5 Ways to Kill Fleas Naturally
Fleas are pesky little creatures that can quickly multiply into an infestation on your pets or in your home. They bite and feed on blood, leaving behind itchy bumps and potential infection and disease. You can kill fleas using both pest control chemicals and natural home remedies. Killing fleas naturally will keep chemicals from being spread across your home or used on your pets.
So, what kills fleas naturally? Here is a list of methods that can kill fleas naturally:
- Flea-repelling Plants
- Lemon
- Baking Soda & Salt
- Vacuuming, Dusting, & Cleaning
- Dish Soap & Light
Not only are fleas considered a serious pest but they can also pose a health hazard to you, your family, and your pets. As soon as you notice the presence of fleas, it’s important to act fast and treat right away. To learn how to use each of the natural flea treatments listed above, keep reading.
1. Get Rid of Fleas Using Flea-Repelling Plants
One way to avoid a flea infestation is to keep them from coming into your home in the first place. There are plants that produce a natural chemical or smell that will repel fleas away from the area. By placing some of these plants around the inside and outside of your home, you can deter fleas from coming near your dwelling.
Here is a list of some well-known flea-repelling plants:
- Catnip
- Chrysanthemums
- Eucalyptus
- Fleabane Daisy
- Lavender
- Lemon Grass
- Marigolds
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Wormwood
While flea-repelling plants can be an effective way of keeping fleas out of your home, it’s important to note that some of these plants can be toxic to your pets. Be sure to research the type of plants you’d like to use so you can keep your pets safe and your home free from fleas.
If you are going to use flea-repelling plants, you’ll need to know how to strategically place them around your property for the best results. By planting some of these plants near the foundation of your home and under windows, fleas won’t want to come near your house. You can also put potted plants by the entrances of your home and where your pets tend to wander in order to keep fleas away.
2. Kill Fleas By Using a Lemon
Did you know that fleas don’t care for the smell or citrus of lemon? While humans love the citrus of lemon in cooking and the smell of lemon in cleaning products, fleas can’t stand either. Because of this, lemon is a great natural deterrent for fleas. Another great thing about lemons is that you can use them in natural sprays for your pets to help repel fleas from their coats.
Lemon juice is most effective at repelling fleas when you add it to water. You can also add rosemary to the concoction to create a more effective treatment. You can boil sliced lemon and rosemary in water to create a natural spray to be used around your house and on your pets. Not only will this help to get rid of fleas but it will also leave your home smelling sweet!
You can spray the lemon juice mixture around your house and on furniture. This spray is effective at covering nooks and crannies where fleas may be living. Pay special attention to any areas that may seem hidden that would make a good dwelling place for any type of bug.
3. Kill Fleas By Using Baking Soda & Salt
Baking soda is a natural go-to solution for many things. You can use baking soda to whiten your teeth, get rid of stains, eliminate odors, clean difficult areas, and even benefit your health when ingested. Another thing you can use baking soda for is getting rid of fleas!
When baking soda is added with salt, it creates a very effective flea killer. This solution will dehydrate living fleas and their larvae by drawing water in them out. This will cause the fleas and the larvae to die. This is an effective strategy since it can get rid of both mature fleas and the larvae. Flea larvae can stay dormant for long periods of time, then hatch to infest the home again.
When it comes to using baking soda and salt to get rid of fleas, you’ll want to spread the solution all throughout your home. Be sure to cover rugs, carpets, and furniture specifically. Fleas find it easy to burrow and hide in fabrics, so these are important areas to target. You can also target cracks and crevices that can make great hiding places for these bugs.
Leave the baking soda and salt down overnight; this will give the solution time to dehydrate the fleas. To clean up, you can vacuum up the solution and all the fleas and larvae you just managed to kill.
4. Get Rid of Fleas By Thoroughly Cleaning Your Home
One great way to ward off a flea infestation is by regularly cleaning your home. By doing this, you’ll be removing the fleas and their larvae from your living area. When it comes to cleaning and keeping fleas away, there are a few tasks you’ll want to make sure you do:
- Vacuum
- Dust
- Do the Laundry
- Sweep
These cleaning tasks are most effective at removing fleas from where they may be living in your home. By regularly cleaning, you can keep the flea presence in your home from becoming an infestation.
When you vacuum, you can remove fleas and larvae from carpets and rugs. Fleas love these areas because the fabrics make it easy for them to hide and nest. If you’re really in a cleaning mode, you can even vacuum furniture like couches and chairs. Likewise, sweeping will work to remove fleas and larvae that have hidden between tiles ore between hardwood floorboards.
Dusting can remove flea feces and larvae from your home. If you have pets, dusting the floor molding around the walls, and close to where your pet dwells can be effective.
Did you know that your closet could be a breeding ground for fleas? If you notice fleas in your home, doing some laundry can kill and remove fleas from your clothes. You can also wash towels, bedclothes, and blankets. Fleas love to inhabit your bedspread and mattress because it’s easy for them to come out and feast on you as you sleep. (which is a creepy notion) If you notice bites on your body and black flea feces in your bedsheets, it’s a good indicator that you may have a flea infestation.
5. Kill Fleas By Using Dish Soap & Light
There’s an old home remedy about how to find out if you have fleas in your home. Put some water and dish soap into a dish saucer, then set it on the floor under a lamp. Leave the lamp on overnight. Like all bugs, fleas are attracted to light, so they’ll make their way towards the light, but in the process, they’ll get caught and drown in the saucer. Place the lamp and saucer close to your pet’s bed or your bed, as these are both areas that fleas like to live.
By placing saucers of dish soap and water around your home, you may be able to catch some fleas. While this isn’t an effective method for getting rid of an infestation, it can be useful for figuring out whether or not you have fleas in your home.
Did you know that fleas can float on water? Their exoskeletons act as buoys that allow them to float on the surface. When you add dish soap to the equation, the flea is pulled down under the water, causing them to drown.
When Should You Call Pest Control for Fleas?
While all the above methods can be effective at getting rid of fleas, they may not be able to rid your home of an infestation. Fleas and flea larvae are durable little creatures that can withstand a lot before finally meeting their demise. Their small size and quick movements can also make it difficult to detect where they are.
To avoid a flea infestation in your home, start natural treatments as soon as you recognize a flea presence. Even if you don’t have any signs of fleas, you can do these treatments to get rid of dormant larvae that may be living in your home.
The most effective way to get rid of fleas is by contacting a pest control company. While they may not use natural products to get rid of the fleas, they are trained in ridding your home of a flea infestation. If you notice flea feces in your bed or on window sills, it may mean that your home is infested with fleas. Contact an expert for a home inspection. They’ll be able to diagnose whether or not your home is infested.
I hope this article was helpful to you in finding natural methods to kill and ward off fleas. Expert Home Report has many articles on pest control and keeping critters out of your home.
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