DIY Pesticides

Fleas

Like most insect control, successful flea treatments must stop the flea's "lifecycle". This lifecycle includes the egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. It is important to understand a little about the lifecycle when trying to control it.

An adult flea jumps onto you, your pet, your child, etc. and gets a meal. Fleas feed on blood and although their mouth is small, a flea bite can hurt and most certainly can become inflamed, itchy and swollen.
Once fed, the flea will look to mate and immediately lay eggs. This can occur in the yard, the house, and on the pet.
In the next two to three weeks, the average life of a flea, hundreds and hundreds of eggs will be laid. Some of these may fall in the yard, some in the house and some will remain on the pet.
When the eggs hatch, a small caterpillar like creature comes out to feed on anything organic.
The flea larva will feed for days after which it will spin a cocoon and undergo metamorphosis. This stage is called the flea pupa.
The cycle is then completed when the flea pupa hatches out. This hatching occurs when a hot blooded meal is close at hand. Only then will the flea risk coming out of its protective cocoon. And when it does, it will bite and the cycle will start all over again.

To have flea control, follow these general guidelines:

If the pet is an inside animal, you must treat the home and the pet to insure no fleas survive.

If the pet is an outside animal, you will need to treat the pet as well as the yard area the pet has access to.

If the pet spends a lot of time both inside and out, than consider treating the pet, yard, and home.

And if you are treating two of the three areas, but fleas are still persisting, then you need to treat the third area.

Always remember "TO CONTROL THE FLEAS, CONTROL THE FLEA EGGS." It really is that simple.

For indoor control, many people have found Flea Fix to be very effective. This product is diluted and sprayed onto the carpet twice per year with a Pump Sprayer to provide complete flea control.
Another product worth mentioning is Precor 2000 Plus. This product is good to use on hardwood floors, tiled floors, cement, or linoleum. It is applied from an aerosol can which sprays a fine mist. It goes on dry and is odorless. However, it must be re-applied every two weeks during flea season.

A long term treatment for cement floors is Drione Dust. This dehydrating dust looks like baby powder, but works great on dry cement, crawl spaces, and other areas where liquid applications are not effective.

A good application of Drione Dust in a crawl space or cement floor can last up to 6 months! Of course, you will have to deal with some light powdery residue, but it won't hurt people or pets, and can be deactivated at any time by just mopping it up. When wet, the Drione Dust is completely deactivated and is easy to clean up. It can also be removed with a good vacuum.

Treating your pet is important to break the flea's lifecycle. So, it is important to gain egg control on their fur.

If the pet is really loaded with fleas, dip them first with a strong product like Rotenone-Pyrethrins Flea Dip. This product uses natural ingredients and works well on ticks and fleas.

Typical pet shampoos will kill some adult fleas, but do nothing for flea eggs. What a good shampoo will do is remove the organic stuff on which the flea larva feed. Try Triple Pyrethrin Shampoo. It cleans your pet well, has a fresh smell, and is concentrated. A little goes a long way.

In addition to the dip and shampoo, use a spray which sterilizes or kills flea eggs. Petcor Flea Spray not only kills the eggs, but it is a rare product that also kills the pupae! Your pets will thank you.

If you need to treat your yard and outdoor areas around the home, it makes the most sense to use the strongest and longest lasting products available.

Currently, one such product is Talstar Granules. Expect to get 2-3 months of protection per application, so most areas will need 2-3 treatments per year. Like most other granules, Talstar Granules need to be activated with water to start working. They are designed to be time released so that they break down slowly. This enables them to withstand the rain and sun. You'll need a Granule Spreader to evenly distribute them.

For a quick knockdown of existing adult fleas, instead of watering the Talstar Granules, spray Tempo SC over the top of the granules. It will control several pests and works particularly well for ticks, chiggers, and fleas. Tempo SC is concentrated so you need to apply it with water. The best way to spray this is with a Hose End Sprayer.

Simply hook it to your hose, pour the Tempo SC concentrate into the sprayer reservoir, set the dial, and spray away. This sprayer does a good job of applying the product properly and is easy to use. Spreading a generous amount of Talstar Granules and then spraying diluted Tempo SC over the top gives you the ultimate in flea control!

These products and techniques will work if mixed and applied properly. Targeting the right areas to treat is critical, but is worth the effort to protect your pet, family, and home.

Pest Control 101 > Treating for Fleas

Fleas