How To Get Rid of Fleas in the Yard
On this page you’re going to discover invaluable information on the best homemade flea killers for your yard, but before we do so it’s just as important, if not more so, to learn how to PREVENT fleas from manifesting itself in the first place. The last thing you want to do deal with later on is damage control, especially considering it’s much easier (and cheaper) to prevent a problem than it is to fix a problem.
There are 4 key factors to be actively mindful of in the prevention of yard fleas:
– – Cut Your Grass – –
Consider what happens if you were to allow your hair to grow out wild and unkempt without proper grooming. It quickly becomes a breeding ground for odor, dandruff, ringworms, breakage, ticks and fleas. So to does this occur in a yard uncared for.
Thus, tall grass makes it easy for fleas to hide and thrive. Regular lawn trimmings are recommended for this reason.
– – Clean Your Yard – –
It’s true. Dead leaves, sitting dirt and other organic matter collected around flower beds and grass is a recipe for flea issues.
Flea larvae HATE light as much as a bad vampire film. They prefer making their homes in cool, dark and dank areas for maximum comfort and growth.
By removing sitting wood and old pieces of furniture you rarely use, mounds of dirt, raking up dead leaves and removing plant material you eliminate the cause of a potentially devastating flea problem. Pay special attention to areas around the doghouse, garden furniture, trees, and fences.
Lastly, to assist you in spotting problematic areas, wear white socks while walking the yard. Fleas are jet black are easy to spot on white socks as you take note retracing your steps.
– – Clean Your Pet(s) – –
Pets carry whatever they step or roll in everywhere they go including fleas. Before beginning the process of removing fleas in your yard, they need to be removed from your pets first.
Keep them indoors while doing this to prevent reinfection or you risk having them attacked by fleas again and having to start from scratch.
It’s important you wash your pet as often as possible routinely to not only prevent fleas from entering into your home (a nastier problem to deal with) but to keep them from spreading fleas outside your home, too.
We won’t cover how to remove pet fleas in this page, but you can learn how to get rid of fleas on dogs by going here and how to get rid of those bloodsuckers on cats by going here for more information.
– – Keep Wild Animals At Bay – –
Unlike domesticated animals where you have control your pet(s) cleanliness and hygiene, wild animals and critters, on the other hand, are a different story altogether. For obvious reasons they won’t be as ‘co-operative’ (if at all) about their hygiene and are prone to carry other diseases far more damaging than fleas so you have to handle them differently.
Rats, mouses, possums, squirrels, raccoons, deer, stray cats/dogs or even outside cats and dogs you own can cause fleas to invade your property. Secure your trash cans and remove wood or brush piles where wild animals are known to stake out and hide for shelter.
Implementing these prevention techniques makes it difficult for them to thrive and breed and if you are dealing with yard fleas it makes it easier and more effective to eradicate them prior to applying any treatment application.
Now that you’re aware of common flea prevention methods we’re going to cover 5 methods to get rid of fleas if the infestations have already taken place on your property.
5 Effective Methods To Kill Yard Fleas Forever!
It’s virtually impossible for fleas, larvae and eggs to survive a flooded lawn. Thus, the best way to end their life cycle quickly is to take a page out of the book of Genesis and flood your lawn like Noah’s Ark to destroy all of ‘pest-kind’.
This not only kills fleas, it effectively washes away adult feces larvea feed off of, reducing odds of survival to zilch. Some areas of the world are more arid than others and will require manual flooding while other areas provide enough rain from Mother Nature during the rainy season (usually spring) to naturally take care of the problem by itself with little to no intervention on your part.
If the climate is typically dry and sunny, cut the grass, remove debris and flood the lawn to get rid of fleas and prevent breeding. Flood around tree areas, fences, gardens, and the doghouse. All grassy areas must be slightly flooded to cover your bases.
We suggest environmentally friendly insecticides if you intend on spraying your yard with man-made traditional methods.
Carefully follow instructions and AVOID like the plague lakes, ponds, or other areas that could potentially contaminate water.
Wear a dust mask and protective clothing and remove toys and other things that come into contact with pets or small children. Keep them out of the yard entirely for the duration of the disinfectant and allow no one in the area. Rope off the area with a caution and warning signs to keep discourage strangers and visitors (though there really shouldn’t be any during this process). Safety ALWAYS comes first.
While spraying, be thorough as this is where fleas are typically found. Repeat this process if the product requires it, usually every two or three weeks.
For a natural approach, nematodes are a good alternative to traditional spraying.
Nematodes are microscopic worms that feed on flea larvae and other bugs. They’re harmless to humans, pets, plants, trees and your grass lawn. Spray directly on the fleas habitat, preferably with shade, as nematodes don’t hold up well under hot sun.
Fleas despise the smell of cedar chips so why not use it to your advantage?
Spread cedar wood chips around your areas where fleas were found and put them along the outer fences to prevent new fleas from entering your yard.
If you lack time or patience to implement any combination of the methods above, you can always hire professionals to get the job done for you.
Generally, they have special equipment and field experience to locate problem areas quicker as well as hidden locations you may have never thought to consider for treatment.
Their experience alone gives them a strong advantage as they do it for a living and have probably seen it all whereas your perspective comes from limited exposure giving you blind spots. Pest control experts are exposed to the same thing multiple times throughout a work day and thus can help you get rid of your flea problems much faster than if you were to self-diagnose and treat the problem yourself.
Hiring professionals essentially places the responsibility in the hands of someone else who deals with it on a day-to-day basis.