Natural Conrol for Fleas, Again

Last year, I wrote up all the information I had learned about natural control of fleas. I thought I knew a thing or two. Some of what we did worked a bit, some didn’t do anything at all

Unfortunately, this spring, the fleas came back with a vengeance. They laughed at everything we tried, and I tried much harder than last year. I spent hours working diatamaceous earth into the carpets with a broom. Do not do this; it jammed up my vacuum cleaner, which I’ll be picking up from the repair shop Thursday, and caused us all to walk around with dusty feet, but it didn’t do a darned thing for the fleas. I did that right before we went away for a week and really expected to come home to a flea free zone. Wrong! They were worse than I’ve ever seen them. It is difficult to believe we have indoor cats!

Okay, so what worked? I just started, out of desperation, spraying the (freshly vacuumed and teeming with fleas) carpets with a spray that has something from orange peels. It is called Orange Guard Water Based Indoor/Outdoor Home Pest Control and I just ordered the gallon size to refill out container. I spray the couches too and this stuff really does the trick!

We still have lights with low soapy water and those do help. Many fleas volunteer themselves.

The cats still have fleas. We bought these cloth flea collars that you put a drop of an oil mix on daily. I am sure cats hate them and not at all sure they are helping. Poor cats. We were combing daily and that helps. We even resorted to bathing them, which affords them about 20 minutes of relief before the fleas all jump back aboard.

I am having trouble seeing the purpose of fleas in the greater scheme of things.