How do I get rid of these fleas??  

I have an article on my blog concerning natural ways to prevent fleas. It is a long article and I have written it in response on another mylot question similar to this. I have a link under my profile or you can search through the subjects of mylot and see if there is another question that is similar to yours. I posted it within the last two months. I don't know if it will help or not, but we have not had fleas in our house for 20 years.

One of the best things to do is to vacuum your home each and every day. Vacuum several times a day if you need to and immediately take the bag (or the dirt cup whatever applies) out of your house to be dumped. Secondly, give your cats a bath. I know cats hate it, but buy a thing of dawn dish detergent and give your cats a bath with it making sure to get it all the way down to their skin. Let it sit for a minute or two and then rinse. If you're lucky, you can pick out some fleas as you see them to help get rid of them.

I tried the whole lemon trick and it never worked for me. What worked for me was using a tea tree oil mixture. I put a few drops of tea tree into a spray bottle filled with water and sprayed it on myself to help repel the fleas and then I'd spray it on areas they liked to lay and let it dry before giving it back to the pets if possible.

Also, a cheap flea catcher is to take an old container and fill it with warm water. Put several drops of dish detergent in the container and set the container in the middle of a room where a lot of fleas hang out. If possible, place a lamp over the container and turn it on but watch it carefully. The fleas will jump towards the warmth, land in the container and will be trapped. Change this every day.

The only way we finally got rid of our fleas was the borax. It took several days for it to fully work, but with all the vacuuming that we did we really got rid of the fleas.

Salt!! It's super cheap and it works! Two years ago we were having a terrible problem. We have 3 cats. I started putting salt on the carpets and it got rid of the problem. The first time you put salt sown leave it on the carpet for about 24 hours before you vacuum. After that I would put salt down about once a week and leave it there until the next time I vacuummed. Also it's natural and it doesn't hurt you or your pets like all the chemicals.
Good Luck.
Oh and where I live we have fleas year round but I haven't seen one in two years.

Very much agree to vacuum, and every day. I was going to say sprinkle Barax but I've see you said your doing that. Make sure you get under all furniture and any area that's covered and corners. You don't want to miss any larvae or pupae and that's where they love to hide before they hatch into adults. Also the vibration fo the vacuum can draw ready to emerge fleas out of their cocoons.

Also I agree with giving your cats a bath, we had fleas horrid last year, I mean put your foot on the carpet and your feet and legs were covered with them. It was just plain awful. But as said in a reply, use dawn soap, it's gentle and works to smother the fleas on your pet.

My mother says when you put Borax down to put some low containers of water, she says because the borax dries the fleas out, that they'll go for the water and drown, I have not tried this but she swears it works.

The only other thing I can think of is to buy a package of flea bombs from the store, but you would have to be out of the house for up to 3 hours during the time they were going off. It is a hassle but can be very effective. But you would still have to vacuum because I've read that flea cocoons are sealed really tight and most poisons can't penetrate it. So you may kill the eggs, larva, and the adults but if you don't vacuum and get those pupae you'll have a whole new brood hatching and I don't have to tell you how fast the multiply.

Best of luck to you I know what you'r going through and it's awful.

Ive heard of a few different things.... Puttin a bowl of water and vinegar on the carpet and the fleas attrat to the bowl... and Puttin salt on the floor in a bowl also.... But for the CATS THEY HATE IT, but give them a bath alot and it helps....

hey!
According to my roomie of 22 years (a former vet tech) permethrin is the substance in flea preventatives and it is present in chrysanthemums. Perhaps a holistic or herbal site would have information on how to extract it, as maybe a tea to apply to home and critters. She warns NOT to use such things as Hartz and similar over-the-counter things because they have been documented as killing the critters applied to, especially cats.
Hope this helps!...ENJOY!

Try taking a pan or bowl of soapy water and lay it in the middle of your floor. Fleas will jump right in it. This will help especially if your carpets are full of fleas. Then when you can afford it, get some flea powder and sprinkle it on your rugs and furniture. Leave it on for an hour then vacuum it up. Also give your cats a bath while you are doing this. If you don't do this your cats will just keep getting fleas over and over because they are now probably in your carpet and furniture.

Another great flea deterrent is Marigolds. I have them planted in the yard and I haven't had fleas in the house for years. Also, Sevin dust is great for getting rid of fleas. It doesn't harm the animals (if you read the container it says that you can actually use it on the animals- but I don't) and my Mom used it for years not only in the house but in their motor home that was parked at the beach. Sevin dust is cheap and lasts a long time. Also you can mix garlic powder with the borax and it should help..but your house would smell like a pizzaria. Another great flea repellent is eucalyptus. Both the oil and leaves will produce great results. Plus if there are trees nearby you can get the leaves fresh and free! The cats won't chew on the leaves because of the scent.

Also, you could gather the seed pods (those nasty round things that always managed to slip under my feet and make me fall!) drill a hole through them and string them on a ribbon or something to tie them around the cat's neck. Drill a couple of holes half way through to release the scent and tie it around the cat's neck. It won't take long and the fleas will run for their lives.

Hope I've helped. I haven't spent money on flea repellents in a long time...or borax because of using the natural stuff.