Natural Flea Control

I have a beautiful conure, but the lady on the first floor in our apartment building has 3 cats. They must have been loaded with fleas, because I brought them into my own home after they hitched a ride on my feet. The landlord knocked on my door and handed me a "bomb" to kill the fleas. I don't want to expose my little parrot to chemicals so I phoned her vet. I was told to use Arm & Hammer. Get a few boxes and sprinkle it everywhere. The fleas are drawn to the salty taste of it and the next day I could see their bodies were completely flat. They had dehydrated and died. Of course, yours truly tasted like a potato chip, but that didn't stop me from doing it again in one week. After vacuuming up all the Arm & Hammer, I never saw another flea. It worked great, was inexpensive, safe and only caused a tiny bit of inconvenience.

Our German Sheppard was covered in fleas when we adopted him. His whole belly was full of the little black bloody droppings ugh... I read about garlic and began chopping 2 cloves and mixing it into 2 raw eggs and feeding this to him with his supper. I'm telling ya in the next 2 days I couldn't find a single one!! He stopped itching and was happy. I stopped the garlic thinking he's fine now, and in only a week he was beginning to get infested again. So I now keep up his supper routine of the 2 cloves of garlic in 2 raw eggs and he's been flea free ever since. Good/bad it's quite the controversy, but I'd rather this than the chemicals that are ALL bad. He's never seemed healthier.

FOR: Linda Baytown, Tx.....
Borax = sodium tetra-borate decahydrate

CAS-No. 1303-96-4

The most commonly occurring Borax compounds are:

• Borax/ sodium tetra-borate Decahydrate =

(Decahydrate means "10 water molecules")

• Borax/ sodium tetra-borate Pentahydrate =

(Pentahydrate means "5 water molecules")

• Borax/ sodium tetra-borate Anhydrous =

(Anhydrous means “without water”)

All 3 of the above are exactly the same product except for the number of water molecules .

========================

Boric Acid = Orthoboric Acid

CAS-No. 10043-35-3

Boric Acid can also be sprinkled directly onto a carpet or near the infestation of ants, fleas, termites, silverfish or cockroaches as the Boric Acid is abrasive to an insect's exoskeleton.

Boric Acid is an effective insecticide, by acting as a stomach poison in insects (ants, fleas, termites, silverfish & cockroaches).

To prepare poison add 1 teaspoon of Boric Acid and 10-12 teaspoons of sugar to 50ml water. Mix into a syrup and leave syrup near infestation.

To apply the powder, crush any powder that might have clumped up and using a sieve / sprinkle the powder onto carpets, fabrics and upholstery

(If you use a sieve, please do not use it in the kitchen after, as Boric Acid can be harmful when ingested).

Leave the powder down for 1-2 days, this will kill all eggs and larvae, then hover all the powder up making sure none is left.

Mark

Salt is a gift, cheap and truly shows how bad your flea problem may be in carpet rooms for sure. Lived in a trailer that was engulfed in fleas, we sprinkled salt around the inside perimeter of the home the next morning it looked like we salt and peppered the floor. JUST BEWARE if you have moisture in the the floor it will draw it up to the surface and make a pasty mess with the salt (worth the mess).

Can that be used on cats also?

WARNING!

This is a warning about Diatomaceous earth: it was extremely effective on the fleas when I used it in my carpeted apartment, however it had dire health consequences for me. I used it on my apartment, vacuumed it up and then left for several days to go out of town. I hoped this would dispel the dust in the air, but it was still there, and breathing DE after a couple of days brought on a severe first-time asthma attack. I eventually just had to move out of that apartment due to the sensitivity it created in me, and I have had an asthma condition ever since. I found out later that DE consists of billions of fossilized remains of prehistoric algae that under the microscope look like little razor blades. This is the effect that it had on my lungs.

Ameythest for fleas. Yea, it really works. Buy a stone from any new age shop for about $1 and put in cat's water dish. That's it. You never need to buy a new one. I first heard of this when my cat Zeus who was all cream color took off on me for almost a week. When he came home he was covered in fleas (being cream, they really showed). A friend told me that one of his friends did just what I am suggesting and her cat never has fleas. I was skeptical, but gave it a try. I don't remember exactly how long it was but it couldn't have been too long because I never remember worrying about fleas on him again (and he was an outdoor/indoor cat in Florida where the fleas are unbearable). I now have 3 other cats, one who used to go outside and two that never do and I never have any problems with fleas. They all get exposed to fleas, however, as I have a Bassett Hound who get them occasionally and brings them in the house. Obviously this doesn't work on dogs however - have no idea why. Just must be a chemistry thing.

Economical, natural and couldn't be easier. Give it a try.

Table Salt to rid your carpets of fleas--Instantly!! It sounds goofy, but it's true!!! My rugs were infested with fleas!! But this home remedy is not only inexpensive (price of table salt), it works like a charm!!

Just use regular table salt that you buy at the grocery store, or dollar store. Buy the container that is about the size of a small coffee can.

Sprinkle it on your carpets. It should look like it snowed in your living room! Depending on the size of your room, may need to buy several containers. Be liberal with it, it won't hurt.

It's ok. You can walk on it; it won't hurt. No need to leave it on there overnight or anything like that. Just vacuum it up and poof!! No more fleas in carpets!! How cool is THAT?!!

Gotta love grandma and those old remedies!!

You can use Dawn in a shampooer just put it in the soap container and mix it with water. I also have a spray bottle with flea shampoo and water in it to spray under the beds and hard to reach areas for any fleas & eggs that might have fallen off the dogs. It also works good on furniture and carpet as well for bad cases. If its a mild case like I have now, I recommend water and vinegar solution to spray everything down plus it works as a deodorizer.

Just a note to you and whoever may be reading this on Benadryl, Make sure that it has no Acetaminophen/ "Tylenol" in it, because, Acetaminophen is deadly for dogs. Just in case you don't already know.

To Connie: I live in Florida which has a huge flea problem and I have two cats that go in and out at will. I use Neem shampoo initially, which kills all existing fleas and their eggs organically. Then I follow with a ACV and water mixture as a final rinse which I do not rinse off. I let 'em loose and no flea problems whatsoever. If it works on my cats, I see no reason why it wouldn't work on your dogs. I have not seen ANY fleas on either animal and I do this every 4 to 6 weeks.

i was just woundering about the lemon remedy that you put on the pets can you also use that to spray on your furniture too?please help i am in need of help bad .thank you.

Last year we had a really bad outbreak of fleas in our house. My 2 year old kept getting bites all over her body and my husband and I too. I didn't want to use all the toxic powders or even boric acid since she has asthma. I got desperate and bought 10 cans of salt from the store and sprinkled it all over the house (mainly the carpet). Let it sit for 4 days and then vaccumed with a vaccum that has excellent sucction and a HEPA filter. THE FLEAS WERE GONE!!!!!. I guess the salt dehydrates them and kills the eggs as well. IF you live in a humid climate don't leave the salt in the carpet too long as it retains water. Wash all the linens and couch cushions etc....repeat the vaccum every day for 3-4 days to get all the salt out.

Gounded up salt like popcorn salt. The salt is so fine that the flea's legs pick it up and it drys them out

Hi Gina,

So sorry you are going through this. Please read all the borax and diatomaceous posts on Earth Clinic in the pet flea section (where your post is located). Sounds like you need to treat your backyard FIRST and those two remedies are mentioned for treating flea infestations both indoors and outdoors. You'll have to reapply after it rains, but one of them should help. If you use diatomaceous earth, please note that it must be food grade.

Also, consider a raw food (or freeze dried raw) diet to strengthen your pup's immune system. That might help too. Quality food can make a huge difference in flea control I've discovered over the years.

Good luck. Hope you get this issue solved very quickly.

Salt. Cheapo, salt in the round box. Iodized, not iodized, it doesn't matter what kind. Sprinkle on carpet and in corners. I didn't even have to de-flea the dogs who had brought home fleas from the groomer. Always a risk with groomers who offer walk-in nail clipping because those dogs don't get a bath BUT it's not a problem PLUS it's super handy to be able to just walk in and get their nails clipped when, with a 50 cent box of salt, it's never an issue!

I mixed some white vinegar and orange peels in a jar about a month ago. I just started using it on my dogs, and it really works to get rid of the fleas on them! I just pour some in a saucer, take a cotton ball and saturate it, and rub it on their skin, especially down their back, and around their tail, and it kills the fleas that come in contact with the vinegar. I was surprised that the mixture actually killed the fleas, but it did. When I rubbed the cottonball over a flea, it died. I will keep this mixture on hand now all the time.

Amythest in the cat's water-bowl did nothing.

A dish-soap bath killed all the fleas, but gave the cat a nasty eye-infection when water got in her eye. She was an old cat who always had very bad flea issues. The other 2 cats didn't have flea issues, but this 1 cat got it bad w/ sores...

It seems like she lost the use of her hind legs after the dish-soap bath. It killed the fleas, but, perhaps it isn't the best solution for the long term. She didn't last much longer after I started bathing her regularly. She was comfortable and not scratching all the time. Her skin healed up, but perhaps the fleas were a side-effect of a deeper systemic root-cause. Probably. Too bad whatever that root cause is, this site hasn't seemed to find it yet.

I tried the amethyst crystal and it does work! I want to point out I too had the same issue with the stone not working after a period of time. It didn't seem logical for something to just stop working so I experimented and found out what worked for my kitty.

My cat has a horrible time with the fleas in FL. They are unlike any other place I have lived. Frontline doesn't work & just makes my cat sick. The crystal was worth a shot and would cause no harm. Within a week I saw a difference and there were no more new bites. This lasted for about 2 mo. and then the fleas started again. In case anyone is thinking its due to a change of seasons, no that's not the case. There is no down time in FL when it comes to fleas.

I don't believe the stone just stops working but perhaps our pets chemistry changes. Either way I decided to add another stone I had at the house to the bowl. It is blue calcite and once again it worked. It is a complement to amethyst with its metaphysical properties. I was so happy to see it work again, but about 1 1/2 mo. later I was back to square one. It stopped working.

Ok, so this time I bought another amethyst. Yes, now there are 3 crystals in the bowl! I know it's crazy but its working and my kitty is not scratching.

I am going to do as another writer suggested & recharge the stones by moonlight over night. I was doing it by sunlight and I guess that may be wrong in this case.

Anyway, to anyone who says nay, experiment a bit before you give up.

For fleas - You can sprinkle 20 mule team borax on carpet (keep pets away and leave an hour.. Or less) then vacuum. The borax will also kill fleas in vacuum bag.

For the borax to work on carpet you need to sprinkle everywhere & leave it for at least 3 days. Otherwise it won't do anything. After 3 days or more, vacuum. Then sprinkle it again. The recipe for a spray borax is "Teds Mange Cure". Just search it here on E.C. It 100% works for fleas as well as mange. My dogs get rinsed after every single bath with Ted's recipe. They've never had mange. I've always used it for fleas. Hope this helps. Nikki

I was really surprised to have a FLEA TRAP I learned about on this website work GREAT! Those critters die EASILY in just a little bit of soapy water! I set up a flat dish with HOT water and a few drops of dish soap then arranged for a hot desk lamp to stay focused over the soapy water and all other lights in this attic room OUT. In the morning the plate was SO FULL OF DEAD FLEAS I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! I did it two more nights and then NOTHING. THANK YOU EARTH CLINIC! You just want the room to be quiet and uninhabited while you do this of course so the light also can't be knocked over because the plate really needs to be on the FLOOR.

I have 5 SHIH TZU"S used to have 8. Using all natural remedies and through web pages. My oldes Shih Tzu is 16 1/2 years young.

He has a wart on hisd lower fron leg. I know when I had a wart on my thumb crease I used a garlic and tee tree oil and it fell off about 5 years ago.

In reference to Garlic it can be very poision ist to dogs . I wanted to put it on his wart (older dogs get warts) and if it goes through the blood stream it break down their immune system and makes them enemic and they could die from it.

Also on www.herbdoc.com they also told me the same thing. I use eye bright for his cateracts which amanda from 5leafpharmcy told me to use 15 drops of water to 1 drop of eyebright 2weeks and continue each day with less water till you get at 15 drops.

After about 1 1/2 months from having a complete white eye cornea the black rim outer part is shwoing. I do this for 3 times a day every day. Amada said they have excellent results with it. She study under this Dr. Shultze and does heart, liver, kidney problems for dogs. Her dog greens are excellent. Just some extra natural things I do for the pups.

Be very careful with the garlic.

Terry

Sodium benzoate used as a food grade preservative in aloe. Kills fleas.