Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

In addition to being a nuisance, fleas can also cause health problems for pets and humans. If you find fleas in your home but are concerned about potentially harmful insecticides, you can try natural control measures. You need to fight flea infestation on many fronts, so clean your house, bathe and brush your pets and take steps to control fleas in your yard. This process takes about 3-4 months, but with patience and perseverance, you will get rid of the fleas without resorting to harmful chemicals.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: House cleaning

1. 

   Vacuum floors, upholstery and bedding every day. Pay special attention to the places where pets often play, areas with little sunlight exposure, and anywhere you see fleas, dry blood or flea droppings. When vacuuming furniture, remove the mattress so you can handle nooks and crevices.
   • Be sure to vacuum under furniture, behind doors, along baseboards and in problem areas.
   • During a flea infestation, you need to vacuum your home every day. Even if you don't see fleas in your home, you should still vacuum thoroughly at least once a week.
   • When the dust bag in the vacuum cleaner is full, put it in a sealed garbage bag, then throw it in the trash outdoors.

2. 

   
   
   Wash decorative carpets, bed sheets, and pet bedding in hot water. During a flea infection, weekly put sheets, blankets, pillow cases, pet beds, and small rugs in the washing machine and dry. Set the washing machine to the hottest water and the highest dryer temperature that the items can withstand.
   • If your pet's berth is non-washable, throw it out for safety.

3. 

   
   
   Steam cleaning carpets and upholstery furniture. If you don't have a steam vacuum cleaner, you can rent it at rental equipment or call a professional carpet cleaning service. Be sure to pre-test the carpet cleaning solution on hidden areas of the carpet and furniture.
   • The steam vacuuming process will kill adult fleas and their larvae, but some of the eggs still survive. It can take 3 to 4 months for flea eggs to hatch, so keep vacuuming daily. Consider steam cleaning every 1-2 months until you stop a flea infestation.

4. 

   
   
   Try using a dehumidifier to control the humidity. Flea eggs need a minimum of 50% moisture to grow and hatch. You can use humidity monitors and dehumidifiers to create an environment that is not conducive to fleas. Remember that you still need to vacuum, wash your sheets, and take other steps to keep the infection under control.
   • The number of dehumidifiers needed depends on the area and the layout of the home. A medium-sized dehumidifier within 24 hours can capture 19 liters of water in the air. This size is suitable for a maximum area of ​​140 m2.

5. 

   Use flea traps to keep track of your progress. Flea traps are sticky paper strips or a bowl of water under a light bulb. The heat from the bulb attracts fleas to stick to the paper or fall into the bowl of water. When steps are taken to control infestation, the traps will eventually catch fewer fleas.
   • If it has been 1-2 months and the number of fleas caught in the trap has remained the same, then it is time to call a professional.
   • Flea traps are an effective way of monitoring the severity of a flea infection, but they only catch adult fleas. Traps cannot deal with flea infestation.

6. 

   Treat your home, pets, and yard at the same time. The only way to control a flea problem is to treat every aspect. If you clean the house but do not handle it on pets, your home will also be re-infected.
   • Please be patient; it may take 3 or 4 months to take control of the situation.
   advertisement

Part 2 of 3: Controlling fleas on pets

1. 

   Bathe your pet at least once a week. Use cat or dog bath oils; Never use human shampoo to bathe your pet. Bathe your pet's head and neck first so that the fleas don't jump into their eyes, mouth, and ears.
   • Your pets can irritate their skin if you bathe them more than once a week. Oatmeal moisturizing bath oils can help prevent dry skin.

2. 

   Brush your pet every day with a flea brush. At least once a day, use a flea comb to brush your pet's fur when it is dry. Dip the comb occasionally in a cup of hot soapy water or a half alcohol and half water solution to kill fleas caught on pet hair.
   • Beware of fleas coming out of pets. Even though you brush your pet while his coat is dry, a bath is a good place to do this. You will easily spot fleas on the white and smooth surface of the tub.

3. 

   Try spraying the citrus solution on your pet. Cut a lemon into slices of nail and put in a pot with 500 ml of water. Boil water, turn off the heat, cover and leave overnight. Filter the solution and pour it into a spray bottle, then spray it on your pet's fur, rub the solution to soak it in their fur.
   • You can also buy citrus sprays online or at a pet store.
   • This solution can keep the fleas away for 24 hours, but your pet's skin can get irritated if you spray it every day. Try spraying every 3 or 4 days and increase it gradually if there are no signs of skin irritation.
   • Avoid spraying near the pet's face. Stop spraying if your pet's skin is red, dry, or if he is scratching repeatedly.
   • It's best to always consult your veterinarian before using a pet flea home remedy.

4. 

   Keep pets indoors as much as possible. If you have cats, it's best to keep them indoors. If you have a dog, take it out for a while to go to the toilet only. Avoid leading your dog to shady, humid, and grassy areas.
   • Keeping your pet out of the way will help reduce the risk of them coming into contact with the fleas.
   advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Fighting fleas outdoors

1. 

   Keep your lawn kept short and leaves in your garden. Keep any outdoor areas your pet normally plays. Trim lawns and weeds so that the sun can reach dark, cool, and humid areas. After you have mowed the lawn, remove any grass clippings, rake leaves, and yard debris.
   • Fleas breed in damp and shady areas. You can make a flea-friendly environment by cutting the lawn short, raking the leaves, and removing debris.

2. 

   Sprinkle the beneficial nematodes in early spring. Nematodes are tiny worms that feed on flea larvae. You can find these worms at garden centers. Look for products that have a flea control label and spray them on lawns and garden soil according to the instructions.
   • Pay special attention to where pets often go. The best time to spread nematodes is in the early season of fleas, or early spring.
   • Typically, you will mix a package containing millions of tiny nematodes with water, then put in a spray bottle or watering can to spray. During the spring and summer, you need to water each time the soil begins to dry.
   • Don't worry, the nematodes will infect you! This worm is not harmful to humans and pets.

3. 

   Sprinkle with diatoms every 7-10 days. Look for a garden-labeled diatom soil at a garden store. Sprinkle diatoms in your yard, concentrating on shady areas and places where pets often hang out.
   • The best time to sprinkle diatoms is in the morning. Avoid doing this on a windy or rainy day, and don't sprinkle it around pets. Inhaled diatoms can cause respiratory irritation.
   • Diatoms are a mineral powder that can scratch and dehydrate fleas. This material loses its potency over time, so you will need to reapply weekly, after a rainy or windy day, and after watering the lawn.

4. 

   Try growing pungent mint in a garden or flowerpot. Pungent mint is a species of the mint family that has been used to repel insects for centuries. Plant pungent mint in your garden to fight fleas outdoors or indoors. Pungent peppermint is toxic to dogs and cats, so make sure your cat isn't trying to eat it.
   • Pungent peppermint oil is sometimes used as a flea repellant, but this is not safe for pets. Do not rub essential oils on your pet's skin, do not put them in food or put them in their nest.
   • If you have pungent mint in your garden, take the shoots off regularly so they won't take over the growing area. Like other species in the mint family, pungent mints thrive. You can place the plant's roots in a flower pot and bury the pot in the ground to control its growth.
   advertisement

Advice

• To see if there are fleas in any area of ​​the yard wear a pair of white socks, pull them up to your legs, and walk around the yard. If there are fleas in the yard, they will jump on your socks, and you can see them on white socks.
• If natural flea control measures are ineffective, consider taking a flea prevention medicine. There are less toxic options on the market; You can consult with your veterinarian about flea and tick prevention medications with safer ingredients.
• Although they are more expensive, oral flea protection medications containing lufenuron, nitenpyram, or spinosad are safer than topical medications.
• If you must take topical medications, choose products with s-methoprene or pyriproxyfen. Avoid products containing imidacloprid, dinotefuran, tetrachlorvinphos, carbaryl, and propoxur.

Warning

• Avoid applying pet essential oils or putting essential oils in their litter or food. Always check with your veterinarian before trying any of the home remedies to treat pets.