We recently took Maisie to the groomers. When we collected her, she looked absolutely beautiful. However, I was in for a nasty surprise. During the groom, her groomer had spotted some small fleas around her tail area. I hadn’t noticed any signs from her behaviour and fortunately, things were early on. This would hopefully allow us to nip things in the bud quickly. Several years ago when Cassie had fleas, we used flea bombs and sprays from pet shops which worked well. Yet, with a crawling baby in the house I was not keen on taking this approach again. I remember how the sprays and bombs got into my chest and made me cough. I definitely wouldn’t like my young children to breathe it in. So, how could I effectively get rid of the fleas?
Flea Treatment
The first thing we did, was put flea treatment on Maisie, much to her disdain. We usually try to keep her treated, but life got busy and it slipped just long enough for her to get fleas. As we go into flea season, we’ll definitely be keeping up to date so that we don’t have this stress again! I find marking the dates she’s had treatment and a sticker on the calendar when she’s due a treatment on the calendar helps us to keep track.
Limit Rooms
Limit the rooms your pet is allowed to go into. The more free-roaming they are, the more likely to are to get fleas everywhere! Try to keep them out of carpeted areas where possible, as it’s generally easier for fleas to hide in carpets than on a hard floor.
Hoovering
It is imperative that you hoover daily when there are fleas around, preferably at least twice a day in fact. Make sure that you get all corners where the little blighters could be hiding. Hoover any soft furnishings too. Throw away the dust bag afterwards to prevent any larvae from developing (yuck!)
Mopping
For rooms with hard floors, mop them as well as hoovering. Be thorough with any cracks, nooks or crannies where they could be hiding.
Wash Bedding
The moment you find fleas in your house, you’ll probably start feeling itchy. I’m feeling itchy just writing this blog post and I expect you are reading it (sorry!) Naturally, then, one of the first things you’ll want to do is wash your bedding with detergent at the highest possible temperature setting for the item.
Use a Natural Spray
I made a spray to deter fleas using only natural ingredients and it seemed to be pretty effective! Not only that, but it was cheap to make and I knew it wouldn’t be harmful if Reuben touched it.
I used approximately:
- 250ml vinegar
- 500ml water
- 50ml witch hazel
- 10ml lemon juice
I put it in an empty spray bottle and sprayed it all over the sofa, stairs and landing (all carpeted) 2 or 3 times a day.
This solved our flea problems, so hopefully it will help get rid of yours too!