Battling fleas in a very large rural yard
I looked at "Outdoor Life" as a possible destination for this thread and nestling this question with gun- and hiking-threads didn't seem quite the venue.
My partner and I live smack dab in the middle of a rural county between a game reserve and a boy scout reservation. We share our surroundings with deer, raccoons, skunks, wild pigs, the occasional panther, a few coyotes, and about a million rabbits. This year has been the blue-ribbon year for rabbit reproduction and with it, the all-time record for fleas.
Our yard is 2-1/2 acres, surrounded by an electric fence, not so much to keep our six rescued herding dogs in as to keep the creatures that would do them harm out. Of course, such fence is only a mild suggestion to flea-carrying deer or rabbits who pay it no mind at all. With such an area to cover, I've tried everything organic I can think of to battle down the flea problem. So far, neem and volck (which are fair but very short-lived) and DE which is pretty good but difficult to distribute effectively over such large area. I detest the idea of using poisons since those are (1) fairly short-lived and (2) will sink into the water table. I really don't care to drink that kind of residue since my water comes from a well.
I priced predatory nematodes. The price is around $78 for 1/4 acre. At ten quarter-acres, that comes to $780 plus shipping. Yow!!!
There has got to be a better way without pricing me out of eating or poisoning the dogs, the well, or us. Has anyone any suggestions for taking care of such an area? I'm about at my wits' end. My two eldest girls are suffering from skin allergies. We've DE'd the house, treated them daily such as we can, lost endless sleep. It can't go on.
Thanks for anything you can offer.
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there are no quick or easy solutions. We've tried the completely natural and as much mainstream as we're willing to risk. The latest was BioSpot (similar to Advantage). The effectiveness seems to be about three good days and you can not treat more than once a month. I am absolutely convinced (due to the symptoms) that Advantage killed two of my dogs. Again, after the results of the posts, my vet finally had to agree. My current vet recommended an oral, but after reading about the lethargy, loss of appetite, and a myriad of other symptoms, then the marked increase in mortality in groups receiving it, I had to politely decline that particular option. He and I are still looking for something that will do. Thank heaven I have a vet who really cares and is willing to help research. I try to read everything I can and keep an open mind until I've exhausted everything that looks like science.
It's a lot of work, but if you care, you'll do it, yannow?
We're located in north-central NC, just south of Danville, VA. We've had very mild winters the last two and this winter is slated to be mild and wet as well. It's doubtful we'll have any relief from an extended freeze.
This summer has been by far the worst. With the explosion of rabbits we've had an explosion of fleas. I did break down and use permethrin in the blackberry thickets where rabbits are most prone to hide out (until the dogs have their fun in chasing them to the fenceline). As much as it pained me to use strong chemistry (or anything made by Syngenta, period) my dogs come first. I treated again in seven days (just at the hatch cycle). The effect was almost nil.
So far DE has been the most effective inside. It's just been a bear to figure out some kind of way to spread it effectively outside.
Unless there's something better that I could actually manage. I'm up against a few things: I'm 55, not in the greatest of shape, my job is an hour and a half drive each way, my partner is disabled, so my time is kinda taken up. I'm not complaining at all; it's just how life shaped up. Funny how things turn out not at all the way you envisaged when you were younger (insert wry smile emoticon here).
Thanks for the rejoinder and keeping the thread kicked. Between all of us, we'll get it figured out yet 
Did I mention I have herding dogs: 
Guineas absolutely do not appreciate being herded LOL
Guineas are fabulous flea-eradicators and watchdogs. Completely organic; their eggs are small, but rich and nutritious; they'll do fine on the dinner table if you decide (I'd rather have them as flea-gitters and watchdogs); and I just like them. They're so darned ugly they're cute!
Sadly, guineas and herding dogs just don't mix.
I'm betting there will probably be a suggestion or an idea I haven't thought of somewhere. Multiple brains working on it are far better than one -- and my one is gettin' kinda tattered!
We'll keep trying. Thanks for pitching in. I do appreciate it.
Couldn't resist. No ideas for you.
The guinea hens is a good idea. Is there a way you can get some temporary fencing and set it up so the dogs can't get at the hens? I've seen this temporary chain link fencing that construction companies put up. Google Image "temporary chain link fence." You could rotate the fence around and hey, you might not get 100% relief but it might be pretty high, like 90!
I buy fresh eggs every week or two from a lady who has both dogs and chickens. She has a set up that's permanent, but her dogs, one a pit bull, do co-exist nicely with the birds.
The dispersion machine is also a cool idea. I hope you can find something that will do that because I, too, have had great success with DE.
I have been fighting fleas for over a decade now. My environment isn't quite as wild as yours, but pretty comparable. I am surrounded by woods and we have a lot of deer and other small wildlife. I have one cat that goes in and out, but my other two cats go out on enclosed cat walks, thus they can still get fleas. I used those flea prevention things like you mention and haven't had a problem with my cats having any reaction. I only use it in the summer, also, even though the cats go out all year.
For something like three or four years straight, I tried to get the nematodes going but after all that expense and effort, I don't notice anything. My neighbors did it, too. Maybe the nematodes are out there doing something, but I've never seen any results from it. It's a lot of work and effort, so this is a very "iffy" possibility.
There's a product called "Mosquito Barrier" that I learned about from a fellow DU-er. It is also effective for fleas, and it is a natural product. It is based on garlic. I think you should check this out. It is not terribly expensive and could really work for you.
Link.
http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/
Now I have some advice for any bites. Get the generic equivalent of the Benadryl gel and a few boxes of those circular Curad bandages. As soon as someone gets a bite, put the gel on it. Let it dry, and then put on a Curad circular bandage. This keeps the person bitten from scratching the bite. It works so well in helping get over bites faster. Inexpensive, too!
Around here, I don't dare go outside without a mosquito repellent, which of course, also repels fleas. I minimize the amount I need to put on by wearing long trousers, thus leaving only my arms for the repellent.
Most of the time I can get away with this Avon product, but when it's the height of the summer, l have to use that Deep Woods stuff.
Finally, I want to give you a big hug for rescuing those herder dogs.
Cher
if a backpack sprayer and a willling kid might be the answer for you?
Something like this?: 
http://www.amazon.com/Chapin-61800-Professional-Backpack-Sprayer/dp/B000UEMJ3W/ref=pd_sbs_lg_6
(Note: this is just the first one that came up in a Google search, so you might find a better deal or decide on a smaller model.)
Keep us posted.
Lemonbalm (another mint family member) seems to be doing well. The spearmint hasn't really taken off yet, but I've got one good patch.
I had wonderful luck with four o'clocks one year and one year only. After that I couldn't get them to come up. Man, those are a lovely flower and they smell SO WONDERFUL. They attract pollenators and hummers but they are positively lethal to japanese beetles who can't seem to resist them. I've never seen so many dead japanese beetles in all my life as under the one beautiful (70-foot!) row of four o'clocks I managed to get going. After that, they never would come up again.
The ground I'm now calling my yard (a bit tongue in cheek, I suppose) had been a tobacco field for some 250 years. When it became a plot for a house about 20 years ago, the idiots that attempted to smooth it simply pushed the topsoil off and shoved most of it down the hill. What was left is lumpy, bumpy, ill-graded, not leveled in any way, and a definite PITA to get anything to grow -- including grass. It has taken five years to establish something like a yard from native grasses. Something besides weeds, that is.
Trying to do this something like organically has been quite a bit more of a challenge. There are plenty of horse farms and dairy barns around, but a couple of years ago the motor in my pickup blew, so hauling poop to shore up the fertility of the garden hasn't been an option. (Poop is free if you haul it.) My husbear would wring my neck I'm sure if I even joked about bringing cowpoop home in the family car
We're noodling over the idea of a guinea tractor. That might could work. Guineapoo is as good a fertilizer as chickenpoo and would do my poor yard and endless amount of good. Along with eradicating fleas, it sounds like a win/win.
I need to read everything I can about guineas, chicken tractors, etc alongside this thread.
We priced fleabane seed. That sounds like another option. Not cheap but a durnsight cheaper than treating after the fact. I like.
