Well, it's Springtime which means it's also flea season in central Florida. We bought store brand flea poison from Wal-Mart for the sprayer and have sprayed twice a day for 3 weeks around the house and sprayed indoor flea spray in the house for the same amount of time. We treated our cat twice this month (with vet's knowledge and advice). We are still overrun with fleas.
I finally called the vet today to tell him how bad they are and we have killed some but they still hatch out daily. Vet's advice: boric acid for inside (rugs and tile), Adams Yard Spray to attach to garden hose to spray under our house, and Diatomite (aka diatomaceous earth) for a perimeter around house. We just finished with our 4-prong assault against fleas! I will post again next week for an update. Good luck to all who are facing same problem.
By Lynda from Tampa Bay, FL
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Boric acid will be too slow acting for inside results along with being more hazardous than any product you might buy. What you need to use on the inside is an aerosol floor treatment that contains the insect growth regulator, for a couple of weeks, and vacuum often. On the outside, any general insecticide will work, for ease I suggest what attaches to the garden hose, reapply in 7-10 days, concentrate where animals spend time doing their business and adjacent shady spots.
23rd year doing pest control
Hi - know what you are going through.
Where did you find Diatomaceous earth?
I have been unable to find the safe kind at local stores in Ocala, FL
I have 3 dogs and 9 cats and I hate it when summer gets here. I go through the same thing. Last year I put Dawn in a sprayer and sprayed my yard every day and in their kennels. It helps a good bit and I don't think it hurts my dogs when they are running in the back yard. At night before I put them back in the kennel, they lay on the ground and I have a bucket with water and Dawn with a flea comb and comb the fleas out. They love it and I love getting the fleas and dropping in water. They are dead almost as fast as you drop in the water. My cats run to me all the time to run the comb through their hair.
Diatomaceous earth can be found in the tropical fish department of most major pet stores. It's used in the water filtering. Piece of advice though, diatomaceous earth is a very, very fine powder. Use a mask so you don't breath it in.
I'm in the Tampa area also. I'm using Borax, not Boric Acid. And at $2.98 from Super Walmart, I couldn't ask for a better solution. Best of luck.
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Use nematodes, you buy them at garden centers, spray them into the yard, you can't see them but they control the flea problem within a day or two. (07/31/2005)
By Lloyd
Black walnut leaves laid on floor, on and under furniture is a naturally flea killer. I assume the fleas ingest some of the leaves and it kills them. Just remove leaves after they've dried out and vacuum. (10/22/2008)
By Mary
