How Can I Get Fleas Out of the Carpet in the Least Toxic Way?

Hi E.,

We have combined equal parts salt and borax and sprinkled it all over the carpet before bed. Let it sit overnight and vacuum it up in the morning. Good luck!

When I was young we would put a pie pan filled with a 1/2 of water and then put dishwashing liquid in it too. I would put it out at night with a small warm lamp over it. The fleas jump into the water but get stuck due to the dishsoap. Good luck!

Note on salt-

My sister has a house full of pets and swears by this: put the salt in the blender and blend it to a very fine powder. Then sprinkle it generously on the carpet and work it in the carpet with a broom. Leave it for as long as you can, and vaccume lightly.

Buy a better vacuum cleaner. Go to a local store and see the Miele vacuum demo. They are pricey ($650?) but they are THE best. Take your vacuum and compare with the strength of the Miele. The Miele is stronger and sucks up more.

One more suggestion...along with using whatever method to dry them up and vaccum them, you can also try this for back up. They make little devices that plug in to an electrical socket in the house that send out ultrasonic waves. Humans and pets can't hear it, aren't disturbed by it, but the bugs hate it and it drives them away. A good friend of mine used them to control fleas in her house when her kids were little and it worked great! Just plug it in and forget about it! I personally haven't used them for fleas, but years ago when my neighborhood was infested with cockroaches, I bought one and plugged it into my kitchen. Within a day the roaches were gone. It's been plugged in ever since and they've never come back. You can usually find them online, or sometimes at places like Home Depot or Lowes.

Hi E.!
I had a similar problem this spring. My son was waking up with bites all over his stomach. I was frustrated because all of my animals are on Frontline (my vet prefers this over Advantage). I vacuumed constantly, tried salt on the carpet (someone recommended it and I figured it was the least toxic alternative), and washed all our bedding in hot water. Nothing worked. My vet finally recommended Flea Busters. We had just brought our new daughter home so I was very apprehensive about using any chemicals in the house. My vet also has 2 young children and I trust his judgement. He assured me that it was non-toxic. It worked wonders! You sprinkle it on the carpet and the work it in with a broom. I left mine on for about 1/2 hour before I vacuumed it up. It took some work to get it all vacuumed up, but I haven't had a problem since. If you live in San Diego, the Ocean Beach Dog Wash sells it. My vet also recommended using Program in addition to the topical flea control because it sterilizes the fleas (the hatching eggs in the carpet is what keeps the cycle going). If you have dogs, we have added a new medication, Comfortis, to their diet. It is a pill they get once a month. My vet is very enthusiastic about this new product and it's effectiveness. Good luck!

Borrow a cat or dog that hasn't been treated w/ Advantage. Just kidding...

I highly recommend getting rid of the carpet. You will get fleas every summer and repeatedly face this challenge if you don't. The least toxic way to deal with fleas is to wash your pets once a month year round and even as much as twice a month in the summer. A shampoo with tea tree oil will dissuade fleas best.

I'm surprised by the number of Mamas recommending Advantage, Frontline and Borates. These are toxic, you don't want tiny kiddos unnecessarily exposed to them:

Imidocloprid & Permethrin (Main active ingredients in Advantage)

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/imidacloprid.pdf
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/permethrin.pdf
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidefac...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin

Fipronil (Main active ingredient in Frontline)

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidefac...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/fiptech.pdf

Borates

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/borictech.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boric_acid

Have you ever seen those little box things that you plug in that look like a little speaker?? They work wonders on fleas. You just plu it in and it emits an electronic pulse that affects the central nervous system of the flea and they leave and never come back. The one we use is called PestOffense. (you can find them very inexpensively on ebay) We have two large dogs and we have no fleas. The pest offense emits the pulse and it also backfeeds through the wiring of your house and effectively covers your whole house and yard. One thing to remember is that initally it takes up to 2 weeks for it to take complete affect so you need to be a little patient at first but your flea problems will be permanently over.

Borax and salt. You mix it half and half and sprinkle it everywhere, including furniture. You leave it for a couple of hours and then vaccuum REALLY good. It is cheap, non toxic, and it works. The problem is it is messy. Good luck to you.

this is a very difficult process you can vacuum SOME fleas but they will go to the corner and hide and can live for one year without eating even if you have the carpet professionally cleaned it is a long process

Hi E., my parents found this great stuff called Diatomaceous Earth, you can find it a feed and tack store. It's all natural and even edible. Hope this helps!

I had a friend with the same problem. Her veterinarian gave her the following advice and it worked within a couple of weeks.

1. Put a flea collar in the bag or canister of the vacuum while you vacuum and make sure to thoroughly vacuum all carpeted areas at least once a day.
2. If the cats are not already indoor only, that will be necessary at least temporarily.
3. Check the cats regularly to see if the treatments are working for them.
4. If there are carpeted areas of the home that don't seem to have fleas now, don't bring any clothing, toys, blankets etc. that have been on the floor with fleas into any of those "safe zones" - take them straight to the laundry room.

This worked for her, but if it hadn't she was told to steam clean the carpets.
There were other pieces of advice, but these are the safest for your baby.

In the past we used a flea trap. It had some special light that would attract the fleas and a sticky pad that the fleas end up sticking to. But, if your infestation is bad, you may want to just fumigate and have the carpets cleaned afterward. The flea trap worked when we didn't have a lot of fleas. But, when we realized we had a lot, we needed to bomb the house.

E.,
Being bitten by fleas is more than an annoyance. Fleas carry diseases and it’s important to protect your baby from bites as much as possible. I would call in a professional exterminator, since you have already tried home remedies and they haven’t worked. You may have to keep your baby off the carpet for a week after they treat; then have a carpet cleaner out before you allow him back on the floor again
.

please can you post your reponses i am having the same problem....

Get rid of the cats!!

My adult daughter lives with me and we have three cats between us. I don't know what it is this year, but I have never seen so many fleas! We have also treated the cats with frontline, but we have had to lock them outside or in a bedroom and sprinkle the carpet with flea powder. There are some good ones on the market for about $15 at Petco and Petsmart. They smell nice, are relatively safe as long as you vacuum them up thoroughly, and they definitely need to be on the carpet at least eight hours to work effectively. Then, you would need to do it again a few weeks later due to those little critters that haven't hatched yet. Take the baby to grandma's for a day, put the cat out, and sprinkle. It's totally worth it!

Try using baking soda. It worked in my carpet.

Hey E.! I use this stuff

http://tinyurl.com/5nhwxt

It's a wonderful herbal flea repellent. Just sprinkle it on the carpet wait an hour and vacuum it up. Wait about a week do it again, then once more a week later and fleas are gone. Also good to sprinkle on any critters in your home or outside that hang around.

the same exact thing used to happen to my first little boy, i used to dump baby powder all over the floor, leave it for a day then vacuum it up.
your other suggestions were pretty good, do whatever is cheaper!!

Sprinkle salt on your carpet and leave it for an hour or so. The salt dehydrates the fleas. Then vacuum.

Hi E.,

I have actually used salt only, left it in for a couple of days, and the fleas were gone. Worked every time.

Google the ultimate Flea Trap

you can use Danielle L'Don's ViraFungal Fighter, it is Organic and comes in a little blue spray bottle. It can be used to flea control as well as many other things. Her website is www.danielleldon.net

Vacuum then beat the Borax into the carpet and leave it there. It's non-toxic. You can also beat it into the furniture chairs, sofas, etc.

The only way I was ever able to do it was b calling Dewey pest control. Then you have to sign a contract for a year. If the fleas return (which happens when the eggs hatch) they will come out and re spray. I was worried about that also when my daughter was about the same age. However, you can always get new carpet.

There is only one way to get rid of fleas..."BioSpot","Advantage" or one of those medications. You apply it every 3 months to the back of your pet's neck so they can't lick it off. What happens is that the fleas that are on your pet will not be able to reproduce, therefore, your carpet eventually becomes flealess. It takes ab 2 weeks for this cycle to happen, but it really WORKS. Meantime, you can try to use flea bombs and then shampoo your rug to get any eggs/fleas that are already there. You can purchase these meds at PetMart or even online. No prescription needed. It is kind of pricey, but so is all the flea baths, flea bombs, and rug shampoos which only put a bandaid on the problem.

Sprinkle salt on the carpet and then vacuum up- it loosens the eggs and definitely lessens the fleas.
Good luck!

Try the Borax again, it dries out the fleas and they die. Shake it in real good and let it sit for at least 24 hours. Vacuum and then revacuum with a clean bag. Get the carpet cleaned by someone that uses non toxic stuff.

Fleas HATE eucalyptus. I had that problem and used scrap wood and spread the oil on it and put the wood pieces behimd and under furniture. This will also clear your sinus passages as a side bonus. It is stinky for a few days, but the fleas will be gone and it is non-toxic.

S.

Hi E.-

I used talcum powder overnight, and then put a bit of a flea collar in my vacuum cleaner bag. It seems to work.

Good luck!

E.,
At any pool supply you can get diatenasious earth or pool filter earth. It is non toxic-made from ground up earth and does nearly the same thing as the borax or salt-but better in my opinion. Vacuum very well spread it around-walk on it and get it really worked into the carpet-leave it for as long as you can stand not to vacuum. It suffocates them and keeps them away until next summer.
Do it every spring just before the first really hot spell and you won't have to worry all summer. You can even spread it on your pet if the advantix type stuff doesn't work all the way.

Hi E., don't lay dry borax, my husband used a mixture of borax and water, and he puts in into a pump sprayer and goes over the back yard and the house, and then when it dries I vacum it up, we have no problem with fleas he also treats are dog, and it keeps her flea free. J.

Hi E.!!

Flea's are nasty little buggers. The most effective treatment I'm aware of it flea POWDER. My fiance had a SERIOUS infestation last summer and I went to the pet shop and bought the BIGGEST can of flea power I could find. Sprinkled it everywhere, carpets, couch pillows. Anything that was fabric and could 'hold' fleas got the treatment. You let it set for 20 minutes, the vaccuum the little nasties and their eggs away forever. It really works.

But it may not be the best idea for a new mommy and her little crawling boy. But this really does work. It wouldn't hurt you to go down to your local Petsmart or Petco and ask there, the employees at my local store are very knowledgeable .. you could even call a vet's office.

Well, not all that much info, but I hope maybe I helped point you in the right direction?

~W.

I also have a 6 year old cat and I have recently found that Advantage is not working. I have no fleas in the carpets or can I find any on the cat but she is always biting at her tail. I contacted the vet and they said that with some cats Advantage doesn't work. I will be changing to Frontline Plus in about 3 weeks. So maybe the Advantage isn't working on your cat. Also, I have always had either a dog or a cat and if I consistantly use Advantage or frontline, you will not have fleas on you animal OR fleas in your carpet. So I suggest switching and see if it works. As far as your son, the fleas are a bother but wouldn't ALSO treat the carpet. If you get rid of the fleas on the animal, they will die off elsewhere.