(no subject)

[nny]

Urgh urgh urgh.

Okay, so neighbourhood cat, who is NEVER COMING IN HERE AGAIN, has flea'd up the place something rotten. I have been bitten all to hell - about 17 bites all over my upper body, at present, plus those on my ankles and feet. Too itchy to sleeeeep. D:

I've been burning cedar oil and I've got lavender oil all over my bedding at present, but I have no idea if that's had an effect because I'm so covered in bites already I'm not exactly differentiating between old and new.

Anyone know of any natural flea repellants? We're not big on chemicals in this house. And, right now, we're not big on funds either; I have exactly 12p in my bank account until I get paid, so. Plz help?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

sugar water in bowl under a light source- will drown in water

[seticat.livejournal.com]

I used to use a really strong pennyroyal tea. I'd put it in a spray bottle and spray it around the door sills and window sills. I didn't wnat to use any chemicals as I had a newborn son and some fairly young kittens. I was living 'way out in the country at the time and it seemed to work pretty well.

[villainny.livejournal.com]

Huh, intriguing. I've also read that Earl Gray works, and I'll definitely keep it in mind. Thanks!

[chopchica.livejournal.com]

We had a miserable summer out here and Pasha infected our entire apartment with fleas.

Salt and vacuuming are the best you can do. Cover the floor and carpet with salt - and if you have a carpet, take a broom and *shove* it in deep. Wait about twenty minutes and then vacuum.

The salt dries up the fleas and they can't lay eggs. The vacuum wakes up the ones in cocoons (which are unkillable as long as they are in there) and then the next day, you can vacuum again and get them.

As soon as you are done vacuuming, remove the bag and put it somewhere VERY VERY FAR AWAY AND NOT IN THE HOUSE BECAUSE THEY WILL JUMP RIGHT OUT AGAIN.

Hot water kills fleas; cold does not. Make sure your washing machine is on hot. Wash all towels, linens and clothes. Vacuum the couch.

They hate citrus and lavender, but those alone often aren't enough. The sugar water in the bowl works, but I'd also add a bit of soap because otherwise, the surface tension of the water means they can bounce themselves right out of the bowl instead of getting trapped and drowning. Turn off all lights except for a bulb right above the bowl (put these on teh floor). Fleas will be attracted to the light, jump up, and drown in the bowl.

[villainny.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the advice! I have hoovered, salted, hoovered again and scattered cedar oil; I don't think I have any new bites but it's hard to tell without marking them individually. XD

[sheafrotherdon.livejournal.com]

Cool suggestions here! (http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1987-07-01/Natural-Flea-Control.aspx).

[villainny.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the link, hugely appreciated!

[flyakate]

After some Googling, it says if you steep lemons in water overnight and then spray the "water-juice" about, it will kill them. I am skeptical, but hey, can't hurt and smells nice!

Good luck, itchiness sucks. As long as the skin isn't broken where it's itchy, I bet combining baking soda and water (4 tablespoons to a quart of water) and soaking a washcloth in it and then putting on the itches might help.

*snugs*

[villainny.livejournal.com]

Thanks ever so much, sweetpea. I think we'll try the lemon thing next if the current round doesn't work; as to the bites, I was using witch hazel to cool them a little, but I've finally given in and put anthisan on 'em, partly because I seem to be having a slight allergic reaction or summat, so the sooner they're dealt with the better.

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

If you have wooden floors, wash them with strong tea.

[villainny.livejournal.com]

Thankee for the suggestion; sadly we're all carpets so I've been salting and hoovering a lot. XD

I work in a pet store, I hear this all the time. :)

[fer-de-lance.livejournal.com]

First: hoovering. Thoroughly. As in, insanely thoroughly -- along baseboards, under furniture, etc. The vacuum actually kills 99% of the fleas it picks up (it abrades their cuticles, so they dehydrate), and if you then throw out the bag the few that survive can't be laying eggs to blow back out the exhaust. So vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. (You can throw a cheap flea collar in the vacuum bag, too, if you want; it might help kill eggs that are picked up.)

I'd wash all the bedding and laundry, too, since I imagine that would be, to a flea, a great shady place full of dust/dead skin to hang out.

The pan-of-dishsoap-and-water in front of a nightlight will also kill adult fleas, so it would be worth setting up, perhaps.

Remember that flea eggs are going to hatch periodically, so even if you extirpate all the adult fleas in the house there's going to be a "second wave" when the eggs they managed to lay before dying hatch out. So don't let down your guard; be prepared for the next wave and keep on attacking.

I don't know about the lemon-juice spray, but it sounds like an easy and painless thing to try. Ditto the pennyroyal, if you have or can obtain some.

Maybe get a marker and put blue dots by all the bites you have, so you can check for new ones each morning? (When you don't get any more for a few days, you can connect them in constellations!)

Good luck! And bad kitty!

Re: I work in a pet store, I hear this all the time. :)

[villainny.livejournal.com]

Thankee very kindly for all the advice - we've gone with insane amounts of hoovering and salt, with added cedar oil, for now. Hopefully that'll take care of it, with repeated hoovering. :)

[forest-rose.livejournal.com]

Oh God, how awful. I have a horror of fleas - I'm allergic to them, and they know, oh yes they do. We got fleas in my old student house (from my ex-boyfriend! I can only assume they came on his clothes from his house, ugh ugh ugh) and vaccuming EVERYWHERE is really the only answer. I have to say, I'm not convinced this is the time for natural remedies, either - if you can possibly afford it, go to a vet and get some of their proper flea-blitzing spray. It's not nice, but this is war.

Poor itchy kitty. And poor itchy you, as well! Take antihistamines for the bites, that should soothe them a bit. If you want a natural remedy for those, I find chamomile oil (neat, just a little tiny drop) on the spot works quite nicely. xxx

[villainny.livejournal.com]

Thanks ever so much for all the advice, darlin' girl!