rid of them.

 

[Scoobthenoob]

Yes fine outside the house

As with all silicates it has a habit of getting in lungs it is none soluble so tends to stay there forever causing irritation.

I am not in favour of it being used inside a premises that has living beings operating in it.

 

[repdog]

If you need something for the dog to keep fleas off this is the best product out there. It works great for ticks. Its called Serestor. It is our first year using this collar as it is still a newer product. I do rescue for dogs and we have tried everything. The hard part for us is the ticks and they just get worse every year. I have not had one flea or one tick on my 4 dogs this year. In the past every other night we would have to sit on the floor and do tick checks on each dog. We had 7 at the time and would just pull off somewhere around 100. I fell so much better this year.

As far as getting rid of fleas in the house I have used the same spray that the vet gives you for the dog. Spray on the floors, they die within one hour and it doesn't take much spray. Keep it simple don't over think it and you will be fine.

 

[iloveskittles]

thanks for the tips everyone. the dog was given a three month treatment from the vet...

yesterday i made a homemade borax spray. and i sprayed everything... vacuumed everything, did all the laundry. i have never been so thankful to have no carpet!

 

[repdog]

Yes the key is no carpet. It is great.

 

[Scoobthenoob]

Or just...

Get rid of all animals with fur... Keep only reptiles....

 

[vgaines]

A few years ago when my daughter had a chinchilla and we got fleas from the kittens we were given I used a mixture of baking soda and salt. (1/2 and 1/2) I sprinkled it everywhere..even under couch cushions. After a few days I vacuumed every day for about a week. Make sure to empty vacuum every time you vacuum because the vibrations from the process makes eggs hatch. (what I read when doing hours of research on getting ride of fleas without poison) I also made flea traps. I put a small bowl of water with a squirt of dish soap under night lights. The fleas jump towards the light, land in the water and drown. Granted my method took longer than fogging would take but both my pets and kids were not exposed to all the chemicals.