To get rid of fleas, use apple cider vinegar! Add a bit to your pet's drinking water and it really helps! I have 3 small dogs that are prone to fleas and we no longer have that problem.
By kathy from Plymouth, CT
Be sure to only use ORGANIC APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (Braggs is excellent). White vinegar should only be used for CLEANING!!!
This page contains the following solutions.
To kill fleas in your home, put down lots of salt in your carpet. Wait 24 hours and vacuum. If you do this every other day, your home will be free of fleas. You have to keep up this or they will come back.
For years Avon's Original Bath Oil has been used as a great remedy for preventing fleas on your pets. Horse ranches also use this. It has a variety of uses and is cheaper than the commercial flea pills.
Put shallow bowls of warm water with a dash of Dawn liquid detergent on the floor under lamps. If you have fleas in your house, they will gravitate to the warmth of the light bulbs and jump in the water.
Give your cats or dogs a bath with Head and Shoulders shampoo. It will kill the fleas but they will still be stuck on your animal.
Use a flea comb on pets, it works wonders. I use a dry flea comb on my 2 cats. Swipe, then throw the fleas into a bowl of water and dish soap. I do this every day to make sure they are rid of fleas. Takes about ten minutes a cat.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have 11 cats and 9 dogs. It is too expensive to buy Frontline or the equivalent to get rid of the fleas. I am also on disability so money is tight. How can I get rid of the fleas very cheaply?
By Rena from AL
Try borax in your carpets. Leave in over night vacuum and throw the vacuum bag out right away and a teaspoon of vinegar in the drinking water. Helps deter them.
The product I use is a cedar based super concentrated oil, from the Cedarcide Store, that you can dilute with water and it goes a really long way. I bought a quart size bottle of their product over 3 years ago called Pet-Horse Livestock Concentrate and Indoor Flea Control and it isn't even halfway gone. I just mix a capful of it and add it to a spray bottle of water. It makes up to 100 gallons and it kills on contact... not just fleas either.
I use the spray bottle and mist my dogs with it during the summer when the mosquitoes are out and it repels them along with gnats and other annoying insects that bite. You can also use it on puppies, kitties, babies and yourself as it is non toxic. Since your fleas are real bad, you can mix a couple capfuls in a gallon bucket of warm water and sponge it over your dogs and let it dry naturally. Be sure to get their face and ears too and you will be flea free in no time. Plus it conditions their skin and coat.
The diatomaceous earth works too. I used that on my cats and no more fleas. They run when they see a spray bottle so I needed another way. I poured some in a jar (actually a jar with a lid that has holes in it-like one for parmesan cheese) and applied it in my screen room...it will make a mess when they shake but since you have fleas in your home that wouldn't be a bad thing, just try not to let them breathe it.
I live in Florida and have 2 dogs and 2 cats and none of my animals have had a flea on them since I started using the cedar oil. They have lots of products that you can use in different areas in and out of your home to be rid of pesky bugs and insects forever!
I am having a flea problem in my home. I have 3 chihuahuas all under 10 lbs. I have been reading all the different home remedies. But none have said anything about putting them on furniture.
Taz my long hair likes to sleep on corner section of unit while I am at work. So I have had seen some fleas on us when we sit on the couch. So are any of these remedies safe to put on fabric furniture? I am going to try the salt on the carpet today and bathe them.
I am just so tired of the little hopping pests. I have found them on me. And since dogs sleep with me figured I might even wash sheets in vinegar, too. Would really like to have any info that would help. Thanks.
By SandiF from Stillwater, OK
I have 2 dogs and they brought fleas into my house a couple years ago. I was horrified as I'd never had this problem. I googled every possible solution and ended up using all of them but finally got the fleas out of the house and off the dogs, but it took us pulling out all the stops to do it. And it took a full 2 weeks of hard work to do it.
First, buy yourself a large box of Borax laundry detergent. Borax dries the larva out so they can't reproduce in your carpets; it interrupts the life cycle. Sprinkle it all over your carpets, then wait a day and vacuum; reapply the Borax after each vacuuming and wait a day. Repeat every day for 2 weeks.
Put some Advantix or similar product on your dog (I know there's an expense to this, but you can find off-brands at Walmart that work just as well). This will get into your dogs bloodstream and prevent the fleas that do land on and bite your dog from being able to lay eggs. It's either that or daily bathings with a flea shampoo, and I found that gets old fast.
The next thing I did is buy a can of Siphotrol spray from the Vet (about $15 for a large can), and I sprayed my upholstered furniture with it right after I had vacuumed the furniture really well (by the way, put a flea collar in your vacuum bag to kill the fleas you do vacuum up, or replace the bag each time, or the little buggers will just find their way out of your vacuum).
I took off the cushions, pillows - you name it - and sprayed the entire couch, cushions and chairs. I also put night lights in rooms with the highest concentrations of fleas and put a shallow bowl of Dawn dishsoap and water below it; in the morning I would find dead fleas that drowned (they were attracted to the light).
Lastly, I bought a few of those aerosol "bug bombs" at the local discount store, took the dogs for a trip for a few hours, and let the bombs off in the house about a week after I started all this. After all this, the fleas were gone. Basically, you aren't going to get away with just putting a flea collar on and hoping the problem goes away - it won't work. You have to interrupt the flea life cycle and understand that it will take time to do that until the life cycle has been completely stopped by your efforts.
I also realize that this isn't exactly a homeopathic way of getting rid of fleas, and I don't condone the regular use of chemicals, but I was desperate and this worked for me. Like I said, I pulled out all the stops.
I have one dog and I am not working at the moment. I am noticing he has a lot of ticks and fleas. Tacobell is an active dog who plays a lot and runs a lot, but a problem I have is he licks everything and eats whatever he wants even when he has food down.
We bathe him reguarly with flea and tick shampoo and I am losing my mind. So I am asking what is a natural remedy I can use?Having pets also means having vet bills. It is clear that the flea, etc., shampoos are useless against more than a couple fleas. At this point "home remedies" will not work as your dog is well past the point of a few fleas. Please find the money-beg, borrow, etc., to take your dog to your vet for prescriptive treatment. Your other dogs most probably need the same treatment. They are all suffering from a high level of fleas and ticks this year!
I have a dog and now I have fleas in my backyard. Can I use bleach in my yard to get rid of the fleas?
By Charles from Fortsmith, AR
An exterminator told an aquaintence of mine about using bleach years ago. As I understand, bleach works to kill ticks but not fleas. I'm not sure why.
Bleach can be harmful to pets if they walk in an area treated with bleach and then lick their paws, ingesting some of it.
How do I kill fleas with household products besides vinegar, lemon, Dawn, and boric acid, etc.? Please help. I am a single mom in need of a cheap solution!
By Amanda M.
You can get some Boric Acid very cheap at the Dollar General store (and most likely Wal-Mart as well) for like $2.25. You just can't beat that and you can get a bottle of Dawn there too for $1 for the non-concentrate. Vinager is also very cheap. But Dawn kills on contact when you bathe your pet in it and the boric acid disrupts the life cycle.
My boyfriend and I just moved into a 2 bedroom apartment, because we are expecting a baby in 2 months. We have no pets, but the people who lived here before must have because this apartment has fleas. It is all carpeted and I don't want to use any chemicals since I am pregnant and the baby will be here soon.
I heard that salt works really well, but since we live on the 5th floor and have no pets, I was wondering if I should still repeat the treatment all of the time or if I should be OK with a few treatments since there is no way for them to get back in? Also if anyone thinks there are any better ways, please let me know.
By Kay
Yes, salt works great. If you can find popcorn salt (usually available at restaurant supply stores or online) that is best because it will not show in carpet while you are treating it, plus it penetrates deep into the fibers. You want to sprinkle it into your carpet thoroughly, then use a broom or whatever you have to beat it deep into the carpet.
It needs to stay in for two weeks. If you have to vacuum before 2 weeks, then you will need to repeat the treatment. This works quickly and safely. I have had many, many, rescue dogs and this is the only way I would treat for fleas. Safe for adults and pets.
Our pets are like members of the family and we want to protect them. But, it is inevitable that our dog and cats will attract those pesky fleas. Flea collars, sprays, ointments, and pills aren't 100% effective all the time either, so what can we do?
