Ever since I started letting our cats outside we’ve seem a dramatic increase in the flea population in our house. By dramatic I mean from none to… a lot. While Gizmo and Pookie can tolerate their monthly dose of Revolution, Dim Sum can’t. She has an allergic reaction to chemical dosing methods that manifests itself in a rash and hair loss in the location the medication was squirted on. Obviously that kind of reaction means I have to skip the topical solution, so what’s a cat lady to do?

I haven’t had much luck with alternative medicines. Buck Mountain Herbal Gold Powder uses azadirachtin found in the neem tree to kill and discourage the blood suckers from hoppin aboard. Unfortunately it needs to be applied pretty regularly to have an effect and Dim Sum, while patient, has her limits when it comes to powders. She also doesn’t seem to be a fan of neem, as she avoids parts of the couch, which once were her fave, when I’ve sprinkled some of the powder on it. She also flipped when I tried to spray Only Natural Pet’s Herbal Defense Spray, which has neem oil as a main ingredient.

My other experiment into the world of natural flea killers led to disaster, when I realized, only after applying Sentry’s Natural Defense and seeing my cats foam and gag at the mouth, that 4 out of the 5 ingredients in this topical are toxic to cats. Great. Since Ineed to beat the fleas infesting my poor Dim Sum (and us humans as a result) any time I hit a pet store I make sure to ask the people working there what they suggest. My last trek to one of my local spots, Stone’s Pet Shop, got me a fantastic tip for anyone else battling an in-home invasion.

Putting a flea collar in your vacuum.

When you vacuum, you suck in fleas and flea eggs. If you don’t dump your bag or canister, those fleas, and their soon-to-be born children crawl out and back into the house. By putting a flea collar in the bag or canister, you’re forcing the sucked up fleas to come in contact with the toxic chemicals on the flea collar. Pretty rad right?

We wrapped our flea collar around the base tube within our Dyson DC28 Animal, cut the excess and tucked that in between the seat cushions of our sofa. So far I feel like Bruce and I are feeling less bites as we veg out on the couch, but only time will tell. As with flea collars put on your pets, these things lose killing power over time, so follow the directions on the package when it comes to replacing your vacuum collar.

Got any natural flea combattants? Do tell!

Images: Kat M Research, Sonia Zjawinski