BamaTanya Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I hate the whole pesticide thing. I don't like dealing with poisons. I have pets and children! We're trying something new for the dogs' flea problem, but the vet said, with the problems we're having (bad season here), we needed to treat the yard, too. Any advice? Something not likely to harm the children? I think we're going to try Borax for the carpeted areas. Isn't that pretty safe? tia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS_ Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I hate the whole pesticide thing. I don't like dealing with poisons. I have pets and children! We're trying something new for the dogs' flea problem, but the vet said, with the problems we're having (bad season here), we needed to treat the yard, too. Any advice? Something not likely to harm the children? I think we're going to try Borax for the carpeted areas. Isn't that pretty safe? tia We had to deal with a flea infestation twice and I tried going natural the first time, but broke down and ended up using a product called Flea Fix. The second time, we had an infant, and I really didn't want to use something highly toxic and did some research and felt alright using this product in our home. It's also something that can be used outdoors - you dilute it and spray it and it lasts up to 7 months. It interrupts the flea's life cycle, so they can't continue to reproduce. It worked very well for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 We have always had flea problems in the past since we are in Florida and the summer months host the flea extravaganza. I used to use Frontline Plus and then when that stopped worked we switched to K9 Advantix. Eventually, that stopped working too - I didn't know this was possible, but it is apparently quite common. We are now doing a combo of Sentinel and Comfortis. Comfortis is the once a month pill for fleas and Sentinel is the heartworm medicine/flea egg inhibitor. This has been the best ever for us. I have not seen a single flea on my dog at all. Yay!!! By the way. For inside the house you need to be steam cleaning carpets/washing bedding at least once a week if you're having flea infestations. Vaccumming alone is not good enough. I've heard that diatomaceous earth can also be effective. Good luck with this dreaded problem. Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Ugh. We have this problem too; the fleas don't bother the cat, but the dogs bring them in the house constantly. Thanks for the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 You can also dust the yard with sevin dust... but it will kill more than fleas (other bugs) not people... clarify. But, if they are bad... might be worth it. We are getting a few in the house from the cats. Frontline is losing its effectiveness & I have to find another method of control. We have 2 acres & I can't do much about out of doors. I feel for you. They are a nuissance and a half! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Frontline quit working for us too. From another board I am on I heard about Advocate and we're using that successfully now. I get it from here: http://deadfleaz.com/Advocate-p-1-c-2.html I'm sure sooner or later mine will become immune to that and we'll switch to Revolution or back to Frontline. I think the key is to rotate as soon as the effectiveness wears off... For inside the house, I've been told salt works well (in the carpet, then vacuum after a couple of days), but I haven't tried it myself. We don't treat outside our house. We live on a farm, so outside is huge + I don't want chemicals around. I prefer to treat the animals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Weirdly, I was just ordering Bite Blocker and came upon their new products, including yard and garden products. http://www.homs.com/ http://www.bio-block.us/ (Their website is awful, but you can usually find their products - with better descriptions - in many other places.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deidre in GA Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 question: is it the dogs or the fleas that become immune to the anti-flea products? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomLovesClassics Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Inside the home, get cheap night lights, put white plastic plates, or any type of white plate you have and put a mixture of water and tiny amount of dishwashing liquid. They say you can also bathe your dog in Dawn dishwashing liquid. Garlic & brewers yeast works great to supplement their diet with. You can find those wafers for the animals easily. Also this may sound a little strange to some, google "Green Hope Farm" give them a call and ask for "flee free" you simply put a few drops into the drinking water of your pets. Believe it or not that stuff works. They work on the honor system, they ship your order, when you get it mail them a check. They are wonderful people. Be sure to keep floors mopped. Do not wear your white socks, the fleas love those. Also herbal collars are available. I have found some natural stuff, that is placed on the back of the neck like frontline, it got bad reviews, so I would be careful. Planting some plants will repel fleas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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