Using nemotodes to erradicate fleas in the yard

[Sonya_6]

So we have a major flea problem here. Started up last fall, and is now back with a vengeance.

Used flea dips on the dogs (it only kills the fleas on the dogs at that moment, new ones hop right on afterwards), tried Frontline and it didn't do jack, and powdered them with D.E. today.

I don't want to use pesticides in the yard because the chickens free range and eat the grass/bugs, then I heard about nematodes sold specifically to kill fleas. Just ordered some off Amazon, they are supposed to wipe out the larvae and kill a bunch of other soil dwelling pests like cutworms and cockroaches too (though different strains work best on different pests).

Really hoping this does the trick as I am getting desperate. Anyone tried that?

 

[Peanut]

I’ve never used nemotodes.

Black Walnut capsules work great for keeping fleas and ticks off dogs. I would put a capsule in their food. Years ago I used to fish a lot in the swamp. I would start taking these same capsules a few days before… no mosquitoes would bite me.

http://www.sunshinesupplementshop.com/cleansingdetox/black-walnut-100-caps.htm

I use food grade freshwater diatomaceous earth for insect control around the farm. It works on fleas in the yard. I buy it in 50lb bags but not from this company. Couldn’t find the link to the guy I buy from.

https://heavygardens.com/instantsearchplus/result/?q=diatomaceous earth

 

[Sonya_6]

I’ve never used nemotodes.

Black Walnut capsules work great for keeping fleas and ticks off dogs. I would put a capsule in their food. Years ago I used to fish a lot in the swamp. I would start taking these same capsules a few days before… no mosquitoes would bite me.

http://www.sunshinesupplementshop.com/cleansingdetox/black-walnut-100-caps.htm

I have not heard abut black walnut capsules,will look into that. Thanks.

I use food grade freshwater diatomaceous earth for insect control around the farm. It works on fleas in the yard. I buy it in 50lb bags but not from this company. Couldn’t find the link to the guy I buy from.

https://heavygardens.com/instantsearchplus/result/?q=diatomaceous earth

Yeah I have a bag of food grade DE that I sprinkled on the dogs, and used in the garden for fire ants. Thing is we get a lot of rain and it is pretty humid here, it won't stay dry in the grass so I don't think it will work well. The feed store does sell 50 bags cheap, but I have never used that much.

I was going to buy BT for cutworms in the vegetable garden (they wiped out half of everything I tried to grow last year). The flea nematodes are supposed to also help with cutworms so hopefully it can work double duty.

I also called the vet to see what they offered, for six dogs the pills would cost $110 a month! That is crazy! Plus they would only kill the fleas that get on the dogs and bite, not the ones in the yard. Really hoping the nematodes do the trick along with DE. I will probably order frontline again too.

 

[Rick]

Keep us posted please.. I am real curious about this kind of biological pest control.

 

[Peanut]

I have not heard abut black walnut capsules,will look into that. Thanks.

The blackwalnut capsules were part of a natural heartworm cure. My dog had been outside and then back inside for about 5 hours. I noticed a tiny tick crawling through her fur. 5 hours and the tick didn't bite. Later I learned black walnut leaves will also keep ticks and fleas away. One summer I put them in my laying boxes when my chickens had mites... the leaves work on them too.

 

[SheepDog]

So... Plant black walnut trees around your yard and then the fleas will either all die or they will be trapped in your yard and they will stay out of mine.

 

[angie_nrs]

Here's an article I got from "do one thing" in our weekly paper that might be of interest. I've never tried it, so I don't know if it works or not. It might be worth a try.

If you want an all natural and very effective way to prevent invasive insects from killing your flowers, trees, bushes and vegetable garden this spring, look no further than neem oil. This botanical based oil has a strong, pungent smell and repels insects, but also controls fungi and mites. It's safe for birds and does not kill beneficial insects. You can find a large bottle of neem oil at your local home improvement store. Just unscrew the cap and attach a spray nozzle, then spray away to protect your lovely garden the organic way.

 

[Sonya_6]

Here's an article I got from "do one thing" in our weekly paper that might be of interest. I've never tried it, so I don't know if it works or not. It might be worth a try.

If you want an all natural and very effective way to prevent invasive insects from killing your flowers, trees, bushes and vegetable garden this spring, look no further than neem oil. This botanical based oil has a strong, pungent smell and repels insects, but also controls fungi and mites. It's safe for birds and does not kill beneficial insects. You can find a large bottle of neem oil at your local home improvement store. Just unscrew the cap and attach a spray nozzle, then spray away to protect your lovely garden the organic way.

My favorite gardening guru (Gary Pilarchik on youtube) always raves about Neem oil and how effective it is. I may try it this year.

Though in the case of cutworms, a single grub could wipe out half a dozen plants before the neem oil killed them (which basically means sacrificing plants in order to wipe them out). Last year the problem was severe, I lost 3 entire crops of beans even when they were several weeks old. I have since found out whenever you tear up grass for a new garden the cutworm population is usually horrific the first year since the moths lay eggs in grass, when the grubs emerge and the grass is gone they have to eat the vegetable plants instead.

I also use homemade nicotine spray which is very effective for spot killing insects (it was the leading insecticide of the 18th century), it will kill any bug it comes in contact with but it has to be applied daily for ongoing problems and care must be used to avoid harming pollinators.

 

[Peanut]

I had no luck with neem oil. It does have an effect on some insects but limited in my experience. Something else that did help one year was growing a species of tobacco with an insane nicotine content, deadly. Lots of dead bugs at the edges of the garden where I planted them. The guy selling the seed vanished from the net the next spring so I couldn't get more seeds... I need to look into that again... I'm sure somebody sells them.

At the end of the day my go too is fresh water, food grade diatomaceous earth. "Perma Guard" has the best quality product. I bought a DE product from the feed mill in town a few years ago that was useless. The key phase on the bag to look for is "Benonite Clay". The product I bought was about 90% clay. Clay stops DE from working effectively... This product was being sold as a wormer for livestock. It may work in intestines but not on the garden... Now I only buy Perma Guard food grade DE.

 

[Peanut]

I thought I would add for folks who may not be familiar with DE… Fresh water, food grade DE… What does it mean? Here is a place to start.

http://www.vincentcorp.com/content/apple-juice

Many of the liquid products we buy at the grocery store are filtered during production with food grade diatomaceous earth, including apple juice, apple cider, grape juice, orange juice… the list is endless…

Eons ago, 1 celled diatoms live in oceans and fresh water lakes and do so till this very day. They lived and died, their tiny bodies settled to the bottom of fresh water lakes… Fossil beds were formed.

Today these fossil beds are mined. These tiny fossils make excellent filters and insect killers… When crushed their edges becomes microscopic razor blades. Any insect that crawls through DE has its exoskeleton slashed by these microscopic razor blades. They dehydrate and die. This is a purely organic form of insect control.

As I stated in my last post… PermaGuard food grade, fresh water diatomaceous earth is the best product on the market. They are actually a mining company. The “horses mouth” so to speak. Hope this helps folks...

 

[Sonya_6]

Something else that did help one year was growing a species of tobacco with an insane nicotine content, deadly. Lots of dead bugs at the edges of the garden where I planted them. The guy selling the seed vanished from the net the next spring so I couldn't get more seeds... I need to look into that again... I'm sure somebody sells them.

Was it Nicotina Rustica? Otherwise known as Aztec tobacco? That has a very high nicotine content and grows 3-4' tall. Ebay has it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ceremonial...799358?hash=item3f929e7afe:g:KkMAAOSwealaa6Us

I am trying to grow Virginia Gold this year (have 6" plants waiting for the night time temps to warm up so they can go outside). But that is for smoking and has a lower nicotine content though it still makes a great insecticide if the leaves are boiled and made into a spray.

 

[Peanut]

Was it Nicotina Rustica? Otherwise known as Aztec tobacco? That has a very high nicotine content and grows 3-4' tall.

I honestly don't remember the name. This was several years ago, before the droughts that started here in '08. I haven't had an insect problem in the old garden since I started applying crushed volcanic rock in about '06.

 

[Sonya_6]

Well the nematodes arrived yesterday (earlier than amazon said they should, plus the ice pack was warm).

Sure hope they didn't get damaged by warm temps. Mixed the powder into a bucket of water this morning and sprinkled it around the yard. It is raining all day which is supposed to be "optimal" for dispersing them (they need moisture with no strong sunlight).

Now I am praying the nematodes do well and get busy wiping out flea larva/eggs (sending them painlessly into a glorious afterlife). I also dosed the dogs with generic Frontline.

Go little nematodes go! Eat, thrive and multiply!