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Originally Posted by grigsbygirls  My little 5 pound yorkie has fleas and can't get rid of them. We have been given all sorts of shampoo, flea medicine and etc. She is miserable scratching. She only goes outside to do her business. We have treated the house, yard, her and still can't get rid of them.
Please if anybody has any ideas for me and little Katie Jo. I will do anything at this point to help her out.
Thanks |
I just wrote this in another thread but it bears repeating here. I live in Central Texas where it is hot and humid and fleas breed like.......fleas. My Maltese is highly allergic to the bites and it was a huge problem for me UNTIL I discovered Beneficial Nematodes 8 years ago.
Beneficial Nematodes cost about $11 for a 2,000 sq foot outdoor area. You can get them at garden centers and make sure you get the LIVE nematodes. They will come in a little sponge packaged in a little plastic bag. You place the sponge in a gallon of water and after a minute or so squeeze the sponge in the water to release all the tiny nematodes. Then spread them over the outdoor area to be treated using the 4 oz per gallon setting on the hose end sprayer bottle and go back over the area with plain water to rinse them off the blades of grass and into the soil.
This is an organic solution to the worst flea problems and is harmless to pets, plants, and people. The nematodes will not kill adult fleas but rather penetrate larvae (flea, ant, whatever) and eat the larvae, effectively killing out the flea population once the existing adults finish their natural life cycle and die. As long as larvae are in your soil the nematodes thrive. Once the larvae are gone the nematodes food supply is gone and they will die off also. Hence you want to reapply every 6 months. I use Spring and FAll as my treatment times. It will take 2-4 weeks for the BN's to establish but thereafter if you apply every 6 months you won't have a flea problem again.
To treat your interior sprinkle diatomaceous earth (about $8 for a big tub of powser) on carpet, pet bedding, and the pet itself. It is harmless to people and animals but the fleas will eat it and it shreds their innards. It's a bit of a mess but once the adult fleas die and the larvae they created hatch and then die, you're flea free. Providing you did the Beneficial Nematodes treatment outside.
This sounds like a lot of work but the nematodes take about 45 minutes to an hour for the treatment that lasts 6 months. If you have an indoor infestation, that takes longer obviously but this is an almost permanent solution.
I've been using the BN's for 8 years and do not use the topical flea treatments on either furbaby. Occasionally a stray flea appears after being dropped off by a cat or dog trespassing but we never get more than that.