Any bug experts?
 

Not a plant issue but a back yard one. Moved into a rental home,family played in the yard. Bug bites all over,so i mess with sand in yard.FLEAS..... Neighbors have 2 dogs an a huge wood pile. We swear thats where they must be coming from. Pest guy sprayed yard,spread pellets. Will issue ever be fixed?

If i order nemotodes an spread them in are yard an theres will that work?

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Borax powder.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

will it kill eggs? they will never come back?

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Archer brand IGR, food grade Diatomaceous Earth, or Nematodes.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

if need be could the chems be used in the house?

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Do you have carpet or tile/hardwood?

Re: Any bug experts?
 

hardwood with spaces. Are these better then pest guy's stuff? kill eggs too?

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Borax powder is considered organic and has none of the toxicity issues associated with diatomaceous earth (banned as a pesticide in California). Use it outdoors and indoors. A common treatment for fleas in carpets is to dust with borax powder and use a push broom to work it in, then vacuum the next day. For spot treatment apply along edges. For ants indoors, squirt some in each corner of kitchen cabinets and clothing/textile drawers and closets; plus take the covers off light switches, electric outlets, etc. and squirt some in the wall. I do it yearly.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Like Richard said Borax will kill the pests, but not the eggs.

What toxicity issues other than breathing it does DE have? It's what Linder Bison feeds their animals for parasite control. It's only downside that I'm aware of is breathing the dust in large quantities. Borax can't be healthy to breath large amounts either right?

I use DE under appliances that I can't or don't want to move. Also in the garden.

I've tried nematodes but didn't have any luck. could have been a bad batch.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

thanks for the help guys.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Cover yard in black plastic for 2 weeks in the middle of summer and you will kill everything. Otherwise, the pesticide granules do a very good job in your yard.

Chemically, you are looking for something like lambda or gamma cyhalothrin or possibly bifenthrin. If you weren't renting the home I would suggest something long term like tweeking the soil environment to discourage fleas.


I test pesticides for the University of Florida.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Any fleas that hatch are toast.

They are using food grade DE which is approved in California as a nutritional supplement for ruminant livestock -- to control parasites and provide a source of silica.

It is illegal in California to sell DE either labeled for pesticide use or for the claimed purpose of pesticide use.

Borax powder is sold both as soap with no label for pesticide use, and as a pesticide with a label displaying the EPA registration number.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

And this part?

Re: Any bug experts?
 

The severity of toxicity in pesticides is categorized by the three signal words "Caution", "Warning", and "Danger".

Borax does not have the dust Danger that is associated with DE.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Interesting that food grade DE is sold packaged with an OMRI label as insect dust here in Chicago. That's what I have always used and recommended for ants and fleas and such.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

This is great info guys!!!!!!!!! We also read that dumping salt all around the base boards and cracks of the floor. Guy is coming back out to spray the yard tomorrow. We didn't see anything else but its free,so we told him we want it again. I just hope I can caught him before he leaves. I will be getting off work when he is suppose to be there. I just hope we don't have to deal with this again!! Stray cat we chase out of the yard once a while and the neighbors dogs could be a issue..

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Unless the neighbors deal with the issue on their side you will no doubt see fleas again if you have stray cat dropping eggs in your yard. I'd have a chat with them and see if anything can be done.

From what I can find on the internet Borax is more "toxic" than DE. You can not eat borax. Labeling is now required according to this article.

A quick search yields lots of safety warnings about Borax.
Enviroblog: Borax: Not the green alternative it's cracked up to be Archives

I have found this page to be very informative about DE
Diatomaceous Earth - Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth Health Benefits

And please to anyone reading this please note that I am talking about Food Grade DE, not the pool filter stuff you'll find at big box stores.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

I'm not a toxicologist, but from my brief scan of Wikipedia (despite claims of some pseudo-experts, actually a very good source of information in most cases), neither borax nor DE are very toxic. I wouldn't be worried about using either in my yard or house (and I have). I would be careful about breathing fine particles of both. Mitchel, don't trust everything you read on the internet (including this :ha:): according to Wikipedia, the efficacy of DE in animal food to combat parasites is questionable, based on scientific studies. If you have pets, be careful about using either in a place where they can breath or eat them. For your plants, be careful about using Borax around them or you'll end up with Boron toxicity from elevated levels of it. In short, there's almost always trade offs: nematodes -- no toxicity but could attack beneficial insects; borax -- boron toxicity; diatomaceous earth -- no chemical toxicity, but potential lung damage to you and your pets.

Re: Any bug experts?
 

Interesting. It is still for sale in the reputable nurseries I go to in California.

Re: Any bug experts?