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fleas <<< control fleas in the
home
Once you have treated your cat for fleas, you don't get to
relax. The next step is to control the fleas in your home.
Two impressive tools to help you control fleas in the home
...
are hot, soapy water
and a vacuum cleaner. If it's time to reclaim
your home, you can make a pretty good dent in the flea population
with regular washing and vacuuming. Pay special attention
to your pet's sleeping areas.
Fleas have four personalities ... eggs, larvae, pupae and
adults. Adults only account for five percent of the flea population.
The remaining 95 percent are lying hidden in such places as
bedding, sofas or cracks in tiling.
Unleash
your vacuum cleaner and thoroughly
vacuum your home - floors, carpets, furniture and cushions,
mattresses, baseboards, under furniture ... at least weekly.
Use an attachment for crevices and hard to reach areas.
Larvae position themselves at the base of the carpet where
they can avoid light and are somewhat protected. These creepy
creatures might be hard to remove by vacuuming, but you will
remove their food source (dead skin, bits of food, flea dirt).
When done, dispose of swept up dirt and the
vacuum bag immediately. Make sure the vacuum bag or garbage
bag is sealed up and remove it all from the inside of your
home.
Clean your bare floors often with very hot,
soapy water.
Wash your cat's bedding, or any blankets
or bedding that have come in contact with your cat. Gather
them up carefully. Flea eggs are designed to slide off your
cat, onto the floor, and could just as easily slide off
blankets before they make it to the washing machine.
Hot soapy water should remove the attached flea population
(swimming lessons). Use the hottest temperature on your
dryer.
Washing and vacuuming should be done at least weekly, much
more often if you have a heavy flea infestation. Persistence
does pay off.
Does Borax kill fleas? Is it safe?
I have survived two flea infestations in two homes. Not wanting
to use traditional pesticides, I used Borax to eliminate the
fleas. Borax acts as a desiccant and basically dries the fleas
up.
I vacuumed the wall-to-wall carpets first. Wearing a mask,
I then used a plastic container, with holes punched in the
top, and generously sprinkled borax over carpets and rubbed
it in well with a gloved hand ... so the borax was pretty
well sitting on the nap of the carpet, not the top. I worked
with sections about a meter square. I didn't vacuum for several
days. Not all the Borax was vacuumed up, some remained in
the carpet.
About two weeks later, the fleas just disappeared
and never returned. A lot of work? Yes. Did I need
to use any other flea control products to treat the inside
of the homes? No.
This was a few years back. Currently, there is disagreement
on whether or not Borax is safe to use as a flea
control product. Some authorities claim Borax is about as
toxic as table salt and others say it is dangerous and certainly
should not be used around children or pets who might ingest
it or inhale the dust.
Given there are concerns for the safety of people and pets,
we recommend you get the advice of both your veterinarian
and doctor before using Borax to control the fleas in your
home.
