Some flea sprays can be dangerous to use or just too expensive to have to continuously buy. In this article I’m going to be sharing with you how to make your own flea killers using items that can be found around the house. These homemade flea killers will be easy to make, cheap, and effective.

Homemade Flea Spray

Vinegar Flea Spray- It’s been said that fleas hate vinegar and that is very true. Vinegar is a great way to keep fleas off your pet.

The first thing you need to do is find a spray bottle. It can be any kind of spray bottle as long as you make sure its free of any chemicals that may be harmful.

When you’ve found a clean spray bottle fill it with one half clean water and one half vinegar. White vinegar and Apple Cider Vinegar work the best. I generally use apple cider vinegar because it has a less harsh taste. Pets tend to lick themselves so something sweet won’t bother them.

Lemon Flea Spray- This is a natural flea spray just like the vinegar flea spray above. You’ll need a clean spray bottle for this solution as well.

You can use 1-3 lemons depending on the amount of water you mix with the lemons and the strength you want your spray to be.

To star get a pot with about a pint of water. Place the pot on a stove and bring the water to boil. While the water is boiling you can cut the lemons into small slices. Once the water is boiling place the lemons in the pot. Let the lemons steep overnight and the next morning you’ll have lemon infused water that can be use as a flea repellent!

Notice- Homemade flea sprays like these work more as a repellent and a way of keeping fleas off your pet. These will not kill fleas like pesticides do. If you want a natural flea spray that kills fleas you can buy one here.

Homemade Flea Shampoos

There are so many different recipes for flea shampoos I will list a few of the basic flea shampoos below but if you want more though you can find a large variety of homemade flea shampoos on Pinterest.

Basic Homemade Flea Shampoo- The most simple flea shampoo is an equal mix of very basic household items. These items are vinegar, dawn dish soap, and water.

If you have all of these ingredients you can mix them all together into a bottle. When it comes to using vinegar you can use either apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. This really depends on whatever you have laying around your home. If you don’t have dawn dish soap you can also use baby shampoo because its non-toxic.

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup dawn dish soap or baby shampoo

Herbal Flea Shampoo- This is a more complex recipe that I’ve put together from herbs that have been known to prevent and repel fleas. This recipe is not completely herbal but it does use flea preventing herbs.

To make this recipe you will need the following ingredients.

• Lemons
• Water
• Dawn Dish soap
• Thyme leaves or

Find a pot and fill it with a cup of water. Use a stove to set the water to boil. Once the water is set to boil place lemons and thyme in it. Thyme and Lemon have both been known to repel fleas. Let the lemon thyme mixture steep overnight.

The next morning the mixture should be done. Mix the water with the soap and you have an effective flea preventing shampoo.

Notice- The herbs in the above solution do not kill fleas, they merely prevent them. If you’re looking for a more effective and natural flea killer you can buy one here.

Natural Flea Powders

Salt- Salt is a natural and easy way to kill fleas. The more refined the salt you use is, the more effective it will be. When using salt just sprinkle it onto the carpet around your home and leave it from 12-48 hours. Once its sat out that long you can vacuum it up.

Don’t use salt in very moist or humid conditions. Salt absorbs moisture so it will pull the moisture out of the air causing your carpet to become soaked.

Diatomaceous Earth- This isn’t something that is commonly found around your house but it is a natural method for killing fleas that works like magic. Just sprinkle the DE on your carpet leave it for a few hours and then vacuum later to remove it from your carpet.

Diatomaceous Earth comes from the fossils of dead aquatic creatures called diatoms. When fleas breath in the Diatomaceous Earth it absorbs the oils from their bodies causing them to die from drying out.

You can buy Diatomaceous Earth here!

Homemade Flea Traps

Lamp Trap- The lamp trap uses a lamp with a bright bulb and a bowl of soapy water to catch the fleas. To start, get a bowl and fill it with water then add a dash of soap and mix it around until the soap is mixed in. Try to prevent making bubbles when stirring the soap in. The soap will keep the fleas in the bowl, preventing them from escaping. Once you have the bowl of soap and water take a lamp and place it on the ground above the bowl of soapy water. Angle the lamp so that the light shines onto the bowl. If you don’t have a lamp you can also place the bowl against a wall underneath a night light. The light will draw the fleas to the bowl where they will be caught and die.

This is just one of the many different homemade flea traps you can make. If you want to know how to make more please read my Guide to flea traps article. I have a list of different traps you can make from various household materials. If you’re interested you can read more here.

Why should I use homemade flea killers?

Homemade flea killers are free of harsh chemicals that could damage your pets skin or fur. They may no be nearly as effective as store bought flea killers but they are safe, cheap, and easy to make. If you have any questions on other homemade flea killer recipes or general flea questions please feel free to ask using our contact page.

What are sand fleas?

According to many people, sand flea is a term that can be used to describe many species of animals. They describe sand fleas as very tiny animals that bite and leave welts similar to those of a flea.

The truth is that there are many animals in sandy and coastal areas that can bite and leave you with welts. For example, sand flies, which are found in both sandy and desert places can bite you and leave your skin with itchy welts.

The truth about sand fleas is that, true sand fleas are not insects. They are parasitic crustaceans which are found in sandy areas such as marshes and beaches whose sizes vary.

Some may be small, like the size of a grain of ground pepper, while others may grow to be bigger like the size of rice grain or something larger than that. Some may be seen with a naked eye while others may only be seen with help of magnifying lenses, depending on the size of the sand flea

Find out how to kill fleas with steam here!

Sand Flea Repellent

I’m going to jump right in and tell you how you can keep sand fleas from getting on your skin and biting you. There are various different insect repellents  out there that claim to prevent sand fleas from biting you. Some of these products don’t even work. This is incredibly frustrating when you’re itching like crazy because a company claimed their product would keep fleas off of you.

The number one most recommended product to keep sand fleas off of you is cactus juice. I’ve used cactus juice before and have read consumer reviews saying this is the best method to prevent sand fleas. Not only does cactus juice prevent sand flea bites but it also prevents windburn, sunburn, and other insects.

Cactus juice is safe to use on children and is completely natural. Of all the different sand flea repellants I would recommend cactus juice first. You can buy cactus juice here.

Another small trick I know works is wearing long pants. I personally don’t suggest doing this unless cactus juice doesn’t work and you’re itching like crazy. This is because if you’re on a hot beach wearing long pants you’ll be miserable and your vacation won’t be as fun.

>>Buy the number one sand flea repellant now!<<

Where can you find sand fleas?

As the name suggests, sand fleas are mainly found in the sand and marshy places. However, they cannot stay confined in only the sandy places. They can move away from the beaches and swamps and invade homes. They are harmful creatures, with the most harmful sand fleas found in the North Pacific. Once they invade your home, they are most probably going to attack you, and your pests too. For example, they could attack your cats and dogs and this may increase the chances of you getting attacked.

Where and when do sand fleas bite?

Despite the fact that sand fleas are very small, their bites can be very painful and hence lead to severe skin problems. Since they are found on the sand, they bite you on the areas closest to the ground such as the feet, ankles and legs.

They are only capable of jumping up to the height of 20-40cm from the ground, so unless you are lying on the sand, they cannot reach to bite your upper body.

Another case in which they can reach your upper body such as the arms is when you hold a pet that has already been attacked by them.

They are most active during the night, in the evening and at dawn. This means that you are most likely going to be bitten by one at these times.

>>Click here to buy our favorite flea treatment method<<

Types of sand flea bites.

Sand fleas can bite and leave you with a lot of pain. Sand fleas bites on humans are of two kinds. One is similar to a mosquito bite, which involves the flea sucking your blood and leaving for another host.

The saliva they inject you with to prevent blood clotting as they suck your blood is what causes irritation. This may end up with allergic reactions.

The other kind of sand flea bite is said to be worse. Breeding female sand fleas hide themselves under your skin and stay beneath there until the eggs hatch. The affected areas swell and black spots appear in the middle of the swollen area. If you notice this on your skin, this could be a sign of breeding sand fleas underneath your skin.

>>Learn more about flea bites here!<<

Sand flea infection and allergic reactions.

Whichever the type of bite it is, you may experience symptoms such as pain, itching, unpleasantness and severe allergic reactions if you have an allergy of sand fleas.

Some people may be more sensitive to the bites that they experience allergic reactions which are accompanied by symptoms such as dizziness, difficulty in breathing, chest pain, swelling of tongue or lips and feeling nauseated.

If yours is a case of breeding female sand fleas burrowing underneath your skin, it may get worse; fever and infections accompanied by symptoms such as swollen glands pain and redness on the affected area may catch you.

You could possibly have some serious health conditions such as tungiasis, an inflammatory skin disease which should be treated before it results to secondary infections.

Treating sand flea bites

If you are so unfortunate that you have been bitten by sand fleas, this is how you can go about it to treat the bites:

· Check the bite to confirm whether it is a case of breeding sand fleas burrowing under your skin or not. Breeding sand fleas can stay for weeks under your skin; they can stay long enough to hatch their eggs underneath your skin. All this time, they will be sucking your blood!

You can apply anti-itch creams or lotions on the affected areas to get the itching under control. Calamine lotion and hydrocortisone cream are good examples of anti-itch products which you can use to ease itching. It is advisable that you scrub the lotion or cream gently on the affected area. Scrubbing it thoroughly may cause a wound which may increase chances of infections.

· If you use these lotions and creams and you do not see positive changes or the symptoms worsen, you should visit a doctor. If it reaches to this point, your doctor may recommend an antihistamine cream.

Painkillers are encouraged for easing the pain and swelling that comes with a sand flea bite.

· You could also get some relief from the pain and itching by applying a mixture of water and baking powder on the bites.

· An oatmeal bath could also help you to ease the itching. Make sure that the water is not too hot and soak yourself in there. This goes a long way in reducing the itchy feeling.

· You can never go wrong with Aloe Vera when it comes to wounds. In case you scratched yourself so hard that you developed wounds, aloe Vera comes handy with its soothing effect.

· You could also try some essential oils to take that skin discomfort miles away from you. Try using lavender, tea tree, and cedar wood and eucalyptus essential oils for effective results. If you would like to try using essential oils you can find them here!

Sand Fleas in Fishing (Mole Crabs)

There is another type of Sand flea that is found at the beach. This type of sand flea has also known as a mole crab, sand crab, beach flea, sand bugs, or sand fiddlers. These sand fleas are completely harmless though. It lacks the claws and teeth to bite you.

These types of sand fleas are very closely related to crabs and are commonly used in saltwater fishing. They are really easy to find on the beach and can be used as bait. If you feel up to it you can also eat them. You need a lot to really fill you up though seeing as they are so small. They’re also mostly shells so they aren’t very fun to eat.

For more information on sand fleas or any flea related questions please feel free to message us using our contact page.