Treating the house

I think my cat has fleas. We are going to get the treatment for him, but how do we treat the house? I tried clicking on that flea guide but I kept ending up on a different page.

Oh, I should mention I want to treat the house as quickly as possible as I have a small baby and I am worried she may get flea bites. We have doors on all rooms and our cat isn't allowed into the section of the house with the bedrooms... I'm really hoping that might have kept fleas from our rooms.

I got a spray from my vet called "No Kill", and once its sprayed it lasts 12 months.

I would do upstairs first but had to leave the windows open and the doors shut incase the cats got in, then after 2-3 hours did downstairs as i went to bed.

When Smokie had fleas, I read somewhere that you can treat your carpets with Borax. I've heard mixed reviews on this, so please do your own research on it before doing it. I deemed it was safe and did treat all my carpets with it and the fleas are gone. I don't know if I can attribute that to the Borax or just a light case of fleas... At any rate, I just sprinkled it all over the carpets and used a broom to brush it down into the fibers. Left it for anywhere from a few hours to a couple days and then vaccuumed. I put Smokie in the bathroom while I was doing all of this, just to be safe.

The theory is that something in the Borax bores into the eggs and dries them out killing the larvae, therefore interrupting the life cycle. Good Luck. I was a nervous wreck for a few weeks when this was all going on. I only found a few on her, but I was afraid I was going to be infested and never get rid of them. (I'm a real positive thinker, as you can tell!!)

I have used a boric powder (basically borax) in the carpeted areas. Fleas eat it, they can't digest it, and it kills them.

But before you even go that route, you need to treat the cat with Advantage or Frontline. Do NOT use an over the counter product, but get something from your vet. Over the counter products can cause more harm than good to your cat.

Second, wash all bedding, throw rugs, and anything loose in the house.

Third, vacuum, vacuum vacuum, and don't forget the cracks and crevices when you do this. An exterminator once told me that this is the absolutely best way to get rid of fleas. Throw the vacuum cleaner bag out when you are finished.

I used boric powder for a few years and found I didn't really have to do this at all if I did the above. It helped control them, but using the tips above eliminated them.