I love the summer but HATE the flea season. We only have one pet, and his name is Uncle Harvey. Thanks to Uncle Harvey and from what I read, a VERY BAD year for fleas. We had a itchy problem a few weeks ago.
So here is my mini tutorial on a DIY flea trap.
1. Get a plate, old cooking sheet, etc. As long as it is flat and has a good amount of surface area to catch your fleas, it will work.
2. Fill with water and place on the floor near where your pet hangs out.
3. Use any kind of dish liquid and squirt a good amount onto the water. No need to mix.
4. Create a light source. You can set this under a night light, fix a flash light to a mini tri-pod and angle the light to the water, or use a little stand and put a flame less candle on it. It doesn't matter as long as the light source is the yellow-ish type of light. Fleas only attack to the yellow glow.
5. Set this out when you go to bed and make sure all other light sources are turned off.
The fleas will think the yellow glow/warmth is a meal. They will jump to the light and land in the water. The dish soap will create a resistance in their swimming to the edges and drown them.
Done-zo!
This is meant for minor infestations, if your flea problem is too far gone than this might not help.
We used this trick every night for a week or two in addition to putting Uncle Harvey outside (he's an outside cat anyways), and washing EVERYTHING the fleas could have laid eggs on.
Hope this helps! It is a AWFUL problem and kind of embarrassing but we are flea free now!
We forgive you Uncle Harvey! We have had you since 2001 and won't get rid of you over some stinky fleas.
We are partying!
