Pet professionals such as groomers (who deal with dozens of flea-infested animals every day) don't have fleas in their own homes. What do they know that you don't know? Nothing, if you read these articles about flea control.
Leave no stone unturned, no hill unconquered. And pay particular attention to the areas where your pets spend their time outdoors.
Be sure you're killing only the enemy and not leaving any "fall out" for later generations
Considered the mother of the safe flea killer, the wild chrysanthemum has produced many an environment-friendly, gentle adulticide that is easy to apply and kills on contact. They are short-acting but relatively inexpensive and highly effective. Several pyrethrin-based yard sprays come with hose-end adapters to make application as painless as possible. Every thrifty flea army should have these weapons and use them whenever fleas are detected if you want to win the battle on the yard front.
No army should ever attempt to take the hill unless they think they can hold it long enough to make it worth while. Don't fight without an Insect Growth Regulator! Insect Growth Regulators render any live fleas unable to reproduce. Consider again that one reproducing flea can have a trillion offspring, and the need is clear. When you're fighting an enemy with the ability to replace its troops with fresh fighters at that rate, a weapon to stop reproduction is an obvious necessity.
Most Insect Growth Regulators are not labeled for outdoor use. But the newest and best are resistant to sunlight (photostable) and may be a great help in the yard. They affect fleas, cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes too, so their use on a regular basis may help in more battles than just this one.
Applied as a very fine dust, the fossilized remains of tiny crustaceans are sharp and damaging to the outer skeleton and the soft-bodied larvae of the fleas. Mortally wounded, fleas exposed to diatomaceous earth die. It's like using concertina wire everywhere.
Diatomaceous Earth can be a great help when used to treat dog houses, kennels, and areas under shrubs or bushes where you pets repose for their afternoon naps and where the flea eggs fall off, hatch, and begin to change into soft-bodied larvae.
Diatomaceous earth is, however, difficult to use to treat larger areas effectively. Also, be sure to use an insecticidal grade of diatomaceous earth. Swimming pool grade is not adequate to kill fleas.
Beneficial nematodes actually eat and thrive on fleas in their various stages of development. If you can keep a thriving army of nematodes alive and well in your outdoor environment, fleas will dwindle. However, nematodes do well only if kept damp. Hot, dry summer is not conducive to this type of treatment unless you want your water bill to reflect the damages.
Along with Lindane and a couple of others these have been the old stand-bys. They were the nuclear weapons in the Battle of the Fleas. Now, however, it is widely recognized that they leave their deadly trace behind in a half-life that is akin to nuclear fall-out. They smell strong enough to "kill a cow" and give you a secure feeling of having accomplished your mission, but don't be fooled. They are less effective for killing fleas as each year passes because fleas have developed ferocious immunities to their nerve-gas-like qualities. Using them is often like firing on your own troops: great body count, but the wrong color uniforms.
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