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denThe dogs have fleas. I have tried flea powder, flea shampoo, pyrethrum-based flea spray, even that horribly expensive stuff you put on the nape of the dog's neck and gets into the blood and makes the fleas sterile. Nothing worked. The fleas were bigger and badder than ever and seemed to thrive on the poisons. I couldn't work out where they were coming from since the dogs haven't had contact with others for some time. I worked it out while I was feeding the birds (a pair of peewees has stuck around.) The fleas were in the dog kennels.
When Polly was very young and smaller than Scruffy (ie the first 3 weeks she lived here) she used to sleep in a wicker basket near the back door, which was lined with an old jumper and one of my old pairs of pants. The basket was chewed to death long ago but the bedding had migrated into the kennel to make it smell like home. In fact, when Polly is feeling particularly upset (Somebody barked! Somebody chased birds! Somebody dug a HOLE! Somebody was a BADDOG! THUNDER!) and put-upon, she will drag her bedding to the place where her puppy basket used to be, pile the rags into a ring and curl up on it. It's the doggy equivalent of Linus' Blue Blanket.
And now the cloth had fleas and so did the carpet squares in the bottom of each kennel. I bought a new can of Die You Filthy Insect Bastards For Dogs, liberally powdered Polly's bed then plastered the interior of the kennel. I did the same to Scruffy's smaller kennel, reaching in as far as I could and going all Jackson Pollock with the powder tin. I sat back to admire my handywork and watched the dusty air flow from the kennels.
Then a patch of white carpet moved. Scruffy stood, walked from the kennel and gave me a look of hurt and outrage through the lumps of powder stuck to his face. He then tottered over to the lawn leaving behind a trail of while lumps on the way, and shook himself, making a mark on the grass very much like a 1/2kg flour bomb had been dropped there from a great height.
I stared at the Scruffy-shaped clear patch on the floor of the kennel and wondered if I should have checked in there before going birko with the powder. Then I obliterated the sillhouette with even more powder.
Die you filthy insect bastards.
When Polly was very young and smaller than Scruffy (ie the first 3 weeks she lived here) she used to sleep in a wicker basket near the back door, which was lined with an old jumper and one of my old pairs of pants. The basket was chewed to death long ago but the bedding had migrated into the kennel to make it smell like home. In fact, when Polly is feeling particularly upset (Somebody barked! Somebody chased birds! Somebody dug a HOLE! Somebody was a BADDOG! THUNDER!) and put-upon, she will drag her bedding to the place where her puppy basket used to be, pile the rags into a ring and curl up on it. It's the doggy equivalent of Linus' Blue Blanket.
And now the cloth had fleas and so did the carpet squares in the bottom of each kennel. I bought a new can of Die You Filthy Insect Bastards For Dogs, liberally powdered Polly's bed then plastered the interior of the kennel. I did the same to Scruffy's smaller kennel, reaching in as far as I could and going all Jackson Pollock with the powder tin. I sat back to admire my handywork and watched the dusty air flow from the kennels.
Then a patch of white carpet moved. Scruffy stood, walked from the kennel and gave me a look of hurt and outrage through the lumps of powder stuck to his face. He then tottered over to the lawn leaving behind a trail of while lumps on the way, and shook himself, making a mark on the grass very much like a 1/2kg flour bomb had been dropped there from a great height.
I stared at the Scruffy-shaped clear patch on the floor of the kennel and wondered if I should have checked in there before going birko with the powder. Then I obliterated the sillhouette with even more powder.
Die you filthy insect bastards.
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How to kill the bastards...once and for all
Date: 21 Apr 2005 10:52 (UTC)If you can get it, Malathion is a good choice. It's lethal to fleas, won't hurt the dog if used properly, and works well. The only problem is that it STINKS to high heaven. You'll need a hose sprayer/mixer. Mix it up per the directions and have a go at the bastards.
Do it about an hour after sunset so the treatment won't evaporate, and spray the ground around the entire yard, because just doing the kennels won't finish them off. The basards will migrate to untreated areas, so get the perimeter first and move in to the center from the edges. Be especially sure to start your run at the edge of the house, along the foundation, then move around the rest of the yard. Close the circle of doom!
After that, it's just a matter of pulling out all the bedding and burn it or toss it, unless you wanna treat it in a bath of Malathion. Spray the earth under the kennels and mix it up good with a rake, then spray it again. Don't need to make it muddy, but give it a good show. Don't spray the Malathion inside, that would make the dogs sick from high-concentration of fumes.
Now comes the fun part! Washing the dogs. This part you know. ;)
When the fleas try to leave the dogs during the bath, or when survivors stumble away, they'll encounter a flea's idea of a nuclear wasteland and die a very dramatic demise.
To put the icing on the cake, get a few low-sided pans of soapy water and lay them out in the yard with a small, 20watt bulb over them. The fleas will be attracted to the light and jump up to it, only to land in the soapy water, where they'll get sucked under by the soap and drown. Put the pans near the kennels, or even inside the kennels. You'll probably catch a lot of by-catch if you leave it outside, but the ones in the kennels will be spot-on target-wise.