I have 3 cats, one of which is a kitten, and my house is infested with fleas horribly. How can I get rid of these annoying things and get my babies flea free? Please help.
By Liz from Buffalo, NY
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I have tried *everything* under the sun, but I'll post what actually worked once I discovered my dogs had fleas. As others have posted, you have to treat the pet(s) and the home at the same time.
1 - Gave my pets a Capstar tablet. It will kill all living fleas on the pet w/in the first 1-2 hours and is safe
2 - You then have to bathe the pets to rid of any flea eggs (use Dawn dish washing soap, it's the safest) and let the soap lather for 10-15 minutes to suffocate the fleas if they haven't yet died
3 - If you have carpet or old haedwood floors with large cracks or spaces, purchase *very important* Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) which you can purchase at online nursery stores. I live in the N.E. area so I had to order it online. Sprinkle it generously on carpets and the floors - it has the same texture as cooking flour so it can get messy but it is made of fossil sea shells which cut and then dehydrates the exoskeleton of fleas and cuts their eggs. It's equivalent to us walking on razor blades. It was the only thing that worked!
3 - While in treatment, put 1 tsp. of cider vinegar in the drinking bowls and keep the bowls fresh.
4 - This will probably need to be repeated in a 3-wk time frame. Bathe the pets every 2-3 days with Dawn, keep the DE on the carpet and floors for 3 days before vacuuming. Empty contents of the vacuum into a separate plastic bag and throw away outside of your home
5 - I don't like to use Advantage, etc., due to possible side effects and it's essentially a Pesticide. If you must resort to use, I would recommend Frontline instead.
6 - Wash all pet bedding, with hot water using Borax bleach that you can purchase at any grocery store or Walmart
7 - Once bedding is washed, put cedar chips under their mattresses, etc., and wash every 2-3 days with Borax
8 - Inspect areas on your pet to ensure the fleas have stopped biting. Areas to inspect:
- armpits
- back of the neck
- groin area
- under belly
- beginning of their tail (tailbone)
- in between their paws
Good Luck!
There is a wonderful eco safe product called diatomaceous earth. It is a powder like substance that is safe to rub onto your pets for fleas. Also it can be sprinkled onto their bedding in the carpets, wherever they may lay! the product is also safe for them to lick off as they clean themselves and safe for humans (including babies). As for any product I recommend researching it online for your own piece of mind! But let me tell you this stuff really does work for fleas among many other little critters.
I forgot to mention to that a teaspoon of vinegar to a quart of your cats drinking water will help keep your pets free from fleas and ticks. Not only is it good for the fleas and ticks but the vinegar provides nutrients in your pets drinking water that many pet foods do not have.
20 Mule team borax dry in the carpets. Two and a half cups per room. Do not vacuum for 2 weeks.
Don't forget to vacuum all the time and empty the bag out all the time, or else put a flea collar in them, all cut up if it has a bag.
The main thing is to bathe the kittens in either baby shampoo, a bit of peroxide, and shampoo them in this, OR if they are really infested, I use dawn liquid detergent and keep it out of their eyes. Also, you can get aloe wipes and go over them all the time and then a flea comb to go through and pinch fleas off.
Go to earthclinic.com and look under pets and look under the fleas tab for other home remedies for fleas.
Well, your health is in danger when living with fleas. Many horrible diseases that humans can get from flea bites. I would have your vet care for the animals, and then check with public health on what the steps are for you. A total lock down decontamination process is in order. You can't even keep food in the house, if you have this infestation.
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