Fleas - Is it possible to get rid of them without exterminator/bombing

[ChooksChick]

btw- we get hit HAAAAAAARD around here, and I've never had such wonderful success as when I used Advantage. I've tried everything, including Program, which is systemic and you get your cats/dogs to eat it, then the bugs are rendered infertile if they bite your dog/cat (If I remember right).

The thing that worked best was always the Advantage. My dogs even swim in my pond (all 8'x 12' of it!), and it continues to work!

I also give the dogs brewers' yeast for the mosquitos and I use flowers of sulfur to keep the chiggers at bay. I haven't noticed anything (mosquitos, chiggers, etc) bugging the chickens, though, and I'm worried I'm missing something...

 

[the1much]

ceder branch's run em off,, put where the chickens cant eat them,, but everywhere is best!!, under couch cushions, under coops,,fleas HATE cedar!.

 

[CritterHill]

Quote:
Holy Cow! That happened to me Monday! They nearly turned us away at the door because they thought she had chicken pox!

I will keep up the good fight! I have hope!

I'm glad to know someone else joined me in the preschool flea embarrassment!! I wanted to crawl under something and hide!

The bites were mostly on her torso hidden under her clothes but she had quite a few on her neck, which is what they saw. It was awful.

In my previous post, I said we vacuumed every day for a week, my memory is foggy, it might have been longer. Keep it up and you'll get them outta there!!

I'll vacuum for a month if I have to. Luckily we only have one area rug in the living room to vacuum. We do have a fully carpeted basement, but I haven't seen any down there. I may just bomb down there if I have to and keep up with the spray/vacuum upstairs...

 

[kinnip]

If you have an old fashioned vacuum, put cedar scented moth balls in the bag. I say cedar scented merely because they're less offensive to people than normal moth balls. Vacuum daily, or every other day, follow the vets advice, wash sheets at least as often as you vacuum and wait it out. Best of luck. I've been there too and it ain't fun.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Boric acid powder (which is what 20 Mule Team Borax has in it) and DE (good old diatamaceous earth like we use for everything else around here!) sprinkle over your carpets & let it sit a couple hours, then vacuum.
You can longer buy straight boric acid powder over the counter but ask your pharmacist, or you can get it online.

Buy a cheap dog flea collar & cut it into 2 inch strips & suck one up into your vacuum cleaner & be sure & dispose of the bag every time you vacuum.

Outside the perimeter of your house sprinkle same mixture weekly--you have to reapply if it rains. I add sevin dust during the hot summer months, just for added protection.

This also takes care of roaches & other creepy-crawlies.

I go around the inside of all windows & doors each week with lemon Pledge--spiders hate lemon & the stickiness of it--dont' know if that helps w/the fleas too but we don't have problems with either.

 

[CritterHill]

Thanks for the info everyone and thanks for the informative link spydertoys!

I now have some hope, I'll keep it up for another few days as long as the 2 year old isn't getting more bites at night.

I think if I am still seeing significant problems by the weekend, I may need to call an exterminator.

I only saw one live flea today though, so that is an improvement.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

put a flea collar or two into your vaccum. Then vaccum your floors. Vaccum everday.

Also, I have heard that you can take a light and shine it over a cookie pan, and fill the cookie pan with soap. The light will make the fleas jump up, and they will fall into the pan and die.

 

[riderbecky]

Quote:
Cedar works!!! I use to need to always put Advantage on my dogs, I have 3 of them, every month or I was the one getting bitten.

I knew that cedar was repellant to fleas so I went to a guy to makes cedar shakes and he gave (as in 'take what you want then come back for more') me the most wonderful cedar shavings. They are curly, fine and fluffy. I put them in the dog house for bedding instead of straw.

The point of my story is that since I put the cedar into the dog house I haven't seen a single flea or bin bitten once and my dogs smell great!

I'd use them in the nest boxes too, but everyone says that cedar is toxic to chickens.

 

[kdcrws]

borax in the carpet. Vacuum everyday store vacuum on hard surface or change bag. The vacuuming will stimulate the eggs to hatch. U prob need to treat the yard surrounding ur house too. Once fleas go into larva stage they can stay like that for 9 mnths or so so I'd bomb again then . Hope u get rid of the little boogers!!!

 

[28 chix pix]

First OFF< I am so sorry about your infestation. We moved from Alaska where fleas do not live. We bought a new home on a farm and after 2 months we were attacked. We were demoralized, humiliated and thought it would never end.

First off, it will end, but for us, we needed professionals. If you treat one area of the house more extremely, they move to another area. The cats HAVE TO STAY OUT OF THE BED. Sheets must be washed EVERY DAY. Take all clothing, anything of fabric, bag it up in Black garbage bags and when you do, add a good dousing of BORAX in the bag. I had 40-50 bags on my back deck for over 2-4 weeks. If you keep the fabric around, they stay and rehatch. You need any fabric furniture professionally treated, if you have carpets, it is going to be much harder to get rid of. Bombs did not work for us. We tried everything. There is powder for the carpets, ... etc... YOU MUST VACUUM EACH DAY with a vacuum that uses a bag and dispose of it EACH DAY YOU ARE DONE VACUMMING> the eggs continue to hatch every day, so you have to do this for at least 2 weeks. If your life has not been turned upside down yet, it will if you want to get rid of them.
For us, it was a nightmare, but by doing what we needed to, in the end, calling the exterminators, the daily wash/vaccing.. etc... eventually we killed them. MOST IMPORTANTLY<
never NEVER miss a treatment of Frontline ever!