natural ways to get rid of fleas??!!?

Question

I have a bunny and even though she has never been outside since she was born.. she somehow ended up with fleas.. and our apartment we brought her into never even had fleas, but now she has them.. and we have put flea powder on the floors, vacuumed the carpets and curtains, swept and sprayed flea stuff all over the wood floors, sprayed behind corner, washed blankets, set off bug bombs.. and we still have fleas. we do not have them so bad that you can see them on her, but i am very sensitive to insect bites, and have been getting a few lately. i actually seen a flea on my neck when i was driving in my car, and ended up with a welk on my neck. now here is what i am wanting to know.... is there a natural way to get rid of fleas?? because all of the chemicals gave me a headache, and my apartment is small with no ventilation.. and i cannot afford an exterminator... i am also wondering whether salt water sprayed around the apartment would kill them? or spraying a bleach water mix around?

and last but not least.. is there anything i can do to prevent fleas from wanting to bite me? something natural.

i dont have a dog or cat.

Answer 1

Natural Flea Control


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Many people don't want to risk endangering the environment (or themselves) by using chemical means for flea control. Some people have sensitivities to certain chemicals, others just don't want to do it. Ideally, you should compare flea control products to natural methods - sometimes the health risks to pets from having fleas are worth using a flea collar, powder bath, or other chemical methods. This page will give you some useful tips for getting rid of fleas holistically.




Natural Flea Control

First, it's important to note that fleas will survive the winter. You can't rely on the weather as a natural flea control method - fleas don't die off even in deep freezes. They won't bug you for a few months, but they'll be back to bite you again in the spring. You'll have to take more active measures to deal with them. There are a number that have been suggested.

Garlic - Many people swear by introducing garlic into their pet's food as a means of getting rid of fleas. It is known to strengthen the immune system in humans, so many advocates of natural flea control have suggested using it in pets as well. I do NOT recommend doing this - there is substantial research suggesting that garlic, in dogs and cats, can cause serious problems, even death in some animals. First, garlic has been demonstrated to cause anemia in some dogs and cats. This is a serious blood illness, and it's just not worth the risk to get rid of fleas. Second, garlic is extremely bad for your pet if it happens to be diabetic. Yes, many pets are diabetic - just like with humans, only their diet often keeps it from being a problem. Garlic, however, will aggravate insulin problems and may well kill your dog or cat if it happens to be one with a hidden diabetes problem. This is just too dangerous to do as a remedy without consulting your vet. At any rate, the risk from chemicals in a flea powder is far lower than that of garlic.

Environmental Control - One natural method of flea control that doesn't rely on doing anything to your pet is to control the environment. There are a lot of ways to do this - first and foremost, don't let your cat or dog outside. Cat fleas and dog fleas can only come from other animals - if your pet is an indoor animal, it likely won't have a flea problem. Prevention is the best method, and for cats at least, you shouldn't be letting them outdoors anyway. For large dogs, this won't be an option - you need to walk them, and they need to get out into the yard to play. But you don't have to let other dogs into your yard - that alone will go a long way towards getting rid of fleas.

You can also use natural flea control by trying various products that are designed to get rid of fleas without chemicals. For instance, one new product is a freeze-dried worm or nematode that eats flea eggs. Some people may be uncomfortable with modifying the environment in this way, but chemicals may be even worse. Talk to your veterinarian about this (as with all methods), there are several brands such as Intervention that can help you out without you really having to do anything actively.

Grooming - Regular grooming can also eliminate fleas without chemicals. Use a fine comb and go through your pet's hair - you can easily get rid of fleas this way naturally, and while it won't get them all, you'll spend quality time with your pet. With some pets, it may actually be a good idea to trim their fur. You can get a grooming kit that comes with clippers designed to cut fur to various lengths. Why do this? Because if you're only going to rely on natural ways to control fleas, then if you have a long-haired pet, it is harder to get the fleas out when bathing them or grooming them. Keep in mind though that it's only helpful to trim their fur if you're going to have the discipline to personally bathe and comb them. Trimming the fur only makes it easier for you to find and kill the fleas yourself - it doesn't do anything to get rid of them other than that. One of the weirder inventions I've seen recently is the flea zapper comb. This is a comb with a mild electrical charge that is supposed to kill off fleas as you comb your pet, but will be too mild to affect you or the animal. I haven't tried it and can't find any discussion of whether it works or not online, but it's pretty cheap so if you're going natural for environmental reasons or if you're a gadget junky you might check it out.

Herbal flea collars - There are many herbal flea collars designed to use various scents to drive away fleas. I am a little ambivalent about these, but they could be worth a try. Just check out the specific brand with a vet and make sure there is nothing to worry about with anything in it. The only one I've found easily available online is Petguard, which is designed to be environmentally friendly.

Diatomaceous earth - This is basically a non-chemical kind of soil designed to kill insects. It doesn't have any chemicals - it relies on tiny, sharp edges on the dirt that do damage to the exoskeleton of a flea or other pests. The fleas will then die of dehydration - they essentially leak water, and they can't replace it fast enough. It's a non-chemical means of natural flea control, but it can be rather messy to use. It's made mainly of fossils from water plants, so there isn't much risk in using it. It might not mesh well with your current soil though, and you should be careful if you have plants or gardens that it might affect negatively. If you're using it in the yard, get one of the larger bags so you can repeat the dusting if it rains, etc. However, one of the good things about it is that it's safe to use around your pet's bedding or other areas - you'll have to clean it up later, but it can be much better than setting off a flea bomb or a flea bath. Unfortunately, there's not much this will do about flea eggs, which could remain dormant for awhile. You can go with smaller bags of the earth if you're just using it indoors.

Vacuuming - One safe, natural method to get rid of fleas is to vacuum frequently. Unfortunately it's usually not 100% effective, which means while it will reduce the flea population it will rarely eliminate it. You can read up more here on getting rid of fleas with a vacuum cleaner.

Flea Traps - Basically these are more advanced versions of the little pads of glue you'd use for roaches. Because they have to be left out in the open, they have a grid over the glue that the fleas fall through. You can read more about flea traps here.

Answer 2

Natural Ways To Kill Fleas

Answer 3

Start by treating the carpet, the running boards, and the apartment with Bio Flea Halt! powder, and then spray the edges in your apartment with a spray by the same name. This will keep the fleas from entering.

Take your rabbit and tape everything up, and then FLEA-BOMB your place!

Come back in a couple hours or so, air out the place, and then start vacuuming.

The only natural way I can think of to deal with fleas, is being on Coumadin. They bite you, they DIE.

They don't come back for seconds.

Answer 4

We had a TERRIBLE problem with fleas and my son was ATE ALIVE. Like you, I was over pesticides. This is what I used and I SWEAR by it!!!
1. Sprinkle your home with boric acid, more formally known as BORAX. You can get it in the laundry section at Walmart. It will not harm pets or children. Let it sit for at least 24 hours. Walking on it only helps push it into the carpet fibers and it works like a dream!
2. Remove any carpet/mat outside your doors. They are just fleas magnets and you will just carry the eggs in your home on the bottom of your shoes.
3. Go buy Garlique orderless garlic tablets. Take as directed. IT WORKS!!!!! My sons has totally STOPPED getting bit!!
4. For all over protection from fleas, mosquito's etc. I use Original Skin So Soft Bath Oil from Avon. It works BETTER than OFF spray!!! Just rub a small amount over your skin, and VIOLA...It works so good my husband even puts it on!!!!

Good luck, these solutions worked great for me, hope they will for you as well!!!!!

Answer 5

RE:
natural ways to get rid of fleas??!!?
I have a bunny and even though she has never been outside since she was born.. she somehow ended up with fleas.. and our apartment we brought her into never even had fleas, but now she has them.. and we have put flea powder on the floors, vacuumed the carpets and curtains, swept and sprayed flea...

Answer 6

you could buy advantage.. it gets rid of fleas for 3 months

the fleas can come in your house by you ..it could be on your shoes

you could also get a flea dip and wash the rabbit

when the fleas are off the rabbit it will reduce the fleas in your home
you could also try putting little bowls of dish soap and water around the house near you ....flea fleas can only jump 3 feet high

Answer 7

If your rabbit is housed in a cage that has a wire bottom floor (and a pull out tray so the rabbit is not in contact with her bedding), put cedar shavings in the tray. Cedar has aromatic oils that naturally deter most insects (including fleas).

NOTE: Cedar does cause liver enzymes to rise in most small animals (including rabbits---grapefruit also increases liver enzymes). This could result in problems if your rabbit is given drugs of any kind---as metabolism of those drugs will be affected. The dust shouldn't be a problem if your rabbit won't be in contact with the bedding. This is a temporary solution---the rabbit shouldn't have prolonged exposure to the cedar oils unless being housed outside where the cedar shavings are necessary to repel insects in the hutch/cage area.

Please read this article before taking the above advice:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/1155/Pine.html

Answer 8

Salt water or bleach water won't work.
Eucalyptus chips or shavings will kill fleas, not just repel them.
I've seen some Ultrasonic Flea Traps that claim to be fast & quite effective.

Answer 9

The most natural way to get rid of the fleas is to get rid of the DAMN animals!

Answer 10

I'm with sunshine on this one.
I used the Skin So Soft in Marine Corp, and it works!
Also if you put a bowl of soap water under a nightlight, the fleas are attracted to that heat and hop in the bowl therefore killing themselves.

Answer 11

Lavender Oil.... it won't kill them but fleas HATE lavender. I am sensitive to bites myself. Spraying lavender oil on everything totally removed them from my vicinity. Then the vacuuming of the carpets, furniture etc removed the remnants, eggs, etc. It works like a dream. If you have a highly infested area, you can literally see them jumping from it the moment you spray. Can be used on the pet beds and areas without harm.