# Help! Flea Invasion



## homefire2007 (Sep 21, 2007)

This last week has been unseasonably warm here in VT. Much to my mortification fleas seem to be in my carpet. Bathed my cat in a flea/tick shampoo and have been vacuaming like a madwoman. How did this happen? And more importantly how do I get rid of them?


----------



## ihedrick (May 15, 2005)

Well, fleas are better at multiplying than rabbits...but that's not what you wanted to hear.  While I am no flea expert, I'll share what I know. Flea eggs hatch in warm weather. I thought I had my flea problem under control, but we had another warm spell and there is a new batch of fleas.
You can do damage control by washing the cat, and vac the carpets (be sure to get rid of the bag after vac or you just keep the fleas in there and they multiply in your house!). I bought some of those flea bombs that said they kill hatching eggs for up to three months. A week later I had more fleas so I called the company to complain. They said flea has four stages of life. I don't remember the stages but two of them you can battle and two of them you can't! the Customer service lady said they can stay dormant for a year just waiting for the heat to be right. Then they would resume hatching.
So, I just began to keep all dogs/cats outside so they wouldn't bring the fleas in with them. As far as fighting them, you could give your kitty brewers yeast; either pill or powder in her food. This is supposed to make her less tasty to the fleas so they won't want to eat on her and won't have another source of food and hopefully die! :hobbyhors You can get those expensive flea bombs, but understand they may go away for a few days, but they will be back. Vac frequently and change bag (can get expensive quickly).
Good luck in your battle; and know that you are not alone!


----------



## homefire2007 (Sep 21, 2007)

Thanks, Iris! Have been vacuuming frequently, including using the crevice tool in tight corners, etc. Doing some research on the net and came across using 20 Mule Team Borax. Suggests sprinkling on carpet and letting it set for three to four days, then vacing up dead fleas. I'm ready to try almost anything at this point :shrug: I guarantee you, I'll be hyper-vigilant about flea control from now on :hobbyhors Thanks for the advice!


----------



## CJ (May 10, 2002)

This has always been a big fear of mine living in an RV with 3 dogs... so far we've been lucky, no fleas. But, we keep a mister bottle of tea tree oil and water mixed, and spray the dog's with it regularly, along with the carpets and their beds. 

Either it works great, or we've been super lucky.


----------



## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

If you do not want to change the vacuum bag everyday or several times a day...
suck up a little DE first. Then the little fleas get sucked into a bag o' death!
We moved into fleas! I have been trying since June to rid the house of them. Annoying!
But every room in the house is carpeted, including the bathroom! Yuck! and to vacuum takes forever so sometimes I slack on the daily vacuum thing. I just don't wanna! But if I did I am sure we wouldn't still be battling fleas.


----------



## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

We had great luck w/DE-sprinkled all over the house, then vacuum up a day or so later. You can dust the animals w/it also.


----------



## missysid (Feb 21, 2006)

Where can you get DE?


----------



## homefire2007 (Sep 21, 2007)

Yeah..what she said! What is DE, exactly?


----------



## TheBiscuitQueen (Aug 31, 2007)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
Diatomaceous Earth-


----------



## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

The only problem I had with the DE and the whole house sprinkle was the dust. Lawsy mussy..the dust! I am still finding it in places..but I swept it into the carpet. Still, I won't do that again.


----------



## greenacres (Feb 21, 2003)

By the way, while you are battling the fleas, you can spray your legs with "Off" or bug spray. That deters them from jumping on you while you are at war with them.


----------



## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

I remember reading about making a flea trap. Suspend a light bulb right over a pie pan full of water and dish soap, and set it in a flea-infested area. Turn it on at night. The fleas are attracted to the light, fall into the water, and drown. The soap breaks the surface tension of the water so they can't float.


----------



## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Marcia in MT said:


> I remember reading about making a flea trap. Suspend a light bulb right over a pie pan full of water and dish soap, and set it in a flea-infested area. Turn it on at night. The fleas are attracted to the light, fall into the water, and drown. The soap breaks the surface tension of the water so they can't float.


I used a little night light plugged into a low outlet. It worked just great! The little buggars jump to the light, bounce off, and fall into the water.

We only had a very mild invasion after our neighbor baby-sat our dog (she has an indoor/outdoor flea-bitten varmit (cat), so our dog brought the fleas home with her! So, I don't know how this method would work if you have lot of fleas. It's worth a try, though...cheap and easy!


----------



## Nel frattempo (Mar 29, 2007)

Good luck - I hate to say it but I would suggest calling the exterminator QUICK! We had fleas in 4 of our Cabins last year. They got in one thanks to an elderly couple with animals in there, moved to the 2nd one, we tried all the "organic" methods first they kept spreading, in one month time, they were in all 4 Cabins. The exterminator was able to get rid of them with one spray in 3 Cabins, but it took 4 spays in the original Cabin to kill them all. We had to tear out carpet, throw out bedding, throw out fabric chairs - it was horrible. 

We did use the method discussed above with the night light and bowl of water with soap in it and that did attack many. But if you have a serious infestation, call exterminator so you do not loose more things. Good luck - it is not an easy fix.


----------

