organic war on fleas!

The bites are mostly on my back, stomach, and waist but also now a little all over, more on the back than anywhere else. I did do a flea trap but came up with nothing; the light I used was really small and I only had it on for a few hours so maybe it wasn't powerful enough. Yes, I am still getting bit even though I am no longer at my friend's house where the biting started suddenly and heavily. Today I treated my cat and apt. with DE. So far, I am still getting bit.

It is your bedding. At least I'm about 94% certain that you have fleas in your bedding. Wash all of your bedding.

I like the use of 94 percent; your humor is helping me through this! So you think the fleas came with me and my cat from my friend's house and got into the bedding? When I returned, I did put clean sheets on and showered before going near the bed but my cat hadn't been treated yet because she wasn't showing fleas (but possibly eggs, it's hard to tell.) Is it advisable to put DE on a mattress and vacuum it? Thanks Paul!

Wash the bedding. The soap/detergent will work with the water to drown the fleas. And if that doesn't do it, the dryer will.

I didn't see an option to search the thread so I'm sorry if these questions have already been asked. I bought a 10lb bag of food grade DE from amazon for $20.

In the article is talks about sprinkling vs spreading. I don't quite understand the difference. I have been using a strainer to sift it onto my carpet... What is meant by sprinkle and spreading?

Do I need to put the DE down before vacuuming or could I just put some inside my vacuum to start? I have a bagless vacuum.

I read some where else that you can put the DE on your pet directly. I took in two stray kittens that had the fleas. Is it bad to rub the DE into the fur?

With the kittens I also worry about putting down the plate of soapy water. Does anyone think they will drink it

Thanks for any help! This is a great article!

(Posted this twice because I think I posted it to the wrong place the first time)

Till,

you can definitely rub the DE right into the kittens' fur.

Don't use a humidifier! Use a dehumidifier as suggested in the article spawning this discussion.

Prompted by the article's mention of humidity for controlling fleas, I began paying attention. I have a cat that suffers from excessive licking. I didn't want to use steroids. From time to time, he gets better. As always during the summer, the air conditioner is being used a lot. So the humidity is kept low. And now I'm noticing that's doing him a world of good. I'm sure it's the reduced humidity. So I'm going to buy a dehumidifier for after the summer when occasionally the humidity rises. Problem with scabby cat disease (when caused by fleas) is that it takes weeks/months for the condition to get better or worse. And when you're talking about killing fleas by removing humidity, that adds more time. So it's very very difficult to understand what's going on, to see results.

I bought a humidity meter. Now going to buy a dehumidifier for when the summer is over and the air conditioner is off. Assuming it is in fact solving the flea problem... I just need to figure out how often and for how long to run the dehumidifier when the humidity is greater than 50%, to make sure fleas don't reproduce.

The dehumidifier uses significant electricity, but it also helps reduce mold and stuff.

Hi Paul,
I read your article and listened to your pod cast.
I went to the sit you recommended for the DE
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/products.php?AfId=F92398511008

The man there keeps directing me to the DE that is for Bugs. Acting like that is going to work better for fleas then the Food Grade type.
So I was going to order the 50 lb of the regular bug prevention kind.
And 2.5 Lb of the food grade.

But after reading page one of this forum. It is confusing. You say Food Grade and I believe you!

But he is telling me I need the Bug type. But I think that is a labeling issue with EPS

Why is there a difference. Once has 80 % silica the other 85 % .
So I want it mostly for Fleas and bugs but to be safe in the house. I also have awful Box Elder Beetles and want to use it for that around the edge of house and roof.

OK: DE Food Grade or or their pest grade for Fleas and why not the Bug grade?
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/products.php?AfId=F92398511008
Seems like there is some EPA issue and they can't talk to me about the confusion. So I am thinking that I need the Food Grade Right??? And maybe it is even better as the Silcia is high percentage. But we will not tell the EPA what we think as it is not labeled for Bugs!
Help...I want to get this right! Thank you so much!

Deirdra Doan wrote:Hi Paul,
I read your article and listened to your pod cast.
I went to the sit you recommended for the DE
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/products.php?AfId=F92398511008

The man there keeps directing me to the DE that is for Bugs. Acting like that is going to work better for fleas then the Food Grade type.
So I was going to order the 50 lb of the regular bug prevention kind.
And 2.5 Lb of the food grade.

But after reading page one of this forum. It is confusing. You say Food Grade and I believe you!

But he is telling me I need the Bug type. But I think that is a labeling issue with EPS

Why is there a difference. Once has 80 % silica the other 85 % .
So I want it mostly for Fleas and bugs but to be safe in the house. I also have awful Box Elder Beetles and want to use it for that around the edge of house and roof.

OK: DE Food Grade or or their pest grade for Fleas and why not the Bug grade?
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/products.php?AfId=F92398511008
Seems like there is some EPA issue and they can't talk to me about the confusion. So I am thinking that I need the Food Grade Right??? And maybe it is even better as the Silcia is high percentage. But we will not tell the EPA what we think as it is not labeled for Bugs!
Help...I want to get this right! Thank you so much!

I would just get the food grade stuff.

There is a good chance that they are both the exact same thing and the gub'mint is requiring something stupid. But whenever it is posted "this is for killing bugs" and it is NOT labeled "food grade" I am concerned that they might have put some "bug killer helper" in it that is not food grade.

Food grade DE is the stuff you want.

Hi Paul,

I recently found your flea control page, and it was a major mental helper for me. I never realized that a flea problem can become some mental (and mentally exhausting). I have a question which can hopefully be answered quickly. My wife and I just bought a nice bag of Food Grade DE, and we have started applying it to the carpets. I really just would like some validation that we are doing it correctly. Here's the process:

1. Sprinkle it on the carpet
2. Get down on hands and knees and rub it into the carpet (this creates a huge amount of dust)

We just got it, so we haven't gotten to the vacuuming stage yet. Is this the proper procedure? Is all the dust I'm kicking up by rubbing it into the carpet mean that there is less dust that stays on the carpet? I would hate to go through the hassle of doing our entire apartment only to realize I stupidly did it incorrectly.

Thanks in advance,

Shane

Paper thin layer of DE. So if the fleas jump out, they get it on them.

Flea traps - to watch for progress.

Here is a post my lovely wife Shawna put on our blog about our short battle with fleas: http://myabundantliving.com/fleas-no-more/

Fleas No More!

Furry friends bringing fleas into your home? Fleas, bed bugs, ticks, lice… Just mentioning those words make me itch all over!

Living in the country, I’ve gotten accustomed to occasionally pulling a tick off one of my kids when they come in from their outdoor adventures. However, I was not prepared to learn that when our oldest daughter moved out for college with her cat, the cat left fleas not only in her room, but in MY BED!!! (That goofy cat used to run in there whenever I left my bedroom door open.)

It was one of those times when motherhood felt very “real” and less warm, fuzzy, and Martha Stewart like! I didn’t know how to solve this very irritating problem which was biting my legs when I tried to sleep at night and leaving terrible little red bite marks on our sweet baby girl. So I did a little “lazy” research – I called some friends to find out if they had ever had fleas in their houses… And if they did, how they resolved the problem.

I found out two main things: 1. Fleas in the house is a really common problem. (Sigh of relief. Somehow I felt more “normal” when I learned my friends had the same problem and lived through it!!) Upon further research, I found that flea control is an issue for LOTS of people. It’s estimated to be the biggest expense for American pet owners. I also learned that the “cat flea” is the most common offender. 2. Most people just use toxic junk to “bomb” their houses – DIY and professionally.

Now I had a new problem. I am ardently set against intentionally putting toxins in my children’s environments. Call me a conspiracy nut, but I think on our best day, we live in an extremely toxic world. Look at all the chemicals we ingest because of the science experiments happening in our food supply daily, the toxins that we bring into our homes in carpet, paint, and furniture, the pollution in the air from our vehicles, factories… I digress.

Suffice it to say, I think there is a lot I cannot control that negatively impacts my family’s health. I’ll be danged if I am going to choose to put chemicals that are created to kill (even on an insect level) in my home for my children to breathe, play in, and let’s be real – lick!

So, I began the second level of research: How can you treat your home for fleas – without toxins? Here is the solution we found. (My dear husband gets credit for being an active part of this solution.)

First, we laundered all the linens in both bedrooms. We washed and dried them all on high heat. We put Abundant Living’s Natural Diatomaceous Earth Powder with Calcium Bentonite in all the crevices and seams of the mattresses. We also sprinkled it on and rubbed it into the mattresses. (This was the first time that I learned how really effective this powder is at getting unwanted odors – cat + urine – out of furniture.) Then we did a thorough vacuuming of all the floors, and tried to get the nooks and crannies where critters like to hide.

I felt really good that all the adult fleas had been killed or were dying from their DE exposure. But the reality of flea eggs and larvae haunted me! That’s when my husband told me he had found that peppermint essential oil could kill fleas. So, he filled a spray bottle with water, added a liberal amount of drops of peppermint oil and became a crazy sprayer man.

Every day for two weeks he sprayed our beds – linens, pillows, and people if they were in the way! At the end of two weeks (the amount of time it would have taken for larvae to grow, or new eggs to hatch) we washed all the linens again and did another deep vacuuming. And that was it. They were gone. No more itchy legs at night. No more red bites on my little one. All gone. And not a single toxin did we bring into our home. I felt VICTORIOUS! We had fleas no more!

One last note, I am compelled to share: According to Texas A & M, Americans spend over $9 BILLION a year on flea control! I certainly don’t want to put anyone out of business, but maybe we should spread the word that people can treat their homes AND their pets with Abundant Living’s Natural Diatomaceous Earth Powder with Calcium Bentonite and some peppermint oil for just a few bucks!

We live in the country where there are wild animals. We have deer , squirrels, rabbits, mice, etc.
We do have problems with fleas. One year it rained pretty good. And we live on a downhill slope. We saw a black patch on top of some rainwater that had stopped on our sidewalk. Looking at it closer....it was hundreds of fleas!! We were shocked to say the least.
We do not like using pesticides on our property.
We have 2 dogs and 3 cats.
We had a battle with fleas for awhile. Used the food grade D.E. and other stuff.
The cats were basically ok. I think some of it was their diet that helped.
The dogs had the worse part.
One was pretty much ok but the other dog was always highly suseptable to the flea allergy/dermatitis. Poor dog was always scratching and digging. She lost hair and looked like she was getting mange.
We took her to the vet where she was prescribed the comfortis and antibiotics. Several times. They both were taking.comfortis. very expensive but it helped at the time.
The vet said it was at the point where the antibiotics were going to not help anymore.
I knew I had to do something. I had to figure out a way to beat this.
They are mostly inside dogs and when they go out, they pick them up. When they come back in I use a flea comb on them and deposit the fleas in a bowl of dawn detergent and water so the fleas can't hop back out. Then dry it off and do again.

On the dermititus and flea part I have made a mix of some essential oils and other safe oils for her skin condition. And it also smothers the fleas. They die.
She loves this. It also has lavender oil in it and makes her relax. Soon she is sleeping soundly. It also makes her coat so soft and lays nice. It makes the hair grow back also.
To apply this I use a soft baby brush and brush all over her.
Her belly used to be covered in red bright spots from the fleas and it itched. After I apply it, they disappear very quickly! It works fast for her.
It is all natural and they can also lick this out of a bowl. I give them a little bit each time. They love the taste!
I also give them coconut oil. The cats can have this too. I buy it at the health food store. Non GMO of course!
It works so well I am thinking of selling some.
Now I do not have to subject my pets to harsh drugs.
And when they go outside they seem to bring less fleas back. Fleas can smell very well. There are a few herbs and essential oils that will repel them. I apply this to their paws too.

Cats are another story. They are very sensitive to essential oils and should not be used on them. Least most of them from what I have read.
I will be looking for a natural formula for cats too.
I am also making homemade natural treats for dogs and cats because I am not happy with what is out there so far. And I will NOT buy them from other countries.
I will repost on here the natural dog link for you all. They are great!
L.

Here is the natural dog site:
http://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/safe-herbs-for-dogs.html

Enjoy! I have found this site to be one of the best.

I found DE in Lowe's Hardware store

I would not recommend putting the essential oils directly onto a cat or dog. Instead, we have watered down the essential oils in a spray bottle and sprayed the floors and beds. In the hot summer, a light watered down peppermint spray is very cooling on the bed sheets.

anybody mention eucalyptus? or flea killing nematodes?

I thought I'd post my flea saga too. We had a small, indoor dog for eight years, adopted from the local shelter. In the last year of her life, she got fleas. And it kept getting worse and worse. She got them in July, when we visited our inlaws for a week, and still had them when she died that November, at the age of 14. During those months, I was vacuuming constantly. I powdered the floors (wood floors--we have no carpets) with DE. I washed the linens and bedding twice a week. I even got to the point where I was shampooing and flea combing the dog (in the bath) every single day. It was exhausting, and still the flea trap (plate of soapy water on the floor) was catching fleas every night, and my son's ankles were constantly red and itchy.

I gave up DE pretty quickly, however, after some experiments: I put fleas into jars with DE and fleas into identical jars but no DE. After 12 hours, fleas in the DE were still alive, and after 24 hours, fleas in both jars were dead. I also covered fleas with DE when I found them on the dog; I would scoop a handful and rub it into her fur, completely smothering them, and they would just jump or wriggle away. Maybe they died 24 hours later, as the jar experiment fleas, but that's not good enough for me.

We still had fleas in May, after the dog had been dead for six months. We left the house for a week, to visit my parents. When we came back, I still carried on with the vacuuming, laundering, and flea trap; we noticed a lot fewer fleas, though. After another two weeks had passed, we weren't catching any fleas in the trap. Finally, when no one was in the house to bite for a week, the adults all died off. When we returned, I was able to stop the emerging fleas before they got the chance to breed and reinfest the house. It was a long and horrible infestation, and my two years on my son still has scars on his ankles. I still get paranoid when I see a small black speck on my bedding or furniture.

I have used DE for a while now, and have found that it is very drying, and therefore irritating when applied to pets skin....... it bothered my dog more than the fleas and drove her completely nuts. And, it does seem to irritate lungs and eyes if it's in the air.
DE works very well on floors, carpets, etc.....I use a cool "squirter" kind of thing I found on line a few years ago when I bought the DE to apply it, which allows you to do a fine coating or large amounts, depending on how you want use it. I find less is best, as it really doesn't take much. I was thinking a powdered sugar/flour duster thing (I forget the actual name) would work well, too, but what's great about the squirter is that you can get under beds, into closets, etc. without having to move everything. After applying it to the carpet, I use a broom to gently work it in, being careful not to raise the dust, and leave it until I need to vacuum for other reasons...... it's killing fleas the whole time, so why vacuum it up?
On my pets, I have used cedar oil for the last few years, and it is working great! I buy a 20% formula from cedarcide.com, and spray it liberally and work it in the coat. It does not wash off in plain water, which is awesome if your dog likes to swim or go out in the rain, and is good for the coat, but doesn't leave it oily once it dries. I use less on the cats, so they don't ingest a lot when grooming. I also use it on myself and the kids to deter biting insects when outside, as it is completely non toxic.
My dog also used to get great relief from a bath with a mixture of vinegar and blue Dawn dish soap. Leave it on for 10 minutes, and you can see the dead fleas rise. I actually keep a bottle diluted with water handy for an emergency garden pesticide.
The same Cedarcide company sells a fogger that I might try in the attic playroom, as it has rough walls and floors, and I want a more thorough treatment without DE dust all over the place, which was a real mess the last time I treated that room.

Justin Wood wrote:I would not recommend putting the essential oils directly onto a cat or dog. Instead, we have watered down the essential oils in a spray bottle and sprayed the floors and beds. In the hot summer, a light watered down peppermint spray is very cooling on the bed sheets.

No, not pure essential oils. I use it dilluted. It is in a carrier base with a few drops of different EO's.
Humans too should not use it directly by itself. They are a high concentration of oils in a bottle.
I also use a spray mix on the carpet. Especially by the doors and outside the doors.
And before the dogs go out I will spritz their legs and tail so they don't smell so good to the fleas.
But always dillute the oils....

I have delt with a flea issue several years ago on indoor untreated cats. UGH! Nightmare for them and me (no sleep, fog brain, OCD).. I did end up ripping out carpet because my light traps decreased, but in my mind it was thousands. So it's now and guess what, they are gone.

My pup brought a few in about 5 weeks ago. I am panicking, even though I know I have taken the steps. Our pets are treated monthly with medication so I knew it was going to be minor, but still crappy. I checked him over and found 3, my 3 cats were clean and no dirt on any so I really knew this was not going to be crazy. We vacuumed crazily for days and days as well as did a good steam clean. No powders, do sprinkles, no sprays, no bomb... After all, what did they do  60 yea ago if pets had fleas!? None of that crud. I went about treating my cats and dog and continued to vacuum.

To my surprise, all my water traps were clean for these last 4/5 weeks and no surprises on my white sock tests. No bites on any of us except when it first began at the park ( I know that is where he picked them up), So yay I have control. I did find what I think to be a hatched flea on one kitty and one on dog 4 weeks and 3 days after we found the initial few. I did panic, but I keep reading this article that really no need to panic. IT TAKES TIME!!! We all want the quick fix so we spend $100s on flea products. Bombing was NOT an option, my husband will not let me.

This article really really helps me. I have read it 100xs to erase my anxiety. The internet is your worst nightmare! Stay away from it. You will continually read about how awful it is and you will never get rid of them. You will if you just take the time to vacuum, comb and if you choose, use a flea medication once a month.

Thank you for your article DIE FLEAS DIE!

Haven't read thru all of this thread but didnt see any mention of it, but i recently found out that spraying a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water on floors, carpet, furniture, etc... (Not the pets!) worked for getting rid of the adult fleas in the house...  Had to do it daily for 6-7 days, but really put a stop to them in an abandon house I'm cleaning...

paul wheaton wrote:

Deirdra Doan wrote:I went to the sit you recommended for the DE
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/products.php?AfId=F92398511008

But after reading page one of this forum. It is confusing. You say Food Grade and I believe you!

But he is telling me I need the Bug type. But I think that is a labeling issue with EPS!

I would just get the food grade stuff.

There is a good chance that they are both the exact same thing and the gub'mint is requiring something stupid.  But whenever it is posted "this is for killing bugs" and it is NOT labeled "food grade" I am concerned that they might have put some "bug killer helper" in it that is not food grade.

Food grade DE is the stuff you want.

Sorry, I do not agree and the answer is on their website: only a few sites give food grade just because of the natural purity. It has nothing to do with added ingredients.
"Of 600 DE deposits in the USA, only 4 rate in purity by FDA standards to be "Food Grade"."
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/human-use.php

There is less production of the food grade one,
...so don't you think that we should let it for people who need it for inside use?

Hello all,

tl;dr - im going crazy.

Made an account just for this thread.

So little more than a week ago i realized i had a flea problem. but i believe it started more than a month ago. I've never had them before so i just didn't know the signs. About a month ago i noticed a single itchy bump on my left shin that i didn't think too much about. then all of a sudden almost 2 weeks ago, i went from that one, to over 50 just on my left leg, and 30 on the other. After seeing one on me one night i started googling, found out they were fleas and started freaking out. i spent hours vacuuming day and night. The room i have them in isn't too large but i vacuumed the carpet in all directions multiple times, didnt matter if it was 4am i was vacuuming. It didnt seem to help, so i started steam cleaning the carpet after vacuuming every day, It also didnt help. I also mixxed 1 bottle of Brags apple cider vinegar with water into my 1gallon pump sprayer. was soaking my legs, carpet, recliner, pretty much everything in the stuff. i kinda thought it was helping at first, but after 2 days of that i was still getting bit up like crazy.

So after more googling i found the article on DE and decided to try it. Now i cant get Food Grade locally, the best i could do is get the "Safer Brand DE" from home depot, listed as Bed Bug, Flea, Ant, Crawling Insect Killer
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Safer-Brand-4-lb-Diatomaceous-Earth-Bed-Bug-Flea-Ant-Crawling-Insect-Killer-51703/206857782  
Ive been putting this stuff down on the carpet, and well everywhere, since Monday, its now the following sunday. Ive seen 0 improvement, if anything it seems worse.. Last sunday i started wearing knee high white socks. not getting as many bites, but thats mostly because ive been picking them off once i stop moving around the room. i usually get about 5-10 on me just walking from the door across to my computer chair, and vise versa.

Im sure ive been putting down too much of the stuff. as i have green carpet that is now frosted in white. Ive nearly used the entire 4lb bag in a week, I vacuum first with a shop vac, then with our shark navigator vacuum, then again with the shop vac just in case the other vacuum had some jumping around, then i apply the DE.  Im using a woolite brand delicates washing bag to dispense the DE, its the only mesh like thing i had that had holes small enough to to dust the DE.   Ive tried working it into the carpet with a brush, but it just seems to disapear? not sure if its really going deeper or if its just going into the air. so after im just dumping more back on top so i can see it.


Im just utterly overwhelmed at this point. IF some one tells me that ripping out the carpet right down the the concrete will aid in this Please say so. and ill have it ripped out and burned in the backyard within the hour.


I have 2 cats, that ive started combing daily, they turn up a few fleas before they wont let me comb them any more, i had put flea collars on them, but after a day or so, they got extremely sluggish looking, getting worried i took them back off, now they seem fine. the flea collars now reside in the vacuums..   Using poison is also out of the question, i have too many things that would be effected, such as makeup brushes to alot of other things that i would never feel safe using again. i would move them out of this room, but im afraid of spreading the fleas to other areas. However over the past hew days ive strongly considered everything from fogging to just dumping gasoline and moving into the local jail after i burn everything down.

Please tell me to rip out the carpet, so i can regain some sanity.



Also, the cats seem to be fine with this DE. and it only effects me when im trying to blow it out of my laptop and cooling pad fans. i make such a huge cloud in here putting it down id be afraid of it going boom like a saw mill, but any ill effects quickly subside within a few seconds. Ive put out a flea trap, but im not catching many in it. i can catch more on me just by walking across the room than the trap gets in the 9 hours that the lights are off.

The only saving grace so far, is that they aren't in my bed. at least im not getting bitten while im in bed.

And sorry for this post being all over the place, but that about sums up my current mental state



Edit: i also have a gas fireplace in this room.   should i just blast it for a few hours? I just need advice and ideas, if some one told me that rolling around in horse manure would make the fleas leave the house, id probably do it at this point.

Each room should have a dish of soapy water with a light.   You need to be measuring your progress.  For example, if each dish got 30 fleas a night, and now with the DE you are down to 8 fleas per night, you are making progress.  Here is a link to a cheap lamp that will work great with a dish of water:  http://amzn.to/2v94NHb

And here is how you set it up:



Keep in mind that there is a life cycle to fleas that lasts four weeks.  Therefore, if your solution works 100% then you will continue to see fleas at the same load for four weeks.   It is possible that a few fleas will come out six to eight weeks later, but it will be very few.

You are trying to get all those fleas that are currently eggs/larva/etc. to come on out, get DE on them and die.  

You are worried that your efforts are not working.  Therefore, you need the flea traps so you can see that your efforts are working.  Plus, of course, the flea traps help.  

Oh yeah, for your kitties, try this:  http://amzn.to/2v8GA3F

A lot of people are adamant that the brewers yeast treats do a lot to keep the fleas away, but it takes a while to kick in.   The few people that have said that they don't work ...   I'm a little suspicious that they are selling something else.

paul wheaton wrote:Each room should have a dish of soapy water with a light.   You need to be measuring your progress.  For example, if each dish got 30 fleas a night, and now with the DE you are down to 8 fleas per night, you are making progress.  Here is a link to a cheap lamp that will work great with a dish of water:  http://amzn.to/2v94NHb

And here is how you set it up:



Keep in mind that there is a life cycle to fleas that lasts four weeks.  Therefore, if your solution works 100% then you will continue to see fleas at the same load for four weeks.   It is possible that a few fleas will come out six to eight weeks later, but it will be very few.

You are trying to get all those fleas that are currently eggs/larva/etc. to come on out, get DE on them and die.  

You are worried that your efforts are not working.  Therefore, you need the flea traps so you can see that your efforts are working.  Plus, of course, the flea traps help.  

Thanks for the reply!
Looking at the time since last post and between posts i wasn't expecting one so soon.


So at first i was setting a trap but after a few nights it only had like 3 or 4 in it, while my socks had quite a lot of them.   i was suspecting that maybe the lamp was too bright lighting up too much of an area to draw them into the water. using one of these with a bright Led bulb, same bulb i use every where. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Gooseneck-Organizer-Desk-Lamp-Multiple-Colors/21500122
Think ill be working at my computer with all the lights off except the trap from now on.

the effected areas currently are my basement room and the hallway and stairs outside the door. upstairs is hardwood.

Ill keep the 4 week time frame and load in mind. Knowing that actually helps a lot.

I think you don't need to worry about it being "too bright" - other than wasting energy. And, yes, making the rest of the room dark through the night is helpful.

The lamp you have is fine.  

Keep one flea trap in each room - including rooms where you think you do not have fleas.  Keep the traps there every night.   Reset the traps daily.  The key is that you need to KNOW what your progress is.  And you need a way to KNOW that you are making progress and that you have eliminated all the fleas.  

paul wheaton wrote:I think you don't need to worry about it being "too bright" - other than wasting energy. And, yes, making the rest of the room dark through the night is helpful.

The lamp you have is fine.  

Keep one flea trap in each room - including rooms where you think you do not have fleas.  Keep the traps there every night.   Reset the traps daily.  The key is that you need to KNOW what your progress is.  And you need a way to KNOW that you are making progress and that you have eliminated all the fleas.  

Hey, just wanted to give an update.

Since my last post, a faulty toilet upstairs flooded part of the basement, so i ended up removing all the carpet. 2 nights before i reset a trap. but didn't reset it the following day as i was out of the house till the day after. So attached is a pic of the trap just before i started removing the carpet in this room. so don't mind the piece of carpet fiber that made it in. even though it sat for a little while longer, with the new bulb in the lamp. that is about what i was seeing nightly.  the Dimmer and warmer bulb was more concentrated on the plate and not lighting up as much of the surrounding area, i believe that was drawing the fleas in closer.

Thank-you for your well though out article on flea control. There is one thing, however, that isn't entirely accurate. Fleas are not entirely harmless, even without the plague around. They are a necessary host and transmitter for tapeworm. Tapeworms can kill an animal. Anyway, just thought I'd add this as tapeworms are much more common than plague, and can harm / kill your pets.

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for your contributions to this thread!

I’m about at my wit’s end. I have no pets, yet found myself with fleas in the home at the end of June. Because I have kids in the home who are very susceptible to respiratory issues, I haven’t used any DE (especially because one is crawling and I’m afraid it would kick up the dust too much). However, I have vacuumed nearly every day since then and am still having an issue with the fleas. I can’t imagine that our infestation is very large because we rarely actually see a flea and don’t get bites daily. I’ve also placed traps around and didn’t catch any. It seems that there will be a period of a couple of weeks with no bites and then we will get a couple on our feet or legs and then none for awhile. I vacuum very thoroughly and don’t have things on the floor except for furniture. My husband is frustrated with me being so paranoid about it and wants to call pest control. I wonder if there may be some hiding in the couch, but I have vacuumed it as thoroughly as possible and I’m not sure if it has made a difference.

I have a dehumidifier and kept the house below 40% (based on a separate humidity monitor) for a couple of weeks but that didn’t seem to make a difference.

I have read this thread and lots of other articles and am just wondering what I could be missing.

Any help is most appreciated!!

There is a product called Zotal that can be used effectively and quickly for flea removal and control. It can be bought on-line.

This past summer I went to vacation in southern Spain at my grandmother's cottage.  Fleas are in the soil. It is not necessarily a moist region. However, my cousin had just moved some dogs he was keeping in an old chicken coop on a terrace next to the house, not kept in the best conditions.  Well on the second day of our vacation we went up to see the "era" as those plots of lands are called and later found out that we were attacked by fleas.  I was totally bitten later to find out I was extremely allergic and had to go urgent care.  However, I was told by the pharmacist and later many other people to use Zotal to take care of the ones in the house without resorting to more harmful chemicals as I had a newborn.  Apparently, fleas were a big problem when people kept their mules, donkey, and horses in corral's next to their homes up until 40 years ago. Zotal was used to get rid of them.  It is still used for that purpose.  Following their instructions in a pail of water you add a capful of Zotal. A little goes a long way.  With gloves, use a rinsed cloth and go over your couches.  Mop all the floors.  With that same mop water wash your areas outside your doors, patios, basements...with a broom. Fleas stay away.  You can even sprinkle/shower the water over things. Stay away for four hours at least.  Fleas inside dead. ,
My cousin fumigated the "era" two times while we were there.  My husband spread DE the last week we were there and as he was coming down from the era covered in DE, he was also covered in fleas. He stripped out in the street and ran to the shower, but he still reintroducd them inside the house.  I cleaned the house and the linens three times over our month long vacation, and I could tell by the dead fleas on the floor that the Zotal was the best thing for the house and my sanity.  DE is great. We use it at home for our chickens, rabbits, and home, but sometimes you need something that works right now, especially when you are severely allergic, have kids, and a new baby.

My grandparents used Zotal successfully. Interestingly, they also used native tortoises in their stalls to control fleas. Apparently tortoises love to eat the buggers.  Also fleas flare up in conditions were there is lots of manure, so keep your animals beds clean and poop free. Fleas are not minor problem.  

paul wheaton wrote:This thread is for discussing this flea control
 article.

   This is by far the best AND most comprehensive article  on using DE (diatomaceous earth) for flea control!!!  The ONLY idea I didn't see mentioned in your article was in regards to fleas traps & light source.  Don't recall where I read this, but the suggestion was to place a LED Tea Candle in the center of the plate/tray of soapy water (or DE) in place of a lamp.  Recently tried it & it was very effective.  Found them at my local (California) Dollar Store for $1 (pkg of 2).  This eliminated HAVING to place trays near an electrical outlet, allowing more flexibility & additional trays if desired.  Wish I'd found your article first...it would have saved me a lot of research time & frustration!!   Merrie

I noticed some fleas on my cat Mandu. I gave him a warm bath with 1 tablespoon of neem oil mixed in. He looks a bit ragged because of the oil but it has seem to have solve my problem.