Combatting fleas naturally

[kayleigh&bump]

Has anyone does this? Naturally, meaning no chemicals?

Our 4 month old kitten has somehow picked up fleas despite being an indoor cat. I don't really want to use any chemicals on him or in our house, but the thought of them makes my skin crawl! I've done a bit of research on the net but wondered if anyone had some tips for me?

Yesterday we washed all bedding, rugs, cushions etc, and bathed the cat in baby shampoo. This got a good 15 fleas out. We also vacuumed the house top to bottom, and I've done this another two times already today. I can't work out if he's dropping any eggs anywhere but he does leave behind those horrible black bits where ever he lays!

I'm making up a lemon/water spray which apprarantly repels fleas. Is there anything else I can be doing? Anyone know how long it should take before were flea free?

 

[pixiewicks]

hi there i work in a vets and unfortunately there isnt really any easy natural way of getting rid of them, the problem being the flea is a complicated creature! Each flea lays up to 50 eggs a day and these eggs don't stay on the pet they go into the environment where they go into a stage called the pupea stage. Nothing can kill this stage they live in like a little shell, that nothing can kill, the only way to get them out of this stage is too hoover every day and vibration, so lots of movement to encourage them to hatch. Once they hatch then a household spray such as indorex will kill them and whatever flea treatment you use on your pet. I wold recommend you use either frontline combo or stronghold but you can only get this from your vets, flea treatment from supermarkets aren't strong enough. Unfortunately even using both household spray and flea treatment on your pet you will still have fleas for the next few weeks at least, and if you use nothing then you will get an even bigger infestation which is going to be harder to get on top off, sorry if i have told you anything you already know, but i find a lot of people with pets don't understand how complex fleas and their eggs are!! Yourlocal vets may even do a free nurse clinic where you can go in get your kitten looked at for free and then able to buy frontline combo, as by law the vet/nurse has to of seen the pet they are prescribing the flea treatment to. Also just so you know indorex can be quite expensive around £16.00 but on amazon you can get it for around £7.00 it all helps! Any other questions i can help with please let me know!! xxx

 

[kayleigh&bump]

Thanks for your reply so you think without using sprays and chemicals, theres no way I will be able to get rid of them? I've heard of sprinkling your carpets and furniture with salt overnight as this will dehydrate the fleas/eggs? Really want to avoid the chemical route if at all possible what with having a toddler and being pregnant.

 

[Jem_x3]

Ive tried that hun and it didn't work.. went to vets and got advocate spot on, a tablet for our kitten and indorex household spray. We were flea free within 24 hours It did cost £50 for all of that (you can find it cheaper elsewhere) but it was well worth the money. If you can, take yourself and your LO out of the house for an hour after you spray, come back in and open all the windows then leave again for a little while for it to air out. That's what I did and it was fine afterwards no smell or anything lingering. You can also get a face mask to use while you spray or get someone to help you if you can.

 

[xxembobxx]

We combed our kittens daily with a nit comb in the bath but you have to take great care as they get cold so easily.
We did use chemicals on the cats and in the house but I think one of the best things we used was shake n vac. I had heard you shouldn't use shake n vac on your carpets as it sinks and you can't ever vacuum it all up so it must work by smothering the fleas.

 

[cherryglitter]

i've heard they don't like garlic.... no idea why. :s

edit: just worked it out. they're like little vampires, blood sucking and stuff. so they don't like garlic for that reason.

 

[robinator]

Whatever you do, don't use Cedarcide. My DH bought a bottle of it because it claims to be all-natural and not hazardous to your pet. But before I doused my dear kitty with it I called the vet to double check and she said that the cedar and pine oils in the spray have been proven to have a bad effect on cats' livers. Or was it kidneys? Either way, she said "poison" such as Advantage/Frontline is safer.

If you find something more natural you might wish to use, doublecheck with your vet before purchasing or using it.

 

[Sarahkka]

Maybe tea tree oil?
But I would definitely call your vet and check first. I have no idea if that could be toxic to cats.

 

[missVN]

hi there i work in a vets and unfortunately there isnt really any easy natural way of getting rid of them, the problem being the flea is a complicated creature! Each flea lays up to 50 eggs a day and these eggs don't stay on the pet they go into the environment where they go into a stage called the pupea stage. Nothing can kill this stage they live in like a little shell, that nothing can kill, the only way to get them out of this stage is too hoover every day and vibration, so lots of movement to encourage them to hatch. Once they hatch then a household spray such as indorex will kill them and whatever flea treatment you use on your pet. I wold recommend you use either frontline combo or stronghold but you can only get this from your vets, flea treatment from supermarkets aren't strong enough. Unfortunately even using both household spray and flea treatment on your pet you will still have fleas for the next few weeks at least, and if you use nothing then you will get an even bigger infestation which is going to be harder to get on top off, sorry if i have told you anything you already know, but i find a lot of people with pets don't understand how complex fleas and their eggs are!! Yourlocal vets may even do a free nurse clinic where you can go in get your kitten looked at for free and then able to buy frontline combo, as by law the vet/nurse has to of seen the pet they are prescribing the flea treatment to. Also just so you know indorex can be quite expensive around £16.00 but on amazon you can get it for around £7.00 it all helps! Any other questions i can help with please let me know!! xxx

R
Agree with this, very good advice

The fleas you see on your pet is usually only 5% of the problem, the cat will be continually shedding eggs into the environment which will continue to hatch and reinfest your cat. You really need to use products that kill all the life stages and as I've seen in practice many times, the 'natural' products simply don't do the job. If you don't want to use chemicals on the cats skin then once you are free of fleas you could use an injection called 'program'. I second contacting your vet practice and speaking to one of the nurses, there are lots of options available and they will be able to recommend the best for you.

 

[MissDee-89]

We had a really bad infestation when i was pregnant, i tried to not use any chemicals either and that was the worst decision i'd ever made, the whole house was smothered in them within a month, they were in every room, they'd jump all over your feet and legs wherever you walked, ended up having to rehome the cat after 5 months of trying to get rid of them then had to pay a specialist to sort it.

Hope you gets yours sorted soon

Using diatomaceous earth on skirting boards and carpets does help a bit,

 

[kayleigh&bump]

Thanks everyone for your advice. At the moment in continuously vacuuming and it seems to be controlling them a bit, I mean they don't seem to be getting g any worse. We've made an appointment at the vets on Saturday though, just gunna do whatever they suggest as I want rid now. Bleugh horrible things