Life experiences... yeah.. I have had my share of bug battles.. this is my quick and cheap way to mow down their numbers before they totally get out of hand. from actual life experiences.
A. head lice. If you got them, you will likely know it fairly quickly. they itch! and you can just about see and feel the little beggers walkin around . If you want to get rid of them, find yourself a ready lice comb, a jar of mayonnaise, and a plastic grocery bag.... you heard right.. mayo. It seems they cant handle the oil of mayo.. not olive oil.. although its good for your skin, it wont stay on your head long enough to suffocate the lice on your head. take the mayo and spread it everywhere in your hair and scalp.. put the plastic bag over your hair/mayo mix like a shower cap.. simply to keep the mayo in place on your head. give it some time, until the mayo starts to 'melt and drip a bit (about 30 mins?) then go take a shower and wash your hair. give it a day or three, then reapply to catch all the new hatches you missed the first time. the mayo will have caused the glue on several of the eggs to come free.. but not all the eggs will fall out of your hair that first time. A lice comb is handy so make sure to keep it on hand in a med kit or some such for future bug infestations you might encounter... especially if you own cats.
B. Fleas. What a Pain these bugs are. best way to cut down their numbers is a constant vigilance.. that lice comb (see above), some dish soap (like dawn) and a glass. comb out the cat, being careful around furry elbows, nipples, and whiskers, then quickly grab the comb tines and pull the red/black of fleas, flea dirt, and cat fur off into the glass of extra soapy water (I would also have a long chopstick or other such to stir the fleas etc down into the water.) repeat as needed.
Now for a quick hazard warning to watch for, when putting down a soapy water dish near a light, for fleas to jump into... it works, yes, fleas are attracted to the light and will jump into the water and drown.. but.. there will also be fleas that missed the jump in your carpet all around the area.. and the infestation will eventually get pretty thick in that area.
C. Bed Bugs. there is no easy way to really be free of these pests..but... knowing a bit about them can help... they are active mostly at night and in the very early dawn.. they can and will often climb the walls and fall off, hoping, I guess, to find a tasty snack by landing on you in your bed. they will also cluster in gathers and folds of your mattress, sometimes staining it with little spots of black. when they bite, its often multiple times in one area and often you wont even feel them until well after the deed is done and the bug has moved on. I have tried most bedbug sprays and bombs to no avail... best bet is to buy a sturdy bedcover and encase your bed in it to deal with most of them, be prepared to have that case on for like a good year tho. and get out a spray bottle for rubbing alcohol (at as near to 100% as possible) to catch the ones you didn't encase.. like on the walls, on the case itself, on the floor or in other 'tight' places they can cram themselves into. the rubbing alcohol dries them up pretty quickly. keep after them.
D. the Sand Flea. yes, the little 'hopping' creeps you find at the seashore, in hillocks and tufts of long grass and along the tide line. No they are not actual fleas. and No, they don't have issues with salt. their bites hurt and then itch and often leaves little trace of its happening.. but for a tiny itchy spot on your foot. and no, they aren't just for the seashore. they can be transferred via sand taken from the shore to places far inland where it might be used for cat-boxes or/and children's sandboxes. they are a light brown, nearly transparent color, until they have fed, then they become dark and look much like a flea.. but do not often leave 'flea dirt' behind like a regular flea would. their numbers will increase very quickly and make like a moving carpet on your pet to avoid being seen. if your pet is small, it could very quickly become disastrous as they will put your cat into anemia which can become a kitty medical emergency. trust me on this one, not a good situation to have happen. flea/lice combs wont catch them, flea sprays, and powders are a no-go.. even the dawn dish soap bath has no real effect. the expensive flea pill you can get at the veterinarian's <b>will work</b>.. temporarily. but not nearly long enough to avoid re-infestation.
but, I think, there is one thing that might just work to cut them down on you and your pet. Try this. Get a cloth or paper towel you can sop up with a whole lot of hydrogen peroxide and apply it directly to the fur and skin of your pet. it starts working near immediately to relieve the itch of the sand flea bites as you dab it on everywhere around the affected area, it quickly seems to drown the sand fleas and their bodies can be easily combed out afterward.
(and no, I had 'no idea' sand fleas were even a thing before I encountered them.. I only discovered this possible remedy some time after the death of my best four-footed friend and family member, when I found myself the recipient of their veracious visits.)
I do hope this short remedy list helps you out. let me know with a comment below, I'd appreciate it.
