Fleas? - Page 1

Does anyone know of any good flea spray for the yard that works well and isn't harmful to dogs?  We didn't really have fleas badly until it rained the other day for the first time in about 3 weeks here.   Now they're everywhere. What do you guys use if you spray your yard?

beneficial nematodes http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/beneficial-nematodes  They work extremely well. Call the company and they will guide you as to exactly what you need.

If you mow the yard and keep the grass short, the fleas will die. If you water it, they also cannot do well, so you probably DID have fleas or flea eggs before and just did not know it. Sunlight and heat will kill them. If you have a limited area, you can cover it with some black plastic for a few days and that will heat the soil and kill the fleas.

There are a variety of products that, if used correctly, will kill any fleas or other insects. Just use the product according to manufacturer's direction. There is also a product called Interrupt that is a nematode that eats fleas, but I bet this is expensive.

Treating your dog, and you house, especially carpeted areas, is important as well. Just make sure you don't buy a counterfeit product...make sure it is the real deal (Frontline etc is being sold in counterfeit boxes in the US and is not the real product or may be incorrectly formulated).

good luck

Hey Hodie.   The yard is over an acre  The back yard was not kept so short, but the front yard (where I'm always at with the dogs) has always been kept short and in fact almost dead at one point due to the lack of rain we had been having.  The other day it rained a good amount, and today we've had a lot of storms and hard rain here

I'm curious though....if heat kills them why do we see them more in the Summer? and not so much in the winter? Just a question.

Severe cold will kill fleas too, but I suspect the real answer to your question is that you are not outside so much in winter, and there is snow cover in many areas. Spraying periodically is a good idea, just to keep them down if you do have fleas in your environment.

I am very fortunate because we don't have flea issues here in general.

Middle TN.....at least Dickson.....is not known for snow anymore (not trying to argue)  but we average maybe 2 inches of snow a year where I live.  I was always outside with my dogs, walking every single day through the whole winter, along with doing the same activities I do in the yard with them now.  I'll look into what you said to use.

Gsdguy,

Here is a link to an article you might find useful about fleas in TN.

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/pb1596.pdf

and

http://eppserver.ag.utk.edu/redbook/redbook.htm

TN and KY are BAD with flees and ticks!! I hated that about living in Kentucky. Can't remember who it.was  that mentioned to me about DE (diatomaceous earth) There is an edibal kind for worming and also there is stuff for flees and ticks.
Here is a site I found.Hope it helps.
wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/diatomaceous_earth_fleas.html
~L~

I would not just blindly use diatomaceous earth......it should be used sparingly and only externally. It can cause lung damage when inhaled and in the intestines, can cause some problems as well. Nothing is risk free. So use what you want, but know why and what the risks and benefits are.

I live in South Florida and we have two acres. Most people down here struggle with fleas as well as ticks year-round and they are always amazed when I tell them we don't have a problem with them and in addition I don't regularly treat our dogs with any kind of flea treatment/preventative. In the past year I have only had to treat the dogs twice and that is because we took (stupidly) them to the dog park :(. The beneficial nematodes really do the job and they will not harm your pet or the environment. I use Borax in the house- just be careful when you apply it. Wear a mask and keep the dogs outside until the dust settles. As for DE, using it outside is not practical because you have to reapply every time it rains. I tried using it on the dogs and wasn't thrilled- very messy and as Hodie said, can cause lung problems if inhaled.