Can You Hire An Exterminator To Get Rid Of Fleas In Your Yard
If you have a flea infestation in your yard, then your home is at risk for having them show up, too. This means that its best to nip it in the bud. Exterminators might be more popular calls for in-home infestations, but they absolutely can help you get rid of fleas before they make it to your home.
You will need to call them up and explain the issue. At times, you may also have to give them an explanation as to why you may think fleas are in your yard. They may ask you to bring your pets indoors while they treat. One to two treatments is enough to reduce or eliminate most of the fleas in your yard.
When Should You Call An Exterminator For Fleas
Most pest exterminators recommend calling them sooner rather than waiting until the flea problem is a full-house infestation. Pet owners often try over-the-counter pest extermination sprays and smoke bombs containing chemical insecticides that may be all that is necessary if the flea problem is not too bad.
Fleas multiply rapidly with each day that passes with them inside your home. Many DIY or store-bought insecticide treatments are more dangerous to humans and pets than exterminators professional-grade flea treatments, so be careful if you decide to go this route.
If the first treatments fail, the pet owner should call the exterminator at that time to set up an appointment.
Where Do Fleas Live Outside
Fleas ideal living conditions are in a humid, moist and dark place where they can feed on organic material or blood from mammals. They can be founded in tall grass, in shrubs, weeds, wood piles, debris, a dogs house, a shed or a garage, outdoors furniture, and any other moist areas.
A simple way to look for infested areas of the yard is to put on white, knee-high socks and stand for a few minutes in one place. If that area is infested with fleas, they will jump onto the socks quickly.
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How To Use Nematodes For Fleas
How To Get Rid Of Fleas In The Yard 5 Effective Ways
After getting rid of all the fleas inside your home and on your pets, you might think youre safe. Unfortunately this is usually not the case, because you havent treated the root of the problem yet. This article focuses on how to get rid of fleas in the yard and how to prevent future flea infestations in your lawn. After all, this is the place where the fleas got to your pets and caught a free ride into your home.
This will not be an easy task, but it is essential that you take care of the problem. This is especially the case if your pets spend a lot of time outside. The fleas can be hiding anywhere in the yard, even in the garden furniture, so you need to keep your eyes open and look for fleas in the right places as described below.
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Why Is It Important To Get Rid Of Fleas
Fleas are excellent hitchhikers. They have a wide jump range and can ride in peoples clothes or pet hair. A fleas legs are enlarged for jumping. They can jump 200 times their height.
Not to mention fleas can spread diseases and parasites. In certain situations, they can even cause flea-borne typhus and the bubonic plague, but that is only in dangerous situations. If a flea bite is undetected, your animal can develop tapeworm or heartworm.
Make sure you target flea breeding and nesting areas to eliminate them quickly. It is essential to get infestations under control rapidly. Fleas have been known to quickly overrun yards and houses, as this one Cambridge University study noted.
Protect The Perimeter Of Your Home
When you are working to stop a flea infestation you should treat both your home and yard. To protect the perimeter of your home, create a barrier thats unfriendly to fleas. Clean up the clutter in your lawn, remove brush and leaf litter that makes a great place for fleas to hide and lay eggs. Next, spray a flea killer around the perimeter of your home to create a blockage when they try to jump inside.
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What Options Are Better Than Bleach
Truth be told, the easiest way to get rid of fleas is to sprinkle some diatomaceous earth, also called DE. Diatomaceous earth is made from crushed up seashells and exoskeletons. When fleas and other bugs get into DE, the shells cut the chitin of their bodies. This dries out their bodies but doesnt dry out your lawn.
DE can be sprinkled liberally without a problem. However, it sometimes can be a bit much for pets. If you are still having a hard time with fleas in your yard, you might want to try some flea repellent. Planting some mint or lavender can help get fleas away from your home.
Fleas Thrive In Warm Weather
While fleas can be found on your cat or dog year-round, they tend to cause more issues during the spring, summer and fall. This can be due to the warmer climates and fleas breeding habits. Fleas develop in protected microhabitats such as crawl spaces under structures, vegetation next to the house, pet bedding, dog houses, and places that create high humidities, explains Dr. Michael K. Rust, Ph.D. of the University of California, Riverside.
Phil Catron the President of NaturaLawn of America, adds that fleas are very active between the temperature range of 70-85 degrees, coupled with 70+ percent humidity, which explains why the pest battle heats up during warmer months.
But keep in mindfleas dont disappear when the temperature drops. Flea pupae in their cocoons can stay dormant for up to a year in lower temperatures.
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How Does Your Lawn Get Fleas
Fleas are an incredibly common pest that can live in a variety of places around the world. In many cases, they are brought into your lawn by animals that are already infested. This might include your pets, but it can also include raccoons, possums, foxes or stray animals that might be wandering around your neighborhood.
When these critters venture onto your property, the flea eggs fall off their body and hatch in your grass. Once that happens, they can hitch a ride on your pet or they may even find their way onto you or your familys clothes, and then they get into your home.
Once they are in your yard, its only a short amount of time before they find a way into your house. Thus, you are probably wondering how to get rid of fleas. While this process may take some time and effort, getting rid of this pest can be accomplished.
Effective Ways To Get Rid Of Fleas In The Yard
Now the real challenge begins. You need to figure out how you want to get rid of the fleas. There are several ways to do this, some of them more appropriate than others. The methods described below are all highly effective and working ways of getting the job done, but you need to pick the one that matches your specific needs. If you have a huge and open yard, you might not have to treat all of it. Or if there are areas of the yard where your pets never go, there is no point of wasting energy here. Its time to choose how to get rid of fleas in the yard. Pick one of the 5 effective ways below and enjoy your flea-free yard afterwards.
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What To Avoid When Controlling Fleas In Your Yard
Whether you opt for a natural treatment for fleas or go with a chemical alternative, its important to know whats safe to use around your pets. Before treating your yard, make sure to discuss the potential dangers with your veterinarian.
Many of the pesticides on the market used for flea control contain organophosphates, and this class of chemicals is a nerve poison, Catron warns. Overexposure can cause skin irritation on pets and also affect the cholinesterase levels in their blood leading to serious sickness.
Its also important to be aware of other types of synthetic materials which may contain pyrethroids, which can affect the skin and respiratory systems of pets and humans alike, Catron adds.
And while youre talking to your veterinarian about safe yard treatment options, make sure you also ask about appropriate flea preventatives for your pet. Treating all the animals in your home as well as their environment is the best way to get rid of fleas.
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Get Professional Help From Pest Control Experts
When all else fails or if you dont have the time to organize a full blown attack against the fleas, then luckily you can pay professional pest control experts to get rid of the fleas for you. They are quick, effective, highly experienced and have dealt with problems just like yours many times before, so they know exactly how to get rid of fleas in the yard fast. Dont worry about the neighbors finding out about your flea problem, because most of these companies drive discreet vehicles without indicating what they are there for.
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Where Do Fleas Live In Your Home
To effectively get rid of fleas, you will want to understand where they live within your home. This knowledge will allow you to go to those specific areas in your home and kill them off successfully.
Firstly, one common question that is asked is if fleas can live on human flesh. The answer is quite simple, no they do not live on you. However, fleas can still bite us.
The most common flea in the USA is called a cat flea, which can live on cats and dogs. Although these creatures are called cat fleas, they can live off of other mammals too.
Fleas will typically be under your animals underbelly, so they will easily be transferred into your caret once your fur baby lays down. Their eggs will be an oval, off-white color.
Aside from their hosts, other common areas in your household will include furniture, bedding, and the cracks on your floors. They can be in your yard, so treat the exterior of your home with care as well.
These pests live and breed in moist and warm places, so infestations will usually occur in the summer months.
However, if you live in an area where it is hot year-round, you can expect to see them more often than if you lived in a place with seasons available.
How Do Exterminators Get Rid Of Fleas
An infestation of fleas can be a miserable experience for the people living in the home. Typically, fleas will get into a home due to a pet such as a dog or cat bringing them inside after romping in the yard. Some individuals try to get rid of the fleas inside using flea bombs or other remedies. The best way to ensure that all of the fleas, their eggs, and larvae are dead is to hire a local pest exterminator to perform the job for them.
Many wonder how these exterminators get rid of the fleas for good. Read on for some helpful information about ridding your home of fleas using a professional pest exterminator service.
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How To Treat Fleas Around Your Lawn
Fleas are tiny insects and avid jumpers. They thrive in places that are moist and shady and feed off of bloodtypically that of your pets. The problem when dealing with fleas is the need to treat both indoor, outdoor, as well as any pets you have. Its a long process and can be exhausting. The key to keeping safe from fleas is to learn how to prevent them outside. The pest control and lawn care experts at Heron Home & Outdoor are here to help. Read on to learn how to treat fleas around your lawn and yard.
Vinegar To Kill Fleas In The Yard
There are a number of natural sprays you can use to kill fleas in your yard. Fleas hate the taste and aroma of vinegar so bathing your pet in distilled white vinegar will help rid them of fleas.
Alternatively, bathing your pet in a combination of clove and lavender essential oils will keep fleas off of him while giving your pets coat a pleasant smell.
A natural chemical inside clove extract, called Eugenol, has pesticide properties that instantly kill fleas and ticks on contact.
Squirt your normal amount of dog shampoo into your hand and add 10 drops of clove and lavender essential oil. Bathe them like usual.
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Why Do I Need To Treat My Yard For Fleas
Protecting your pet from fleas can be challenging, because the adult fleas you see on your pet make up less than 5% of all the fleas in and around your home.
Adult fleas jump onto pets, bite them, and lay eggs, but the rest of the fleas life cycle, from egg to adult, all happens in your home and yard.
Fleas can survive harsh conditions and find their way into your home and onto your pets. And some pets may not be able to use flea treatments due to allergies to them or other medical issues.
Thats why you need to treat your yard for fleas at the same time as giving your pet flea control. This can help reduce a pets exposure to fleas.
Use Cedar Chips To Keep The Fleas Out Of Your Yard
Another natural way to get rid of fleas is to spread cedar wood chips all over your yard. Fleas hate the smell of cedar chips and you can use this to your advantage by covering the areas where you have found fleas with wood chips and putting them along the outer fences to prevent new fleas from entering your yard.
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How To Prevent And Treat Fleas In Your Lawn
If you want to ensure fleas dont make themselves at home in your backyard, there are several things you can do to make your yard less hospitable to their activity.
Treat Dogs & Cats For Fleas
Fleas are not only a concern for your pet they can also be in the environment.
Flea larvae develop on floors, walls, and furniture and pets will readily pick them up when crawling around indoors or out.
To control fleas as well as other pests, use an insecticide labeled for application outdoors such as:
Pyrethrin
Permethrins . You may need to reapply after rainstorms. Always read instructions and follow safety precautions before applying any pesticide!
Before you apply chemicals outside make sure to cover childrens toys with plastic bags so that animals cannot get into these items afterward.
If you live in an area where fleas must be controlled year-round, consider using a monthly indoor/outdoor pest control product that contains methoprene to kill the eggs and larvae this is especially important for yards near play areas or pet enclosures.
Treat pets by applying topical insecticide products containing fipronil, and pyrethrins according to package directions on dogs every two weeks during periods of high risk such as summer months when flea populations peak.
Consult with your veterinarian if youre not sure what type of product like flea shampoo would work best for your dog or cats coat type or other special needs.
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