Diatomaceous Earth For Fleas
Everybody is looking for a natural and safe flea control product. But what they're not looking for is something that will harm their family. When you talk to your veterinarian they recommend very toxic pesticide products to either have your pet ingest or to apply topically. Thankfully, this isn't the case with Diatomaceous Earth. It's a dust that can be used just like any other powder in your home. The result will be a flea-free environment, for cats and dogs and other pets and humans, without the worry of harsh chemicals or side effects.
As a flea prevention, dust your carpets, pet beds, and anywhere else where fleas might be with our finely ground, low crystalline silica, Diatomaceous Earth DE. The fine, powdery substance with sharp edges will adhere to the insect's exoskeleton as it crawls through it, dehydrating and killing it. This is a much safer option than using chemical treatments against fleas that can be toxic to people and animals.
How to Identify a Flea
Adult fleas are a dark brown or dark reddish brown color. Young fleas including larva, pupa and eggs are rarely seen by humans as they are microscopic. Adult fleas are roughly the size of a ballpoint pen tip. You can also identify them if you are lucky enough to see them jump from place to place.
What Do Flea Bites Look & Feel Like?
Flea bites rarely cause any lasting harm. They cause mild annoyance and irritation for a short period. However, flea bites can be dangerous because they may spread diseases that can be serious or even fatal. Flea bites are small, discolored bumps on your skin that come from a flea feeding on your blood. For animals that are infested or for a home that is infested that mild irritation becomes unbearable. For animals, fleas are devastating and what makes matters worse is they can spread infections and disease.
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Flea Behavior & Life Cycle
The life cycle of fleas can last a couple of weeks to many months depending on the availability of a host to feed on. Adult fleas lay their first batch of eggs a couple days after their first meal. An egg takes anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks to hatch. Once in larvae form the flea will keep itself alive by eating the waste from flea adults. They remain in larvae form for 5-14 days and then they start spinning a cocoon for the pupae stage. Fleas remain in the pupae stage until a blood host is made available. Then the flea will emerge as an adult and feast on the blood of their host. Then the cycle starts over.
How to Apply Diatomaceous Earth to Kill Fleas
Fleas have this uncanny way to infiltrate your home and make life miserable. Its hard enough watching a pet suffer from a flea infestation. Flea bites can be itchy also but we have the remedy to stop the itch. Many people ask us how to apply diatomaceous earth to kill fleas and please see below for those instructions! Diatomaceous earth or diatomaceous earth de is an effective flea and pest control substance that can be used in and outside your home. Using the fine powder, diatomaceous earth for flea control will help you get rid of fleas. When the flea eggs hatch, they will come into contact with this natural flea killer. The razor sharp microscopic nature of the product will adhere to them and dehydrate them slowly. How do we keep diatomaceous earth safe? Just store it in a cool and dry area and make sure to seal up the container it is in.
INDOOR APPLICATION ON PETS
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1. Apply Crawling Insect Control Diatomaceous Earth to the pet’s entire fur coat making sure to rub it down to the skin. Do this for a period for two weeks, every day. Make sure not to miss the legs, belly, or hind quarters.
2. During this two week period take the product and apply in a light and visible coat to pet bedding indoors, flooring around the bedding, rugs, and upholstery. Leave for the first week, clean, and then reapply for the next week in the same fashion.
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3. Clean thoroughly indoors and see where you stand. In most cases this eliminates the population and cuts off the gestational period. We do understand that in some cases fleas can get out of hand and we ask if you still notice some to reapply for another week or two both to your pet indoors.
OUTDOOR APPLICATION ON PETS
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1. Apply Crawling Insect Control Diatomaceous Earth in the same fashion to your pet’s entire fur coat every couple of days to ensure a good preventative measure.
2. Apply Crawling Insect Control Diatomaceous Earth also around the perimeter of kennels, cages, perimeter of your house and make sure it is light visible. BE sure to reapply to the perimeter and other areas if it rains.
3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 all summer to ensure the proper protection
4. (Optional) Florida is one of that states that has sand fleas and they are in huge numbers so some choose to apply to the entire lawn a few times to kill off a majority of the population. Mix 1/2 Lawn Sand & 1/2 Crawling Insect Control Diatomaceous Earth in a fertilizer spreader to ensure the product falls correctly and evenly. Product is very fine so be sure not to open the spreader too much. Play with it to get the right application rate. Make sure the application is light and visible and re-apply after every rain
(*Rule of Thumb…If it rains and you are unable to see the application it is time to re-apply). For example, try to apply to the lawn when you have a stretch of sunny and clear weather to avoid the product being washed away the next day if it rains.
How long does it Take To Kill Fleas Using Diatomacoeus Earth?
Diatomaceous Earth is an effective tool for ridding flea infestations in your home and on your pets. This can even be applied outdoors to help cull their population in your yard. In normal circumstances, a fleas infestation is taken care of in as little as 2 weeks. In more severe cases where the infestation has been going on for months and months, it may require an additional week or two to solve the problem. Once a fleas comes into contact with the powder, you simply have to allow the flea to move. The more it moves, the more dehydrated it will get.
What to Use With Diatomaceous Earth to Kill a Flea Infestation
There are very few items that you really need to get the job done. For starters we recommend these three items below. The crawling insect control diatomaceous earth shares the composition of the food grade diatomaceous earth but contains an EPA label to register it as a legal pesticide. Our pest pistol powder duster works well to get the product in cracks and crevices and hard to reach areas. The diatomaceous earth dispenser helps you apply evenly without the worry of missing a spot or making the application too thick.
Crawling Insect Control Diatomaceous Earth
The same great diatomaceous earth as our food grade but has the trust and registration from the EPA as an organic alternative to using chemical pesticides.
JT Eaton Red Insecticide Duster
Included are the assembly instructions, a red fine tip, clear tube, white housing, and the red cap to seal the device. Choose the pest pistol powder duster to help you apply diatomaceous earth in hard to reach places. Simply compress the device and let it puff out diatomaceous earth where it is needed.
Diatomaceous Earth Dispenser
The diatomaceous earth dispenser is great to evenly spread diatomaceous earth without the worry of wasting your product. Lid has an opening to be able to fit a scoop and the other side has small holes to help apply evenly.