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fleas
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Posted by crebourret west-midengland (My Page) on Sat, Jul 2, 05 at 16:15
after doing much research on the net about fleas and human bites(Me!!!!), treating the house, the cats, vacuuming the house every night and still looking like i've got the chicken pox, i am now turning to you guys. is there a way, an easy way, cheap, natural and effective to treat the back yard. you see i have cut down 4 massive trees at the end of my garden, got rid of a buch of rubbish, and i have yet to use all the decomposing matter that was hidding underneat these way overgrown trees (prob. a compost bin/garbage etc...) according to the net this is paradise for fleas. no matter what i do my cats still brings fleas in the house. what can i do. have the yard prof. sprayed?i still have to get rid off all the branches, the compost, the weeds ect. any suggestions?
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: fleas
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Right so you have thoroughly sprayed your house. Does flea killer kill the eggs? Did you use the flea killer on your cats which is taken into their system killing the fleas when they suck the cats blood. Do you comb your cats with a nit comb to remove fleas or atleast monitor flea levels with it. Are you sure you are getting bit by animal fleas-I get bit each year at work by something which my body hates and reacts to- Never have caught the culprit.
Does your cat go anywhere to sleep alot where it may collect up more fleas. If fleas in the garden are an issue why are there no fleas in my back garden and the cat is flea less. |
RE: fleas
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| yes to all your question about the cat and the house. i really don't know whether i'm getting bit by something else, but i see them jump off my leg every hour of the day. to me that sound like fleas. as for my garden, on one of the web site that i visited, it says that fleas outside lived in dark, damp and decomposing matter, i.e that back of my garden before i cut all the trees. that's why i'm asking if there's an alternative way before i have the back garden spray professionely |
RE: fleas
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| I've been bitten by cat fleas (lice), and seemed to find them attracted particularly to white socks. We just put flea powder on the carpet (and the cat, of course). My son had a similar problem when he moved to a new flat once where the previous owners had had a cat, and had to move out while they put the powder down. I'd be surprised if you had any problem with cat fleas in the garden, though. Are there many cats in your neighbourhood? I would have thought it would take more than one cat to contaminate a garden, particularly considering the natural predators there'd be outside. While there'd probably be a lot of small wildlife hiding in dead trees and rubbish, most of it would be vegetarian. Cat fleas need fresh blood to reproduce and build up any sort of numbers. It seems a bit excessive (and probably expensive) to get your garden professionally treated,which I would have thought would overall do more ecological damage, if you haven't actually seen any sign of them there. I'd make certain there are cat fleas in your garden (perhaps you could walk around slowly in white socks) before you considered getting a professional in. Or perhaps your local council has someone who could come round and check for infestation, like they do for rats? |
RE: fleas
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| crebourret, not really a solution for your garden as such, but have you ever tried Frontline on your cat? You can get similar drops from pet shops but they don't seem to work as well and I would really recommend Frontline which you can only get from vets. If you haven't tried it before it's well worth a go. |
RE: fleas
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I am astounded at the idea of fleas in the garden - we have always believed that fleas will spend time in carpets, furniture and curtains when not on the animal. Are you sure it is cat fleas which are outside?
You might want to try growing pyrethrums, wormwoods and rue which all have insecticidal properties. In the past, I have made a tea from Rue and pyrethrums and sprayed the soft furnishing through a spray atomiser. Not sure how effective though as, with a cat and a dog, I usually have general flea warfare during majority of year. Most effective for us is mechanical removal using flea combs with a bowl of hot water nearby - the sight of many floating black fleas is hugely satisfying. I also cultivate long hard thumb nails - all the better for squashing with. Good Luck |
RE: fleas
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| What might be getting you in the garden are gnats. They thrive on ponds, evening is their worst time -and rainy weather of course. Rake over damp, leafy, moldy spots in the warm sun and throw some halved apples on top to attract songbirds. (Cut them too small and crows will take them away.) |
RE: fleas
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thanks you all of you,
i just thought, following reading on the net, that fleas in the garden would explain why i still get bitting EVERY DAY (not joking) even if cats and house are treated (you won't believe it but just tried to kill one on me as i write....)
so today i start working on the garden, just spent 8 hours, moving the compost around in the flower beds (without flowers in), more like mulching...in july! and now spreading pure soil everywhere in the back of the garden before putting grass seeds in october (the soil was under the compost wich haven't seen the light for over 15 years, possibly more, no one knows...)
So what ever the cat are bringing in i'm hoping that now that all that muck (good one though) is gone and that the sun will get there, that it will kill what ever it is out there...even if i know they are fleas... |
RE: fleas
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| Try eating galic You and your cat |
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