What foods can I eat that fleas don't like? Other good ways to repel fleas?

I had a friend who swore by taking vitamin B12 as a flea repellent. Seemed to work for her. I just use Capstar and preventatives on my pets to avoid the issue. In your case I would spray your area or have a professional come and do it. Be sure to spray above and under the couch cushions and carpets.

We bought a couch from the Salvation Army 2 years ago that came complete with passengers. I sprayed the house twice- 2 weeks apart and treated the pets to cure it.

Oh, boy, have you got problems. Fleas like human blood; they don’t much care what your diet is. You will probably all have to move out for several days so exterminators can blast the place with hideous poison dusts and vapors.

Here are 15 or so ideas, all depressing.

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/980716c.cfm

“One story:

Advice from an Exterminator

I am an ex-exterminator. I don’t believe many pests truly need professional treatment. However, fleas are one pest who does. The eggs of the flea actually attach themselves to the carpet fibres. I always had the homeowner vacuum the entire rug before I got there. This would stimulate the eggs to emerge from their cocoon. When they are inside the cocoon, the pesticide will not work on them. I would then come in and spray the entire floor space. The pesticide had to include a growth inhibitor (so the pre-adult fleas couldn’t become adults and reproduce). The owners had to stay out of the house long enough to have the product dry. Then, they need to vacuum the rug every day for 14 days. Throw out the bag every day. The pet(s) need to be treated at the same time as the house.

If every thing was prepared properly, I was thorough and the homeowner followed through with the vacuuming, I never got a call back for a follow-up treatment. In really bad cases, the outside play areas for the pets got treated also.

It’s not fun and it’s not cheap but it works. You do have to be willing to put up with the fleas for 14 days after the treatment”
Ken in Jamison, PA

You have to interrupt the flea’s life cycle. Generally, they need a vector, but a flea infestation in a house even without an animal vector probably needs professional assistance.

I don’t think there’s much you can do to make yourself less attractive to fleas except for daily showering and a sunbath (they drown easily and will die in direct sunlight). They shouldn’t bother you at all if you shower at least every other day. To get rid of them, we did frequent vacuuming with flea bombs but they came back :( so we are trying another go-around with better products. If that still doesn’t do it, then it’s exterminator time.

@wildpotato With all due respect they do not drown easily. Once I had one in a glass of water for quite a while. I assumed it was dead and poured it into the sink. It hopped away.

@Dog Woah. Thanks so much for the heads up. There’s so much information on them that a lot of it contradicts. Do you know if the sunlight thing is true? I assume that bleach and boric acid do work… at least, I hope!

@wildpotato I do not know about that sunlight one- the one that jumped away after being under water for a long time made me wonder if they are little cyborgs. Freaky really. Does anyone else know what kills them?

They are attracted to warmth from a light so put a small light on the floor and a pan of soapy water under it. You will catch them. But they breed faster than you can catch so I always opt for treatment by an exterminator, they guarantee their work and often are cheaper than buying cans of fogger that just don’t do the trick.

@rooeytoo AAArrrg! Ye yellow dog!

@Dog – hehehe, I guess that means you noticed my pirate patch, stunning don’t you think. I don’t know how to talk pirate or I would, all I know is shiver me timbers and I don’t think that applies in this case!

stop being dirty

I’ve heard that taking odorless garlic capsules can help to repel them.

I have heard the same about garlic tabs from my sister in-law. Also, an exterminator is pretty much the way I recommend for getting rid of the fleas. I know that eating a lot of garlic with food seems to help some, being that we are currently visiting relatives and they have a serious flea problem, and it has helped with me. Also, invest in the insect repellent spray called Repel, with Deet. After washing your clothes and bed linen in hot water, spray your entire area down with it and spray it on yourself. The family spray doesn’t smell as bad as the others, but it does work also. Keep you area clean and when you vacuum, do as the ex-exterminator advised and throw out what you vacuumed everyday. Do this until the exterminator can take care of the problem. I know I can’t wait to head back home and get away from this flea problem. Good Luck.

As for what kills them, if they’re getting pretty bad on yourself then when in the shower if you wash your hair and body with dawn dish detergent, the original, that helps get rid of them, it is a cheap flea soap that really does work, and also if you’re trying to save money dawn is perfectly safe for animals too, in fact a lot of rescue workers use on wild animals even for things like oil spills