Treating House for Fleas with Young Child

PinkPeach

Hi,

My vet found a flea on my dog yesterday. I've not seen any more on him myself despite looking but I'm worried there may be some and perhaps eggs etc in my carpets at home. (Am praying it was a rogue flea as we were sat very near a dog at the vets who did have fleas!) I'll treat the dog with a spot on again but wondered what to do about the house. I have a 1 year old child and am concerned about using Indorex spray etc on the carpet as she is crawling around and these sprays are so strong.

I've seen online that some people use salt on their carpets to kill the fleas. Please can anyone explain how to do this? Some online posts say to leave the salt on the carpet for days, is this ok for a dogs paws if it's walking on a salty floor (I'm just thinking about how drying salt can be). Also, I can wash our bedding in a hot wash but a kingsize duvet won't go in the machine. Is there a good way to also kill any eggs on it?

Thanks

meritaten

Salt is just as bad for babies as 'household flea treatments' in fact it is IMHO worse. as the salt has to left down. and the baby could then crawl and ingest it.
treatments such as Indorex are designed to be sprayed, then the rooms closed up and left for a short time (the one I used recently 'staykill' recommends 30 mins) then the house is 'aired' and the treatment should have dried and be 'safe'. takes a couple of hours. could you arrange for a couple of hours 'babysitting' elsewhere while you treat the house? it IS worth it, as you then get about a years protection against fleas and the animal is also protected (doubly so if you use a spot on with them.

the added bonus is the 'household flea sprays' also work on the other insects which can invade homes!

when it comes to carpets your best friend is your vacuum. empty it every time!
duvets can go in a tumble dryer if you have one - a hot tumble damages the eggs.