Fleas in the carpet

My cat spends most of his time outdoors or on my porch lately since the weather has been nice, he hardly ever wants to come in, and I use monthly frontline on him as well, but I have noticed fleas now in my carpet. They have been jumping on me and so what I need is the best way to get rid of these fuckers. I know the old Borax remedy, but does that really work? Anyway, if anyone has some suggestions about how to rid fleas from the carpet, I would apprechiate it so much!

 

The best way we've found is to use Flea Bombs and give the animals flea baths. If you don't know what a flea bomb is, basically they are little canisters that you place stratigicly throughout your house.. they spread a chemical or gas or something that kills the fleas. The downside of this is, they aren't natural at all, and you have to be out of the house (including all animals) for 8 hours I think.

You do have to take care of both the house and your animals though, because otherwise it will happen again soon (and flea bombs are $10-$20 a piece).

 

I need some advice too. My cat got fleas just from sitting in the window sill. He's not even an outside cat!! I have used Advantage twice, gave him numbers of flea baths, used Borax on my carpet, used bug bombs, and I clean all the time and my cat still has fleas so bad, my boyfriend gets bit constantly. (I dont. I guess they prefer him)
HELP!!!

 

I'm thinkin...there's this thing my neighbors used to do...they'd feed their dog sulphur...I don't know how much, I think they just sprinkled it on his food...but the fleas couldn't stand the stuff coming out of his pores so they left........
I imagine a good bug bombing was still in order after to keep the fleas from moving to the people.

 

We used to feed our pets garlic & brewer's yeast to keep the fleas at bay. We also misted them with a strong tea made of pennyroyal. But, now that we live in the south where it never gets cold, nothing seems to keep the little buggers away. I hate to use chemicals, but I have had to resort to Frontline on the pets and a powder on the carpet every so often.

 

i think i might have fleas in my apartment, as well. maybe sand-fleas, i'm not totally sure. my cat's an inside cat, and he doesn't seem to be itching a lot or anything... but i've got a lot of little bites, and saw one hop earlier.

what's the borax method?
do you think flea spray (the canned raid-type kind) would work on sand fleas, and how safe is that around a cat? does that stuff usually work, or is it a waste?

i've been itching like mad all day, so i think i'm going to have to look into these bug bomb things. i'm getting desparate, so i'm not too concerned with natural methods, sadly.

i'm glad you started this thread, elle.... excellent timing

 

yes, borax works if you do it right. you have to sprinkle a thorough, even application of borax over the whole carpet. this means especially under the sofa and everything else in the house. once it is spread you must brush it into the carpet with a broom. leave it in the carpet for three days and then vacuum it out. this will kill all eggs, larvae and fleas for the time being.

later more will come.

peace

 

Thank you scholar warrior. I think this is the method Im going to have to use.
Im itching all over today! Im freaking out- I hate fleas.
What are sand fleas exactly??? Ive heard of 'em but I dont know what they are.
Thank you everyone for all of your replys!

 

sand fleas are evil, tiny bugs. they hop on your ankles and drive you insane with itching&scratching. they live in sand and seaweed. i'm not sure if they're biters or stingers... whichever it is, they're annoying.

where can i get borax? is it something they'd have at the grocery store?

will the washing machine kill any fleas that might be on my sheets or clothes?

sweetersappe... do you think that drinking a couple beers migh make the fleas less likely to bite, 'cause of the brewers yeast? that might be worth a try...

 

oh my god, i can't stop itching!!!

 

sorry for all the excessive posting, BUT i've got one more...

i asked google what was up with fleas, and s/he said that they can give cats tapeworm... can this be transmitted to humans, too? anyone know how likely it is for a kitty (and a human!) to catch tapeworm from a flea?

 

Hi lawn girl.
I cannot stop itching either! Its insane. Anyway, you can get borax at the grocery store....if I remember correctly its in the same isle as the detergents.
Cats can get tapeworms by ingesting a flea or rodent carrying the immature stage of the parasite. They look like little grains of white rice around your cat's bum or in his feces. Nothing a small trip to the vet and some meds wont cure, but he could get them again if fleas arent controlled. They are really gross.....my old cat had them. Im not sure if people can get them or not....I think they can, but you have to come in major contact with it like ingesting one......I think. I dont remember what the vet said when I asked her. I dont know if the washing machine would kill fleas or eggs or the larvae....good question, I would like to know myself. Do you live by the beach? I just dont understand how you would be able to get sand fleas in your home......never heard of it before. How do you tell the difference between those and regular fleas? Just curious

 

thanks for the info! i'm definitely going to the grocery store tomorrow so i can instigate a war on the fleas. borax, spray, bombs, everything. i've been bitten too much, all moral bets are off. i'm talking mass slaughter... i'm gonna raze their villages and plunder their offspring.

you put my mind at ease about the tapeworm thing.. thank you. maybe i can mix some vinegar into the cat food, so the fleas stay away and shady can remain tapeworm-free. i found a flea in my orange soda, but i didn't drink it... so far, so good.

this is going to sound weird, so if you think im insane, i understand. i heard fleas dont like vinegar, so i rubbed some onto my ankles, and onto the cat. sadly, i dont have regular vinegar, only balsamic vinegar. the cat and i stink, but i'm convinced i saw a flea hop away upon application. i'm still itching like a mad-woman, though.

google isn't giving me much help with the washing machine. i'm thinking of spraying everything with flea-killer, letting it soak in and dry, then giving it all a hot wash. if i find out a better idea (perhaps one that might not damage fabric) i'll definitely let you know. bleach might work... but that'll ruin colors.

i live about half an hour from the beach, and i've been going down there for the occasional bonfire. i'm pretty sure that's how i picked them up, if they're sand fleas. if they're regular fleas, i'm clueless to where they could have come from. i'm not sure how they're different from regular fleas, aside from their location.

 

haha.....that's funny.
And your welcome....let me know if the borax works for you.

 

[
sweetersappe... do you think that drinking a couple beers migh make the fleas less likely to bite, 'cause of the brewers yeast? that might be worth a try...[/QUOTE]I don't know if that would work, but it would be fun trying

 

i use a carpet powder specially designed for fleas & you only have to leave it on for two to three hours- it worked brilliantly this summer! My cat also has a flea collar, but that doesn't seem to make much difference. A tip for the bites though- just put insect repelent round your ankles!

 

Do you happen to know the name of the carpet powder you used?
And yeah, flea collars dont work too well at all....the fleas just gravitate to the cat's bum area.

 

"Sergeants Rug Patrol" or something like that, but if you go to a pet store I'm sure they'd have some on the shelf, I think its quite popular

 

thanks!

 

i like frontline plus because it kills the eggs and has insect growth regulators that prevent any fleas that survive from maturing. we used to use advatage but the most recent flea battle it failed miserably. frontline plus took care of the issue. also, the active ingredient in bio-spot (i think it's permethrin or pyrethrin (one can only be used around dogs the other is cat and dog safe) is available by many names in spray form. great for use on carpets, clothes etc. also, remember that prolonged exposure to bleach will kill almost anything (as far a laundry goes).
when it comes to fles, i hate to say it, but the non-chemical stuff just has never worked for me. i'm with you - death to the fleas!!!!!