finesse_r
Member
Diatomaceous Earth
I had a horrific flea problem with my dog and my carpets. I spent months treating her and the carpets with every kind of chemical I could find to no avail.
I finally tried using Diatomaceous Earth, food grade with is 100 percent pure. It is a very fine white powder that is actually made of silica or glass. It has sharp edges that scratches the skeleton of fleas and then it dries them out as it is highly water absorbent.
I bought a 50 pound bag which was way, way too much as it goes a long way. I spread it out and used a broom to brush it in. Then vacuumed it up the next day. It takes several treatments as this only kills the adult flea, and not the eggs or one of their early stages of development. So I treated it once a week for a month. I also dusted the dog with it and at the end of a month there were no fleas on the dog or in the carpets. This stuff worked, but it did not work right away.
Also it is a bit messy as it fogs up when brushed into the carpet so I wear a dust mask when I brush it in.
If nothing else works for you this will if you are persistent with it. You will not need 50 pounds. LOL
It is interesting stuff and non-toxic, as some farmers feed it to their animals as a wormer. It is also used in long term storage of grains to kill off insects that have an exoskeleton. But do get the food grade which is 100 percent pure.
Most of us only have the problem of pets bringing in fleas. Historically most winters here have been cold enough to kill at least the adult fleas outside. Unfortunately we did not get a hard freeze last winter. Despite regular treatment with Frontline flea drops and flea baths the dog's fleas got out of control to the point where I took her to the vet. The vet said there is a big problem with fleas that are immune to Frontline. They obviously are also immune to Hartz shampoo. This is the old flaw with vaccinations and the like. The tiny number of bugs that are immune to the insecticide reproduce to refill the available habitat and become the predominant bug. The vet prescribed chew-able monthly tablets that are even more expensive than Frontline drops.Of course I had to spray the carpets.
Before flea drops displaced flea collars on the market I never had a good old flea collar fail to do the job. Now I can not find one.
I had a horrific flea problem with my dog and my carpets. I spent months treating her and the carpets with every kind of chemical I could find to no avail.
I finally tried using Diatomaceous Earth, food grade with is 100 percent pure. It is a very fine white powder that is actually made of silica or glass. It has sharp edges that scratches the skeleton of fleas and then it dries them out as it is highly water absorbent.
I bought a 50 pound bag which was way, way too much as it goes a long way. I spread it out and used a broom to brush it in. Then vacuumed it up the next day. It takes several treatments as this only kills the adult flea, and not the eggs or one of their early stages of development. So I treated it once a week for a month. I also dusted the dog with it and at the end of a month there were no fleas on the dog or in the carpets. This stuff worked, but it did not work right away.
Also it is a bit messy as it fogs up when brushed into the carpet so I wear a dust mask when I brush it in.
If nothing else works for you this will if you are persistent with it. You will not need 50 pounds. LOL
It is interesting stuff and non-toxic, as some farmers feed it to their animals as a wormer. It is also used in long term storage of grains to kill off insects that have an exoskeleton. But do get the food grade which is 100 percent pure.
