Fleas, GRRRR...

[scheelimama]

I need some suggestions for getting rid of these fleas. They are everywhere! We moved last February and they seem to be much worse at this place than they have ever been anywhere else for us. It's freezing cold outside, so I'm not sure how they are even still alive. I first tried the Hertz flea oil that you put on their neck. It didn't work at all. About 2 weeks later I tried Frontline, since it's always worked in the past. Didn't work. So, 4-5 days ago I bathed my dog in a strong flea dip and also put a flea collar on her. We still have fleas!!! What's bothering me the most is that I'm allergic to them apparently and have bites all over me, mostly my legs, but also on my back, hips, neck, anywhere they can get me. I've got probably 2 dozen bites on me currently. GRRRR...... : Our dog is an indoor dog and thinks she has to lay on our couch, bed, anything comfy. I feel bad, but everytime I see her on something i shoo her off b/c of the fleas. She still climbs up when I'm not looking though. So, any suggestions on what else I might do to get rid of them? TIA!

[QueenSheba'sMom]

we went through this recently. the only stuff that made me feel better was burts bees stuff. I made a little coctail of hand salve, insect repellent, & jojoba oil to spread on my infernally itchy parts. I sprayed the bed with the repellant. all surfaces in the house. the cats. baking powder + insect repellent for carpet powder when I vacuumed. vacuumed every day.

now they're gone. not sure why.

[MoonStarFalling]

A nice safe alternative to all those chemicals is using a flea comb. You can buy them anywhere. Just brush your animals all over several times a day, it gets rid of the eggs too. In addition to that, clean, clean and clean some more. I vacuum everything, even the mattress, I wash all bed clothes in hot water. Vacuum or shampoo all carpets, and furnature and under the furnature . In addition, I spray my animals down with a mixture of garlic juice and lemon juice. I also feed them a homemade raw foods diet with garlic and nutritional yeast. Better food, increases their health and makes them far less likely to become a host for fleas, among other parasites.

[scheelimama]

Thanks for the suggestions ladies. Do you have the recipe that you feed your animals? We've been doing Science Diet, so it's more nutritious than most, but I would be interested in making some food for her. We don't have carpet; we do try to keep the floor clean. Does using the flea comb kill the fleas, or just knock them off onto the floor? I've been washing our sheets about twice a week, but that's all I can manage between all the diapers and mounds of laundry and other housework I've got to do. How strong do you do the mixture of garlic juice and lemon juice? Thanks!

[Meiri]

What my dad does to take care of the ones that get into the house is to put a nightlight in a low wall socket with a pan of water underneath. Put a drop of dish detergent or soap in the water to break the surface tension.

The warmth of the light attracts the loose fleas who, in their jumping for the warmth that they think is critter, land in the water and drown.

[MoonStarFalling]

The flea comb traps the fleas and eggs, then you dip it into water to kill them. It works well, but it is a bit more work than the chemicals.
I caution against the chemicals though because everytime I've used them my poor beagle starts having seizures.

The diet I use is from The New Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier, it's 60% meat, 20% grain and 20% veggies.

For the lemon juice and garlic spray, I buy the garlic juice from the grocery store in the seasonings section, and just mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with lemon juice.

If you've got hard wood floors (I used to, don't anymore ) I used to mop them with olive oil to trap all those eggs so they didn't hatch, seemed to work well. It's so much easier to get rid of the devils if you don't have carpet.