Re: Garlic for fleas...

"Shelly" <scouvrette@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ffrgil$vhk$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FWIW I tried treating the carpet with boric acid (the fleas laughed
at that).
........Flea Busters is a more carpet friendly form of borax and formulated
to use less:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/product_detail.aspx?item_guid=850CC867-B0A1-4C
9A-87EA-8A59FDD3A30B&click=6875&mf=2

................To be really effective borax needs to stay in the carpet and
while instructions vary, it seems you shouldn't sweep for at least a week
(not with Flea Busters though). I've only tried borax once and I didn't
like all the powder I could see in the carpet. It's really hard to just
sprinkle it on and not get clumps of it sitting there. Pets can inhale this
stuff since they're down there next to it.

I then tried Zodiac indoor spray
..........I've used that too - it's a pump spray which results uneven droplet
size coming out and really uneven coverage......and the additives they put
in make it stink! Not to mention your finger wears out applying the whole
bottle.

combined with Frontline
Plus and Advantage (at two different times). Neither worked. I
finally broke down and bought Siphotrol and used a new (to me anyway)
topical called Sentry (containing cyphenothrin and pyriproxfen).

...........Pyriproxfen is a new generation IGR which is stable in sunlight.
Precor is methoprene and degrades in sunlight. Cyphenothrin is a
pyrethroid: http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33508
(and for those who don't know, NOT to be used on cats!).

........and yikes, insects seem capable of developing resistance to IGRs. So
best to rotate those chemicals. For the least non-toxic products for inside
the home, personally I'd rotate between Precor alone and Flea Busters (which
kills mechanically, not chemically). It appears this IGR is fairly widely
used both in agriculture and food animal industry. My theory has always
been that the more widely it's used, the more widely it's disseminated in
the environment, exposing other pest species and fostering resistance:
http://arsserv0.tamu.edu/research/publications/publications.htm?seq_no_115=1
39182

My
reasoning was that the fleas seemed to be immune to the other
topicals, so something new was called for. That worked, but I had to
retreat after a couple of weeks, when the eggs hatched out, despite
the fact that both the topical and the spray should have killed the
eggs, too.

...........Precor (what is in Siphotrol) doesn't kill eggs. It's an IGR
(insect growth regulator), which keeps the fleas from moulting to the next
stage. For this reason they take a while to work.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG106
*IGRs are the most effective weapon in the flea control arsenal. They are
effective at very low concentrations (< 10 ppb) and have virtually no
mammalian toxicity. They mimic insect hormones and act on insects by
interfering with their normal development. If you can tolerate fleas for the
time it takes these compounds to eliminate a flea population, IGRs are
effective by themselves. Expect to wait 2 weeks before noticeable flea
reductions and 1-2 months before complete control.*


.....Sweeping takes care of adults, some eggs and larvae (though I heard
otherwise elsewhere) but not pupae (according to the above site), the IGR
keeps the fleas from becoming adults and the topicals kill the adults. I
really had to search to find the adulticide in Siphotrol- which is
permethrin, something I wouldn't use if there's cats in the house. Most of
these sprays also contain some kind of adulticide besides the IGR.

.......I think unless you really soak the item you're spraying, it's easy to
miss parts of the carpet. I've noticed that any of these products don't
really cover the sq footage they claim if you're really going to spray
everything evenly and thoroughly. I don't think washing bedding once a week
is enough either in a real infestation.

Creepy flea fact:
http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/cgi-bin/Pestcontrol.storefront/4721d88
a06889cf4273f4200c15f0685/Product/View/A220
Current studies indicate that adult fleas account for only 5% of the total
flea population in any given situation. Eggs account for 50%, larvae account
for about 35%, and the remaining 10% are the pupal cocoons. That means that
for every single adult flea living on your dog or cat, there are 10 eggs, 7
larvae, and 2 cocoons.

........and interestingly just straight Precor is once again available!
Years ago I bought just Precor and was very happy with it as it had no
horrible smell, then it disappeared as a single product. I'd just rather
not use those products with permethrin with so many cats in the house. I
used one of those 5 gallon pump sprayers which has good coverage and uniform
droplet size.
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/precor-igr-concentrate-p-72.html
One bottle 8.50
http://www.cooperseeds.com/froogle.php3?prod=936
Buy 10 - 1 oz bottles for 39.95

buglady
take out the dog before replying




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