Whether fleas are camping on your pet’s skin or overpopulating your yard, you are thinking of how to get rid of them, and that too using your multipurpose cleaner (Fabuloso).
We will also talk about the possibility of killing fleas with Fabuloso, the cons, safety hazards, and some better alternatives depending on the location of the fleas.
Will Fabuloso Kill Fleas?
Most likely, your regular bottle of Fabuloso All-Purpose Cleaner contains hydrogen peroxide (Fabuloso Complete), which is toxic to fleas and can kill them. It breaks down their outer covering and kills them by dehydration. Your home cleaner could also kill the fleas by drowning and suffocating them.
However, the more important question is whether you should use Fabuloso to kill fleas; the answer depends on the location of the fleas.
Fleas Inside the House
You may end up with fleas living inside your home. They could be on your clothes, in your carpets and rugs, and even on your skin. In this case, using Fabuloso to clean the hard surfaces that are infested is permissible.
You can wash the floors, wipe surfaces and even use it as an after-wash for your linen and rugs. Fabuloso is most effective on non-porous surfaces, but many use it to clean many other things and rinse them off afterward.
You may not even need to use Fabuloso. Thorough vacuuming, washing linens with soapy hot water, and cleaning surfaces should do the job.
What Attracts Fleas in the House?
Unlike many other pests, fleas are not attracted by the scent of food or leftovers in the garbage at home. They are not motivated much by smell. Rather, fleas look out for warm environments where they can feed.
And since fleas feed on blood, the best place for them to get this is on a host’s body, i.e., you and your pets. Living things give off chemical identifiers known as pheromones. This enables fleas to locate and attach themselves to a suitable host.
The best way to keep fleas from entering your home is to keep them away from the vicinity entirely. They may come into your vicinity due to other wild animals introducing them. Animals like raccoons, stray dogs, deer, etc., may introduce fleas into your yard. Some flea eggs may fall off and remain behind when they leave.
These animals may be attracted by food not properly disposed of, a pool of water, shade, plants, etc.
Also, if you have an adventurous outdoor pet, it may bring fleas to your house. In the same vein, you may be the one to introduce them to the house via your clothing. Fleas can attach themselves to your clothes if you pet an animal that is infested with them or comes in contact with a person with fleas.
Fleas on Pet’s Body
Cats and dogs are the most likely animals to have fleas on their bodies, dogs in particular. Fleas live on their skin, reproduce there, feed on their blood, and cause the animals much irritation.
However, should you then use Fabuloso All-Purpose Cleaner to try to get rid of fleas from the pets’ bodies? The answer is no.
Fabuloso is not made for pet or human use under any circumstance because the chemicals in Fabuloso are surfactants, colorants, and fragrances that should not come in contact with human or animal skin and can be severely irritating.
More so, ingestion is risky if you apply it to your pet’s skin. Ingesting Fabuloso may harm your pet.
Furthermore, Fabuloso specifies on all their products that you should only use them on non-porous surfaces, and it is only 100% safe when these products are used according to instructions.
What to Do?
Instead of Fabuloso, wash your pet with suitable shampoo and water. You can use a flea shampoo if necessary but be careful of stripping out the moisture in your dog’s skin.
Also, a flea comb may come in handy after the bath to ensure there aren’t any fleas left in your pet’s fur. If the fleas are causing visible bleeding or reactions in your dog, you should take it to a vet.
Fleas in the Yard
Perhaps the fleas are outdoors on your plants in the garden or yard. Leaving them there would pose a significant risk to you as they can latch onto you or your pet’s skin every time you go out.
Moreover, they reproduce at an astonishing rate of about 50 eggs daily per adult female. If you leave them be, you’ll have an infested home in no time. And from sucking blood to causing diseases, fleas are nasty pests.
However, should you be spraying Fabuloso cleaner to get rid of fleas? Again the answer is No. Fabuloso is designed to be used on hard surfaces, not surfaces that can absorb it. Fabuloso will most likely harm your grass and plants as they can absorb the chemicals inside the Fabuloso and react to them.
For example, sodium Laureth sulfate (SLS) may cause your plants to start shedding their leaves. Also, Fabuloso has some other sodium-containing ingredients, and too much sodium can adversely affect your plants’ growth.
Furthermore, the plant-soil absorbs the Fabuloso cleaner; it may reduce its ability to absorb water. The pH level may also change and become unsuitable for the plant to survive.
In short, you should not use Fabuloso to try to get rid of fleas on your plants. It won’t be all that effective as the fleas will move away from the sprayed area.
What to Do?
You can buy organic insect control sprays for the lawn. They should be harmless to your plants or beneficial while killing the fleas. Also, you can plant cedar strategically in your yard or use cedar mulch to barricade certain areas. Fleas hate cedar and will avoid such areas.
Getting Rid of Fleas on Non-Washable Items (3 Ways)
1- Non-toxic Flea Spray
When fleas attach themselves to things you cannot wash or wipe off, your choices become limited. However, the easiest thing to do is to buy a flea spray that is non-toxic and safe for pets if you have one. Also, ensure it won’t stain the surface you want to spray it on.
2- Vacuum with Salt and Baking Soda
What these two products have in common is that they are great dehydrators. These can remove the moisture from the flea’s body and cause it to die from dehydration. As a bonus, salt and Baking soda work the same way on eggs and larvae.
– Mix equal parts of salt and baking soda for increased effectiveness rather than using one or the other. Sprinkle the powder on surfaces the fleas are or are likely to be on. This includes your rugs or carpets, couches, crevices in your flooring, and so on.
– Leave the powder for a few hours, up to 6 if you can, or overnight. Then vacuum all these surfaces and dispose of the bag away from your home.
3- Essential Oil Plants
Certain strong smells repel fleas, so if you want to take a hands-off approach to repel or get rid of them, you can invest in a few pots of lavender plants. Other plants like eucalyptus, chamomile, rosemary, and other essential oil plants should work as effectively.
You can also place these plants close to flea hot spots in your home and outside. The good thing about this deterrence method is its long-term effects and the added benefit of the plant’s lovely smell.
If you have an active invasion, it is better to use one of the earlier mentioned tips to kill the fleas fast before investing in plants for longer-term control.
Household Cleaners That Kill Fleas
1- Dish Soap
This is a pet-friendly product that every household has. If you suspect your pet has fleas in its fur, bathe it with dish soap and warm water. It will drown the fleas and kill them without hurting your pet.
However, avoid bathing your pet with dish soap frequently. It could dry out its skin. Dawn dish soap would work great for this purpose.
2- Hot Water and Detergent
This works for fabric like your clothes, bedding, and furnishing infested with fleas. It will also work for carpets and everything washable in the house.
For the machine washable things, wash them thoroughly in the machine with detergent and hot water. It will kill all the fleas and remove the larva attached to the fabric.
As for carpets and other things that cannot go in the washing machine, get some gloves, scrub them with detergent and hot water and dry them in the sun.
3- Vinegar or Lemon Juice
Again, these two home products have one thing in common: their acidic nature. This makes them perfect for killing fleas on hard surfaces. Applying them on softer things like fabric could damage them, so be careful when using these.
There is no need to combine them. Using either of these will work effectively. You can mix either with water in a ratio of 1:3 and use the mixture to wipe surfaces like the floor, bed frames, hard furniture, and so on. Regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar would work just fine.
Ways to Prevent Fleas in House
Some simple ways to prevent fleas include:
● Keeping your yard clean at all times. This will discourage wild animals that are looking for food from coming there.
● Check your pet regularly for fleas. Doing this can help you detect fleas on your pet’s body early, and it could prevent a full-blown invasion of your home.
● Monitor your pets’ adventures outside the house and prevent them from interacting with strays as much as possible.
● Practice good hygiene for yourself and your pet.
● You can put a fence around your yard to prevent strays and wild animals from entering.
Final Thoughts!
With Fabuloso, you can get rid of fleas, but are limited to only hard surfaces where you can apply this solution.
Also, Fabuloso and other chemical home cleaners are not the best choices if you have pets. Using the other suggested methods in this article will help you get rid of fleas in your home much more safely.
