Need HELP with fleas!!! Please

Hello all:

Not sure if I am posting in the right area, but my name is Kathy and my son had brought home a stray cat which we had for a week.  We no longer have the cat but the fleas wont leave.  I am seeing less and less of them as the day goes on but see most in the morning when we wake up, once on my son's face and once in his pj's.  I have tried everything natural I have read about and am now at my wits end!!!  I was told to vaccum alot but I do not own a vaccuum because I have all hardwood floors.  I was told they would die off without a host animal available to feed on is this true?  I have completely cleaned out the house, swept and mopped under everything using vinegar, and lemon pine-sol and even trying Lavender Mr. Clean.  I have put a flea trap out everynight in one of the rooms and do not catch that many.  The most I ever caught was three.  I have had it and am ready to bomb my house with raid!!  Please help me, any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you

have you tried food grade diatomatious earth?

If the fleas are cat fleas, yes, eventually they will die out. The received wisdom is that cat fleas only bite humans as a last resort. But it could take a while...

Have you tried a light trap? Put a night light in a low outlet, and place a bowl of water under the outlet. Fleas  are attracted to the light at night, will jump toward it, and many will fall into the water. When I had a flea infestation, I caught lots this way, and it really helped. I don't know how far an adult flea will travel, you might catch more fleas if you put out traps in more rooms of your house.

Maybe you could buy a used vacuum? Buy one with a bag. Put diatomaceous earth in the bag, vacuum, and *immediately* dispose of the bag into an outdoor garbage bin.  Do this every day. This will also help.

Fleas are tiny, and hide in the smallest nooks and crannies. I know of no non-chemical means to get rid of them quickly.

Have you read my flea control article?

jacque greenleaf wrote:If the fleas are cat fleas, yes, eventually they will die out. The received wisdom is that cat fleas only bite humans as a last resort. But it could take a while...

Have you tried a light trap? Put a night light in a low outlet, and place a bowl of water under the outlet. Fleas  are attracted to the light at night, will jump toward it, and many will fall into the water. When I had a flea infestation, I caught lots this way, and it really helped. I don't know how far an adult flea will travel, you might catch more fleas if you put out traps in more rooms of your house.

Maybe you could buy a used vacuum? Buy one with a bag. Put diatomaceous earth in the bag, vacuum, and *immediately* dispose of the bag into an outdoor garbage bin.  Do this every day. This will also help.

Fleas are tiny, and hide in the smallest nooks and crannies. I know of no non-chemical means to get rid of them quickly.

Hello all

this is my firsst post after joining and reading these posts about fleas. I have a small dog that just got them on vacation in va at a relatives home and not sure where to get that DE at, any ideas would be
appreciated this is the first time she has gotten since we got her from a shelter. I dont want to use alot of toxic stuff on her since she is an older dog and wouldn,t want any harm to come to her. But can't stand to see her itching all the time either.

In January I was asked to take a starving cat that was about three pounds of fur,skin, and bone. She survived and looked better, but had a terrible flea infestation. I soaked her in Dawn and killed-off loads of body fleas, but none on sensitive parts like her eyes, where I dared not risk burning her. The fleas returned three times to full infestation.

Then I got a bright idea! I soaked her entire head carefully with a combination of mild essential oils, hemp oil and olive oil, drowning all the face fleas and leaving a light coating of oil the fleas stay away from. The rest of her body got the heavy treatment of shampoo, and for several weeks she remains flea-free.

I really question the efficacy of DE, since fleas have a hard shell for body covering, unlike the soft-skin bugs that are affected by DE have. One lady posted a logical experience with DE which clearly details it does not work on fleas at all. I also see posted here lots of speculation, which made me desire to post a real experience with safe, natural flea eradication.

lester barton sr wrote: Hello all...this is my firsst post after joining and reading these posts about fleas. I have a small dog that just got them on vacation in va at a relatives home and not sure where to get that DE at, any ideas would be
appreciated

Try any natural health food store. In Phoenix, Sprouts did not carry it, but right next door was a health food store that did.

Dean - It's a good idea to check dates on posts. You are replying to a comment from 2012. I'm sure he has found his DE by now!

Claude Armstrong wrote: I really question the efficacy of DE, since fleas have a hard shell for body covering, unlike the soft-skin bugs that are affected by DE have....

I believe you may have it wrong... it is the hard-shell bugs that are affected. See Paul Wheaton's article above.

I've used it on Scorpions in Mesa, AZ with great success.

I've also had good results with plain Arm and Hammer Baking Soda on roaches...same affect, I reckon. Something in the joints breaks down with powdered scratchy stuff.