Outdoor Flea Treatments

Flea season arrives with warm and humid weather, and you'll know it has arrived in your neighborhood by your pet's frantic scratching and biting. Fleas detect the presence of a pet by his body warmth and the traces of carbon dioxide he exhales.
Fleas also are unbelievably athletic insects, jumping up to 150 times their body length to board a promising host. De-fleaing your pet and your home is essential, but won't be effective unless you de-flea your yard as well.

  1. Places to use flea treatments

    • Fleas avoid full sun, and will congregate where your pets sleep, eat and play. Treat around the doghouse and along fences. Hit the shady spots under porches or decks, or anywhere your cat likes to hide. To discourage fleas from entering your home, treat along its foundation.
      Also wash and treat your pet's outdoor bedding and the cushions of your outdoor furniture if your pets like to nap on them.

    Professional outdoor flea treatments

    • A pest control professional can spray your yard to control a flea infestation. Discuss in advance the least toxic treatment options for your pets and family. Outdoor flea treatments commonly used by professionals include carbaryl or malathion sprays and dusts, and diazinon or chlopyrifos sprays and granules.

    Natural outdoor flea treatments

    • While your lawn may be your pride and joy, keeping it clipped short in hot weather will let the sun heat the soil and kill any flea larvae. Watering it will drown the ones the sun doesn't eliminate.
      If there are damp patches in your yard under debris and dead leaves, rake them clean and sprinkle them with agricultural lime to dehydrate any fleas living there.
      Many cats love the opportunity for a good roll or snooze on a bit of ground. Eradicate any fleas kitty might have left behind by waiting for a hot, bright day and covering the thin spots in your yard with pieces of black plastic.
      Buy a roll of black plastic "weed shield" at a home and garden store. Cut pieces large enough to extend a few inches past the edges of the bare spots, and anchor them with rocks. The idea is to have heat build up underneath and sterilize the soil by killing any fleas or flea larvae it contains.
      Spread amorphous diatomaceous earth from your garden store in your yard where you think fleas are likely to be. Non-toxic to humans and pets, the earth will destroy any fleas, larvae, and eggs it touches in just a few hours. The operative word, however, is "touches." Put the powder in every crack or crevice where fleas might be hiding.

    Warning

    • Use amorphous--not swimming pool grade--diatomaceous earth. Swimming pool grade diatomaceous earth contains silica, making it a respiratory hazard.