Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My head was itching and when I scratched my head, I found a flea. I immediately took a shower and washed my hair very thoroughly. I didnt find any more fleas but when I scratched my head again, under my fingernails I found little black spots. I know for a fact that they are not head lice or hatched fleas. Are they flea eggs? What are they? How do I treat them?
By Rebecca
If they are nits from lice, you can do the same killing with Mayonnaise.
You may want to keep a few of them inside a folded up piece of clear tape, sealed on all four sides, and do a google search that identifies them for you. Match the photo with the tape and you will have the problem half solved. Other than that, you may want to seek webmd.com help for skin problems. I hope this helped.
If your daughter has lice and nits in her hair it is a long process to get rid of those as well. You can use Mayo to kill the lice. You will then have to go through and pic off every single nit out of her hair. You will also need to wash all bedding and vacuum everything. If she has stiffed animals she likes to sleep with those need to be put into black trash bags and tied off for 48-72 hours to kill and live lice that might have crawled on them.
The black flakes or specs are their fecal matter (gross) but are not the fleas themselves. Showering should kill them, as you've seen, but it helps to shampoo, and bathe in general, with something containing natural essential oils, like tea tree.
A friend's dog is the reason I have fleas in my home. I've tried sprays and smoke bombs and they're not going. When I smoke a fag (cigarette), they crawl all over my face coz they are in my hair. I saw you say to someone that they don't lay eggs in human hair coz they're not the host, but am I since I have no dog or cat? What should I do for me and my home? Please help it's embarrassing scratching 24/7 :-)
By Lou
We had flea infestation & nothing worked until we found out about Diatomaceous Earth. You can find out all about it at thebugsquad.com Sadly, it's not very well known so much time & money is wasted on sprays & foggers.
Fleas can live on your scalp and lay eggs there, and you would be the host. Washing your hair with shampoo would drown them and rinse the eggs down the drain. It wouldn't however stop new fleas from jumping on you and moving to your scalp again. Once fleas are on you, they certainly can crawl to another area.
If the dog is infested with fleas, they are probably jumping on humans when you are outside too and coming in on you and your clothing. If they are that bad in your hair, your home is more-than-likely infested. An infestation happens quickly and takes lots of time and trouble to clear out. The sooner you start, the better.
How do I get rid of fleas in my hair?
By Hailey :) from Moore, OK
Wash your hair regularly-any shampoo will do.
The big thing, though, is to find out where the fleas are coming from and do what it takes to get rid of them at the source. Treat pets and bedding (including yours), carpet, upholstery, and other favourite flea hang-outs like under the sinks and in baseboard. You could be bringing them indoors from the soil around your house if you have sand fleas in your area.
Vacuum and do other regular cleaning to keep fleas under control.
If you can, have someone separate your hair and look for little white things that look like dandruff. Especially look in the back of the neck and behind the ears. If there are little white things there, they could be either lice or dandruff. Dandruff will flick away easily. Lice will not. Lice and their eggs can be killed by using a product called Nix. Use it exactly as the directions say. Make sure you use the comb, and what the comb cannot get, use your fingernails to pull them down and off the hair shaft.
Fleas are tiny black little critters, they usually don't live on human hair. If you think you do have fleas in your hair though, I believe the same thing above (Nix) will work the same way.
I hope this helped you. God Bless You!
What are the products I can use for fleas and for lice in human hair?
By Dianna D
Whomever has the lice or fleas needs to color their hair using a matching color permanent hair coloring. It works a lot better than the nit killing products.
Hair colour works great, if it's a child, wash their hair with dawn and a few drops of tea tree oil, put on a shower cap before you rinse, apply a good conditioner, wait two minutes, rinse, then comb through with a flea comb to make sure you didn't miss any eggs
I have a question for your readers. Our dog has gotten a few fleas lately. We have treated the carpets and also the dog. Can fleas be passed onto humans in their hair as this is where they love to be on the dog?
Thanks for your replies.
BBS
Yes. About 25 years ago, I had a dog and lived in an area of the country where fleas were not killed off in the wintertime cold. We were in an apartment complex, and the area where my dog needed to go outside had fleas which the dog would then bring inside. The fleas would bite my ankle area overnight. We tried everything to get rid of the fleas, but the dog would bring more in. All we could really do was keep the amount of fleas to a minimum. When we moved back to a colder area of the country, we flea-bombed the inside of the moving vans and also left them outside in the cold for three days before unloading the moving vans. It seems that we didn't bring any of the buggers with us, because we never had a flea problem after that.
So, long story short is that fleas do bite people, but I don't think they "live" on people like they can live on dogs and cats. I never had any in my hair, not a single bite. My thought is that the dog slept near my feet, so they probably left the dog overnight, bit me, and hopped back on the dog. I'm not sure if this is a typical experience, but it was definitely my experience.
Good luck trying to get on top of the little buggers. :)
Here in the south you don't even need an animal to get fleas. In the summer, they are so rampant that they jump on your legs when you walk across a parking lot, lawn, or down your own driveway. You unknowingly bring them into your home where they multiply quickly.
Use a monthly flea med on your pet. They're expensive and not organic, but worth every penny. They however, don't keep fleas off your pet, just kill the the fleas that bite the pet. Frequent baths help a lot; buy cheap baby shampoo and put in some tea tree oil. It's super gentle on dogs and will soothe their flea bites.
I keep a jar with about an inch of oil in it. Anytime a flea jumps on us in our home, we catch it and put it in the jar where it drowns in the oil. I purposely walk around our home (during an infestation), stopping to pick any fleas off me and drop them into the jar. It takes a while, but you get them without the use of any chemicals. It's a simple method that you can use when you only have a few fleas and if you keep on top of it, you will not get an infestation.
Make sure you check the pet's bedding and wash it frequently. You can buy diatomaceous earth to sprinkle on you pet instead of flea powder. It is totally organic and works by cutting the fleas (the tiny dust has sharp edges) so they dehydrate and die. You can also sprinkle it around the house and vacuum it up a few days later, and sprinkle it on your lawn to kill fleas outside, too.
I have had no dog now for a year. 2 years ago I had my house sprayed with chemicals twice. I have got fleas; they are in my hair and bite my body. I am scratching all the time.
By Yvonne
Wash your hair with liquid dawn dish soap and that will rid your hair of fleas. Also wash your dog with liquid dawn. Sprinkle salt on your floors and carpets and leave on for a few days if you can [on carpet] and vacuum. This will kill fleas and flea eggs. Do again as necessary until you get rid of fleas.
She doesn't have a dog anymore. At the risk of sounding indelicate, your infestation might not be fleas. If you don't see them jumping from your hair when you vigorously scratch it over say the tub where you can see them, you may have lice.
If you do, put some mayonnaise in your hair, cover with a shower cap for an hour, then wash your hair. If this doesn't work, you may want to see a doctor.
I have had lice in the past (horrid experience) and I remember when I was getting them out of my head they crawled. Earlier today I shook my head and say a brown creature no bigger than the pin of a needle fall out and hop away. A month prior my cat caught a bunch of fleas, which we treated. What was it, and how would I go about making sure they never return?
By Gerald from Vancouver
First off lice don't hop. Most likely a flea. They might bite but they don't live on humans like they do animals. If are worried, here are some things to combat the problem.
Fleas love warm climates, so they love warm water. Put some water in a pie tin and put a couple drops of dish washing liquid in. This breaks up the surface adhesion and they drown. Then set it under a night light or safe lamp set on a flat surface (carpeting is too unstable). Then sprinkle salt in your carpeting and let set for overnight. You can do both in the same night if you want. Vacuum well the next day, maybe lowering the level on the vacuum to get way down in it.
And finally, buy some Brewers Yeast tablets for your cat. They love them, and they make their blood undesirable to the fleas.
I have seen the treatments for the pets and the home, but how do we get them out of our hair? My granddaughter and I have it the worst. The guys just shave their heads, we can't do that, although, how we would love to. We have tried washing our hair with Dawn that is great for a day or two, but then they come back. It is so embarrassing, and annoying as well. Can someone please tell me how we can get them out of our hair for good.
By Susan B
Smother head in hair conditioner. Then comb it through and it brings the nits out with it. Rinse afterwards. You may have to repeat in a day or so but it's much better than using chemicals. Use a fine toothed comb.
My hair seems to be permanently infested with fleas. We have no pets, but have family who have and I know they have fleas. How do I get rid of them? I have called in the professionals to clear my home. How do I clear my self and my husband?
By Ida
Are you sure they are fleas? It seems far more likely, especially if they are in your hair, that they are head lice.
I've had fleas covering me. I feel them crawling by the hundreds as I lay in bed at night. I have found a couple in my hair, but I can't keep them held (they jump away almost instantly) but I have seen them. I have a dog. I've tried everything, but the solutoon was only temporary.
I've been dealing with this more 7 months . Tried everything . Spent over 3k u.s. I know bought a rv to sleep in , in my own driveway . Neighbors prolly think I'm looney tunes . Had two company's spray . And I order all my stuff off of domyownpestcontrol . Pro stuff . Even bought a gas fogger . They didn't end up in my hair till about 5 months in . I have really short hair . The crap is endless . As one is biting me now
Im having the same problem. Dawn soap and borox is that all i need. And what fo i use for the carpet salt . can i mix these chemicals together . im tired of this 2yr. Now. Started all over with new home furninture ftom a -z and there still here.
What should I do because I have them in my hair and I'm allergic to dish soap
I feel you. They were in my hair, nose, ears, and other places ( I want mention). I tried everything. Even shaved all of my beautiful long hair off. Nothing worked. One sleepless night. My husband convinced me to soak in Pure Epsom Salt. And to soak my scalp with it as well. I did that and began to eat lost of garlic. I finally got the relief I so long for. Hope this helps.
If it helps, pass it on. We are all in this together
Dear Denise,
How long did you soak yourself?
Did you soak your self in the bathtub?
I need help.
I don't know how old this is, but I'm having the same issue in my now they're in my head my hair but they've also broke in my scalp and I can't shake him my body has gotten better but I know how I got mine from a a dogget something to my bed that my kids brought up to me and I didn't know it had the fleas and then dog had to be put down and I guess the fleas were looking for a host and they found me and it's been 7 months 8 months of hell so far I don't know what to do because even the doctors you know I don't think they believe me but it's a tough thing to get rid of if anybody has idea because now they're in my scalp the eggs are of im sure,
