My backyard has fleas. Of course, now my house has them. We recently bought a new house and my husband was mowing the backyard yesterday and was basically eaten alive by them. The previous owners had two gigantic dogs.
I was reading to my 2yr old DD this morning and I noticed that she kept scratching her neck and back and when I pulled up her shirt, 15 red bites. Can you believe 15?!?!? When I changed her out of her PJs into her shorts and shirt I didn't see any bites, so it had to have happened between 8:30-10:00 a.m.
I am one of those people who is never bitten by anything, so I haven't been bitten at all.

Does anyone know of anything that is safe (organic) to use to kill them but not harm a two year old? I can't imagine spraying something in the backyard or the house, for that matter, and her playing there later.

By Ladypeacek on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - 04:12 pm:

maybe spray her with the bug spray before you send her outside. They make special lotions too for small children,

By Marg on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - 04:20 pm:

I don't know if there is anything organic.

Dh used to be in pest control. You really need to spray the yard asap! It will only get worse and when they come into the house it is a nightmare.

We had them last summer, due to a very dry spell, and for the life of me it took forever.

Dh is allergic to flea bites, so he gets them around his ankle and legs. I'm not, I can't really tell when a flea has bitten me unless I see it.

If things get really bad, and you have the money, call an exterminator.

By Moeanne on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - 04:28 pm:

Thanks! I've been searching the Internet to find something that looks "safe" to spray in the backyard. What is really frustrating is that I have not seen even one flea inside the house. I tried putting white sheets on the rugs/sofa/loveseat/beds to see if it is actually fleas but I haven't seen one.
Marg, did you do it yourselves or call an exterminator? If you did it, what did you use?

By Pamt on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - 04:49 pm:

We had a bad infestation of fleas in our yard when we lived in TX and we had just an indoor only cat at the time. Well, our cat ended up with horrible fleas. The vet said we brought them in on the legs of our pants. We ended up having to treat the cat, treat the yard, and bomb the house with flea stuff. I don't know of any non-organic and if there is I would bet that is probably doesn't work very well. My oldest DS was an infant at the time and prone to upper respiratory infections/croup (turned out to have asthma) and my DH has asthma, so we set off the flea foggers and spent 2 nights with friends while waiting for the stuff to work. Then dh went over and opened the windows and doors for several hours to let the house air out. We were all fine after that. However, if you have a bad flea problem you will need to treat indoors and out to take care of it. It is a major pain!!

P.S. We did it ourselves with stuff we bought from the vet.

By Marg on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - 04:59 pm:

Pam is right, I fogged our rooms several times and I don't know what dh had left over but we used it in the yard. It was a powder that worked even when wet. But to be honest with you the outside stuff does not work long. Get rid of them in the house and when you work outside spray your pant legs, as Kenna said with something that keeps fleas away (yes, we do this).

Good luck, they are not easy to get rid of and cause major headaches in our house.

By Mommyathome on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - 05:01 pm:

Definitely spray your yard. Pay special attention around the edges of your house. Then, be sure to spray the kids, before they go outside, with bug spray.

I would try it myself with something from the store.....if that doesn't work then I would move onto the professionals.

By Boxzgrl on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - 06:22 pm:

As everyone else has said, treat both your yard AND your house. It may cost more now but it will save you money down the road.

IMO, I would either use what the vet sells or call a professional. The store bought stuff just never seems to work and believe it or not, some arent even safe enough for animals to be around. Just to give you an example, did you know flea collars are poisonous to cats and small animals in it gets in their mouth?? Some products use the same ingredient in their outdoor flea sprays.

So basically:

- Use a professional OR vet recommendations
- Treat both yard AND house
- NO STORE BOUGHT STUFF!!!

If you do it right the first time, theres a great chance it won't happen again.

Another thing to consider, stray cats. Are they around your neighborhood?? They are another leading cause of flea problems.

Good Luck, with all the great flea products on the market today, you'll surely get rid of them!!!

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 - 06:47 pm:

Our first house was infested with fleas when we bought it. We tried the bombs but they didn't work. We finally called Terminix. They did the trick! Expensive but worth it.

By Momoffour on Thursday, April 8, 2004 - 09:39 am:

This may sound funny but it does work. When they start itching use windex. My husband and I were eaten alive last year by chiggers and was told to use windex I thought the person who told me was nuts. so we bought and used it and I stopped itching instantly. also last year we to bought our home and they had small dogs and flees were bad we bought hertz bug bombs. they are in the pet section of Walmart we used them once and its been over a year now and not had anymore. also 7 dust works really good on your yard. you just don't want your daughter to play on it for a few days.but I do reccomend the hertz

By Janet on Thursday, April 8, 2004 - 10:33 am:

Windex? That was in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding!" It's the ammonia, I think. We used it to clean paint brushes, too! (The wonder spray)

By Dana on Thursday, April 8, 2004 - 05:09 pm:

Did you know that flea eggs can lie dormant until something alive enters the area?

Have you ever walked into an empty house and there were no signs of fleas, but within a day or more you are unable to walk in without seeing your legs covered. You can even see them jumping around you.

The eggs remain dormant until the vibration of your steps gets them moving again. Interesting, huh?

Living in FL I've had more than my fair share of TOTAL infestations. The only thing I have found to work in such extreme conditions is the exterminator. Once, I even had to have them come back 2 additional times. If I recall, it takes 7 days for the eggs to hatch. Not all pesticides can kill the egg larva, only the flea, so you do need to retreat to kill them as they hatch and before they can mate again.

By Rayanne on Friday, April 9, 2004 - 12:49 pm:

Windex is also good for getting out stains. I was at my husbands grandmas house and we were eating spaghetti and clumsy me spilled sauce on her pink ccarpet. I was so embaressed. She used windex and it came right out. Good luck with the flea problem. We have a professional who comes out every 4 months to treat our yard. It definaetly is worth it.

By Dananivyboo1 on Saturday, April 10, 2004 - 05:25 pm:

My dad is into pest control and he sprayed the house once for me, when I was getting bit by fleas also. I dont know how we got it but alot of my neighbors in the building had pets. It was safe for the baby we just didnt let him walk around without clothing or socks/shoes