Fleas are blood-sucking parasites that live outside, in our homes, and on our pets. The good thing, though, is that fleas hate diatomaceous earth.
Crawling Insect Control Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a natural pest control that is great to use around your home because it's natural and safe, making it the perfect option to treat your cats for fleas.
Follow the steps below to use DE as a natural flea control for your cat.
Step 1:
Take note of the areas around your house where your cat likes to spend his or her time. This might be a bed, kennel, cat tree, or favorite pillow or rug. These areas will be the focus of your diatomaceous earth application.
Step 2:
Vacuum the kennel, rug, pillow, and other areas where your cat likes to hang out. This helps collect any flea eggs that might be lying around; collecting these eggs before you apply the diatomaceous earth is essential because flea eggs aren't affected by DE until after they hatch.
Step 3:
Dust the area with diatomaceous earth. You can use a sieve, a tied-off sock filled with DE, or one of our applicators. Dust the area, pet bed, and/or blankets thoroughly. DE is most effective when it's dry, so make sure the areas where you apply aren't damp. Leave the DE applied as long as possible. A couple of weeks is ideal.
Step 4:
It's unlikely that fleas will survive vacuuming and diatomaceous earth, but go ahead and comb through your pet's fur with a flea comb anyway, just to make sure none escape. Do this every few days.
Step 5:
After a couple of weeks, vacuum thoroughly. Along with cleaning up the diatomaceous earth, vacuuming will collect any surviving fleas, as well as their eggs, larvae, and pupae, helping to break the flea's life cycle. A word of warning here: DE is very hard on traditional filtered vacuums. Unless you're only cleaning a small section, we recommend using a shop vac to avoid burning out your vacuum's motor. For more information on cleaning up diatomaceous earth after you've applied it, check out our article about cleaning up diatomaceous earth here.
If you have questions about how to treat your dog for fleas, click here.
If you have questions about how to treat your home for fleas, click here.