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The Victoria College. Full-time salaried position with benefits available...
DISTRICT "Champions for Community Wellness" has the following positions...
Our recent pleasant weather, including some wonderful rain, has encouraged many of us to get out in our gardens. Ahhh, that great feeling of having your hands in the soil, the sun on your back, the birds singing cheerful tunes, when suddenly you feel some kind of pest biting your ankles.
And what’s wrong with your four-legged little companion? She’s scratching herself all over. What happened to the beautiful tranquility you were experiencing? Can you say fleas?
Here in our area we can unfortunately always predict the outbreak of fleas to occur around this time of year. Once our temperatures begin to warm and the humidity begins to rise, the fleas begin to hatch. These tiny bloodsuckers love warm damp weather, and you know we have plenty of that.
Once fleas move into your yard, it can sometimes be an expensive, difficult task getting rid of them. After all just two of these little parasites can produce more than 19,000 eggs in three months. Within a week the eggs hatch into the larva stage. Fleas go through a complete metamorphosis. In other words, the egg turns into a larva, the larva turns into a pupa, and then the pupa turns into a flea.
The larva stage can last up to six months, while the pupa can last up to one year. The larva is actually legless worm-like wigglers. They feed on organic matter, dried blood and animal feces. The larva do not bite animals or humans, only the adult flea does that.
To effectively get rid of fleas, it is the eggs and larval stage you want to target. That means keeping areas where fleas tend to hang out (dog runs and pet sleeping areas) raked and swept on a regular basis. Carpets need to be vacuumed often if you have indoor pets.
We organic gardeners do have alternatives to chemical control of fleas. Beneficial nematodes that we use for help with several different pests also help us with flea larva control. These easy-to-apply good guys are too small to see without the help of a microscope. Once applied to the soil, these tiny hit men seek out the bad pests and get rid of them. Once beneficial nematodes are applied to the soil, you do need to keep the soil damp enough for grass to grow, then the nematodes won’t dry out and will stay happy and continue their job. Make sure to apply them to areas such as dark, damp spots where fleas like to hang out.
Another natural alternative to help get rid of fleas is to dust diatomaceous earth on infested areas. This is not the same stuff you use for swimming pools. I’m referring to the natural DE. Natural DE can even be used on pets. Simple rub it on your cat or dog.
DE is a powder that can be drying to the skin. Only use occasionally on older pets, or pets that already have skin problems.
Hopefully, these suggestions will help to bring the tranquility back to your gardening if you ever have a flea problem.
Until next time, let’s try to garden with nature, not against it, and maybe all our weeds will become wildflowers.
Send your gardening questions to laurie@vicad.com or in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, Texas 77902.