You MUST do everything at once. House, outside and dogs (and any other pets).
The mildest and most effective complete treatment I have found (I lived on the TX gulf coast for 12 miserable years with my 1st Akitas, where the fleas were not killed off every winter by heavy freezes) is as follows:
1) get a bottle of dog dip that contains d-Limonene(pet stores/feed stores/even walmart carries it(has Lassie's pic on front)). This will be advertised as having the scent of oranges. I think it mixes up at 2 oz per gallon of water. Also buy a shampoo containing the same stuff. IMPORTANT: Buy 1 oz (per gallon of stuff that you will ultimately use) of flea hormone regulator, called Precor or IGR. It may go under another name and costs several $ per oz but it is worth 10x the price. It keeps the eggs from maturing, which prevents a necessary retreatment in a couple of weeks. I cant emphasise how important this stuff is in flea control.
2)Get a new gallon sprayer like you would use in the garden (yes it MUST be new or you may kill your dog with leftover poison residing in the plastic) and mix up a gallon of dip. This is what you will use to spray your carpet, furniture and every nook and cranny of your house. You must be thorough. Mix up more gallons as needed, but all you need is a light spray on/under everything(turn those sofa cushions over too). Spray the house, with a double dose where the dogs sleep a lot (unless it is wood/tile/etc)
3) Shampoo the animals with the d-Limonene stuff. (by far the hardest part of the equation). Don't let the vet do it, they'll just pick up more fleas there to bring home. Besides, no1 will do a more thorough job than you will.
4)Launder all bedding. Laundry soap is sufficient here.
5) Treat the yard. This step I am hesitant to give advice on as this usually involves some meaner poisons. If you go with them, keep the dogs off the yard until it rains or you water thoroughly the next day(give the stuff time to work) or AT LEAST, wash their feet everytime they go outside and come back in (yeah, easier to keep them in, huh?). OR, if you live in an area that isnt too bad like me now, you can wait until the sun goes down and spray the yard with your d-Limonene/Growth Regulator sprayer. This is because ultraviolet breaks down d-Limonene quickly. Of course, wandering cats and squirrels will bring new fleas in, but this is a discourse on how to get control of a flea infestation.
UPDATE: now available are a nontoxic product that you can apply to your yard that lasts as long as fleas live in your yard(yearound on most of Gulf Coast, till a good freeze elsewheres). Here is a good explanation: (from: http://gothere.com/AdamsAve/3817/3817a.htm ):
=========================================================
"Interrupt Biological Outdoor Flea Control: A safe and effective method of controlling fleas in a yard with grass or other ground cover. Interrupt is purchased as a canister containing granules. When these granules are dissolved in water, microscopic worms called nematodes are activated. Nematodes exist in the environment naturally; by applying Interrupt to your yard, you are increasing the nematode population to many millions. These nematodes, which are harmless to humans, animals and plants, eat the flea larva and flea pupae in our yards. They also eat other types of insect larva, many of which are detrimental to the plants in the yard, but do not eat the "good" garden bugs. To get maximum duration from this product, yard should be moist enough to keep the grass green. After 4 to 6 weeks it is necessary to re-apply Interrupt because the nematode population will have died off and new flea larva and pupae will be deposited in the yard. If you have used any chemical treatment to kill adult fleas and other insects in the yard, you should wait 30 days before applying Interrupt, as chemicals that kill adult fleas will also kill the nematodes."
=========================================================
SUPER IMPORTANT: NEVERNEVER mix poisons. By that I dont just mean in the container. If you use a carbamate(too strong anyway!) on your dog, dont use diazinon on your lawn. Poisons interact with each other in the dogs bloodstream and have a multiplying effect. Very sick puppy if you are lucky. Remember too that a puppy's tolerence is a lot lower than an adult dogs'. d-Limonene is considered safe for puppies and even for cats.
Well, longer than I meant to be. I'm sure I've confused everyone or made the Greens mad. So ask/fire away(on the Forum this one links to). I'll try to answer your concerns. Most people dont believe me anyway when I tell them my dogs dont have fleas.
Posted on May 25 1999, 2:00 AM
This message has been edited by krater on Jan 13, 2005 10:34 AM