Hey all, I’m looking for a good (and preferably cheap) way to treat my yard for fleas. My poor dog keeps getting re-infested despite applying monthly flea control. I know it’s not the house because I have all wood and tile, and every time I treat her I sweep and mop the floors, vacuum all furniture, wash her bedding, wash MY bedding, etc.

I think the fleas may be coming from my yard, since we have a lot of squirrels and I know they are notorious fleabags. Short of cutting down all of my trees and erecting a 6 foot electric fence, though, I don’t see how I can keep the squirrels out. So instead, I’m looking for a way to kill any fleas that might be living in the yard, waiting to accost my dog when she goes outside.

All suggestions are welcome, but I’m looking in particular for something that won’t break the bank, and preferably something all-natural. I don’t like the idea of dousing my yard with chemicals. I have heard that salt kills fleas, but will salt also kill my grass? If it’s the dog or the grass I’ll let the grass die, it’ll grow back in the spring, but I’d rather not destroy my yard if possible.

Thanks for your help!
Roxy – Unfortunately it doesn’t snow here so we don’t really get a period of time where the fleas die off during the cold! It’s a year-round struggle.

As for your carpet, I have heard that for carpet, you can spread iodized salt over the rugs and leave it for 24 hours, then vacuum it up. It supposedly kills the fleas and their eggs. I’ve never used it before because like I said, I have no carpet here, but I’ve heard other people say it works. It’s safe and relatively cheap (they say to use a lot of salt, but you can buy it in big boxes for cheap) so maybe it’s worth a shot for you?

Oh, and I love Skin so Soft! Use it all the time.

I live in southern ca in an Apartment complex with my husband (who’s deployed) and my service dog Lucas (A golden retriever) We have lived in this complex since Dec 2008 without any problems with fleas… Until now. Lucas, being a service dog is groomed and well kept, he has been on frontline since I got him and we have never had a problem. About a month ago I noticed a flea on him, and immediately got a flea comb, brushed it out, vacuumed the entire house, the couches, (through away the vacuumed bag) Sprayed and applied frontline (it was only a week early which after I talked to my vet, learned it was completely fine.) However, not even 24 hours after applying the frontline the ENTIRE house and Lucas broke out in fleas (and yes I did the treatment correctly, I’ve been doing it for years) I IMMEDIATELY called my vet and took him in to get flea dipped, while he was there I cleaned EVERYTHING, bedding, furniture, vacuumed, sprayed the entire 2×2 apartment. The vet got all of the fleas off of Lucas and gave him a Capstar, not even a day after coming home it happened all over again and increasingly got worse. I continued on my vigorous cleaning cycle, every time I took him outside as soon as we came back in I would flea comb him (he gets them from outside), I boraxed the entire house, sprayed the entire house and still it only gets worse. By this point Lucas has been flea dipped three times (once a week, with the all natural stuff) I’ve used frontline twice, Capstar once, on top of Cleaning, vacuuming, spraying everyday,after me raising a fit the complex sprayed one patch of grass outside my apartment (With the same stuff I’m using in the house… they’re cheap) and still nothing! I’m being eaten alive by these fleas, I have rashes all over me, my hair has been falling out ( I think due to stress) Lucas’s hair is falling out from him itching so much, I can see Larvae on the floor (They just appear, I vacuume and clean and they just come back) My dog is miserable and I can’t do anything more to help him. He is my service dog and I can’t take him anywhere because he is totally infested. I am at my wits end and not only have I spent too much energy on this (I’m a double leg amputee and cleaning this rigorously is extremely painful, its become EXTREMELY expensive. The problem isn’t me or my dog, its the outside environment, shouldn’t the complex pay to fix this? I’m moving into a new apartment complex in two weeks (our lease is up and I just don’t want to stay here) At this rate I’m going to bring the problem with me. I’ve had the house bombed and still, within a day its all back again….. HELP ME. My last resort is to put lucas up in a dog hotel for the few days before the move, have him flea dipped (again) and the house bombed like the day before the movers bring everything into the new place…. Once we’re there then I’d go get Lucas and bring him home…. Should I even have to pay for this all???? I’m running out of money… and strength…. HELP!!!
I do do laundry, everyday as well as vacuume, spray salt, borax the carpets… I’ve done EVERYTHING I can do. The exterminator was here and bombed the house as well as the lawn outside…. I just don’t want to have to pay for this anymore, I’ve spent already 0…. and nothing helps
I thank you everyone, for your help and advice in handling this horrid problem. There isn’t anything more that I can do, I Wash everything, bedding, clothes, I keep him in the livingroom/kitchen/dining area all the time because its the only part of the house that isn’t carpet, its wood. I vacuum twice a day, I’ve used flea powder, Borax, flea spray, I’ve done the bowl of water with the light trick, I’ve bombed the house, I’ve bathed him in Dawn, He’s been on Frontline, had multiple flea dips…. I’ve done everything that I can do, Lucas can’t have any more chemicals on him, I can’t give him more treatments for another 3 weeks! The problem is outside, and as long as it stays that way they will never go away. My question is, should the complex pay to put him in a kennel until we move? What is the complex required to due by law…. I feel like they are doing the minimum amount possible. Its just not fair.

i thankfully started a new job recently where i work 10,12, 13 hrs per day. I am fortunate that i can bring my dog (its at a restaurant) as i would never want to leave her alone that long. BUT the place is swarming with other dogs, its on the sand, and she now has a flea infestation that i cannot get rid of.

i have given her 2 topical BioSpot treatments in the past 2 weeks, it was so bad, under the strict supervision of my vet. (the treatments were under-dosage, for a dog much smaller, hence why i gave her 2). I have sprinkled carpets, auto, bedding everything in house with pool grade DE/Borax mix. i have even given her a flea shot which kills larvae. i have carefully sprinkled her body with the DE (pool grade). i have given her one flea bath (Hartz), i have dipped her fully in the ocean, as i heard salt will kill fleas. i have sprayed her down with lemon juice. i have tried apple cider vinegar in her drinking water, but she wont drink it. i read on the internet fleas wont bite dogs with ACV in their blood.

recently i ordered 3 flea bombs over the internet that you let off in the house, 1 for each room of my house. i have not yet done this.

im at my wits end, my poor dog is miserable and the fleas are all over me. i hate poisons. i cannot take her to work anymore as it is exasperating the problem. i dont know what to do with her during the day, while at work, or how to rid of the fleas.

does anyone know of a natural solution to once and for all get rid of these nasty insects? Maybe i have overkilled the situation. i dont know. thank you.
i live in Northern Baja, where rules and laws are non-existent! The restaurant is on the beach, where the neighborhood dogs hang out and play all day. She stays outside most of the time and part of my job involves working out on the beach palapa area (we cook and serve food out there) where i can see her and watch her. The sand fleas are horrible here.

We are currently crate training our 3 1/2 month old pointer puppy. She is still learning and has accidents peeing in her crate. I know you aren’t supposed to wash dogs frequently due to dangers of stripping the natural oils of their skin, etc. but how do I clean her up otherwise? We don’t put bedding in the crate b/c of advise given to us that bedding will soak up the accident thereby allowing her to "escape" having to sit in her own mess. But that means that the accident ends up all over her. I was washing her at first before I realized that it wasn’t good for her but now I’m not sure how to clean her. I was also told to clean her up right away after an accident so that she doesn’t get used to the smell and think its ok but how do I accomplish this without overwashing? I recently have been rinsing her with just water and bought some of the puppy wipes but they don’t get the color and smell totally out (she’s a white dog). any suggestions?

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We never did growing up because it wasn’t prevalent here and never had a problem. We camp and hike a lot, with an annual summer trip to Oregon and Washington for two weeks. I have NEVER had a dog with heartworm and my vet doesn’t like to give preventative unless it’s absolutely necessary. I never used to worry about it, but our friend’s Cane Corso was recently diagnosed with it. The dog is four years old and has always lived in Southern California. They travel for two months every summer to Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington with the dogs so the vet thinks it’s likely that is where the dog picked it up. Now, I’m paranoid. Do you use heartworm preventative if you live in Southern California? I don’t even Frontline my dogs because they react so badly to that but we don’t have a problem because we have an natural spray that works really well if applied once a week and I’m pretty anal about their baths and cleaning their bedding. I would hate to do this if it was unnecessary but I also can’t imagine that my youngest would live through heartworm treatment. I need advice. Thanks!

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