I have had my boxers on Frontline PLUS but it doesn't seem to be working. My female boxer just had 2 pups which are two weeks old. Fleas are all over them. The Vet said wash them in Dawn detergent and put Borax down. I have done this. Can I wash the mom and dad boxers in the Borax as well?
I have used Borax for a few years now. We were INFESTED with fleas a few years ago. I tried bombing, meds the works. Nothing took care of them. I now sprinkle Borax into carpets, furniture, etc and rub it in good. Let it sit for 7 days (put towels on the furniture for use) and then vacuum it up. It works and no danger to pets or people. I recommend it to everyone. (08/20/2008)
By momma-to-6-cats
Should I get rid our cat? Have fleas in our house and have followed the advice everyone has given here regarding borax, salt and vacuuming. We've done it twice and our infestation seems to be getting worse. I have about 50 bites on my legs thankfully my husband and son are bite free. I saw a flea in my son's hair so we have an exterminator coming tomorrow. This is so time consuming and expensive. I can't go through this again. I love my cat but, would getting rid of her help? Please help. (08/20/2008)
By Monique
Try using brewers yeast in your dogs food, fleas hate the smell NOT BAKING YEAST! Go to a health food store and buy it. You can rub a little on the dog's coat too! (08/20/2008)
Diatomaceous Earth works well. The lady is right, once you get an infestation you have treat everything and everyone. Getting rid of the cat will not get rid of your flea problem. (08/26/2008)
By Alisa Mercer
I can vouch for the borax working well, also. We have a crazy cat loving woman that moved into our apartment building recently. She has roughly 10 black cats in a one bedroom apartment. Needless to say, the cats were hanging out in the breezeway all of the time, and it did not take long before I noticed that my ankles were getting bit every time that I walked through the breezeway.
Both my car and apartment had a full blown flea infestation within a few months of the cats arriving here. I jumped on the net and found out about borax. I sprinkled the borax in the floor of my car and all over the carpet in my apartment. Like magic the big flees were gone in just a few hours. The little fleas hung around for a few weeks which were probably eggs hatching.
Although the little fleas were still annoying, their bites were nothing compared to the larger fleas. The cat woman is still residing in our apartment building, and the black cats are still in the breezeway almost all of the time. Many people are starting to get upset with her because she refuses to get rid of the cats. The apartment rules state only 2 cats per apartment are allowed, and she is way over the limit. It amazes me that some cat lovers: love their pets more than they do humans. The cat woman inflicts misery on everyone who lives within the building complex attached to our breezeway.
I am moving out of here within two months because our apartment management is doing nothing to solve the problem. I am still being attacked in the breeze way by fleas daily. I have started to throw table salt out in the breezeway and in the nearby bushes just about every time I walk in and out of the apartment. Table salt helps, also. Although, I am still getting bit by flees in the breezeway, the flees that I pull out of my socks are getting smaller and smaller. Hopefully, they will disappear completely soon. Anyway, borax works great. (09/10/2008)
By John
The Ecology Works Dust Mite and Flea Control uses a type of Borax you can mix with water and spray on to fabric. This eliminates the messy dust, and when dry, bonds with the treated carpet etc. so your vacuum won't remove it. Great stuff works for at least 6 months with one treatment. (10/07/2008)
By Itchy and Scratchy
Just wanted to thank everyone on here for the suggestions. We have 4 dogs and 2 cats and are infested with fleas. Have tried Hartz Plus, Frontline, Adams, Advantage, Sevin Dust, Dawn dish liquid, etc. etc. etc. Can't wait to try the borax now! Also, a little info for everyone, my vet told me that OTC flea products cause liver damage or even failure in pets and, that Advantix should not be used on white dogs as it causes hot spots. (10/30/2008)
By Beth
That is awesome information! I love you, cat lover! (12/15/2008)
By yo mamma 3000
Sorry, but the Borax thing is unconvincing. I recently bought a couple of boxes of the 20 mule team stuff and completely powdered my 600 sq ft apartment. This included moving furniture around so that I could get underneath. Waited about seven hours, and then vacuumed it up with one of the Dyson vacuum cleaners with a clear tank. The next morning, I looked inside the Dyson and I could see dozens of fleas playing on top of all the borax I vacuumed up.
By Courtney
Borax cannot be put on animals, it will burn their skin alive. It is an insecticide and will make the animal sick. Borax is to be put on the rugs since fleas live in the rug. Fleas are jumping on your animals from the rug. so put borax on the rug only. Remove the fleas from your pets with a flea comb. This flea come needs to be put in hot water for a few seconds then quickly comb through the cats or dogs fur to remove them remember comb the animals hair through with the flea comb and keep dipping it into the hot water to dislodge the fleas. (12/19/2008)
By maggy
Remember there are several kinds of borax. The detergent is not what you need. (12/19/2008)
By maggy
This is almost sounding like an urban legend. Either laundry powders are natural flea killers or they are not. Since all pesticides require such labeling, if Borax powder were a pesticide, it could sell for better price than a dime a dozen. So, I think if it works, probably most laundry powder would work as well. I imagine someone mistook Borax for boric acid and since the laundry powder happened to kill the flea, she thought this was the cure. Anyway, this can be verified easily, and someone has said watching fleas playing on Borax powder. Let's prove or disprove it once and for all. Would someone that had Borax worked for her try other laundry powders? Thanks. (12/21/2008)
By Patrick
If you look at the info on borax, both sides are right here, yes it would kill fleas, but yes for a while they would be able to dance around on top of piles of borax for a week, since they apparently die AFTER INGESTION IN 3-10 DAYS DUE TO STARVATION. Hope this clears it up:
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidefactsheets/leasttoxic/boricacid_borates_borax.htm (12/24/2008)
By Randy
I know for a fact that Borax does work for fleas in the carpet. I used it in my home because it was safe to use around baby. The difference is that I left it down for a week. I never had a flea after that. (01/05/2009)
By Misty
If the Borax is ingested by your pet it will KILL them. It causes kidney failure. Try using Martha Gardners wool wash, which has a small amount of Eucalyptus oil and will only kill the fleas. Lavender oil also repels fleas, but do not use undiluted Eucalyptus oil as it also can be poisonous if not diluted. (01/10/2009)
By lynda
Borax works. Some people say it is toxic for cats. We never had a problem, but we only have had dogs.
Brewer's yeast also helps repel fleas from dogs and people too. It is a natural source of B vitamins and when ingested, it puts off a slight odor that fleas and other biting insects hate. I had heard it is especially high in B2 so it could be that B2 is the active ingredient here.
I was on a nature kick years ago and ingested some brewer's yeast before a canoe trip. There were black flies on the river and they totally attacked my friend in my canoe. Not one fly came near me. The only explanation was the brewer's yeast. I have since told my sons about this and they have had the same results. (05/27/2009)
By Jean
I read through most of the comments here and they are helpful. I want to share some tips including one I tried myself.
From a relative who has had multiple flea infestations due to her cats over the years: She buys Borax in the laundry aisle at the supermarket, sprinkles it on her carpet and furniture, uses a stiff (like a straw) broom to brush it into the carpet and fabric so it penetrates, leaves it for about two hours, and vacuums those ares. She keeps her cats out of the room until the vacuuming is completed. This has solved her flea problems numerous times and she now does the above twice a year as a preventative measure. No ill effects on the cats.
One person said she did the above and it didn't work, but she mentioned she uses a Dyson vacuum. Anyone who has one of those (I do) knows they suck the living crap out your carpets. I suspect none of the Borax remained after she vacuumed, or not enough to help her. Just a thought.
Here is something I found online that I tried and it worked, helps a little. Get a lamp (like one you might have on a desk, mine has a little clamp on one end and a sort of metal snaky neck so you can position the lamp where you want). Point lamp at floor about six or so inches up. Put a shallow pan or plate (I used a dinner plate) and pour in a mixture of dish washing liquid and water. I gave one good squirt of the soap into a bowl and put water in, stirred it up, and poured it onto the plate. Did this before going to bed so the lamp was the only light around. In the morning there were 7 fleas drowned in the soapy water. The light attracts them and they drown. Now I don't know how bad our infestation is, but the only good flea is a dead flea, and if this "trap" kills any at all, that's one less to bite you and lay eggs. I am going to do this in various rooms and every night until I stop getting any fleas as an indicator of whether there are still any around after I do the Borax.
Hope the above helps someone. (07/14/2009)
By Bootch
Okay. I used it. Not one flea for at least the first day. But then they came out of the woodwork. Literally. More than ever, only fewer adults. Therefore, thanks to this forum and different takes on it I am now an official pontiff regarding the 'how to'.
As one member said, it is more important to blanket the borax wall to wall, and vacuum frequently, then wait too long and do it once. Gestation is about every 15 or so days. Therefore, we need to get those creepy crawlers out of the driver's seat the first time before they have a chance to 'leave' another generation.
I've already used several boxes, vacuumed thoroughly over hardwood floors, texture chairs, then followed up with washing rugs, blankets, etc. So, after day three here, and second application, our dog only had one flea on her today. She's got hot spots so I lathered baby oil/ Vaseline on the tender skin. It kills them while soothing the bites. So...I'm lurking, and checking. Ouch! Just one bite under the desk. *shrieking*. "I'll get you my little prettee...and your little DOG too"!
Oh'm gosh, I'm getting manic. Anyway, I'm sure it's a keep-up thingie, and I am going to give it this week. Yep. I'm going to report at the end of the week to see if we accomplish this parasitic genocide! "MUuahHhah"! (08/06/2009)
By Dianne
It's me again. As promised, I am coming to you from the Midwest with a week's application of Borax and its results.I must admit that it is a STORY and an interesting progression.
~ I have gone through nearly 3 boxes of Borax, have vacuumed religiously throughout the home.
~We've noticed that the dog has only a few of them, but we douse them with mineral oil or Vaseline so now we see none. I also bathe her in flea shampoo twice to give her relief.
~ Husband is taking a piece of packing tape for each room. In the morning, if one jumps on his ankle, he uses the tape to paste them to the tape. After a week of this natural application, we're seeing fewer of them.
Observation:
Infestation is much more critical than one imagines. One can get rid of the mass, but the dad gum things are prolific bearers and leave egg sacks which promote new generations as deep as your carpet netting. YUCK. They are trying to conquer the domain, but it is up to you to keep up the resistance and this can be done with Borax. Natural defense might take longer, but it is less harmful to the environment and has fewer side effects to your animals.
We are going to do a few more treatments and report its effectiveness. Thanks for your patience. If you have some new information and/or advice, please give us a smoke ring! (08/12/2009)
By Dianne
I am one who has used borax with great success. We had a neighbor with "yard dogs" that got no care, no attention, and, so, that yard is home base for a major flea problem that has moved to the five adjoining properties. Despite trying a couple of different flea drops on my chihuahua, I would comb 4 fleas off him every night -- his short, thick hair is quite difficult to comb through, so I'm pretty sure I wasn't getting all of them.
I knew I was on the verge of an about-to-bloom infestation and was about to go out of town for 10 days. I didn't want to come home to a flea disaster as I did in 2006.
P>Unlike many of you have suggested, I sprinkled the Borax, "broomed" it in and left it down for the entire time I was gone. I found ONE flea when I came home, and that was on the ceramic tile in the bathroom where I had not dusted. Now, I'm not finding any on my chi when I comb him.
By the way, regarding combing your dog: it is not necessary to use hot water. Simply put a bit of dish soap. I use the "regular" Dawn, and swish it around, but not enough to make suds. Just like putting soap in the "flea light-trap", the purpose of the soap is to break the surface tension of water, so that the fleas will sink. Without the soap, the flea might stay afloat long enough to reach the side of the dish and escape. Wetting the flea comb does help trap the flea, but once you pull them out, drop them in the soap-treated water, and they sink like lead, so they drown.
By the way, a fellow animal welfare volunteer suggests using Borax AND Salt to dust carpets. She says that it better entices the fleas to eat the Borax. I'm not so sure of this, but thought I'd add it.
Hope I've brought something useful to the party.
(08/16/2009)
By Lee
*Warning* The lightest dusting of 20 mule borax turned all of my grass brown. I have 3 fenced yard areas. The only one to turn brown was the one I dusted.
1st) I gave my dog a bath with flea shampoo. That only helped for 1 day.
2nd) Between last summer and this summer I tried 3 different spot drops: Frontline Plus, Biospot, and Hartz Sentry. None of these lasted more than 10 days. They all have the same active ingredient but the Sentry is half the price.
3rd) I dusted the yard with 20 mule Borax and Sevin5. This only seemed the help about 3 days and made the grass brown and crunchy.
4th) I used Adams dip with an IGR. This only helped about 2 days. I also sprayed Adams spray with an IGR only in areas where the dog was biting. That only helped about 2 hours.
5th) I sprayed the yard with Adams and Biospot yard spray. This only helped about 2 days.
I tried it all. I followed all the directions and read all the precautions. I repeated the treatments based on the fleas life cycle. Nothing works! My dog still has fleas and my grass is dead. Since my grass is already dead I think I'll spray it down with gasoline and light it. That will kill the fleas for sure. As for my poor suffering dog I think I'll just shave him bald and teach him to use a kitty litter box and never let him go outside again. Argh I hate fleas!
Seriously my only hope at this time is I can't wait until Michigan's bitter cold winter kills all these super surviving fleas.
Death to the fleas please! (09/14/2009)
By kc48174
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