apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

My Mom used to do something that involved a tin pie plate, wter, liquid dishwashing soap and black pepper...

I've heard that sprinkling diatomaceous earth on your pet is an effective non-toxic way of getting rid of fleas, but have not tried this myself.

I am lusting after that room!

This site says that eucalyptus is toxic for cats:
http://www.i-love-cats.com/Health/plants.htm
Q: "no cats have died in the testing of this oil?"

ugh, we had a flea problem this summer... there were a family of stray cats living under a pallet of flagstone in our backyard. my lil boys legs were peppered with flea bites and my poor dog was covered with em. it was horrible! everytime we went out to our car wed have fleas jumping on us. ew.

Fleas aside, this room is wonderful! I love it.

I use Borax in my carpet. Fleas live in the rug, but feed on your pet. To prevent the fleas from reproducing, you have to kill their eggs. To kill the eggs, you need a dessicant. Borax is a fabulous dessicant! Spring on the carpet, work in to the fibers with a broom, and vacuum after a few days. Repeat once a week or so during flea season.

Don't sprinkle diatomaceous earth on your pet, though. :)

I don't have pet's so I don't really care, lol. I want to know more about the room! You can't show something that gorgeous on here and talk about fleas.

kimg924- I've read that Borax is bad for cats b/c they'll walk over it and lick their paws and it can be harmful if ingested. Just a heads up. I used it last summer and it definitely helped, but this year I think i'll try salt!

My father recommended boric acid for all pest problems, and when I did a lot of Internet research on it, it was very highly recommended. It did seem to help with an ant infestation I had a few years ago.
It's not good for pets to ingest, so keep your pet out of the room where you've spread the boric acid. Then follow kimg924's instructions.

I Love Upstate, we used to do that trick with the tin pie pans when I was little--at night (when the lights were out) we'd leave out a tin pie pans with some soapy water in them on the carpet, with a reading lamp or something directly above the pan. The fleas jump towards the light, land in the water, can't climb out because of the soapy film on the water, and drown.

It wasn't as effective as the totally non-green "flea bombs" we would eventually resort to, but it was satisfying to watch the little bastards drown.

From a good friend who does a lot of cat/ dog rescue:

Eucalyptus can be toxic to cats, and it can cause seizures so it should NOT be used on/with epileptic animals.

The only way I'd use it would be putting 4 drops in 8 oz of water in a spray bottle, and spray that on the pet. And I still wouldn't use it with cats or epileptic animals.

As for carpets, I like diatomaceous earth best. Works like a charm, and it's non-toxic even if ingested (like when cats lick their feet).

diatomaceous earth is also great for those pesky ants too.

Is that sofa a futon? Does anyone know who makes it? Thx!

I tried diatomaceous earth when a former neighbor had a cat. The pet stayed in his apartment but the fleas migrated over to my carpet. DE didn't help one bit. Every time I thought it was over, a hot day would reawaken the little pests.

Eventually they all left when the cat did.

I've always heard that euc oil is toxic to cats!

enough already! somebody tell me about that SOFA!

seriously....what about that sofa??

No amount of eucalyptus oil is definitely safe, best to avoid it altogether. Using any essential oil on your pets, you're risking ingestion, and many of these oils are very irritating to skin and digestion. "Natural" does not mean "safe".

It always amazes me that people are suspicious of the well-tested products offered by vets, who have spent years studying animal health, yet so many are willing to take the advice of any stranger on the internet.

Noe, I agree. Fleas are natural and so are the diseases and parasites they transmit.

Our cat is on Advantage and the dogs take Capstar and we don't have a flea problem. Back in our days of minimum wage poverty, before we could afford flea treatments from the vet, we tried every natural remedy we could find and none of them worked.

THE SOFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the salt method works really well!!

who makes that cabinetry??? that's exactly what i'm looking for!!!!

@deboyayay--I've totally been there, it's the worst!

@ sofa lovers-- I wish I knew where the sofa was from, the image is from living etc and it doesn't have the sofa listed. Anyone else have a lead?

SOFA LOVERS:

Possible Leads? Found this at an Auction site from '94... They look very similar:

995. Danish Modern sofa, by France & Sons, rectilinear form in rosewood over open square bases, loose cushions, original finish, signed with round decal, 80.25”w x 30”d x 23.5”h, very good condition

http://www.treadwaygallery.com/ONLINECATALOGS/March2004/modWEB/0995.jpg

996. Danish Modern chair, by France & Sons, rosewood, loose cushions, original finish, signed with round decal, 33.25”w x 30”d x 23.5”h, very good condition

http://www.treadwaygallery.com/ONLINECATALOGS/March2004/modWEB/0996.jpg

Correction, '04, not '94....

Also similar to the Herman Miller Goetz sofa on Hive Modern:

http://www.allmodern.com/Herman-Miller%AE-GS100-HML1151.html?refid=G11442.Goetz sofa&gclid=COyAiMWuwZUCFQcmIgoduEGIPg

However the legs of the sofa in this post have a very striking resemblance to the legs of the George Nelson Platform Bench:

http://hivemodern.com/products/?view=sub_product&sid=1439