I need to know home remedies to kill fleas in house and on my pets.
By Dan
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I've had good results keeping fleas down by spreading regular table salt on carpet, upholstery, bare mattresses, leaving it down for several hours then vacuuming it up. Be sure to get all the salt vacuumed up or it will absorb any humidity in the air and turn everything wet. During warm months I did this once a week - it is usually enough to break the egg laying-hatching cycle. But it's messy, and again, it can become a wet mess in the house if not completely vacuumed up within a few hours.
So I decided to try something else...
And I've found using a steam mop works 200 times better! I fill the steam mop reservoir with half white vinegar and half distilled water, attach the 'carpet glide' (a plastic rim that snaps onto the mop head and raises the mop pad about two inches up from the carpet), and mop everything that could possibly be a flea hidey-hole.
Sofa cushions on the floor, flipping to get even mopping; use the steam mop on the cushionless sofa too. I use the hand-held steamer (I own a separate unit, you can buy steam mops that break down to a hand-held) on the arms and back. Same with chairs.
Wow, wow, wow, does that work! The steam-vinegar penetrates even the unhatched eggs. The next day I vacuum everything.
I did this three times five days apart when a flea infestation took hold here (I live in NE Scotland) during a recent warm winter - knocked my fleas for six. I told my son (lives in AL with his family) and daughter (lives in ID with her family) and both reported similar success.
It worked so well, and left my carpets looking so nice I've been doing it once a month ever since. No fleas. Very cool.
If you don't have a steam mop I strongly recommend buying a simple one - no whistles or bells, just be sure it has a 'carpet glide' attachment for 'freshening carpets'. I got the steam mop and the separate hand-held units on offer (sale) for under £30 ($45USD) and love them. Steam mops that break down into a hand-held are a little more expensive.
I love mine - flea control without chemicals, clean ovens and kitchen worktops, really clean kitchen floors, and 'fresh' smelling carpets too - win-win:)
Re the pets, consult your vet. If you can stand the smell, Avon Skin-So-Soft (original formula, that's important) used to work when our cat was going outside. I used to put a big dollop of the oil on my hands then work it into the cat's coat - he didn't like it, but it did work. He doesn't go out any longer so I don't need to use it on him now.
Keeping the fleas out of the house is easier with him in all the time, and using the steamer keeps the fleas gone. We tried the spot-on treatments but those didn't seem to work as well for our cat. My daughter swears by it for her dogs, though, so you might want to give that a thought.
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