What can I use to get rid of fleas with home remedies? I need something that will not harm my children. I have a 6 month old and a 1 1/2 year old. What should I use?
By heather amon from Owosso, MI
About 2 cups dry borax for each carpeted room. Spread, leave for 2 weeks before you vacuum. Carpet is the best breeding grounds for fleas. This is safe for children in the house. Crawling babies even. Use whatever safe method of killing the fleas on your pets. Residual borax will continue to kill the fleas for a year and a half. It will not harm carpet.
Frontline is very safe for entire family. Also give pet a good flea bath and then start them on oral flea protection; I've tried a lot of different types. The best one is "The program flea protection." I order mine online at petrx.com.
You could also use diatomacious earth. It's used in pool filters and is made from the skeletons of microscopic life forms.
***DIATOMACEOUS EARTH FOR POOLS IS TOXIC TO YOUR PET!!!!!! ***
PLEASE USE FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH ONLY!
A small container of Food Grade diatomaceous earth can be found on amazon. However, it is much cheaper to go to a large animal feed store ( Last time I paid $20 for a 50lb bag) sprinkle it in carpet and along baseboards, let it set 2-3 days and vacuum. It will also kill spiders!
You can sprinkle it around the outside perimeter of your home as well. Just repeat when it rains :-) Deer come to visit our yard and with them come fleas. My little dog has a small fenced area outside so she can use the doggie door to do the business when I have to be out of the house. I cleaned her kennel, then covered the area with diatomaceous earth and topped it with cedar to keep her area as flea free as possible.
You can also make your own "flea catcher" to use at night. In a dark room I set a warm dish of water, added a large amount of Dawn, placed it on top of a white sheet of paper. Use a light source above it (I used an adjustable desk lamp) the heat and light from the lamp attracts them to the water! Wash your pet's bedding in hot water. If they have their own bed on the floor I recommend a cedar bed, you can make or buy a removable washable cover.
Note: You must repeat often. The life cycle of a flea from egg to adult is 21 days, and eggs can lie dormant for quite awhile.
I hope this helps!
I was unable to find a product by this name?
what is borax? how do I get it?
It comes in a box it's an ingredient used in laundry soaps you can get it at any grocery store. Wal-Mart carried it
It says on the pack - 'KEEP OUT OF REACH FROM CHILDREN'
Can i put on furniture?
Be sure it is food grade DE if kids drop food on the carpet then eat it. Can be found in livestock stores or online. Pool application etc. DE can have added chems and is just not safe to consume.
Some people are allergic to DE. I am, makes me break out in a rash.
you can't eat it in large quantities like handfuls.
No. Borax is not safe for children!
Borax is not safe to children, it's toxic.
There are differing opinons on the toxicity of borax. Here is a comment from another page on ThriftyFun.
"Borax is not Boric acid. It is the sodium salt of boric acid, or sodium tetraborate. Acid salts do NOT carry the same hazards as their acid counterparts. Their chemical makeup is different. The salt makes the chemical more stable and less likely to dissassociate or break its chemical bonds to form acid and water in chemical reactions.
It does not mean it is totally safe and fine to leave out for pets or children to be exposed to it, but it is not as harmful as boric acid. Likewise, you should contact the manufacturer before mixing Borax with other chemicals that could make the salt more likely to disassociate to acid and water.
Most likely, the skin and respiratory irritation that borax causes is due to the structure of the substance (many sharp edges). Table salt, or sodium chloride, causes irritation by the same method.
I am a scientist, not a doctor, so this is not a medical opinion. I have experience in writing Material Safety Data Sheets and giving product safety advice, so this is what I would say if I was giving this advice to a customer."
Sprinkle salt and bicarb soda (baking soda) on all floors (especially carpet), bare mattresses, and fabric sofas and seats, then vacuum.
If it's really bad, bathe your cats in oil. This smothers all the fleas. The wash in a gentle dishwashing liquid to degrease.
Check your supermarket for flea treatments. Many of them last a month to a few months and protect your pets (and you) from pretty much every nasty they can get.
Hope I helped!
Vacuum daily because fleas breed every two weeks. Get rid of carpet and rugs if possible or put outside until fleas are under control. Vacuum furniture and bedding and dispose of bag after use or they will breed inside the bag. Do not allow cat on bed. Shake borax in crevices of rooms, floor, cat bed, wherever fleas are seen, it will desiccate them. You can also use salt, the coarse kind is best.
Wash the cat in lemon scented dish detergent and all his bedding and toys. You will have to do this weekly due to the life cycle of the flea. Begin washing the cat at the neck to keep fleas from running to the face. Wet wash his face and physically remove fleas. Then wash the rest of him or her. Try to let soap sit on cat for 5 minutes or more to give it time to work.
If washing is a problem, use a soap-soaked microfiber cloth especially under the belly, behind the ears around the neck, base of the tail, and genitals. Put kitty in tub to minimize the mess. Use a second one to rinse. Use a big heavy towel to dry. A sham, is good for drying. Give kitty a nice treat after bath so he/she will look forward to the intrusion.
Wash floors on a regular basis and sprinkle your borax. Keep cat inside to cut down on exposure. You can put a dish of lemon soap water under a night light and fleas will be drawn to the dish and the light. Do this in several places at night.
Try to locate the source of the fleas, the nest. It is usually in the basement, or some warm undisturbed place, such as a clothes box, or storage container.
The best way is to use Frontline which is placed at the nape of the neck every 6 weeks. You use a single vial that is absorbed and then leaves no traces behind. But if you object to all chemical control you will have to fight fleas vigorously and constantly and be satisfied with less than perfect control.