Organic flea treatment for my yard.

[gorupcl]

We are having a bumper crop of fleas this year. It is getting so my dog does not even want to go into the grass. I was wondering if any knows of what I could put in my yard to rid it of fleas that will not harm my 2 chickens? They free range much of the day and I don't want to put anything out that would harm them but I would also like my dog and cats to be able to use the yard.

Would appreciate any help you can give me! Thank you!
Carrie

 

[Kiki]

Could you possible keep your chickens caged up for a while and treat the yard to get rid of the fleas?

 

[gorupcl]

I could try that, How long would I have to keep them locked up?

 

[Chaerie]

I've heard you can use diotenacious earth for fleas

 

[naf_appaz]

DE can works but loses effectiveness as soon as it gets wet, also expensive for large area. Most anything you get for fleas needs a good 24 hrs. without rain to kill the little turds sevin works well... whatever you get it will say on the label how long to keep pets off lawn...I would at least double that figure assuming you eat the eggs for your chickens. Unless you get some strong agriculture type poison vice something you buy at walmart or hardware store a few days would be enough. Most commercial bug killers say 12 to 24 hrs. On small areas horse/stable fly spray works well.

 

[Folly's place]

Any insecticide you use on the yard will kill beneficial insects, and likely frogs, toads, and other nice critters too. Best to use good products on the dogs and cats, and spray permethrin (approved for chickens) in the coop and run. You could spray the same product on your deck or patio, but doing the entire yard is overkill, IMO. Mary

 

[JaeG]

If it's a real problem research Neem oil. You can get organic stuff. It breaks down quickly and doesn't harm birds or bees. I mop my wooden floors with a bit in the bucket to kill off fleas. The first time I used it I ended up with flea bites on my feet and ankles, but since then, nothing, until...

We had a bit of an infestation from the plasterer's drop cloths recently - they'd recently lost their dog to cancer (who used to sleep on the drop cloths). Suddenly we were all getting bitten by fleas! We dosed our cats and dogs and I mopped the floors with some neem added (we only have hard floors), mixed up a bit of neem to spray on the soft furnishings (and drop cloths) and we've had no bites since then. Those fleas must've been starving!