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Old 03-04-20, 02:01 PM  
bzar
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Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: PalmTreeVille
severe flea infestation

took our indoor cat to vet yesterday who gave her prescription-grade flea drop for the back of the neck.

we have never had such a bad problem before - I can usually bathe the cat, apply over the counter flea drops between her shoulder blades, and if necessary, fog the house and we're good.

my question is - should we treat the yard? the cat stays in the house, but our neighbors walk their dogs often and fleas can commute very easily. if we treat the yard, i'm considering hiring an exterminator whom we've used before when we had an ant problem. the ant problem went away like magic.

it's so gross - fleas jump on my legs. now that the cat has flea drops from the vet, the fleas are looking for new blood literally. I even brushed the carpets (house has 50% carpeting, the rest is floor) with Borax and vacuumed it up.
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Old 03-04-20, 02:47 PM  
Scorpio6
 
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Yuk! Yes, spray the yard. My neighbor lady did several times, called in the exterminators. Had good success with it. Good luck.
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Old 03-04-20, 02:50 PM  
SpiritYogi
 
Join Date: May 2002
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I feel for you. When I was a teenager, my mom dog sat for her sister, only to find a couple days later it arrived with fleas. Since I was, apparently, very tasty, my legs looked like I had chicken pox and I had scars for years.

I suggest you try (food grade) diatomaceous earth -- indoors and out -- to kill and prevent fleas. It's all natural and won't harm you or your pet(s).

https://www.healthyandnaturalworld.c...th-kill-fleas/

I just found out yesterday that a co-worker -- whose office is next to mine and who is on vacation until the 16th -- brought in bed bugs. Since he's been gone, they have been wandering into the hall and I found one in my office yesterday. The exterminator has been called, but I'm bring in DE to sprinkle in my doorway as an extra precaution.
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Old 03-04-20, 03:39 PM  
warriorprincess
 
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I would sprinkle food grade diatomaceous earth throughout the house, especially any rugs. It dehydrates them. I've never used it for fleas, which it is marketed for in some pet stores, but I have used it for roaches and it worked like magic.
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Old 03-04-20, 05:57 PM  
LizEMA
 
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Just chiming in to third the vote for food grade DE. This stuff works amazingly well. I only had cause to use once, well over 10 years ago, but it worked wonderfully for me and very quickly. (I noticed a significant difference on the very first day of use with no need to reapply.)

For carpet use: we had a tight knit Berber-type carpet. I sprinkled generously, then let it sit for as long as possible before vacuuming (ie: 4-5 hours). (I didn't want to leave it because it's a VERY very fine powder and very easily tracked/transferred to EVERYTHING. Even with extensive vacuuming, we were still getting residue from it months later. Nothing awful, a fine layer of it would just appear over items near to the floor over time.)

Caveat emptor, back when I initially heard of it and used it, caution was given regarding inhalation of the DE. The very properties that make it so effective in slicing through the exoskeletons of bugs, can make it dangerous to inhale as it will work in the exact same manner on our lungs.

To be on the safe side, I wore goggles and a face mask during clean up as the friction of the vacuum over the carpet created a bit of a dust up. Nothing like a smoke cloud or anything, just enough to make me want to be better safe than sorry. (We had a VERY small apartment back then, though, which I think contributed to it being a bit messier than it otherwise would have been.) It's safe to ingest, but I had read that breathing it in can harmful. I'm not sure if that has remained true over time or if that has since been disputed. It's something to consider, though.

DE is extremely cost effective, much much safer for everyone involved and so much easier and simpler than calling an exterminator.

I'm not sure it's necessary to treat the yard if your cat isn't an outdoor cat. If needed, you can just work some DE into her fur to keep her flea free in the future. Given how often cats clean themselves, daily application may be necessary, but I bet she would love the extra attention.

(You can treat the yard, as well, with DE, though, if you are so inclined. You just need to make sure to reapply after rainfall.)
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Old 03-04-20, 06:33 PM  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by warriorprincess View Post
I would sprinkle food grade diatomaceous earth throughout the house, especially any rugs. It dehydrates them. I've never used it for fleas, which it is marketed for in some pet stores, but I have used it for roaches and it worked like magic.
Yes, also works good for ants.
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Old 03-04-20, 06:44 PM  
bzar
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Join Date: Feb 2002
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I read about the DE on other forums on the web. i might consider putting some of it in the yard - we have louver windows near the base of the house making it another flea portal.

My borax initiative was the same purpose, but i think we didn't cover all of the carpeted areas - the fleas probably waited over there for a while until i vacuumed the borax.

i'll try the DE and let you guys know what happened.
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Miyagi: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important.
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disclosure: in the years 2002-2004 i had a professional relationship with a distributor of fitness videos; see profile.
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Old 03-04-20, 08:04 PM  
sugar rose
 
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Originally Posted by yogapam View Post
Yes, also works good for ants.
How do you use DE to get rid of ants? Do you just sprinkle it around areas where you see them, or in crevices & nooks & crannies, or wherever you think they're coming in?
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Old 03-04-20, 08:12 PM  
sugar rose
 
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I have some questions about diatomaceous earth to get rid of bugs: Can you put it on noncarpeted floors? Does it have to be "food grade"? Does the non food grade type also work? Where do you get it (hardware store?) Thanks!
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Old 03-04-20, 11:30 PM  
yogapam
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How do you use DE to get rid of ants? Do you just sprinkle it around areas where you see them, or in crevices & nooks & crannies, or wherever you think they're coming in?
I sprinkle it around where they are coming in....on window sills, by doorways, etc. I’d sprinkle it around the edges of an area or room where I see them. I think if you buy powdered ant killer it has diatomaceous earth in it. I ordered my DE from Amazon, it’s food grade.
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Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down.....

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