flea light

Question: When my cat has fleas, I use what I call my "flea light" -- it always gets fleas.

I have a small spot lamp that I place on the floor at night near the cat's sleeping area. I place a saucer of water with a small cake of soap near the lamp. I turn off all lights in the room, except for the small lamp that shines only on the saucer. In the morning, you would be surprised at how many fleas there are in the water. I counted them one morning -- I had caught 121 fleas in one night. My cat thanked me.

Answer: Many thanks for reminding me of one of the best methods for trapping fleas. A warm light-bulb trap does work and is an excellent way to help control the flea population, especially if you have an indoor/outdoor cat and/or live in one of the warmer states.

Use a clip-on lamp with aluminum shade and a 25-watt light bulb on a chair leg about 12 inches above a wide dish of sudsy water. The fleas will be drawn to the warmth of the lamp and try to hop to it, but will fall short and into the suds.

Homeowners with pets going on vacation may find this a good way to cope with flea larvae hatching out while they are away. This is much safer than bug sprays, fumigants and those hazardous year-round anti-flea drugs that make too many pets sick.

[Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 2/13/10]