If you’ve pets in your house, there is a good chance of getting attacked by fleas on your hardwood flooring. Fleas can be killed by several liquid solutions instantly. But when it is over hardwood, you can’t use the water here. Hardwood is known to be a luxurious but sensitive type of flooring. Liquid substances can weaken the flooring and cause permanent damages as well.
Well, you might receive several innovative ideas to kill fleas on hardwood floors. Among all, salt is known to be the quickest and easily gotten natural remedy. But you might wonder how it really kills the fleas and what the procedure is.
Feral eggs are quite tiny and look like dandruff. Insects like fleas will easily hide on the cracks of the hardwood. If you notice such elements around your flooring and your pets constantly itching themselves, consider taking immediate steps.
Can fleas live on hardwood floors?
Fleas can undoubtedly grow and infest on your hardwood floors. The most crucial thing here is, such fleas are not that easy to catch. Such insects attack mostly over cracked hardwood floors.
The cracks are a better place for them to hide, breed and grow. Fleas require moisture and enough hydration to grow. Especially during the winter season, such insects get extra comfort as they get to retain heat from the floor.
But the minimum temperature requirement on hardwood flooring for fleas is around60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. In such temperatures, the heat of the floor can well interact with cold and provide the exact humidity level on the flooring.
But for growing up, the fleas need a host as well. This host can be your pet, mice, birds or other living animals in your house. Fleas can live only 2 to 4 weeks without a host.
How to identify fleas on hardwood floors?
Well, fleas accumulating and breeding on your hardwood flooring is a widespread incident. But they are so good at hiding, and eggs are tiny as well. Such features make it tough to identify fleas on hardwood floors. If you know how the fleas’ eggs look, how fleas are like and what are the signs of hiding on your flooring, preventive steps can be taken earlier.
Fleas eggs are white in color and tiny. The eggs might look like dandruff, and it is common to confuse eggs with that. You will find these eggs over your carpets mostly. The fleas are like reddish insects that will seem like dirt.
As they are dependent on blood and moisture, you will find a red blood tint in their body. As fleas are dependent on hosts, you can guess the attack if your pet keeps constantly itching their bodies. Such insects are certainly threatening for your pets as well.
Does salt kill fleas on hardwood floors?
Yes, using salt to kill fleas on hardwood floors is one of the wisest and easiest ways Salt is a dry substance. So, you won’t have any fear of pouring any liquid and chemical-based substance on the hardwood flooring. Hardwood flooring requires soft, mild, but effective elements to kill fleas by protecting the hardwood.
Salts carry no risk to react chemically with the hardwood. But they will certainly be the biggest enemy for fleas. Salts are more like a dehydrating agent for them. Moisture and humidity are a must for surviving the fleas.
If you spread salt around the cracks, it will react with the fleas directly. The salt will suck the hydration from their bodies. That’s the reason people make their pets swim in salty water pools/ sea beaches. This kills the fleas without using any chemical substances.
Salt is no expensive substance. So, it is worldwide used as the best home remedy for getting rid of fleas. One thing to be clear, salt won’t kill the fleas immediately on contact. It will take a few days to continue to process and soak the hydration from fleas’ bodies.
How to kill fleas with salt on hardwood floors?
The process of using salt to kill fleas on hardwood is super simple. It is better if you can mix the salt with baking soda. In that case, maintain the salt and baking soda proportion to be 1:1. You need to spread the mixture all around the flooring and especially around the charged area of your hardwood. Give the flooring to set for 1/ 2 days. The salt will take time but certainly, kill the fleas living on your hardwood.
Salt is certainly an effective element to kill fleas on the hardwood. But if you want a quicker and more effective step, try out other hardwood-friendly procedures.
Other Dry Treatments to Kill Fleas on Hardwood:
- Spreading essential oils around your hardwood flooring will reduce the flea’s attack. Fleas can’t live with the smell of essential oils.
- You can go for other commercial solutions that are hardwood friendly and seem to kill fleas instantly.
- You can occasionally use pine soil on your hardwood floor for killing fleas. This can effectively;y clean the floor stains and kill the insects as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can fleas survive on hardwood floors without pets?
Yes, fleas can survive on hardwood flooring without pets. But that will absolutely depend on the environment. The cold ambiance outside keeps the cracks a safer and more comfortable place for the fleas to grow.
Can you put salt on your pets to kill fleas?
If your house flooring is attacked by fleas and the pets’ bodies are hosting, try to get them off immediately. If you are not into home remedies, spreading salt over your pets’ bodies will help a lot. But this process can take around 1/ 2 days only.
Wrap Up:
Fleas on hardwood floors is a very common thing people suffer from. Such insects are stubborn to go without proper prevention. But you can’t use any kind of chemicals, poisons or detergents here. Hardwood flooring is super secretive and can’t suit all types of chemical reactions. You better go for home remedies like salt, bleach and other dry solutions here.