I read a post last week about someone tryingn Borax on the carpets - does it work??

I gave cats a bath this weekend - that is how desperate I was. The animals are more than covered. I bought Frontline Plus. I didn't want to use anything like that but I had no choice - I am dreaming of fleas!!! I am using the flea comb every hour and pulling off at least 10/animals. UGH!!!! I am just disgusted.

(we have very sandy soil - I hear that is the worst for fleas).

Are there any safer methods? I am about ready to move to a hotel!

Oh - did I mention that Sunday we have out of the country guests coming to stay! UGH!

Thanks

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HeatherMama to TWO lovely children
4 year old boy
2 year old girl

Hi Heather - Oh I am so sorry you're having such a time. I'm into a lot of natural home remedies/cleaners and I knew that I have read that about Borax and fleas before. I googled it for you and I'm pasting one if the home remedies that I read about. I don't know personally that it works so , let us know. If you google: "borax carpet flea" a lot of info comes up. BTW, Borax is an all natural product and I use it in my dishwasher detergent, so I know it's not a harmful chemical, like some treatments out there. I don't know if you have kids or not, so use your own judgement on the safety for them. Take care and good luck!

This is a quote from a website I found......
FLEAS: I have had a terrible time getting rid of fleas till now. Borax laundry soap. Vacuum your carpet really good. Then sprinkle the Borax over your carpet. Use a broom and work it down into the fibers of your carpet really good. Don't vacuum for a week unless you have to. The fleas will eat the Borax. It will cause them to dehydrate and die. Repeat the process every week or so for a month. It really works, it's cheap and it is safe to use if you have small children.

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God bless you and your day!
Just clay,
Rosemary
ray:

I used this method when I moved into an apt that had fleas from a previous renter. The only difference was I also used table salt in the mixture to help dry out the fleas. If I recall the mixture was one box of borax & 2 cans of salt. I left it on the carpets for a day or so and it worked wonders! Several cats and a dog later and we never had problems again.

Just make sure to really work it into the carpet with the broom and to let it sit so it can do it's magic! Good luck!

This is off-topic, but I wanted to tell you that I drive by Spring Lake when I visit my Dad in Stevensville! I'll honk next time through, OK?

Marlene

Whe our kitty had a few a couple of weeks ago, I sprinkled a layer of salt and baking soda fairly liberly on the carpets, left for 24 hours, had DH put some Advantage on her, vaccumed the next day, very, very slowly and thoroughly, dumped out the bag, and then vaccumed a few days later. So far, no more sightings.

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"And the state of his bathroom -- I'm not one to gossip, but there are things crusted on his sink that have not simply developed intelligent life but have in all probability by now evolved their own political systems." Cain describes Abel in in SANDMAN #70

I recently used Borax on our carpets and it worked... quicker and much better than the more expensive carpet powder with flea killer in it. Thanks so much for the great tip!

Anyone tried using borax to kill fleas outside? Our dog got them recently, and I'm pretty sure he picked them up from our new chickens - I'm seeing signs of fleas on the chickens now. I'd much rather use something natural and not harmful to the kids, but I gotta take care of the chicken coop & area soon.

Inside, fortunately, I only have one or two carpet areas to treat - our little shih-tzu is blind and doesn't realize there's a whole 'nother floor upstairs! I'll google more info about using borax around kids, but does anyone have experience using this around babies/toddlers? We have five kids, ages five & under (youngest is 9 mo, everything in the mouth, just about crawling), and we use one of the carpeted areas for play and physical therapy.

thanks

As for the yard - I was going to sprinkle the yard this weekend with Borax just in case. I have read that Borax does not affect the kids. I think it can irritate the animals skin but I put it in the bedroom for 24 hours and the cats/dog did not seem affected. When I rubbed into the carpet I didn't even know it was there. Good luck!

Good luck

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HeatherMama to TWO lovely children
4 year old boy
2 year old girl

Please do - where are you from in "Northern" MI??

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HeatherMama to TWO lovely children
4 year old boy
2 year old girl

I grew up in Benton Harbor. Worked at Interlochen for many, many years, and now live near Crystal Mountain -- between Cadillac and Benzonia.

Marlene