What can I use to get rid of fleas with a newborn baby in the house?
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Fleas are very complicated and you did ask so:
The humble cat (cat, dog, etc.) flea is one of the most abundant and widespread species on Earth. You may have noticed that your dog and cat often choose different places to sleep in your house and outside. Your cat may have five or six favorite inside spots (usually in the sun) and outside even more. Many animals choose several places to sleep to avoid fleas. They might sleep in one spot for a few days and then another for a day or two. This sleep pattern breaks the flea life cycle and does reduce the effectiveness of flea attacks as adult fleas only live for a few days. However, some can live up to one hundred days in a good food environment. As you will see, the flea has a complicated life and you and your pet are invited!
My husband is an entomologist so I speak with first hand knowledge and experience.
Flea eggs do not stay on your pet, they quickly drop or roll off as they do not stick to anything. The fleas you find in your house hatched from the flea eggs that fell off of your pet. Flea eggs are tiny and opaque white or almost colorless. The fleas you may see on your cat or dog are immature fleas from eggs on the floor or outside that hatched into fleas and jumped back onto your dog. You will also see (many!) small black dots on your dog but these are only flea feces.
The flea eggs in your home and outside are the real problem. Just one female flea can produce 40-50 eggs per day. The eggs fall off into your house and outside so, either way, your dog or cat will then again attract the immature and adult fleas both inside and outside which are the children from flea parents that may still be living on your cat or dog.
Any dish detergent bath may wash away or possibly kill some fleas on your pet, however, not all fleas are killed. In a bath many migrate up to the head and ear area and then, once the bath is over, travel back to their favorite spots, usually on the back. If you use dish detergent, you can seriously dry the animals skin and may cause skin rashes, an allergic reaction, etc., and you are not addressing the real problem. The thousands of flea eggs that exist all the time in your house and outside hatch and then jump back onto your dog or cat (and you!). So, you and your pets are locked into the everlasting cycle in the life of fleas.
A search online for how to kill fleas brings up many ideas for bathing, applying natural and awful sprays, etc., but these only address the fleas on your pet. Rarely do they address the bigger problem as a whole. You can check this site for answers that address your pet, your home and the outside. As you will see, flea prevention is a much larger problem than just giving your dog or cat a bath.
Borax sprinkled around everywhere in your home I understand kills the little chewing buggers! Good Luck to you and the baby!
Do not use Borax-it does kill fleas but does not kill flea eggs and, much more importantly, it harms babies and young children. The site below provides more information about Borax and also states not to use it around your house: Don't use this powder if you have small children (especially babies) or young pets (unless you keep them out the house for the day) as it can cause health complications due to their small body mass and close proximity to the ground. The site and more information:
If you are pregnant, please stay away from any Borate substance this includes borax!.
Keep your cats away from the borax powder as it can cause terrible breathing problems and potential fatalities.
Make sure your carpets are not wet (even from humidity) as this can damage the fibers and cause discoloration.
Keep the borax powder away from food (especially if you have young children) as it is dangerous for consumption in large quantities. (more than 5mg) **UPDATE** I have recently been informed by a medical practitioner that anything around 5mg is still pretty safe (slightly higher toxicity then table salt). However, keep in mind that cats are rather sensitive to borax and as a result, just take it easy if you have one in the home.
Keep the borax away from your plants as it can cause damage to them.
Into a white bowl or dish or even a lid put water mixed with some liquid dish soap and mix, but do not make suds. Fleas are attracted to white. Set this on the floor with a candle or other warm light source. The heat also attracts the fleas. The fleas will jump, land in the soapy water, and drown as the soap makes it impossible for them to escape. Next you must remove the source--the cats and dogs--from the house.
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