Traditional methods of getting rid of fleas in cats and dogs

1. General information about herbs
2. Wormwood for fleas
3. Tansy against fleas in animals and in the house
4. Dalmatian chamomile
5. Lavender
6. Eucalyptus for fleas
7. Using herbs against fleas
8. What herbs repel fleas in the house

Before the advent of household chemicals, people dealt with insect infestations using improvised means. Good results are provided by plants with a specific aroma. To get rid of uninvited guests, it is worth finding out which herb against fleas in the apartment is the most effective and how best to use its beneficial properties.

General information about herbs

Most herbs do not have insecticidal properties. And only some plants are suitable for getting rid of parasites. The secret to their effectiveness is essential oils that repel insects. Sensing a pungent odor, fleas tend to leave the area, as it irritates the respiratory tract and causes terrible discomfort.

Of course, if there is a huge population of fleas in the apartment, migrating from the attic or basement, herbs alone are not enough to kill. Here you cannot do without professional pest control. Herbs are in demand to repel and eliminate a small colony.

Plants have a gentle and prolonged effect. To get rid of fleas and further prevention, you need to use them constantly. Dozens of recipes have been invented using fresh and dried raw materials.

Advantages and disadvantages of using plants

The use of folk remedies before insecticidal poisons is largely determined by their natural origin:

• safe for use in areas where children and pets may be present;
• most herbs or ready-made infusions can be purchased at your nearest pharmacy;
• act where poison cannot reach;
• combined with poisons and with each other;
• no need to wash the room after using them;
• cheap price.

If we talk about the disadvantages, then only in comparison with chemical herbal preparations:

• may not be effective and will require support from the chemical industry;
• have a limited resource - the grass dries out, essential oils evaporate. As soon as the fleas realize that the smell has weakened, they rush to return to their habitual places;
• Some may develop allergies.

In defense of the use of plants, it is also worth mentioning the effective removal of fleas from pets. Often there is no need to buy expensive drops that are harmful to the animal. Many breeders bathe their dogs and cats in herbal infusions. Their smell remains on the pet’s skin and fleas are no longer so willing to settle in the fur.

Wormwood for fleas

Wormwood has a bitter taste, persistent aroma and is considered one of the best herbs for fleas in the apartment. For processing we use:

• decoction;
• oil;
• dry powder;
• alcohol tincture.

Recipe 1

To prepare a decoction, pour 50 g of crushed dry stems with a liter of boiling water and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Turn off and leave for an hour. Add the filtered liquid to water for washing floors, baseboards, walls and use for bathing pets. It is useful to pour the broth into a spray bottle and spray mattresses, sofas, armchairs, and wardrobes.

Recipe 2

Wormwood essential oil, sold in pharmacies, is good at repelling fleas. Place 10 drops in small bowls and place in each room. Once a week, pour fresh oil, and fleas will avoid the apartment.

Recipe 3

Grind dry wormwood into powder. Sprinkle under carpets, mattresses, and behind furniture. Stuff your pet's bedding with the plant. Fill the bags with grass and place them in your closets.

Recipe 4

Pour two tablespoons of dried wormwood into a liter jar with vodka or alcohol. Seal and place in a dark place. Shake the infusion periodically. After a week, filter. Use the product for cleaning carpets, wiping furniture, add 2-3 spoons to water for wet cleaning.

Tansy against fleas in animals and in the house

The medicinal herb not only repels bloodsuckers, but also provides a disinfectant effect, clearing the room of pathogenic flora. The most convenient option for use is in the form of a decoction.

Recipe 1

To prepare the decoction, take 30 g of dried tansy inflorescences, add 250 ml of water, bring to a boil, simmer for 2 minutes and turn off. Strain the cooled liquid and dilute it by half with water. Use a spray bottle to spray the product throughout the rooms, paying special attention to carpets, cracks in walls, and upholstered furniture.

Recipe 2

If you mix wormwood and tansy in the same ratio, measure out a tablespoon and pour a glass of boiling water, you will get an infusion that can be used to wipe floors, walls, and pets’ belongings.

Tansy provokes a severe allergic reaction and is harmful to the health of children and animals. Make sure that drops of the herbal infusion do not get into your food and, if possible, evacuate your household from the apartment for a day after treatment.

Tar soap

Another old folk method of fighting ectoparasites. Tar soap is good for washing animals. To clean the apartment, you need to make a strong soap solution and not only wash the floors, but also polish the floor coverings.

On a note!

Disadvantage: the persistent smell is “not for everyone” if the solution is not washed off. The smell of tar repels parasites, but if the soap is washed off, its effect stops.

Dalmatian chamomile

The plant contains natural insecticides - pyrethrins and essential oils, which help eliminate insects.

1. To eliminate fleas, grind dried Dalmatian chamomile flowers into powder.
2. Sprinkle the raw material onto the carpets, spread it in a thin layer under cabinets and in the corners of rooms.
3. When parasites come into contact with the powder, they receive a portion of poison that disrupts the functioning of the nervous system and causes death.
4. The insecticidal activity of Dalmatian chamomile powder lasts for 2 days. Then clean and add a new portion of the product.

To treat the room, you can use chamomile infusion. Brew two tablespoons of herbs in 500 ml of boiling water. Wipe the furniture and floors in the apartment with the cooled liquid. Add the infusion to pets' bathing water to kill fleas.

Boric acid

The folk remedy has low toxicity, however, it is part of many insecticides. Boric acid from fleas causes dehydration in parasites, which leads to the destruction of blood-sucking ones.

How to use the product:

• Remove all foreign objects from the floor and carpets; children and animals should not be present during processing.
• Vacuum carpets to remove dust.
• Sprinkle the powder on carpets and around baseboards.
• Using a brush, distribute the powder over the carpet pile.

The folk method is effective in the fight against larvae; it does not have such a strong effect on adults. After treatment, 1-2 days later, clean the treated areas with a vacuum cleaner. It is necessary to carry out the processing procedure several times.

Lavender

Lavender contains essential oil rich in coumarins and tannins. Its smell does not disappear for a long time and has repellent properties.

Pour a tablespoon of chopped herbs into 250 ml of boiling water, strain after half an hour. Spray the rooms around the perimeter with an odorous liquid, not forgetting to treat carpets and mattresses.

To drive out fleas and freshen the air in your apartment, add 2-3 drops of lavender essential oil to an aromatherapy lamp or tie the stems into bunches and hang them on the walls.

Eucalyptus for fleas

Eucalyptus is a plant that quickly gets rid of fleas. The highest concentration of essential oil is found in young leaves. They make effective repellent decoctions and tinctures.

The raw material is brewed at the rate of a tablespoon per 250 ml of water and used for washing work surfaces, spraying furniture, clothes, and wardrobes.

To enhance effectiveness, prepare an herbal mixture. Mix by spoon:

• eucalyptus;
• tansy;
• wormwood.

Place in a liter thermos and fill with boiling water. After 12 hours, filter, pour into a spray bottle and spray on furniture, walls, and carpets.

Freezing out parasites

Freezing out fleas
Exposing fleas to temperature is also an ancient and ineffective folk method, to which fleas adapted with the onset of the ice period. The disappearance of insects from a room is not related to ventilation, but to the time of year. In summer, parasites do not react to ventilation in any way, except that they use an open window to enter the house if the apartment is on the ground floor. In autumn they disappear not because of the cold, but because they go into hibernation.

On a note!

In winter, fleas sleep even in regions where the average winter temperature is +10-15°C.

Using herbs against fleas

To cut off flea migration paths in an apartment building, tie the stems of wormwood, lavender, mint, and eucalyptus into a bunch and place them in a vent. Replace old grass with new branches every 2-3 weeks.

1. Fleas cannot tolerate the scent of pine needles. To repel pests, fill your pet's bedding with spruce sawdust. It is useful to pour them under a mattress, carpet, or spread them in an even layer on the floor for 2 days. The method is in demand for private houses and cottages, but can also be used in an apartment.
2. Blood-sucking parasites disappear when they smell mint. Place fresh or dried stems under carpets, mattresses, and hang on the walls. A few sprigs are enough, as mint has a strong aroma.
3. A killer mixture is obtained by combining dry wormwood with chopped garlic in equal proportions. Place the product on sheets of white paper and leave it under cabinets and in the corners of rooms. Fleas, sensing the smell, immediately leave human habitation.

If fleas have hidden themselves in the carpet pile and are making nests there, you cannot hesitate. Prepare a decoction of wormwood, soak the coating with the liquid and clean with a brush. In summer, take the carpet outside and dry it under the scorching rays of the sun. Wash a small rug by adding a liter of wormwood infusion to a bucket of water.

Salt

To kill fleas that live in carpets, this affordable and safe folk remedy is used.

How to treat the room:

• Sprinkle carpets in every room.
• Rub salt into the pile with a brush.
• Leave the surfaces for a couple of days.
• Vacuum the carpets.

It is advisable to carry out the treatment several times to avoid the appearance of new individuals from previously laid eggs.

What herbs repel fleas in the house

In a private home, you can protect yourself from fleas by planting plants that repel insects. This is a good preventive measure against pest invasion.

Plant lavender along the path to the house or in the sunny side of the garden. Lilac flowers will be an excellent decoration and an obstacle to fleas.

They have repellent properties:

• peppermint;
• rosemary;
• noble laurel;
• fragrant rue;
• black elderberry;
• oregano;
• garlic;
• calamus;
• Melissa.

Decorative flowers look good around the house, on the veranda and balcony. To protect your home from insects, plant marigolds, chrysanthemums, nasturtiums, petunias, and geraniums. The smell of these plants repels not only fleas, but also mosquitoes, ticks, and beetles.

Garlic

It stands apart from other herbs. Like other plants, garlic does not help remove fleas from the house, but it truly saves you from their bites. Just use it inside, and not as a talisman around the perimeter of your home. Fleas will still jump on the legs, since when searching for victims they are guided by infrared radiation. But they will stop biting. When garlic is consumed regularly, a person's smell changes. Fleas don't like garlic. And not only fleas, mosquitoes don’t bite either.

There are tips to mix crushed garlic with brewer's yeast and rub the mixture into the carpets. In this case, it is not the mixture that works, but subsequent thorough cleaning with a vacuum cleaner that sucks up insects, larvae and eggs.