Any Pet Groomed

2010 and 2011 have been HORRIBLE years for fleas and ticks.  It is now February 2012 and we are still getting calls for flea and tick baths.  Here’s some common household items you can use to get rid of the fleas and ticks in your home after we come out and professionally remove them from your pet.

1. Listerine kills!  It penetrates the shell of the flea leaving it dead in minutes.  Use 1 part Listerine to 2 parts water, mix in a spray bottle.  Use on furniture, carpets, linoleum floors.  Spray then run your vacuum.  When finished, remove the bag from your vacuum and take it outside.  Repeat daily for one week.  (Do not use on hardwood floors as the listerine can stain the wood.)
2. Do you have fleas in the house?  This test will tell you.  Place a lamp on the floor close to where your pet spends most of its time.  Under the lamp, place a shallow dish with water and a couple drops of blue Dawn dish detergent.  Leave the lamp on overnight.  Although fleas can walk across the surface of water, the Dawn breaks the water barrier and the flea will drown.  They are attracted by the light and heat from the lamp, jump and fall into the dish.  When you wake up in the morning, if there are fleas in the dish, you need to treat your house.  We recommend www.cedaroil.com for non-chemical house treatment.
3. In your yard, combine Listerine with blue Dawn dish detergent and water (1 part each).  This will smell really bad but will not harm your grass or flowers.  Spray along the base of the home taking care to around doors.  Go out four feet.  Any fleas jumping into this barrier will die as the Listerine penetrates the shell.  The blue Dawn helps the mixture to stay on the surfaces of plants and grass so it’s not absorbed.  Repeat daily until the fleas are gone from inside your home.
4. Fleas can jump up to 13″.  If you see fleas on your arms or upper body, fleas have begun infesting your clothing.  At this point, it is time to get professional assistance and have your house de-flead by Orkin, Terminix or another bug control company.