Home made flea repellent?

just Scott · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:02

I'm curently in the process of dealing with a nasty flea infestation in my house. It's going to an absolute pain in the arse to deal with given the shape of my house.

But for now I need something to keep the fleas off me. I've read about this a lot and lavender, lemongrass (or any citrus), eucalyptus and garlic seem to be good repellents. The problem is I don't know what to do once I buy these things. Should I get lavender oil? Fresh garlic? Garlic pills (do they work instantly?) etc

Since nobody here sells DEET spray I'd like something I could dissolve in water and spray on myself and my clothes. But anything I could apply to my skin would work. Has anyone tried these things and if so, how effective were they from keeping fleas off you?

Cheers

estebanrey · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:05

H2F Scott said:
It's going to an absolute pain in the arse to deal with given the shape of my house.

Confused.com

.Griff. · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:06

What do you mean "nobody here sells Deet" ? There's loads of products on sale containing Deet.

Personally I find Tea tree oil is a good repellent for me against things like Mosquitoes. No idea what effect it would have on fleas however.

just Scott · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:13

estebanrey said:
Confused.com

I live in a 4 story house. The stairs/landings are all carpeted, so is 2 of the bedrooms. There's so many stairs and the fleas are everywhere, there's just so many little nooks they could be hiding in. Treating the entire carpeted area is going to be tough.

.Griff. said:
What do you mean "nobody here sells Deet" ? There's loads of products on sale containing Deet.

Personally I find Tea tree oil is a good repellent for me against things like Mosquitoes. No idea what effect it would have on fleas however.

I've been to sainsburys, asda, b&q and pets at home. None of them had any sort of flea repellent spray.

estebanrey · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:15

H2F Scott said:
I live in a 4 story house. The stairs/landings are all carpeted, so is 2 of the bedrooms. There's so many stairs and the fleas are everywhere, there's just so many little nooks they could be hiding in. Treating the entire carpeted area is going to be tough.

Ahh Ok so it's the make-up of your house, I get it now.

H2F Scott said:
I've been to sainsburys, asda, b&q and pets at home. None of them had any sort of flea repellent spray.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=250272628

should also be in Salisbury's and Asda too

just Scott · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:16

estebanrey said:
Ahh Ok so it's the make-up of your house, I get it now.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=250272628

We had a can of that. It's not exactly something you spray on yourself.

estebanrey · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:18

H2F Scott said:
We had a can of that. It's not exactly something you spray on yourself.

Soz, didn't fully read OP.

Can't you buy the same stuff you put on cats or dogs?

just Scott · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:20

Moses said:
Buy some flea bombs, and get your pets injected with stuff that's effective for six months (if you have pets).

That's a last resort. We can't really go anywhere (7 people, quite a few pets that would need taking out of the house) while those flea bombs work. I'm going for the more strategically placed diatomaceous earth placement for now, for the reduced health risk. We're treating the cats and dogs with frontline while doing the house with DE.

But the DE is on order so for now I just need something to keep the fleas off my ankles. The itching is driving me crazy.

Siliconslave · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:21

Our cat had fleas when we got him, but we didn't realise this for the first few days. Buy a couple of cans of this: http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Genitrix-Rip-Fleas-Extra_HB3828.htm your local vets or pets at home may have some

then if you want something extra make up some of this to spray over yourself... it might sting a bit in cuts

CITRUS REPELLENT: Cut a lemon into quarters and place in a pint jug. Cover the lemon with boiling water and let it steep overnight. Next day you have a flea repellent that you can use in a spray bottle. Spray all over your dog remembering especially behind the ears and around the head generally (careful of eyes), around the base of the tail (once again keep away from delicate bits) and under your dog's 'armpits'.

and damn you, i'm itching all over now!

just Scott · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:23

Siliconslave said:
Our cat had fleas when we got him, but we didn't realise this for the first few days. Buy a couple of cans of this: http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Genitrix-Rip-Fleas-Extra_HB3828.htm your local vets or pets at home may have some

then if you want something extra make up some of this to spray over yourself... it might sting a bit in cuts

and damn you, i'm itching all over now!

Cheers for the lemon advice. I also need to be careful with it since lemon is very toxic to cats. We have 5 cats.

Siliconslave · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:28

arr right - the spot of cat stuff is supposed to both attract and kill the fleas so once the cats are treated they can walk around and effectively wipe the fleas out

just Scott · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:30

Siliconslave said:
arr right - the spot of cat stuff is supposed to both attract and kill the fleas so once the cats are treated they can walk around and effectively wipe the fleas out

True but they're still everywhere in the carpet. No doubt this is going to be a long process as killing the adults doesn't do much to their hundreds of literally invincible eggs (fleas are like cockroaches, they'd survive nuclear bomb) that are going to hatch a few days/weeks later.

Nightglow · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:31

Animal or human fleas?

Can't you get in council pest controller, & spray, smoke the place.

just Scott · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:34

Nightglow said:
Animal or human fleas/

Cat, I guess. That's where they originated. Although they're quite content living off me for now as the cats don't go in my room, and they're everywhere in my carpet.

Going to the council to get the place bombed is a last resort, it's not really a viable option for us.

Siliconslave · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:35

The Genitrix kills the eggs off IIRC or atleast controlls them, but you'll need to keep the cats out of the area while you spray. Maybe give them a spot on, put them in a carry case and do the house, wait a bit then re-introduce them to the kitchen.

This is pretty helpful as well:
http://uk.frontline.com/products/spot-on/Pages/Using-when-treating-an-infestation.aspx

checjb · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:37

My house was infested with fleas last year (thanks to my next door neighbour's amazingly good care of her two cats and their desire to see the inside of my house) and I tried loads of things. I steamed the carpets, used sprays etc but all they did was knock the numbers down for a few days. As I was trying to sell the house (can you imagine?!) I bought 2 cans of this (http://www.vetuk.co.uk/flea-treatme.../indorex-household-flea-spray-500ml-can-p-677 INDOREX) and my house was flea free within a single day. Flipping amazing stuff. You'd be better off getting that than worrying about repellants as the fleas won't be a problem sharpish.

Nightglow · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:38

Accurate identification is essential, if it's cat then destroy all it's bedding, etc.

You own all the house or just part of it.

Checjb: That's some darn good spray.

estebanrey · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:40

Nightglow said:
Animal or human fleas?

He's definitely talking about the animal, although being over run by the Red Hot Chill Pepper's bassist would be cool.

Nightglow said:
Accurate identification is essential, if it's cat then destroy all it's bedding, etc.

You own all the house or just part of it.

I think you'll find the cat owns the house.

FARGO · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:41

I am unsure if this will help but...

Would a carpet cleaner/steamer help at all? I'm not sure how hardcore fleas are but it might be worth looking in to

just Scott · 3 Aug 2012 at 15:44

checjb said:
My house was infested with fleas last year (thanks to my next door neighbour's amazingly good care of her two cats and their desire to see the inside of my house) and I tried loads of things. I steamed the carpets, used sprays etc but all they did was knock the numbers down for a few days. As I was trying to sell the house (can you imagine?!) I bought 2 cans of this (http://www.vetuk.co.uk/flea-treatme.../indorex-household-flea-spray-500ml-can-p-677 INDOREX) and my house was flea free within a single day. Flipping amazing stuff. You'd be better off getting that than worrying about repellants as the fleas won't be a problem sharpish.

That looks good. I'll try that if the diatomaceous earth doesn't work. I can spray that everywhere right? As long as humans and animals aren't preset for a while?

And yeah I know the repellent isn't effective for getting rid of fleas. However, I need them get the **** off my ankles right now. It's driving me insane.

FARGO said:
Would a carpet cleaner/steamer help at all? I'm not sure how hardcore fleas are but it might be worth looking in to

It does help. Steaming and keeping the carpets extremely clean is one of the steps I'm taking to keep the fleas down. Right now the house is a mess so I'm tidying up in between posts.

Then I'll begin hoovering every square inch of this place.