I once made the mistake of trying to help an abandoned dog. I knew better, but it had that look of intelligence in its eyes, and displayed mannerisms that made me know it was a really good dog, but had just had the misfortune to be "owned" by a bad bunch of people. Unfortunately, it was infested with more fleas than I've ever seen before or since, and it had some skin problems, too.
My heart went out to it, and against my better judgment, I fed it. That was it. It officially "adopted" us. It was fall, and fairly cold, and it took to sleeping in our garage, which joins our home. It snuck in without making a sound, and in no time, our whole house was literally festering with fleas. It was SO bad that they'd wake me up at night crawling on me while I was in bed!!! Of course, this HAD to end, by whatever means necessary.
Over a period of about a month, we tried all manner of insecticides, and they DID at least push the assault on our home back significantly, but we later learned the REAL problem was the eggs they'd lay in the carpet, that only hatched AFTER the adults had succumbed to the pesticides. We also got concerned about the level of poisons in our home, too.
Finally, somebody (can't remember who) suggested we try this, and miracle of miracles, it killed every last one of them in a fairly short time. Here's what we did:
As was recommended, we took some tin pie pans from the grocery store, and filled them 3/8-1/2" deep with water. Then drop 3 drops of Dawn or other dishwashing liquid into each pan. This cuts the surface tension so that fleas can't float on the surface, and they drop down into the water and drown. DO NOT USE SOAP! It won't work nearly as well, and may increase the surface tension, making the "traps" ineffective. This is very important issue, and disregarding it may make it not work.
Place these about the house, particularly on carpet if you have it, in strategic locations where they're giving you the most problems. Then take your old Christmas lights out and improvise some sort of holder that will let you put a single light directly over the pan at about 6-8" height over the pan. Do all this in the evening before bedtime, turn out all lights except for those over your trap pans, and try to get some sleep. The bedroom is the last place you put them out.
In the morning, you'll be shocked at how many fleas will line the bottom of your traps. You wouldn't think there could possibly be THAT many fleas in your home. It will seem impossible that THAT many could hide from you, but seeing is believing, and corrects your former misconceptions.
Keep this up until all fleas are gone. It'll take about 2-3 weeks, and after that, it's up to your judgment when to stop. Remember, though, that it's those danged EGGS that are waiting to hatch that is the on-going problem, and I'd suggest you keep them out until you get none or at least less than you can count on the fingers of one hand before putting them away, and that many only if you keep a dog in the house as your "early warning system" if you're a hard sleeper, as I do.
I still have trouble believing how well this worked, and it sure made BREATHING in the house a LOT easier than using those insecticides. No, it isn't an instant fix, like we "moderns" tend to like and even expect, but it WORKS, and it's a lot safer than all those sprays or pro applications thereof.
Hope none of you ever face this, but it CAN happen to anyone, especially if you're an old softy for lost dogs like I am.
Last edited by Blackwater; 05/15/15.
