my backyard has millions of fleas. i opened my sliding glass door tonight for about 30 seconds and noticed there were hundreds of fleas that had jumped on my legs. and that was just outside my door. the backyard is about half and acor. we have to dogs that i have put in the side yard to quarinteen them from the infestation. i have tried a spray you attatch to a hose and spray all over to kill them and i do that every 2 days but it doesnt seem to help. how do i get rid of all these fleas?
Purchase diatomaceous earth, available at any organic gardening store and some home improvement stores. It is important to make sure the bag is not labeled for swimming pools. Agricultural or food grade is necessary. A bag should cost around ten dollars. Diatomaceous earth is made from fossilized microscopic shells and occurs naturally.
A breathing/dust mask is also necessary; you can find these in the paint department of a home improvement store. Diatomaceous earth is safe if ingested, but should not be inhaled. It is used in animal feed for parasite control, in gardens, lawns and on pets.
If you have a spreader, you can spread the diatomaceous earth in the same way you would any powdered product. Or, it’s easy to sprinkle by hand. Simply sprinkle it around your yard so that the entire yard is covered with a light coating. The dust will not harm humans or pets, but to insects, the tiny particles act as razor blades and are lethal. However, recent studies have shown diatomaceous earth is NOT harmful to earthworms.
This will easily and naturally kill fleas and ticks that live in your lawn. If needed, the dust can be re-applied after each mowing.
If pets have fleas, you should also rub some diatomaceous earth into their fur to combat fleas and ticks.
There is a slow release granule that you can spread in the yard with a regular lawn seeder spreader, you can purchase it at Lowes or Walmart, it will tell you on the bag if it kills fleas and ticks and whatever other insects. It works pretty good, you will have to find a spray that kills fleas for around your patio door and keep spraying every few days until you no longer see any fleas….be sure to put Frontline on your dogs the keep them flea free as well. The fleas are bad this year because of the heat and in our area dry!
Depending on what is right outside your door, some of the critters may be hiding in the cracks between the patio and the house. Look at the Bayer brand of products. I have never found one that works well unless you go 50% stronger than recommended. You have to repeat every two days to get the eggs as they hatch, and should be clear after 3 applications. Be sure to spray any cracks or crevices around the patio and house. Treat the dogs with a good repellant as well.
hate to have to tell you this…but flea eggs can remain in the ground up to a year ony to hatch at first good heat.
we had same problem – our only recourse was to remove the dirt about a foot or so down and replace with fill dirt and start all over again.
get a exterminator to kill all the fleas in your house and outside.