In the same infestation I mentioned before I put 50 lbs of Diatomaceous
(sp?) earth in my house (OMG!) ruined the carpets, ruined the vacuum cleaner and
still had massive quantities of fleas. I tried Malathion (someone at the
store told me IT was safe for animals NOT!) Killed one of my cats with it.
I tried Dursban, Torus, Diazanon, foggers, you name it and nothing, including
repeated treatments for weeks without killing them all, and we all know if you
don't get them all, they just keep coming. One thing boric acid will do is
keep grass from growing back - had my sister put it down on an ant trail around
her patio and weedeating is no longer an issue
What they probably use is DE, diatomaceous earth. I had it applied to my
yard and have used it in my home. It killed a nasty invasion of carpenter
ants.
However, the fleas in Kansas seem to need a 1-2-3 punch. DE, Frontline,
and dog baths. When I lived in northern Wisconsin, we could control fleas with
pennyroyal oil and other "natural" products. But down here the fleas scoff at
pennyroyal oil, eucalyptus and other things.
Heidi, I know you mean well. And believe me, i've been strident too
warning people bout herbicides and other things. We do need to be careful not
to overuse insecticides as that simply sets up a superbug scenario. But I will
now concede that there are times when pesticides are warranted.
We also need to be careful with the use of "natural" products. Many of
them are as toxic as the chemicals we are trying to avoid, but because the
words natural or herbal are attached to them, we think they are safer.
DE and Borax for fleas are pretty safe remedies, you can probably eat
lots and not get sick, but don't inhale them. Very hard on the
lungs.
chris
heidi larson <ribbitttreefrog@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Don't use chemicals for fleas!!! Serious health hazard to you as you
live in the residue. Call FleaBusters. Best thing I ever did for
a flea infestation. It's kind of like a fine borax dust rubbed into
carpets. Not bad for people, but sucks the moisture out of the flea,
eggs and larvae. Guaranteed for one year after application. I
don't work for them, just had great results!!! You can even go on
their website and order the product and appy yourself, but I prefer to have
them do it, then I know it was done correctly and I get the guarantee.
