During the drought we had fleas swirling around our ankles in my city backyard. So don't tell me to kill the dog next door! We tride 'Tide", dog shampoo on the veggies, 'sevin' on what used to be grassy spots. It seemed to work somewhat. Now that thr rains have come we are doing better. But I need to find a better way for the next time. Thanx Ada

-- Aagje Franken (Backyard@AOL.com), June 20, 2000

Answers

Yes, Spalding Labs have natural flea predators. Works pretty good too. 1-800-854-2847 www.spalding-labs.com

Good luck!!

-- Bergere (Autumnhaus@aol.com), June 20, 2000.

We, and everyone I knew were plagued with fleas. We used every poison reccomended and almost killed our pets with all that stuff and nothing worked. Somebody was always bringing new fleas into my house.

Finally, I called one of those exterminators that advertised non- chemical agents and guaranteed the results for a full year. I talked to a not very bright but very helpful employee who gave me the trade secrets and saved me hundreds of dollars by not having to call them out to do my house. This is the method I used and have been flea free for 18 months.

Two products: Boric Acid Diatomacious Earth

Boric Acid can be purchased in quart size bottles for around $2.00 each under various brand names, one being ROACH PRUF at WalMart. Sprinkle this liberally everywhere in your house. In the carpet in the furniture, the porch, laundry... everywhere fleas or eggs can hide. Then sweep it around so that you have a fine dust everywhere. Leave while the dust settles down. Do not vaccume for at least a week.

Diatomaceous earth can be purchased at most garden centers. Put some in a cup. Using a small bulb syringe, suck up the earth into the syringe, ruff up the fur on your pet and poof the stuff along on their SKIN, not their hair.

Either product can be used to dust your yard to kill any fleas or other bugs.

Both these products are harmless unless inhaled so you and your pets need to not be in the house until the dust settles and be carefull dusting your pet so that you don't get any in her nose.

After a week, vaccume, the vaccume again the next day. The vibration of the vaccume causes the eggs to hatch out, they are exposed to the boric acid and die. For me, it took 1 1/2 weeks for them to be completely gone.

Then I planted pennyroyal in all my walkways in the hopes that any fleas hitching a ride on company will drop before getting to my front door.

YAY! FLEA FREE FOR 18 MONTHS!!!!! Laura

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), June 20, 2000.

Boric acid is a poisonous dust. If you have cats, they do pick up dust, then ingest it when they clean themselves.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), June 21, 2000.

Is the Boric Acid harmful to humans? I have a small child (3yob) and I am worried about him playing on the carpet with the Boric Acid.

-- Linda (botkinhomeschool@yahoo.com), June 22, 2000.

Linda, boric acid is a derivative of boron, an organic mineral salt. Medically, it can be used as a fungicide and a wound wash. It is not a contact poison, but is harmful if ingested in large quantities.

When used in the carpet, it works down into the backing and the pad. Vaccuming takes the boric acid from the surface fibers and shakes the rest of it deep where the flea eggs would be.

Any substance capable of killing isects is a poison, but after trying expensive flea sprays, bombs, shampoos, collars, drops, pills, whatever, that made my family sick, and poisoned the cat, I am still unwilling to tolerate fleas in my house or on my children. The boric acid has been 100% without any ill effects on anyone.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), June 22, 2000.

We do rescue of cats and have major flea problems. Found out that there is a cleaner called Citra-solv ( it can be found on the net) that kills fleas. We use it in a solution of about one part citrasolv to 15- 20 parts water and spray it everywhere, inside and out. Kills the fleas and makes then leave us alone. As a matter of fact, when i have to walk where it hasn't been treated, I spray my ankles with citrasolv and have no problems. It is made from citrus oils, I have had cats ingest it with no problems, except they foam because they HATE the taste, it does not cause any breathing problems, and it WORKS. Can even use a little of it in a bath if you have a cat come in covered with fleas.

After 10 years of using it, I am still delighted with how good it works.

-- Ann Zavala (AnnZavala@Yahoo.com), June 23, 2000.

Hi! You might want to check out the Gardens-Alive web site.I believe their e-ddress is www.gardens-alive.com.They have some really neat products including parasitic nematoides that are supposed to work great at killing flea larvae in your carpets. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tracy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), June 26, 2000.

In answer to your flea killing thread question. To kill fleas on the animal just put rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle spray the animal and comb it in to their coat, kills fleas on contact but be sure to protect their eyes, nose, ect.

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), June 06, 2001.

some say you can use a desklamp that's a foot or less off the floor, put a pan of water directly under the bulb. the fleas are attracted to the heat of the bulb, jump up to reach it and fall in the water.

-- April (atobias@yahoo.com), June 06, 2001.

It'd be nearly impossible for a pet or child to be poisoned from boric acid. They'd have to eat a whole lot, way more than what you'd be using. Animals have no damn business in the house anyways. If you truly loved your pet, you'd let em have their freedom instead of keeping em prisoner in your house. Any dog or cat you need to keep locked up ain't worth having. If you lay down with dogs, you're gonna get fleas. Lordy I swear I've even seen posts on here people saying they sleep with their dogs, now that's just downright nasty. Anyways, the local druggist should boric acid powder and it's great for other pests like ants and roaches.

-- April (atobias@yahoo.com), June 07, 2001.

== Any substance capable of killing isects is a poison ==

Gotta disagree with you, Laura. Food grade Diatomaceous Earth is not only fed to critters, but some folks consume it. (I'm not one to sprinkle it on my cereal!! -G- ) It's in many of the products you consume. DE is not a poison; it slits the outer skin of the insect/parasite and dehydrates them.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), June 11, 2001.

Oy vey!

-- Ardie from WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), June 11, 2001.

Gee April, What if the animals really love you and don't want to be out side running free,in the pouring rain, thumder storms, hail, tornados, freezing temperatures and 90º plus temperatures, and the biting insects that come from other animals that are forced to be out running free, because no one cares enough about them to wash them and dry them and feed them and shelter them in a climate controled, cushion padded, animal prision that I and my children live in with them. Which they cry pitifully to return to any time they are required to stay outside more than 4 scratches on the door! Gosh, I would have never guessed that butt wiggle hoppy bounce was a dog body language for 'I hate you evil human' HA,.....Talk about something you know about.....

For fleas I use precor, an insect growth regulator in my house and on the yard to break the cycle. then the other controls mentioned have a fighting chance. It's not organic by any standards I know of but after a life threatening allergic reaction to flea bites over 6 years ago I had to get rid of the fleas. Now if I see even one we go on high alert. I've only had to use the precor once in the last 3 years, so that is less cemical exposure than using something else on a weekly basis. .........We still get ticks though.......

Wow, maybe my dogs want to sucked to an anemic death because they (the dogs) are suposed to be too nasty to touch.....NOT!!!

-- Thumper (slrldr@aol.com), June 11, 2001.

I've had and still have many pets. Cats and dogs and they live in their natural enviroment which was outdoors until humans came along and started treating them as entertainment and possessions. My dogs had great respect for me as I did for them also. Dogs lived many thousands of years without humans. Here's a big clue- the human needs the dog more the dog needs you. Raise a dog or cat inside and of course they'll never know what their natural enviroment is. Just as you wouldn't if you were kept in prison all your life. You take a dog that's been raised in it's natural enviroment and see if it wants to stay inside. The main motivation for people to make a house pet is their own need to have something easy to control. You're free to leave your house whenever you want, without anyones permission. Can your pet do that?

-- April (atobias@yahoo.com), June 12, 2001.

Boric acid isn't a poison anymore than table salt is. Salt kills some bugs too, it'd kill you if you ingested enough. Alot of things are harmful if abused. Boric acid is used in many medical preparations, it makes a great eyewash. Ask your druggist.

-- April (atobias@yahoo.com), June 12, 2001.

Yes they can! One of the first things I teach my dogs is to open the door to come in and go out! and my small kitten which I allow out in the duck yard, has gone pass the fence on two occasions was the 1st time almost eaten by my greyhound, (whom has torn the screens of and broken a window trying to get into the "prision") and the 2nd time went into the yard next door and was almost eaten there also, Drew kitty so enjoys his outdoor freedom!!!!!!!

-- Thumper (slrldr@aol.com), June 12, 2001.

P.S. Even my 1/2 coyote dogs liked to be inside, they chewed a hole out where the dryer vent came through so they could get in. It was a concrete stucco finish on the out side. They chewed though the concrete and through the wire and through the wood and though the sheetrock. Gee, maybe my dogs like me more than most dogs like their people.

-- Thumper (slrldr@aol.com), June 12, 2001.

Oh, I am a bad bad bad person. I lock my dog in the house with me at night since there are Fishers out there taking unattended dogs and cats right and left. And people stealing dogs to sell to puppy mills, and to research facilities, and just because they think it is fun to dip them in kerosene and set them alight. Or being run over by the yabbo who thinks that a dog is a target.

Come to think of it, my dog inside my house is also protecting me from the possibility of burglars. (yes, even my 17 lb dog went after an intruder and bit him on the leg) And say, just when DID prehistoric poodles roam the earth anyway? How many Golden Retrievers did it take to bring down a Mammoth anyway? Modern dogs are not Dire wolves. They have been adopted into our lives and since we have done so, we have entered into an unwritten contract to care for them in the world that we have transformed, and become their pack surrogate. Either that or we go back to living with our dogs in the truly natural environment they developed in, our mutually occupied cave.

Having said that, I will say that a friend of mine has been having trouble with flea infestation in her back yard (gee, maybe another reason to keep the animals inside?). I sent her Precor and pyrethrin powder, which she said has just about elimiated the problem. I would have sent her the DE as well, but I didn't figure she had a way to apply it outside. She used the boric acid on the carpets, excluded the cats to the hard floor rooms for a while, vaccuumed up, and has not had a problem with the fleas since. Last time I spoke to her, all the cats were fine.(she did the treatment last fall)

-- anonymous (namewithheld@nohatemail.com), June 12, 2001.

well, I never had a dog try to get in the house, but then again they were always outside free as could be from birth. I've had a few cats that slept curled up with the dogs too. Even in 10 degree weather my dogs never minded and were happy as could be sleeping in straw in the barn. You can usually tell right away when you walk in a house with animals inside it, not just the smell but all the hair and tore up stuff and dog slobber and god knows what else everywhere. I guess when you live like that, you don't notice. If your dog is trying that hard to get in the house, maybe you ain't feeding it enough. I feed my dogs plenty and they eat lots of varmits also. Only ever had one kill a chicken and after tying that dead chicken around it's neck for over a week, it never went near em again. They've always known the property borders and never crossed to the neighbors, even though nothing stopping them. I'll also say I never saw a flea nor a tick on any of my dogs. Nature has a way of taking care of those things when you let it.

-- April (atobias@yahoo.com), June 13, 2001.

A poodle or anything like that isn't a real dog. They're a good for nothing freak of nature that humans created for their own entertainment and control.

-- April (atobias@yahoo.com), June 13, 2001.