Fleas?? Eggs? Ever use normal isoprpyl alchohol?

[janeontheroad]

Food grade Diatomaceus Earth works like a charm. I got mine on Amazon. Its very lightweight, so a 4 lb package is more than enough. Maybe a hardware or pet store will also carry it locally. Totally non toxic. Also good around the campsite.

Sprinkle it around liberally. I use a very fine mesh strainer you would normally use for powdered sugar. Its a very fine powder, so maybe wear a mask as it can irritate your nose/lungs during application. You can use a broom or something to work it into fabrics and rugs. Leave it down for a few days before vacuuming.

Thanks for your comment! Yeah, I should probably try something like this. I guess, it was only a matter of time. We had some occasional guests, but usually a quick cleaning session + essential oils worked for us. Now we have an infestation, so I'm looking for a proper weapon.
Such a big plus that it's harmless. I wasn't so sure about the bombs so it looks like a solution.

When I was a kid and we had more critters then people living in our house my Mom would put a flea collar into the vac bag. She also had the dogs rabbits and what ever else was around wear one and when the drops came out for the dogs and cats they got them regularly. We still do the drops on the dogs backs and that usually takes care of them. But since I don't put drops on me or hubby I was glad to hear about the Alcohol spray. It seemed to work in the room were we had some guests & dogs stay. It was bad when they left...  anyway maybe vac bags could get the flea collar thing again. 
I would worry more about the moisture in doing a good steam thing, does it dry enough or would that kill the fleas but feed the mold? Just wondering?

Collars don't work. Been there.
As for drops - usually works for us, but I'm afraid the last batch was quite old so we got this local cataclysm as a reward. Lesson learned. Always check twice before applying something to your pet. Well, guess, I'm just a bad dog-owner.
As for the moisture, I did my research after reading your post and, according to some sources - like these, that, and another one proof - it should be harmless. Relative humidity in my camper is ok, I don't have lots of carpets so we should be OK. Thanks for the warning though. As for the humidity that should be good for these fellas, well, it's recommended to steam repeatedly. I've done this before with bed bugs. Just wasn't so sure it would harm the fleas. But the temperature should be just right to damage the eggs.

 

[JulianWol]

My dog gets fleas from time to time during our triaps. The best flea remedy is this https://menacetopests.com/flea-trap/#product3. As I understand adult fleas are caught in flea traps that are placed on a sticky board or in a bowl of soapy water. A combination of light and heat attracts fleas to the trap.

 

[eDJ_]

Diatomaceous earth (Fullers earth) or even common baking soda can be dusted around infested areas.

Flea's can jump incredible heights so you could dust clothing worn in the outdoor with baking soda. These two items are like ground glass to small pest insects. I learned of this where they were discussing "bed bugs" and they were claiming the soda is cheaper than the dried remains of tiny sea crustaceans or Diatomaceous earth. And quite effective.

 

[user 19146]

Walmart usually has bottles of 90% iso in the pharmacy section. I have burned it in my alcohol stove on rare occasion when I could not get any denatured. (It burns OK, but it makes quite a bit of sooty smoke.)

be careful with what type iso alchohol you may buy. I have found 2 versions, same type bottle. if you read the red warning label 1 will have a flame in the description and one will not. 1 burns with flames and 1 will not burn. and I do not know why they are both alchohol?

 

[user 16179]

be careful with what type iso alchohol you may buy. I have found 2 versions, same type bottle. if you read the red warning label 1 will have a flame in the description and one will not. 1 burns with flames and 1 will not burn. and I do not know why they are both alchohol?

If I can't get denatured alcohol, I use HEET gas additive from the automotive section. Be sure to get the yellow bottle. Burns great in my Trangia stoves. I was in southern CA this past winter and discovered that denatured alcohol is now on the banned substance list in CA. I had to use HEET, it worked fine.

 

[Cajunwolf]

be careful with what type iso alchohol you may buy. I have found 2 versions, same type bottle. if you read the red warning label 1 will have a flame in the description and one will not. 1 burns with flames and 1 will not burn. and I do not know why they are both alchohol?

Isopropyl Alcohol, rubbing Alcohol, sold in stores is usually 75% Alcohol and 25% water and will burn, but not very well. I order 99.9% from chemical companies on Amazon for its excellent and instant killing power; it is flammable. It comes in 1-quart/950ml bottles, and I equip them with a good quality adjustable spray nozzle and enjoy taking long, accurate shots killing roaches across the room. It kills fleas instantly, too, but I don't suggest you spray Fido the dog, Missy the cat, or any other critter with this stuff. Use the Diatomaceous earth. It takes up to two weeks to work but putting it on carpet, furniture, and bedding does the trick. It not only cuts but dehydrates them like salt on a snail.

Warning! Denatured Alcohol is highly flammable and is for alcohol cooking stoves and heaters; I had an alcohol stove on my sailboat I hated.

 

[TonyMinnesoti]

When I adopted my cat he was coated in fleas. After talking with a vet and failing with normal flea medicine, I was told to use plain old Dawn dish soap. Lather em up and let it sit on your pet for a bit (say 10-15 minutes) and the fleas will literally come to the surface dead as dead can get. Give them a good rinse and I would rub them down with a pet conditioner of some sort to counteract the drying effect of the soap. My cat was clean in one treatment but I would do 2 just in case (like a day or so apart). As for the eggs, they’ll be on everything so you’ll have to wash all linens, all clothes, wipe everything down and maybe even bug bomb the place before reintroducing the pet. That way you don’t put the fleas back after you just got rid of em. Worked for me, and cheap. Hope this helps.

 

[TonyMinnesoti]

When I adopted my cat he was coated in fleas. After talking with a vet and failing with normal flea medicine, I was told to use plain old Dawn dish soap. Lather em up and let it sit on your pet for a bit (say 10-15 minutes) and the fleas will literally come to the surface dead as dead can get. Give them a good rinse and I would rub them down with a pet conditioner of some sort to counteract the drying effect of the soap. My cat was clean in one treatment but I would do 2 just in case (like a day or so apart). As for the eggs, they’ll be on everything so you’ll have to wash all linens, all clothes, wipe everything down and maybe even bug bomb the place before reintroducing the pet. That way you don’t put the fleas back after you just got rid of em. Worked for me, and cheap. Hope this helps.

I’ll also add, if you have upholstery a hand steamer like you use on clothes should be hot enough to kill eggs. But getting all the nooks might be difficult. I just bought a $5 flea bomb from Walmart. Done.

 

[maki2]

Alcohol should kill them .. if you drop the fleas and eggs into a jar of it. Getting the bugs and eggs into the jar is the tricky part.

 

[user 36258]

Hmmm, I knew there had to be yet another use for Everclear.

 

[Dieseldave]

The eggs will not be killed by bombs or dish soap. Do the dish soap on your dog, good luck doing that to a cat. Then use Insect Growth Hormone (I.G.H) Search it on Amazon. Harmless to animals and humans. It will cause the fleas to be sterile, and when the eggs hatch, those fleas will also not produce off spring.

 

[Dieseldave]

Hmmm, I knew there had to be yet another use for Everclear.

I was told to squirt my animal down with a spray bottle filled with Everclear. Follow that by a sprinkling of sand all over the pet. The fleas will get drunk. When the raining down of sand the fleas think that other fleas are throwing rocks at them. The fleas will kill each other in a drunken Rock Fight!

 

[TonyMinnesoti]

The eggs will not be killed by bombs or dish soap. Do the dish soap on your dog, good luck doing that to a cat. Then use Insect Growth Hormone (I.G.H) Search it on Amazon. Harmless to animals and humans. It will cause the fleas to be sterile, and when the eggs hatch, those fleas will also not produce off spring.

I’m speaking from experience. It worked so well for me I had to share. Have you tried it yourself or are you simply assuming it won’t work? The bombs are clearly labeled to kill eggs, though I’d still recommend cleaning all your linens.

 

[CosmickGold]

I’m speaking from experience. It worked so well for me I had to share. Have you tried it yourself or are you simply assuming it won’t work? The bombs are clearly labeled to kill eggs, though I’d still recommend cleaning all your linens.

I also speak from experience. That alcohol is great! We got scabies! (...that tiny bug too small to see, that bites you all over your back and legs, leaving itchy red bumps everywhere.) We sprayed everything where we thought they might be hiding; like for the bed, we sprayed the sheets until they were a bit soaked, then covered them with the blanket, then covered the blanket with trash bags to slow evaporation. Then we took turns spraying each other's bare backs and everywhere else naked. Fantastic! No more scabies!

The doctor prescribed a poisonous cream, and the pharmacist told us ONLY the cream will get rid of them. But afraid of poison, we never opened the jar, using alcohol instead. And it worked! The pharmacist was wrong. We got rid of them without using any poison at all.

 

[bvanevery]

I don't have the patience to read all this stuff, to find out what did or didn't work for people. My dog's dead so these issues aren't pressing for me right now.

I tried a lot of things in the past, and as my dog made it to 17.5 years old, I have a lot to reflect on what I would or wouldn't do again. I wouldn't touch the nasty chemicals again. I think if you live that long, just about anything could mess up and diminish your lifespan. I think people accept the toxins into their animals' lives because they're conditioned to believe that their pet is gonna die sooner rather than later, so that the extra chemical load "doesn't matter". Well I suspect it does. It's a pet, not livestock bred for slaughter.

I'm offering my 1 free piece of anecdotal advice, worth the price you paid for it. When I started giving my dog C.B.D. oil for his presumed cancer, I swear we never had a flea problem after that. I seriously wonder if it changed the flavor of the dog. Or did something else useful. That's where I will start next time around, if there's a next time around. Not cheap, but pretty safe / hard to do damage with.

Weird that this forum is blanking out the acronym ***. What's up with that.

 

[maki2]

Weird that this forum is blanking out the acronym ***. What's up with that.

What makes you think those initials somehow have never been used before as abbreviations for other word strings?

Those initials triggered a “bot” that scans the forum for sensitive off limits topics. These things happen in public forums. People accidentally bump into them now and again.