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How to Safely De-flea a Home With an Infant
How to Safely De-flea a Home With an Infant. Fleas find their way into your home on pets, as well as on your family. Once inside, they multiple, and a small number of fleas can become a full-blown infestation in a short period of time. Commercial flea treatments to de-flea your pets and home often contain toxic chemicals that are potentially...
Fleas find their way into your home on pets, as well as on your family. Once inside, they multiple, and a small number of fleas can become a full-blown infestation in a short period of time. Commercial flea treatments to de-flea your pets and home often contain toxic chemicals that are potentially dangerous to you and your family, especially if there is an infant in the home. Luckily, there are infant safe methods of de-fleaing that effectively remove the pests.
Things You'll Need
Vacuum
Diatomaceous earth
Laundry detergent
Flea brush
White sheet
Petroleum jelly
Cup
Soap
Flea shampoo
Baking dish
Dish detergent
Desk lamp
Vacuum all carpets, rugs and upholstered furniture daily. Empty the contents of the vacuum into a zip top bag. Throw the bag away in an outdoor trash can to prevent the fleas from reentering your home. Alternatively, before vacuuming, sprinkle a thin layer of diatomaceous earth. Leave the powder to sit for a minimum of 6 hours before vacuuming.
Wash blankets, sheets and pet bedding in warm water using regular laundry detergent. Dry on high heat. The heat kills the fleas. Repeat washing weekly.
Groom pets daily using a flea brush. Place the pet on top of a white sheet to make it easier to see the fleas that fall off during grooming. Coat the brush in petroleum jelly. The jelly traps fleas. Put fleas you find into a cup of soapy water. Dump the water into the toilet and flush. Bathe pet every one to two weeks using a pet flea shampoo.
Set a flea trap at night to catch and kill the fleas. Fill a baking dish with water and squirt of dish detergent. Place the dish in the center of a carpeted room. Place a desk lamp 3 to 6 inches over the dish and turn it on. Turn the rest of the lights off. Fleas jump to reach the heat of the lamp and fall into the water and drown. Dump the trap in the morning. Place another trap nightly.
Fill small satchels with dried lavender flowers. Place the satchels under furniture. Lavender is a natural flea repellent.
Tips & Warnings
Keep your pets indoors and away from other infested animals. This prevents future infestations.
Ground up marine fossils make up diatomaceous earth. These small ground fragments cut the exoskeleton of the fleas, causing them to dehydrate and die.
Use the food-grade version of diatomaceous earth, not the pool product.
