The fact that fleas appear in an apartment can hardly be considered a pleasant surprise. Rather, the penetration of jumping blood-sucking parasites into the house is a very unpleasant problem, which is incredibly difficult to cope with.
If bites or other traces of insects are found, measures should be taken immediately to destroy them.
The absence of these may well lead to a significant increase in the number of parasites.
When choosing suitable products, it is recommended to pay attention to those that have a negative effect on parasites, but do not have a negative effect on humans or pets. Are essential oils for fleas in the apartment an effective remedy?
What scents will help you cope with the task? What are the best essential oils to use and how to use them? Let's consider these and other questions in more detail.
What scents to use
The easiest way to protect your home from the invasion of parasites and get rid of bloodsuckers that have already appeared is to use essential oils against fleas in your apartment.
Strong odors are a deterrent for insects and also act as insecticides.
You can use essential oils against fleas in various ways, but before we begin to consider them, let's talk about the products that are most effective.
So, the best essential oils for fleas are as follows:
- Eucalyptus oil. This substance is often used as a powerful disinfectant.
- Cedar oil. It has powerful antiviral and disinfecting properties. To remove parasites, it is recommended to add this oil to the water for cleaning.
- Lemon. It has tonic properties, a pronounced tonic effect, and a pleasant aroma. It can be used to treat personal clothing and bedding.
- Anise or anise. An effective insecticide.
- Fir trees. Fir oil has disinfecting properties, tones, and disinfects. It is better to use it for processing furniture and the space behind it. It is not recommended to apply in the sleeping area.
- Juniper. To destroy and remove fleas from an apartment, you can apply a small amount of this oil to the surfaces of the walls, treat carpets and home textiles with it.
- Pines. In addition to flea-repellent properties, aromatic pine oil helps destroy bacteria, viruses, and has disinfecting properties. It is especially recommended to use it as a basis for an aroma lamp in the winter season.
- Lavender. Has calming properties. It is recommended to use it to treat bedding.
- Camphor. Fleas especially often enter homes on the soles of shoes. To prevent this, it is recommended to treat the soles with a small amount of this product.
Using the product in its pure form may cause burns, since these substances are concentrates.
To prevent possible negative consequences, it is recommended to first dilute the selected option with regular castor oil.
A few drops per teaspoon is enough.
Spices
One of the easiest things you can do for a flea-infested cat is to revive its life with natural ingredients you can find in your kitchen.
Because of a natural compound known as carvacrol, oregano oil can be very effective in removing fleas; Start by mixing one teaspoon of oregano oil with three teaspoons of olive oil and apply a small amount of the solution to areas where fleas tend to congregate, such as your cat's ears, belly, tail, and neck.
Fleas don't care much for rosemary either; Try grinding the leaves into a powder and sprinkling it on areas where your cat usually hangs out in your home.
If your cat won't allow you to apply topicals to her fur, try adding a small amount (less than a teaspoon) of cumin to your cat's food. The spice will make your cat's skin completely unappetizing for fleas.
If you don't have any of these spices on hand, a little table salt can also help as it helps hydrate and kill fleas on your cat.
What's more, it helps kill fleas and flea eggs that may be lurking in your carpet (just spray it on), or mixed with water, it can be used on hard surfaces.
WARNING
These spices are a safe alternative to garlic powder, which can be toxic to cats in large doses.
What essential oils are fleas afraid of?
Not all oils are suitable for treating premises against fleas. To get rid of parasites, you need to know which essential oils repel fleas.
The following are best suited for this purpose:
- Tea tree.
- Lavender.
- Citrus.
- Conifers.
It should be noted that you can use not only aromatic oils, but also products with pronounced odors, for example, cloves, sachets filled with aromatic herbs.
More often, the above substances and means are used for preventive treatment of premises, as they have repellent but non-toxic properties.
Video
Citronella oil: effective repellent against mosquitoes, ticks and fleas
Kitchen salt
The salt we are used to is useful for apartments where there are fleas and where children and pets live. The latter, through carelessness, can swallow it.
Salt crystals act quickly: they damage the integument of the parasites, after which they die . When used, the salt spreads evenly onto walkways and carpets throughout the home.
Salt is often used with baking soda in an amount of 200 per 200 grams. The substance acts in a similar way: it comes into contact with blood-sucking pests, damaging their outer coverings, after which the parasites die
Experts recommend waiting a few hours and then carefully collecting the mixture with a vacuum cleaner . It is better to use the procedure several times to reduce the number of blood-sucking pests in the house.
How to use
Flea oils can be used in a variety of ways.
The optimal method should be chosen according to the task at hand. If there are a lot of parasites, it is recommended to pre-treat the clothes using, for example, eucalyptus oil. This will help protect your skin from stings.
Otherwise, you should adhere to these rules:
- First you need to prepare the room for the processing procedure. It is necessary to remove household members and pets from the home, and then carry out a thorough general cleaning. It is important to remove all carpets, blankets, and capes. It is best to wash them with hot water, then apply a small amount of oil, previously diluted with water, using a spray bottle. Next, vacuum the entire room, paying special attention to nooks and spaces behind furniture.
- Next you need to carry out wet cleaning. To do this, you should prepare a special solution by diluting fifty drops of any oil in five liters of clean warm water. Treat the entire room with the resulting solution, including furniture, windows, and floors. When soiled, the water should be poured out and replaced with a clean solution.
- To obtain an effective insecticide, it is recommended to use a mixture of aromatic oils. The only drawback is that the smell is too strong. It is best to mix pine oil, citrus oil, anise oil. Tea tree extract is especially effective against fleas.
- After completing the treatment, it is important to take preventive measures that will help prevent the reappearance of parasites. To do this, you need to prepare bouquets of dried herbs or sachet pads, which may also contain dried plants. It is best to use herbs such as calendula, mint, and St. John's wort for this purpose. The raw materials should be prepared in advance, having dried them thoroughly; fresh plants should not be used. After the herbs have dried, you need to apply a few drops of tea tree extract and pine needles to them. This measure will help prevent the appearance of parasites in the house.
- Prepared bouquets or pillows should be placed in closets with bed linen, in the space behind the furniture, that is, in all the nooks and crannies of the apartment.
- After general cleaning, it is especially important to treat all surfaces in the room, that is, furniture, textiles, carpets. To do this, you need to prepare a more concentrated solution with insecticidal properties, namely tea tree. It would be optimal to add fifty drops to a glass of warm water. All surfaces should be thoroughly treated with the resulting solution using a spray bottle.
- After treating the premises, it is necessary to thoroughly ventilate the rooms. It is important to remember that the use of extracts will help get rid of adult parasites, but will not have a detrimental effect on the larvae. That is, the likelihood of fleas reappearing is quite high, especially if a large number of insects were previously observed. To prevent this, it is recommended to re-treat the room approximately two weeks after the first.
Essential oils are among the strongest allergens. It is not recommended to use them if pregnant women and children live in the apartment, since inhalation of aromatic vapors can provoke the development of a severe allergic reaction.
However, using these products in small quantities to prevent the appearance of parasites is quite acceptable.
Using an aroma lamp
Various flea oils can be used to create a pleasant atmosphere in the house, which will help get rid of parasites and prevent their occurrence in the future.
To repel insects, you can use extracts of cedar, eucalyptus, tangerine, and lemon.
Essential oil against fleas in the house should be used as follows: dilute a small amount of the selected product with water, then pour it into an aroma lamp, light a candle or heat the liquid tray in another way. The lamp should be kept on for several hours.
Curtain processing
When treating a room, fleas jump onto walls, curtains, and other surfaces located high enough above the floor. It is especially important to use flea oil on curtains; this measure will help completely remove parasites from the house.
To carry out the procedure, add twenty to twenty-five drops of the selected product to a liter of warm water, then mix the resulting solution thoroughly and pour it into a spray bottle.
After preparation, you should carefully spray the curtains with a fragrant solution, you can also treat the walls. It should be remembered that it is recommended to apply the solution from a distance of at least half a meter, otherwise dark stains may remain on the fabric.
To treat curtains and other home textiles, it is recommended to use lemon and lavender oil. These products not only have insecticidal properties, but also keep a pleasant aroma in the house for a long time.
Oil-based medicines
While aromatic oils can be used to treat a room against fleas, it is not always safe to use them to get rid of bloodsuckers from pets. If the product gets on the skin, it can cause irritation, the strong smell will cause discomfort to the pet, and if it tries to clean the fur and starts licking the medicine off, it can become poisoned.
Aroma oils
Special preparations containing essential oils will help protect your pet. The most popular include:
- Beaphar (spray or shampoo);
- Doctor ZOO (shampoo);
- Bars (shampoo);
- GreenFort (shampoo).
When using a new product for the first time, you must carefully monitor your pet’s condition to notice possible manifestations of allergies.
Fighting itching and pain from bites
Aromatic oils against fleas can be used as a means to help eliminate the unpleasant consequences of parasite bites.
The best way to deal with this is soft lavender oil, which has a pleasant smell and soothing properties.
To obtain positive results, the product must be applied in its pure form to the affected area. Bites should be treated three times throughout the day until they are completely eliminated.
Before applying the product, it is recommended to first conduct a sensitivity test.
This is necessary because concentrated oils may well provoke the development of allergic reactions.
Since the medicine must be applied to the bites immediately, it is recommended to take care of testing in advance.
To do this, just apply a small amount of the product to the thin skin of the wrist or elbow, and then leave it for a day. Evaluate the result. If there is no redness or irritation, you can safely use a substance to relieve itching after flea bites.
Preparation and storage of wormwood
It is recommended to harvest a significant amount of wormwood in order to always have a supply of this plant. This can be done at any time of the year, but in most cases people engage in such activities in the summer.
You can dry wormwood for long-term storage as follows:
- Gather the plants into small bunches, which are tied with threads at the base of the stems.
- The resulting brooms can be laid out or hung in shady places; it is good if they have natural ventilation and drafts.
- Once completely dry, they can be moved for storage in other places.
Infusions and decoctions based on long-term storage are prepared as follows:
- Mix a few glasses of clean water and a few tablespoons of wormwood, then cook this mixture until it boils. Wait until the resulting broth cools naturally, after which it can be poured into a storage container.
- Dilute about four teaspoons of wormwood in half a liter of vodka, then put the infusion in a dark and cool place. In just a week you can get a tincture that can be stored indefinitely.
Popular questions
When fleas appear in a home, almost everyone who is faced with such a problem is interested in the following questions:
- Is it possible to treat pets with oils, since they are often carriers of parasites? Yes, however, it is best to use products made from pine needles for this purpose. A small amount of the selected oil should be applied to the skin of the animal’s withers or along the back in such a way as to prevent the product from entering the digestive tract.
- Do oils have a negative effect on human health? If you use the product in moderation, this will not happen. However, if abused, there is a possibility of signs of intoxication of the body. In this case, you should ventilate the room.
- Is it possible to completely eliminate parasites indoors using fleas? If you treat all surfaces, things, home textiles with oils, this task is completely doable.
It is important to remember that before using any oil, you need to conduct a kind of sensitivity test for the inhabitants of the apartment. To do this, just place a small amount of the chosen product in the aroma lamp and then light it.
If after a day there are no manifestations of allergic reactions in family members, you can use the chosen remedy.
If anyone experiences any negative reactions from the body, they should refuse to use the chosen remedy in favor of another that has similar properties.
Safety measures when disinfesting with aroma oils
When disinfesting a room from insects, you should follow some safety precautions:
- essential oil product is used only diluted with water;
- An overdose of an aromatic product is not allowed;
- Pets should not be treated with this solution;
- before using the product in an apartment, you should make sure that the selected substance does not cause an allergic reaction in people and pets;
- If children or pregnant women live in the house, you will have to stop using essential oil.
If, after treating the apartment, one of its residents feels unwell, dizziness and nausea appear, the room must be urgently ventilated.
Camphor alcohol with vinegar
Camphor alcohol is mixed with 3 percent vinegar and a few drops of floral cologne . This is another effective method of getting rid of fleas.
This mixture with a specific odor has an intoxicating effect on parasites .
It is sprayed onto floor skirting boards, floor cracks and carpeting.
You can also take furniture: armchairs , sofas , , etc. The procedure is repeated several times to be sure.
Pyrethrum
Among the plants that actively fight parasites, scientists highlight Persian chamomile or pyrethrum . She quite actively fights against such an uninvited guest in the apartment as clothes moths. Its use is a universal folk method of getting rid of flea infestations.
The pyrethrum plant contains natural insecticidal substances. They do not harm the health of people and their pets. To prepare a decoction, you need dried inflorescences.
- Pour boiling water over two cups of dry pyrethrum.
- The broth is placed in a dark place . It stays there until it cools completely.
- After the liquid is ready for use, the floor skirting boards and cracks in the floor are washed with the infusion .
Reference ! Persian (or Caucasian) chamomile is even more effective when eaten fresh. It is laid out in bunches around the perimeter of the apartment and replaced with a new one every few weeks.
Soap
In this case, two types of soap need to be mentioned: tar and baby soap . Tar soap has a detrimental effect not only on adult individuals, but also on their eggs and larvae. to be treated should be wetted and rubbed with soap . After ten minutes, it is washed off with warm water.
Baby soap works especially well against blood-sucking insects. To use it, you first need to prepare the mixture.
- To do this, grate the soap .
- Then the resulting mass is mixed with water and heated over low heat.
- Then grated onion is added to the pulp .
- Next you should proceed as in the case of tar soap .
Cold
The flea is a very heat-loving creature . She does not tolerate sudden changes in temperature or cold. And this property, in addition to other folk remedies, can also be used to get rid of it.
It is easiest to combat these insects in winter . To get rid of them, it is enough to open the windows and doors in the frost for several hours.
Very soon the cold will begin to affect the body of the individuals, adult fleas will leave the apartment , and the eggs and larvae will quickly die from hypothermia.
Citrus
The aromas of citrus plants repel fleas quite effectively.
- For this purpose, orange, tangerine or grapefruit peels are dried .
- Then they are laid out throughout the house, including the most difficult to reach places , which include floor crevices, spaces behind pieces of furniture, chests of drawers and air vents.
- Along with fleas, moths will also die from the aroma of citrus fruits..
Important ! Blood-sucking parasites cannot stand the smell of garlic and geranium. To be sure, these remedies, like all others, are recommended to be used several times until the desired result is achieved.
Herbs
Herbal infusions have specific odors that repel blood-sucking pests and get rid of them for a long period. They can be present in the house for both medicinal and preventive purposes.
Like chamomile, plants such as wormwood , tansy , lavender , eucalyptus and calamus leaves .
- After pouring boiling water over them, you need to let the broth stand in a cool place for 12 hours .
- After this, the liquid is poured into a spray bottle .
- First of all, it is used for spraying carpets, rugs and floor coverings . They are the main places of accumulation of parasites.
Reference ! Pine shavings also repel them well. By the way, like wormwood, it is best to scatter it at the entrance to the living space.