Fleas may have gotten into my yarn collection. How can I de-flea my yarn without resorting to harsh chemicals?
My roommate's dog may have brought fleas into my apartment. I have been busy crocheting and knitting, and winding all of my yarn using my new yarn ball winder, which has of course resulted in all of my yarn being dragged all over the flea infested carpet and couch. I don't like using bug bombs, or any harsh chemicals. I have access to a giant freezer, but I'm afraid my yarn will then become damp upon defrosting, and then I will have mildew and mold to worry about.
Help?
Fleas need a host from which to get blood so they can reproduce. Be sure to clean the pets, or get them out of the house. Be scrupulously clean in the house, and you will get rid of most of them. You may find that you need to use some sort of pesticide (such as Dried pennyroyal but it is fairly toxic to mammals, or Diatomaceous earth) to stop any new fleas, and then clean up the whole environment.
Fleas thrive at higher temperatures, but need 70° to 90°F(21° to 32°C) to survive. Lower temperatures slow down or completely interrupt the flea life-cycle. A laboratory study done at the University of California showed that vacuuming catches about 96 percent of adult fleas. A combination of controlled humidity, temperature, and vacuuming should eliminate fleas from an environment, and altering even one of these environmental factors may be enough to drastically lower and eliminate an infestation.
Freezing may work. You don't have to worry about humid, since there is no moisture in the yarns. Put them into bags before freezing, and take out of the bags when ready to use to allow them to return to room temperature.
Prevention is the best medicine.
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