What can I use to get rid of fleas with home remedies? I need something that will not harm my children. I have a 6 month old and a 1 1/2 year old. What should I use?
By heather amon from Owosso, MI
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About 2 cups dry borax for each carpeted room. Spread, leave for 2 weeks before you vacuum. Carpet is the best breeding grounds for fleas. This is safe for children in the house. Crawling babies even. Use whatever safe method of killing the fleas on your pets. Residual borax will continue to kill the fleas for a year and a half. It will not harm carpet.
It comes in a box it's an ingredient used in laundry soaps you can get it at any grocery store. Wal-Mart carried it
It says on the pack - 'KEEP OUT OF REACH FROM CHILDREN'
you can't eat it in large quantities like handfuls.
Borax is not safe for children
There are differing opinons on the toxicity of borax. Here is a comment from another page on ThriftyFun.
"Borax is not Boric acid. It is the sodium salt of boric acid, or sodium tetraborate. Acid salts do NOT carry the same hazards as their acid counterparts. Their chemical makeup is different. The salt makes the chemical more stable and less likely to dissassociate or break its chemical bonds to form acid and water in chemical reactions.
It does not mean it is totally safe and fine to leave out for pets or children to be exposed to it, but it is not as harmful as boric acid. Likewise, you should contact the manufacturer before mixing Borax with other chemicals that could make the salt more likely to disassociate to acid and water.
Most likely, the skin and respiratory irritation that borax causes is due to the structure of the substance (many sharp edges). Table salt, or sodium chloride, causes irritation by the same method.
I am a scientist, not a doctor, so this is not a medical opinion. I have experience in writing Material Safety Data Sheets and giving product safety advice, so this is what I would say if I was giving this advice to a customer."
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Borax is absolutely not safe for babies and can be quite harmful.
BORAX IS NOT SAFE TO USE IF YOU HAVE BABIES. IT IS BANNED IN MANY COUNTRIES
Frontline is very safe for entire family. Also give pet a good flea bath and then start them on oral flea protection; I've tried a lot of different types. The best one is "The program flea protection." I order mine online at petrx.com.
You could also use diatomacious earth. It's used in pool filters and is made from the skeletons of microscopic life forms. The earth gets into the joints and kills the bug.
Be sure it is food grade DE if kids drop food on the carpet then eat it. Can be found in livestock stores or online. Pool application etc. DE can have added chems and is just not safe to consume.
Some people are allergic to DE. I am, makes me break out in a rash. Just something to keep in mind. It still affected me weeks later after several vacuums
***DIATOMACEOUS EARTH FOR POOLS IS TOXIC TO YOUR PET!!!!!! ***
PLEASE USE FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH ONLY!
A small container of Food Grade diatomaceous earth can be found on amazon. However, it is much cheaper to go to a large animal feed store ( Last time I paid $20 for a 50lb bag) sprinkle it in carpet and along baseboards, let it set 2-3 days and vacuum. It will also kill spiders!
You can sprinkle it around the outside perimeter of your home as well. Just repeat when it rains :-) Deer come to visit our yard and with them come fleas. My little dog has a small fenced area outside so she can use the doggie door to do the business when I have to be out of the house. I cleaned her kennel, then covered the area with diatomaceous earth and topped it with cedar to keep her area as flea free as possible.
You can also make your own "flea catcher" to use at night. In a dark room I set a warm dish of water, added a large amount of Dawn, placed it on top of a white sheet of paper. Use a light source above it (I used an adjustable desk lamp) the heat and light from the lamp attracts them to the water! Wash your pet's bedding in hot water. If they have their own bed on the floor I recommend a cedar bed, you can make or buy a removable washable cover.
Note: You must repeat often. The life cycle of a flea from egg to adult is 21 days, and eggs can lie dormant for quite awhile.
I hope this helps!
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