Strategies to prevent and eliminate a flea infestation in your home and yard, or on your pets naturally without chemicals.
Fleas are tiny, wingless insects that survive by piercing the skin and sucking the blood of mammals and birds.
Even a single flea can wreak havoc as I discovered on a recent trip out of town when my daughter and I stayed in a home that had a large dog.
While the home itself appeared free of a flea infestation, a single flea or two must have gotten trapped under my daughter’s shirt (she liked to lay right on the dog!).
The day we got home, she discovered bites all over her torso that were a bit frightening to behold!
Fortunately, she didn’t have any other symptoms other than the visible appearance of the bites and they healed up quickly within a few days using baking soda baths and a homemade herbal salve.
Even though this experience had a happy ending, it reminded me how important it is for health-conscious families with pets living indoors to have natural, non-toxic ways to deal with a flea infestation when necessary.
It is important to know effective methods for safe flea control on your pet too instead of toxic drops, sprays, shampoos, and oral medications.
Flea Prevention is Key
Prevention is key when it comes to flea infestation problems. It is important to note that pets that are healthy are much more resistant to fleas than unhealthy pets eating highly processed bagged or canned pet food.
Assembling a raw food diet for your pet can go a long way toward preventing flea infestation problems in the first place.
Ridding Your Pet of Fleas Without Chemicals
While pets eating a nutritious diet are far less likely to attract large numbers of fleas, even animals with strong immune systems will occasionally attract a few.
Quickly running a flea comb through your pet’s fur after a walk can help keep any stray insects from making their way into the house.
Alcohol paralyzes fleas, so if you find a few while combing through your pet’s coat, drop them in a bit of alcohol to keep them from hanging around your front door to be picked up the next time your pet is outside.
According to holistic veterinarian Tamara Hebbler DVM, a good quality, natural pet shampoo (I like this one) will kill fleas just fine so there is no need to use harsh, chemical-laden formulations on a pet that has an infestation.
Simply lather up your pet and leave the suds on for about 20 minutes before rinsing off. Wrapping Rover in a towel to prevent chills during that time is a good idea too in cooler months.
Sticky Flea Traps
The most effective way I’ve found to rid your home of fleas is to use a flea trap.
This is the model I recommend. It is the best one I’ve tried for durability and effectiveness.
Place one in every room that has a flea problem. For large rooms, you may need two or three strategically placed. I’ve found one trap for every 200 square feet or so works very well.
Make sure they are on at night as this is the most active time for fleas!
Note, you can save money by using this generic brand of glue paper refills, which need to be replaced frequently if your infestation is heavy.
Once you get the problem under control, the trap only needs to be turned on one night a week or so as a “test” that everything is all clear. Be sure you are vacuuming often too.
Without a doubt, the very best vacuum for this purpose is the Dyson Animal-Pro.
I honestly do not think that without this particular vacuum and the flea traps (used as needed), that we could successfully keep two indoor/outdoor cats as we have for many years without the use of chemicals.
Keeping Fleas Away
Some of the nastiest, most toxic pet products on the market are those flea prevention drops, sprays, and shampoos.
Do you really want to douse your poor pet with pesticides and then have them lay on your carpets and furniture where your children sit and play or worse sleep in their beds?
A much better prevention strategy is to lightly dust your pet with food-grade diatomaceous earth once a week.
Diatomaceous earth is made from fossilized marine algae that have been crushed to a powder. It works by scratching the exoskeleton of fleas which dehydrates and kills them.
While non-toxic, diatomaceous earth is a respiratory irritant.
Be sure not to breathe it in and avoid your pet’s nose and eyes during application. You may wish to wear a dust mask if you are especially sensitive to airborne irritants.
I’ve used it for years without a problem and haven’t ever used a dust mask. The key is to use caution when applying as the powder is very fine and can get airborne very easily.
Warning about Essential Oils
While using essential oils around the house as a flea repellent may seem like a good idea, note that some cats are sensitive to essential oils.
Use cautiously and watch and observe your feline friends for any signs of lethargy or confusion which would indicate a reaction.
Ridding Your Home of a Flea Infestation
Suppose your house becomes a flea infestation hotbed despite all your best efforts at prevention. Rest easy knowing that there is no need to use toxic pesticides in your home to resolve the problem!
Lightly dusting the infested areas with food-grade diatomaceous earth will kill the fleas in only one day. Vacuum up the visible residue the following day and voila! no more fleas! Because diatomaceous earth is a mechanical rather than a chemical killer, it does not work on flea eggs, so you may need to reapply if a secondary wave of fleas emerges 1-4 weeks later.
The good news is that a thorough vacuum after the diatomaceous earth eliminates the adult flea problem is usually all that is required to prevent reinfestation from hatching eggs later.
Note that you can apply diatomaceous earth to upholstery and mattresses in addition to carpet if necessary.
Wool carpets and rugs should be treated as well. Use it in your car if need be.
Some sources suggest boric acid as an alternative to diatomaceous earth.
However, I don’t really like using it (a less toxic option is using borax) as it does have some mammalian toxicity even though it is low risk compared to using pesticides.
Diatomaceous earth has no toxicity at all so this option would be the best approach for eliminating a flea infestation. This is especially important if young children live in the home who are touching everything and putting their fingers and toys in their mouths.
Preventing/Eliminating Fleas in the Yard
Fleas thrive in shady areas, so only these spots in your yard are susceptible to infestation. The use of cedar or eucalyptus mulch in landscaped areas will discourage them from sticking around.
Spraying with beneficial nematodes on the grass to balance the soil will work to eliminate flea larvae as well.
I can personally vouch for the amazing effectiveness of nematode treatment for yards.
I initially sprayed nematodes on my yard several times when my husband and I first moved into our home many years ago to solve rampant problems with mole crickets.
Since then, I have never needed to use pesticides or chemicals on my lawn.
It is beautiful and lush every growing season with zero effort as the soil is balanced with plenty of beneficial microbial activity.
It is worth the effort to prevent fleas and eliminate infestations naturally both on your pet and in/around your home.
Remember that pesticides are toxic, hormone-disrupting compounds so it is best to avoid any exposure as much as humanly possible, particularly in your home where you are spending the majority of your time living, breathing and sleeping.
References
(1) Safe, Effective Flea Control
(2) Three Steps to Natural Flea Control
(3) Healing Hope, Holistic Veterinary Care
More Information
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Natural Fire Ant Killer that Works FAST
Assembling a Raw Food Diet for Your Pet
How to Make Nontoxic Bait to Get Rid of Ants in the House
Safely Get Rid of Carpenter Ants in a Hurry
Nontoxic Pest Control Ideas that Work
Fast and Effective Fly Repellent
Quick and Easy Homemade Fly Trap
Spider Repellent Guaranteed to Work
Fast Acting Mosquito Bite Remedy That’s Probably Already in Your Kitchen
I did not know there was a food grade DE. Guess I’ll use up mine outside in and around my house and get food grade for the house and my ferral cats. I have dusted them before with the DE. Also, a vet told me water alone will drown fleas. Certainly in locations having a natural yearly freeze will kill them, but one can’t run back and forth on that one. 🙂 DON’T USE THE FLEA DROPS. A good friend eventually had to put down their precious dog as a result. The vet would not attribute her problems to the drops but they remembered she had difficulties following her last treatment. I quit using chems on ALL my animals and in and around my house years ago. Anyone know a safe way to rid of dry wood termites? My next challeng.
How about worms after the pet eats the flea eggs off their body? I’ve heard you can dust their food with DE? First, is that effective and second, is it safe?
You can put DE in their food. I have gotten mine a few different places: http://www.earthworkshealth.com, http://www.wolfcreekranch.net, and http://www.savvyteasandherbs.com
I put about 2 heaping tablespoons in my dogs bowl and 1 tsp in my cat’s bowl (they both eat a high end kibble) and they eat it, I do this for 2 weeks, every six months, to treat any parasites they may have picked up.
I take it myself during that time as well… if our animals have parasites, so do we.
Is diatomaceous earth safe for cats…given they lick themselves so much? And can they breathe it in without harm?
It is safe for all mammals, but breathing it is not good. Just be careful in application. It is irritating to the soft, mucosa of the airways. I take a tsp. in a few ounces of water, just as parasite precaution. There are 3 types of D.E.; only use the food grade. The others aren’t safe to use for dusting or ingestion.
Sarah, I wasn’t aware that one of the ways you fund your wonderful site was through Amazon links when I included a link to an alternative purchasing site in the comment I submitted this morning. So sorry– i do support your goal of keeping your content free for all of us who learn so much from you. If the link I submitted is the reason you didn’t post my comment, please feel free to delete that sentence from the post. Again, thanks for all you do.
Does it have to be food grade DE? I have some DE that I use for my pool filter.
Don’t use pool grade D.E. as it is highly toxic. The food grade is 1% Silica and very safe! I get mine in 50 lb. bags at my feed store. I use it for all my animals.
Sarah, Thank you SO much for this post. I have recently moved to the South and my cat got fleas this year; she does have a compromised immune system. I have never had to deal with fleas before now. Unfortunately I did use Revolution before finding out how horrible it is. For the follow up I will be using DE and an Essentional Oil blend recommended by a Holistic Vet I consulted with too. And I have heard that treating the house is not always necessary as once the pet is treated (2-3 x for the 3 week egg cycle) the fleas just die off within the house. Hope this is true!!
In my experience, treating your pet is NOT enough. You really need to treat every square inch of your house as well. With DE you should retreat in about 2 weeks to make sure you don’t have a problem from newly hatched fleas.
You may also want to consider making her an indoor only kitty considering that fleas are not the only things a curious cat could run into in the south – like fire ants.
Sarah, we have kept our pets on diatomaceous earth for 15 years and have never, ever, ever, ever, ever had one problem with fleas, which is saying a lot, living in wet sandy Florida. I swear by it. We sprinkle it on their food.
We have a neighbor that comes over and when they have been in the house a while, we always find fleas and they seem to like to bite my son. We currently do not have any pets. Do the fleas just naturally die with no pets around? After a day or two my son no longer gets bit and I don’t find any fleas. It’s terrible though to dread the neighbor sitting down on a chair or their kid playing on the carpet. Any suggestions for this sort of thing?
Use a flea comb on the neighbor before they come in? LOL
Not sure what to do in that case except vacuum really well after they leave.
Thank you so much for posting this today! We recently adopted a kitten who had fleas. We have another elderly cat who has liver toxicity from when we used to use a home exterminator service who insisted their product was pet safe. Turns out they were using permethrin which is highly toxic to cats. We already lost one cat because of it. Anyhow, of course, this cat got the fleas from the kitten. Ever since it has been a losing battle.
We started trying the DE and bathing the cats with original Dawn. The Dawn kills the fleas but never gets all of them. Plus it is extremely difficult to wash two cats over and over. And the sickly one almost died the last time we did it because it he is also extremely skittish.
Now we are seeing flea dust and eggs on all the flat surfaces. EWWW! So we keep cleaning them off and vacuuming. I don’t really see the DE working so I’m at a loss at this point. We feed Stella & Chewy’s dehydrated raw (but rehydrated). It’s the only raw they will eat. We do all the natural things and I really don’t want to use chemicals but this is getting out of control fast and is really disgusting.
I’m going to keep trying to DE. Any advice is most appreciated.
Have you tried boric acid? You use it the same way as diatomaceous earth. I didn’t see in your comment that you have young children, so this would be a low toxicity option that would be much better than an exterminator.
I tried boric acid for a major home infestation and got ZERO results. It might take care of a few, but for a bona fide infestation you would have to do it EVERY week for several weeks due to the life cycle (hatching) of the flea. In the meantime you have to put up with being bitten, etc. for those several weeks.
Personally, for a major infestation (I’m talking in your carpets, on you, and threatening the life of the smaller pets) I would bite the bullet and use chemicals one time for a big flea die-off. Then I would maintain the peace with natural methods.
I tried DE, no luck. Vacuuming daily is also important, but it didn’t work either. Confining pets to beds that can easily be washed and washing them every few days … keeping pets out of bedrooms … bathing all the animals every week … the infestation got worse and worse. My laundry room was so bad I had to “suit up” with socks over my pants to even go in!
In the end we did spray some toxic stuff. It’s called Ultracide and it worked instantly, even on the awful laundry room. I had my husband spray it while the kids and I were at Grandma’s. It keeps your home flea-free for six months, which basically means all the warm months … during the cold months you should not have a flea problem unless you keep your house much more warm and humid than we do. They like temperatures over 70 and high humidity. If you have fleas in winter, lower the house temp and that may help.
If you get rid of all the adult fleas, a new crop may appear in as little as 7 days or as much as 6 months — so in other words you have to keep up whatever you’re doing LONG after you stop seeing fleas. The adults must be on an animal to live (though once they’ve fed once they can live without eating for a YEAR), but the eggs always hatch somewhere in the environment. The larvae eat flea dirt (droppings) and other organic matter like dust — so the cleaner your house is, the better.
Since that summer, I’ve found out about another natural solution I’d try next time — Osage orange, also called hedge apple. It’s a weird-looking aromatic fruit that you leave in the corners of your house …. it’s said to repel fleas, cockroaches, and other critters. So, worth a try. You just get new hedgeapples every 6-12 months.
I’m sure there are other aromatic herbs worth trying. Remember people in the Middle Ages often lived with their animals and they didn’t like fleas any more than we do. Herb satchets in the beds and clothes chests often kept moths and fleas away.
We had a flea investation at a short-term rental property and they followed us home 🙁 We used flea bombs and an exterminator to get rid of them but they came back four times – it was the most stressful thing I’ve ever been through (we were renovating our house at the same time). Once we got home I had time to deal with them. I put DE under all furniture and hoovered it all up and reapplied. Each time I vacuumed I kept the machine running and as soon as I finished I’d dispose of the vacuum bag in a sealed bag. I was paranoid, BUT it worked! 🙂 I vacuumed 1-2 times per day and it took me about 3 hours per vacuum (I have a toddler so it as a nightmare). You need to vacuum all surfaces, corners, cracks, lifting up furniture, etc.
A lot of effort but worth it to be flea free! I’m afraid I ended up being the carrier (we don’t have pets and apparently if fleas can’t find their preferred host (cats or dogs they’ll find a human host) so have no advice on treating pets sorry. Though I should note that for myself I used a tea tree oil shampoo and blow dried my hair to ensure they weren’t hanging around on me. I also hot washed all my bedding daily and my clothing each time I got bitten. Then through a hot dryer. I ruined so many clothes putting them through the dryer. Sob.
Goodluck! 🙂
I agree with Diana. Be fastidious with the placement of the DE, under, in and around everything where the pets are allowed in the house. Then vacuum it up after it’s been down for 24 hours or more. We put the DE into a shaker and shook it out all over the house, then took a push broom and shoved it into the fibers of the carpet and cracks of the hardwood areas. It created a cloud of dust, so make sure if you do it this way, that you wear dust masks. We worked from the top of the house down so we worked our way out of the house. We didn’t come home all day, because I wanted to give the dust plenty of time to settle. We then waited for 48 hours until we vacuumed, although, the directions said to just wait 24 hrs. After the 1st day, I didn’t see a single flea. When we vacuumed, I dusted/vacuumed from the top of the room down, then vacuumed the floor; and I didn’t worry about every crack and crevice. I figured that whatever remained in those areas might help take care of residual fleas, and eventually would get cleaned up with periodic house cleaning. As extra precaution, I did a general vacuum every night for several weeks. Our case of fleas was extraordinary and literally appeared overnight, and within 2 days we couldn’t even walk in the house without several jumping on us as we made our way through. Freaked me out! I’ve had cats all my life and never experienced anything like this.
Oh, and I forgot. Whenever you vacuum for fleas, you need to throw away the bag. Using the DE works very well. All in all, considering the tedious work, the cost of vacuum bags, and cost of the DE, it’s well worth the effort. We got rid of the fleas, have a clean home, used nothing toxic, the cats feel better, and for way cheaper than using Revolution or the like.
I have found that being real faithful with combing helps a lot. It’s such a simple thing but is a real factor in getting rid of fleas.