Flea control in yard

Soon fleas will be out in full force in the Garden State, and neither your pets nor you are immune. These pesky critters will hop all over your yard, make their way onto your pet, and hitch a ride into your home. Once inside, they will drive your furry friend mad as they bite and inject saliva into their skin.

Since they multiply so quickly, a few stragglers can turn into an all-out infestation in the blink of an eye. To treat fleas, you need to get to the heart of the matter. It’s not enough to give your dog a medication to treat these insects, as most require the pet to bite them before the drug can work.

The key is to go to the source and get the fleas before they attack your pet or you. The source of these insects is your yard, and within a few short days, it will be hopping with the cat, dog, sand, and other flea varieties, depending on where you live in New Jersey.

Source: University Of Georgia

Flea Control in Your Yard

Fleas naturally occur in many gardens and yard areas, but usually, it’s not enough that warrants treatment. However, if you notice a significant problem with them getting indoors, treating your outdoor space is wise. There are three main ways that you can manage these issues, they are:

• Lawn Maintenance
• Pesticides
• Growth Regulators

Before you treat areas of your yard that are unnecessary, you should know that fleas hate sunshine. You don’t need to treat these locations because they will avoid them. However, they prefer a nice shady spot to stay cool like you. Additionally, your pets will also frequent these shaded spots, so they are more apt to pick up any of these insects lurking in the grassy areas.

1. Lawn Maintenance

The best and least expensive way to keep fleas to a minimum is to maintain your yard. Fleas love areas were leaves, wood, and other thatch has gathered. It provides an excellent place for them to take shelter. Here are a few tips for keeping these pests out of your yard:

• Mow at least once a week. Never let your grass get longer than 2.5 inches.
• Never let your lawn dry out, but don’t overwater it. Your garden needs about an inch of water each week to thrive.
• Don’t let leaves lay in the yard for more than three days during the autumn months.
• Get rid of any thatch or other weeds frequently.
• Clean up any dead limbs from trees or plant debris right away.

Lawn maintenance is essential year-round. Though you won’t mow during the winter months, you want to pick up fallen branches and other debris as soon as it falls. Fleas aren’t the only pest you need to be worried about, and rodents love something to hide under during the cooler months.

2. Pesticides

These are concentrated liquids or spreadable granules that effectively kill fleas or anything else crawling in the yard. The liquids must be attached to a garden hose to spray, or you can use the granules you sprinkle around. Each product has specific manufacturer recommendations that will help you eradicate the problem.

Typically, you start by doing one treatment, then repeat it in 7-10 days. The additional application is necessary as it gets any larvae or pupae that might not have been killed off initially. If you don’t do the additional treatment, you may have second waves of fleas emerge when you thought you had taken care of the issue.

Don’t just go to the store and buy any old pesticide, as some are not specific for fleas. You want to make sure that you get something made for this type of pest.

3. Insect Growth Regulators

First, you must understand that IGR products don’t work as fast as pesticides, but they tend to be better for long-term maintenance. The difference is that these products will stop the young fleas from reaching maturity, which means they can’t reproduce. Once the fleas in your yard die out, there won’t be anything new developing.

Another benefit to these products is that they’re non-toxic to your pets. So should Fido get some of this on his paws, it will not harm him. Many people prefer the low toxicity rates of these products, especially if they try to avoid using conventional pesticides.

Some folks use the IGRs as a preventative maintenance method. It can be applied to the yard in the early spring months to keep things under control before it becomes an issue. It’s wise to use both an IGR and a pesticide to keep things under control. This is especially helpful in areas with higher susceptibility to fleas and ticks, like wooded regions.

The only thing to remember is that when you use several products together, you want to make sure that the ingredients are compatible. It’s a dangerous game to start mixing chemicals, so you want to ensure there’s nothing that will be problematic.

If your lawn is more extensive than what you can manage or treat, you have a couple of options. First, you can hire a lawn care company to help, or you can only treat the areas nearest to your home.

Frightening Flea Facts

Knowledge is powerful, and the more you know about fleas, the easier it is to combat them. First, these bugs are minor, reaching only about 1/16 of an inch in length. Second, they don’t have any wings, so they can’t fly. However, their jumping skills are relatively superior, as they can reach over one foot.

Their blood-sucking abilities are impressive, as they can drink up to 15 times their body weight in 24 hours. While it seems that the spring and summer are the worst months, fleas are active all year round. In December, you can have an infestation in the Garden State, especially if it’s unseasonably warm.

Fleas are one of the most significant transmitters of tapeworms, and Fido isn’t the only person in danger of getting them. They can also spread these worms to you or your cat. While there are over 2,000 species, the most common ones found in this part of the country is the dog, cats, and sand fleas. Just because it’s called the cat flea doesn’t mean it won’t bite you or your dog, as they don’t care who their hosts are as long as they’re fed.

The Life Cycle

Grasping the life cycle of these pests can help you control their population. Like most insects, they go through four stages, which are:

1. Egg

Source: University of Florida

Once the eggs have been laid, it takes anywhere from 2-5 days for the flea to hatch. The weather is the determining factor. Since a female can lay 25-50 eggs in a 24-hour period, it’s easy to see how a small problem quickly becomes an infestation.

2. Larvae

Once the fleas hatch from the egg, they turn into a tiny worm-like creature known as the larvae. Typically, you won’t see them in this state as they like to hide in the furniture, the pet’s fur, or even in your carpeting. The feces of a flea are a mixture of flea eggs and dried blood, and it’s pretty nourishing to the young larvae. They need the protein in this substance to grow and move to the next part of the life cycle.

3. Pupae

Like the caterpillar, the flea wraps itself in a cocoon to continue forming. This silky sack that protects them is resistant to many pesticides on the market, so you need a second treatment to ensure you get rid of the not fully developed fleas. Never think that one treatment will be all you need to eradicate a heavy flea infestation, as it’s not logical.

4. Adult

Once the flea has been through the preceding three stages, a full-grown pest will emerge. They need blood to reproduce, and they will bite you and your pets to ensure they don’t starve. Sadly, these insects go through such a long process to grow, but they only live a mere two weeks. However, this gives the female enough time to lay up to 700 eggs during her journey on earth.

Commonly Asked Questions

There are many theories about fleas, but there are some things you need to know. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions from our customers regarding their battle with these pests.

1. Will dish detergent eliminate fleas on my pet?

This one is a bit complicated as it will take care of the pests in active adulthood, but it’s not an effective long-term solution. If the pet is covered in fleas and you want to bring immediate relief, it can help to remove and kill some of them. However, spraying your yard down with dishwashing liquid is just a product waste.

2. Is diatomaceous earth an effective flea treatment?

DE is touted as an effective way to kill pests. There are two different grades, but the food grade is the only safe one to have around. This product is made from the petrified remains of phytoplankton. It’s sprinkled in your house or yard, and when a bug gets into the white powder, it harms the wax coating that protects them.

Essentially, the bug dies as it starves for oxygen. The process doesn’t happen overnight, and if you live in an area with high humidity, it might not work. Additionally, it’s not safe to inhale the silica in this product. While it’s a popular and cheap method that many people use, there are much better ones on the market that won’t harm your lungs.

3. Do flea collars work?

Flea collars are an option for pest control on your pet, but they’re not going to do a thing for your yard. Some of these treatments can irritate the neck area and cause a rash. To avoid complications, you should never leave one of these collars on your pet for longer than 3-5 days. While they might help, it’s not a long-term solution, and there’s many problems with these collars that you need to research before using.

4. Is homemade flea products and sprays effective?

It seems nice to avoid using chemicals and choose an all-natural method for flea control, but it’s not reliable. Some essential oils do have the ability to repel fleas, but you only have a 50/50 chance of it working. It’s often ironic that the people who try to avoid calling in a pest professional by using these products end up spending more in the long run. You still need expert assistance when they don’t work, or they do a poor job.

Final Thoughts on Flea Control in Your Yard

The main thing to understand is that flea control is more than just your yard, pet, or home. It would help if you treated all the above to ensure that you eradicate the problem. Cost-cutting options may seem like a good way to go, but it’s only going to return the infestation or make the issue worse down the road.

Some folks don’t like to use pesticides in or around their home, and that’s your choice. However, you can’t let the fleas go untreated, as it’s a miserable situation for both you and your pets. Additionally, if your pets are digging and scratching from being bitten by these pests, it can cause them to get sick or even die. Fleas drink blood, and when you have many of them crawling around, the amount they take can be dangerous from a small animal.

Don’t think the problem will disappear when the weather changes, and don’t keep bathing your animals in dish detergent. If you need help with a flea infestation, call our expert staff to help you out. Our trained professionals deal with fleas and know how to eradicate them effectively.

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