Sunday, November 20, 2005
More Flea Tips
Contra Costa Central Sanitary District
- Comb your pet with a metal flea comb, available at pet stores. Focus around the neck and base of the tail. Keep a wide container of soapy water nearby to drown captured fleas.
- Bathe dogs in soap and water to drown fleas. Increase effectiveness by using a flea comb while the pet is lathered. It is not necessary to use soap with insecticide.
- Vacuum carpets, floors, and upholstered furniture frequently throughout the year. Vacuuming carpets picks up adult and egg-stage fleas, but is less effective at removing larvae. Clean cracks and crevices; or better still, seal permanently with caulk. Try gently vacuuming your animal's coat to remove adult fleas.
- Use diatomaceous earth (DE) to treat carpets, upholstered furniture, and pet bedding or blow it into cracks and crevices. Use a hand duster to apply a fine layer of DE. Wear a dust mask and goggles and avoid getting dust in your pet's eyes. DE has little toxicity to humans and pets, but kills fleas by absorbing the waxy coating on their bodies, causing dehydration and death.
- Use borate-based carpet treatments. Borates have a low toxicity to humans and pets. Fleanix® carpet treatment can control fleas in carpeting for up to a year. Mix the powder with water in a rug shampooing machine with or without detergent. During shampooing, borate binds to carpet fibers and cannot be vacuumed up.
- Flea traps are especially useful if you don't own a pet but still have fleas. In this case, also check for wild animals or rodents nesting in or around your home. Adult fleas are attracted to the warmth and light of an electric bulb and are caught on sticky paper. The most effective traps have a flickering green light.
- Ultrasonic collars and machines are not effective. There is no scientific evidence that these products affect fleas, and they are not recommended.
# posted by Kat Dazzle @ 7:57 AM 
