Want to capture some of those pesky fleas roaming your home without using chemical-ridden pesticides? While you can always comb through your carpet with a flashlight and magnifying glass, a faster and more effective way to remove fleas is to create a trap. Using just some basic items found around your home, you can make a highly effective trap that both attracts and kills fleas.
Water droplet: photo by Rob Ellis’.
The Soapy Water Flea Trap
I’m sure there are dozens of different techniques used to create flea traps floating around out there, but the method I’m going to share involves the use of soapy water and light. Fleas are naturally attracted to light, so placed it near soapy water will draw them to it, at which point they drown after being unable to escape.
To create an all-natural “floating” flea trap, fill up a large bowl with water and place a moderate amount of dish soap inside. Mix the soapy solution to create an even consistency. Note: soap is necessary to prevent fleas from jumping out. Using a bowl of water alone isn’t enough to trap fleas, as they can jump back out. The soap makes the water thicker or more sudsy, which prevents fleas from jumping out.
Your flea trap is almost complete; there’s just one major component necessary to bring draw them in: light. As long as the bowl is large enough, I recommend placing a floating tee candle on top. Fleas will naturally jump and scamper their way to the light. However, the soapy solution will trap and drown them in the process.
If you don’t have access to any tea candles, you can place the bowl of soapy water underneath a desk lamp instead. It’s not quite as effective, but it’s a safer alternative to using an open flame.
Whether you decide to use a tea candle or desk lamp, you should place the flea trap in the area of your home where flea activity is the highest. Allow it to sit for 24 hours before checking the results. If all goes well, it should have a nice collection of flea corpses floating around. Go ahead and dump the bowl and replace it with fresh water and soap for a second round of treatment.
Have you tried the floating flea trap method? Let us know how it worked in the comments section below!