Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I purchased a house in January and inherited a flea infestation with the house from dogs of previous tenants. I have no pets. The fleas have also been living on me in my hair for the last 2 months. I have had the house fumigated 3 times with a 4th next week. I have greatly reduced the fleas in my hair using everything from Hedrin, Scabbies cream, apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, olive oil, essential oils, tea tree oil, bi carb of soda, salt by washing my hair in the bath twice a day for the last 10 weeks, washing bedding and clothes every single day and still they live.
You will continue to have fleas on you, until the whole house is completely rid of fleas. As long as there are any fleas in the house, and you are the only living thing for the fleas to draw blood from, they will keep finding you for a meal.
When we had a severe flea problem in our house, we set off flea bombs in every room, after spraying a flea killer on all upholstered furniture and all rugs. Of course we had to leave the house for several hours, AND with all exterior doors and windows closed tightly.
Can fleas be removed from your hair by bleaching, dyeing, or just shaving off your hair?
If you have fleas in your own hair, you likely have more of a flea infestation than just your head. However it will not be necessary to shave your head. There are shampoos special for this that can be purchased from any store with a pharmacy. Also have an exterminator come and treat your dwelling or treat it yourself and continue to do so regularly.
I have had lice in the past (horrid experience) and I remember when I was getting them out of my head they crawled. Earlier today I shook my head and say a brown creature no bigger than the pin of a needle fall out and hop away. A month prior my cat caught a bunch of fleas, which we treated. What was it, and how would I go about making sure they never return?
By Gerald from Vancouver
First off lice don't hop. Most likely a flea. They might bite but they don't live on humans like they do animals. If are worried, here are some things to combat the problem.
Fleas love warm climates, so they love warm water. Put some water in a pie tin and put a couple drops of dish washing liquid in. This breaks up the surface adhesion and they drown. Then set it under a night light or safe lamp set on a flat surface (carpeting is too unstable). Then sprinkle salt in your carpeting and let set for overnight. You can do both in the same night if you want. Vacuum well the next day, maybe lowering the level on the vacuum to get way down in it.
And finally, buy some Brewers Yeast tablets for your cat. They love them, and they make their blood undesirable to the fleas.
I have seen the treatments for the pets and the home, but how do we get them out of our hair? My granddaughter and I have it the worst. The guys just shave their heads, we can't do that, although, how we would love to. We have tried washing our hair with Dawn that is great for a day or two, but then they come back. It is so embarrassing, and annoying as well. Can someone please tell me how we can get them out of our hair for good.
By Susan B
Smother head in hair conditioner. Then comb it through and it brings the nits out with it. Rinse afterwards. You may have to repeat in a day or so but it's much better than using chemicals. Use a fine toothed comb.
How do I get fleas out of human hair?
By Kristy
I use dawn dish soap on the dogs and sometimes the family. The fleas hate the dish soap and die or drown when trying to run away.
Be sure to also read the advice in the ThriftyFun Archives below these comments too. :-)
If you have an animal, the fleas will prefer to live on him. Are you sure they are fleas? If your animal has fleas, treat him with a remedy from the vet. Nothing else works. Trust me! I have 3 dogs, and they are treated every month with 'Comfortis.' You can also try 'Advantage' or 'Frontline Plus.' You don't need a prescription for Advantage or Frontline, but you do for Comfortis.
Ok I never knew that it was possible to get fleas in my hair but I swear that has got to be what is causing my head to itch like crazy and the last few times I have taken a bath instead of a shower I found dead fleas in the water! Tonight I found 4! This is really freaking me out, I have been in CA for the last 6 months I just got home about 2 weeks ago and with in a few days I started itching. I haven't notices any bites any where else on my body and only my head itches. What I can't figure out is why we have fleas in the house? We do not have any pets right now, our 11yr old cat had to be put to sleep on 3-1-11 due to kidney failure and I have always used Advantage on him. I wasn't here when he got sick my boyfriend was the one who had been taking care of him so I literally haven't been around any pets in 6 months. Is it really possible that we still have fleas from our cat that died over a month ago? Right now I am ready to burn our bedding, cut my hair off and bug bomb the whole house! Thankfully I found this web site and it sounds like we may be able to get rid of the fleas without all of the harsh chemicals. I do wonder why I am the only one who seems have fleas in my hair? My boyfriend has been here the whole time! Any info or suggestions would be welcomed.
# Nickie00
Even though your cat has passed on, and despite you using Advantage, flea eggs will have been dropped around the place. and they remain viable for 2 years or longer, waiting to hatch when conditions are right (humidity etc). It only takes a couple of eggs to hatch and develop into fleas, then the breeding cycle starts and gathers momentum at a frightening pace.
I too have fleas in my hair, and they're driving me crazy. I'm quite sure they're actually breeding there. If only I had a bathtub then I'd follow what some others on this page have done. Unfortunately I live in an extremely infested apartment and as I am the only host (no pets) the fleas live off my blood. I'm bitten up to 12 times a day.
In recent months they've taken to leaping from my head down my neck and are biting the top of my back where it's really hard to scratch. They really are cursed little beasties. I've done everything within my budget to get rid of them but it's a lost battle.
All year round however freezing the weather I have to wear shorts while inside otherwise they get into my trousers and crawl around my legs and butt biting when and where they feel like. At least with shorts on I can shake them back out much more easily.
I've heard of people that have had to flee their homes for good because of unstoppable infestations. I know the feeling well, and if I had the where-with-all I'd do the same.
They are Lice not fleas.They live in your hair and itch like crazy! That's why you can find them floating in the water. But take caution, you must still kill them, just cause their in the water doesn't mean they're dead. And they can be the size of fleas big and black. If you catch one you must kill it with your nails. sqwuishing it in your fingers does not kill it. The same goes for killing ticks and fleas (they bite you but these do not make their home in your hair)
Best remedy: lice shampoo.
Home Remedies: Vinegar - soak head with vinegar. let sit for 5 min then rinse and comb through with very thin comb. (warning : it might feel like your scalp burns because of the little open lice bites)
DYE your hair: hair dye kills them. (follow directions on dye box)
One more thing. Lice do lay eggs. Just cause you get rid of the hatched ones doesn't mean your clear. The eggs will be close to the root of the hair. Most commonly found near the warmer places on your head; behind your ears on your neck.
The live eggs are brown the dead ones are white. Again to kill the egg your have to do it between your finger nail and you will hear a high pitch pop (only for the live ones).
I lived in a third world country. The kids came home with this once a year.
Yes fleas can and will live in your hair, especially if there is no animal around for them to live off of! Our dog contracted fleas this summer and my husband had to leave and take him with him out of state for a couple of months (he's a seeing eye dog), now the fleas are attacking me and my kids. I can feel them crawling around in my hair, and I know it's not my imagination.
Fleas can live in human hair because I am pretty sure that that is what I have. How do I know? Well lice normally just makes you itchy, but in my case my head is itchy, it feels like sometimes something is biting my head and it hurts and I can feel them crawling all over the top of my head. That is another clue that it is most likely not lice because you cant feel the lice crawling on your head and they typically feed on your scalp behind the ears and behind your head.
I know that a quick way to kill them is to wash your hair with dawn dish soap because fleas hate dish soap and they drown in it and die. After you are done washing your hair, you need to clean off your bed and put whatever sheets, blankets or anything that you, well, cuddle or sleep with into the washer. Next you need to get all of your pillows cushions etc. into the dryer and keep them in there for at least hour. The heat coming from the dryer kills them. Last, I would put all of your brushes in a pot of simmering water because it might have eggs in them and the heat kills them. So good luck!
Yes! Fleas CAN live in hair! I went to my daughter's house about 2 weeks ago and spent several nights. While I was there, my head started itching something fierce. Come to find out, her fairly large dog, who is allowed on the furniture, has fleas really bad.
I came home, washed my hair and the itching eased up a bit. So I figured the fleas were gone and the bites were beginning to heal. Then last night, the itching started again and I noticed new bites! Apparently the fleas were gone, but they left me a bunch of their eggs!
I am going to try some vinegar and some Palmolive dish soap and hopefully, that will be the end of it!
Yes, fleas can jump on human hair, mobile and even your laptop. As the eggs are very tiny, they can fly to your hair when you play with the pet or when your pet shake their fur. If there is no pet they will feed on human, not their best choice.
If you have fleas on your hair:
1) try apply a lot of conditional or baby oil on your hair and then use the fleas comb to comb them. Wash away the conditional with dawn dish wash or joy or any other dish wash. Repeat until you feel they are not biting your face.
2) cut your hair shorter will make it easier for you.
3) use dawn dish washer and let it sit for a 5-10 mins and then apply conditional to replenish the oil. Repeat until you feel they are gone. Then repeat every week for a while just to be safe.
4) use head and shoulder shampoo, let it sit for 5-10 mins, then wash off and apply conditional. Repeat daily till you feel they are gone.
5) you can use tea tree mix with water to repeal them but they will just jump into your house. So you do need to treat the house. But for prevention that is good. But if you spray your hair, you need to spray very little on your face (not so strong) or they will attack your face.
Remove all the hair brush as it will be easy for them to hide inside, try to use normal comb that you can wash with boiling water with soap water and then rise with water with 2 drop of tea tree oil.
Meanwhile, treat your pet, house, bedding and cloths.
Wash your cloths in hot wash will not kill them at once as they will keep jumping back so keep washing them until your house is clean.
I still have not find a way to get rid of them from mobile/ laptop/ hard disk. Just need to do regular maintainance to make sure we get rid of them.
And do take note of cloths / material / towel / rug that you buy from any shop that is not wrap up, best to wash them with hot wash the moment you reach home. Some people love to keep their new cloths when they get home, if there is a flea in any of them it will jump to the rest. Cloths that is manufacture in large quantity are all throw around on the floor before they appear in the store. So hot wash will kill the dust mite / fleas / whatever that come along. This is a good practice.
If you are wearing your shoe and walk on soil and dirty ground, then try not to store your shoe with your cloths. What jump on your shoe will then jump on your cloths since they are store in the same place.
Go to the doctors and they might help. Iv'e had them before and that's what I did and my hair is back to normal.
I know people keep saying they are lice. .but it is not true. I taught ESL in the schools and lived through head lice from some African children who brought it with them from the homeland. It is quite different. A family member brought fleas to my home and they crawl bite and mess on my head. They like my head better than anything. I have tried all the mentioned things. Diatomaceous earth nearly killed me from breathing it in, borax, salt, vinegar, rosemary water, essential oils and dawn dish washing detergent did nothing but leave my skin with chemical burns. I put oil in my hair over night, sudsy soaps, sulphur soaps for an hour or two and nothing clears them completely. I am not sure what to do. Salt on my body and hair gives me some relief but only temporary a borax bath with my hair under water helps temporarily.
Yes my dog is on advantix II for two months, yes I vacuum often , wash clothes and bedding. The Vet said to plan on three months and be diligent vacuuming to wake the little pupae up so they could be killed by the vacuum cleaner. Wish I could vacuum my head.
My hair seems to be permanently infested with fleas. We have no pets, but have family who have and I know they have fleas. How do I get rid of them? I have called in the professionals to clear my home. How do I clear my self and my husband?
By Ida
Are you sure they are fleas? It seems far more likely, especially if they are in your hair, that they are head lice.
I've had fleas covering me. I feel them crawling by the hundreds as I lay in bed at night. I have found a couple in my hair, but I can't keep them held (they jump away almost instantly) but I have seen them. I have a dog. I've tried everything, but the solutoon was only temporary.
I've been dealing with this more 7 months . Tried everything . Spent over 3k u.s. I know bought a rv to sleep in , in my own driveway . Neighbors prolly think I'm looney tunes . Had two company's spray . And I order all my stuff off of domyownpestcontrol . Pro stuff . Even bought a gas fogger . They didn't end up in my hair till about 5 months in . I have really short hair . The crap is endless . As one is biting me now
Im having the same problem. Dawn soap and borox is that all i need. And what fo i use for the carpet salt . can i mix these chemicals together . im tired of this 2yr. Now. Started all over with new home furninture ftom a -z and there still here.
What should I do because I have them in my hair and I'm allergic to dish soap
So my head was itchy and my mom looked at it and said that I have fleas. What should I do because I am allergic to dish soap and that is all I know about. So do you know any other ways to get rid of fleas.
You need to use a shampoo made for lice. You can also ask your doctor what he or she recommend
There are shampoos on the market especially made for getting rid of fleas in the head, I would advise you to try one.
Definitely wash your hair with special shampoo. You should also was all your bed sheets in hot water and try and vacuum everyday to start getting rid of the fleas. I'm assuming you have a pet with fleas. I would give them a flea bath and wash all their bedding as well. Hope this helps!:)
Definitely wash your hair with special shampoo. You should also wash all your bed sheets in hot water and try and vacuum everyday to start getting rid of the fleas. I'm assuming you have a pet with fleas. I would give them a flea bath and wash all their bedding as well. Hope this helps!:)
You need to be sure this is fleas in your hair and not lice as getting rid of lice in your home is far more serious than killing fleas.
is she sure it's fleas and not lice? Fleas tend to be bigger and that i know of they don't like to have a human host but only bite opportunistically
in any event diatomaceous earth is good for eliminating fleas, as well as special shampoo. They also have Lavender essential oil
I know what head lice look like when they infest ones head. I am 65. I live in a house in which the landlord who is 77 rents rooms to people. A couple who rents a room have been scratching their heads, so finally I had to ask what it was. They said that it was fleas.
I walked away and looked it up online. I have never seen such a mess. After applying baby oil and waiting the required time they ran the comb, just 2 swipes and it blackened the sink. Is it really possible to confuse the two or are they just in denial?They could have fleas. They should use a lice shampoo. It will kill the fleas
If they actually have fleas in their hair it is a good idea to soak their hair in apple cider vinegar. I use a mixture of apple cider vinegar, baking soda, and water on my dogs. This really kills the fleas. You'll need to leave it in the hair for an hour and then take a dog's flea comb or even a comb for lice and start combing them out. The fleas will be dead.
This won't kill all the fleas at once and it will take several days to do this treatment to get rid of them all. My friend has dogs and she had an infestation of ticks in her area. She ended up with ticks on her and in her hair. So yes it is possible if they were around an animal that had tons of fleas on them it could get in their hair.
I help people clean their dogs and I have found one or two fleas in my hair and on me from time to time. I have also found ticks on me when I am removing them from the dog's I clean. I am very careful to make sure I don't allow them to stay on me or in my hair.
When I clean a dog that is infested with fleas I make sure I use the apple cider vinegar solution in my hair just in case a few jumped on me.
Our daughter used my wife's flat iron to straighten her hair and then found out she is covered in flea bites from her friend's house. Should my wife avoid using her flat iron now?
I've read other questions and answers, but nothing will work for me. I have very thick, wiry, curly hair that I can't get a comb through. I refuse to dye my hair because of it's rare red color. What do I do? I'm at this point at a loss and I don't know how I got the fleas. I've read up everywhere and they are human fleas. I'm the only one in my house that has them and my boyfriend doesn't have them either. I haven't physically seen a flea in about a week, but I still have the black dots I read they are called "flea dirt". I hope someone can help.
Thank you!
~Circus
I go over my friend's a lot and they have like 7 pets. So the fleas are really bad. I just sit in the chair and within 5 minutes my whole back is bitten up and my arms. And I been noticing that a few of my friends are digging at their head. I just slept over and now I'm digging at my head. What do I do? There has got to be a cheap easy way to get them out. Plz help me.
By Cassie F from NY
First of all, just because someone has 7 pets, it doesn't automatically mean they have fleas! Your friend needs to get rid of the fleas on her animals and in her home. A flea infestation is nothing to mess with and for a sick, young, health-compromised or elderly animal it can mean death! Not to mention that the animals are being tortured 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The animals need to be treated with something approved by a vet - not the dangerous junk you can buy at WalMart or Petco and NOT with flea powder, flea collars or flea spray, AND the house needs to be bombed with insecticide. The animals must be removed from the house in order for that to be done, and not return until it is safe for them to do so.
Vacuuming and emptying the vacuum bag outside is important. You can vacuum up salt or talcum powder to "dry out" the fleas going into the vacuum bag. Google these things for recommendations.
Your friend must be aggressive in treating the flea infestation. (1) remove animals from the house and take them to a groomer for a bath and treat with a vet approved once-a-month preventative such as Advantix while there at the groomers or vets office, (2) find a safe temporary place for the animals while (3) the house is bombed with insecticide to kill the fleas. Repeated bombing will be necessary at recommended intervals to kill the fleas in various life stages.
Bombing will kill the adults, not the eggs - when the eggs hatch it needs to be bombed again. Remember - there is no shortcut to eliminating an infestation of fleas, but it should not have been allowed to get this bad in the first place - now it's going to be a chore and follow-up is essential or it will just balloon again.
In my opinion, your friend is guilty of animal abuse and neglect. It's not healthy for the animals or any humans in that house. If necessary, treat the yard with something from Home Depot (and use it as recommended on the label and don't let the animals walk in it until it's safe).
Just take a bath and shampoo your hair really well. The soap will kill the fleas. Unfortunately, the next time you visit your friend's house, new fleas will jump on you again unless they take care of the problem.
Ann was right about what needs to be done. Unfortunately she took off on you, and you have no control over how your friend's parents take care of their animals.
How long do fleas have to be in human hair before laying eggs?
By Kissie
After they hatch they are fully developed. However, the female can not start laying eggs until after she feeds. So basically, after they eat they can start laying eggs.
How do you get them to go way and out of your hair?
By Kelsey
First, be sure that the problem really IS fleas. It could be head lice.
Read this page: www.thriftyfun.com/
I used mayonnaise on the hair and rubbed it in and let set for 15-20 minutes. I used this on my little dogs and no problems. It does take some suds to remove the mayo. Treated the yard with Diametacious Earth.
Our dog recently got infested with fleas, even though we used Frontline. We went to the vet and got the flea, heartworm, parasite treatment. I have bombed, used spray, washed everything, we don't have carpet, I give our dog regular baths for fleas.
Now for my question, the dog and my boyfriend constantly have fleas on them. We all share the same furniture and living areas, I never get them on me. Any ideas?FLEAS
The humble cat (cat, dog, etc.) flea is one of the most abundant and widespread species on Earth. You may have noticed that your dog and cat often choose different places to sleep in your house and outside. Your cat may have five or six favorite inside spots (usually in the sun) and outside even more. Many animals choose several places to sleep to avoid fleas. They might sleep in one spot for a few days and then another for a day or two. This sleep pattern breaks the flea life cycle and does reduce the effectiveness of flea attacks as adult fleas only live for a few days. However, some can live up to one hundred days in a good food environment. As you will see, the flea has a complicated life and you and your pet are invited!
My husband is an entomologist so I speak with first hand knowledge and experience.
Flea eggs do not stay on your pet, they quickly drop or roll off as they do not stick to anything. The fleas you find in your house hatched from the flea eggs that fell off of your pet. Flea eggs are tiny and opaque white or almost colorless. The fleas you may see on your cat or dog are immature fleas from eggs on the floor or outside that hatched into fleas and jumped back onto your dog. You will also see (many!) small black dots on your dog but these are only flea feces.
The flea eggs in your home and outside are the real problem. Just one female flea can produce 40-50 eggs per day. The eggs fall off into your house and outside so, either way, your dog or cat will then again attract the immature and adult fleas both inside and outside which are the children from flea parents that may still be living on your cat or dog.
Any dish detergent bath may wash away or possibly kill some fleas on your pet, however, not all fleas are killed. In a bath many migrate up to the head and ear area and then, once the bath is over, travel back to their favorite spots, usually on the back. If you use dish detergent, you can seriously dry the animals skin and may cause skin rashes, an allergic reaction, etc., and you are not addressing the real problem. The thousands of flea eggs that exist all the time in your house and outside hatch and then jump back onto your dog or cat (and you-only a flea knows why she is attracted to one person and not another!). So, you and your pets are locked into the everlasting cycle in the life of fleas.
A search online for how to kill fleas brings up many ideas for bathing, applying natural and awful sprays, etc., but these only address the fleas on your pet. Rarely do they address the bigger problem as a whole. You can check this site for answers that address your pet, your home and the outside. As you will see, flea prevention is a much larger problem than just giving your dog a bath.
I am an animal lover. About 3 months ago, my neighbors went on vacation (please be patient, it's relevant to the type of person I am) and stuck a collar and tag on their cat. I started feeding the kitty, and about a month in, I noticed he is declawed, with a bell on his collar. I got worried, I do volunteer work at my local shelter. The "kitty" couldn't hunt, or anything (I was feeding him daily, but only once, per what I could afford.) At first, I felt OK with this "unspoken arrangement" until I learned he was declawed!
So, I immediately took him in. (I have 2 cats, 1 male, 5 years old and a female about 1.5 years old. They never go outside in spring and fall I treat my 2 with Pet Armor.) I have never had a flea problem doing this regimen.The next day, even though they didn't need it, I dosed the cats with the flea medicine. The neighbors have, after the 3 months of my taking care of their cat. (There was not even a thank you, just a "he must've gotten the fleas outside, we don't have fleas" statement!) I treated all 3 cats, at my expense. (I wanted to place the cat away from his negligent owners, but no luck. I had to return him. He was in my window, they could see him). After the treatment, I treated again 30 days later.
Now I am experiencing troubles with fleas. I continue to treat, per directions, but tonight I found a bug by my ear. At first, I thought it's just an itch, I scratched. Just a moment later, the same area "tickled" again. This time I assumed it was a flea and instead of scratching, pitched and grabbed. It was a bug, but only half. Now about 10 years ago my daughter brought home lice. How can I tell what is which? She is still in school and has elementary school age step sisters.
Even after a 4th treatment my cats still scratch. I vacuumed daily. Will lice medicine kill fleas? This bug was by my ear! I don't know what to do. This is so embarrassing.
By bug unfriendly
My little girl has flea eggs in her hair. How do you get rid of them?
By Nekiya from Troy, NY
In a child's hair they are more likely to be lice eggs. The adult sticks eggs to the hair shaft, and you can purchase a lice treatment kit from a drug or grocery store to remove them. Follow all the instructions exactly, including any housekeeping instructions, to get rid of them all. I was a cosmetologist, and if I recall correctly fleas don't lay eggs on humans, as they are not their chosen host.
I have fleas from my cat in my hair and in my bed. ;( Help!
By SAR
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I have super long hair and think that I may have caught fleas in my hair. My cat has fleas. I don't see them, but I itch. Could it be the hebe jebes? If not, what can I do to get rid of them?
