Anyone experiencing seasonal Fleas? (house, neighborhood, allergy)

[GarnerMama]

We have a privacy fenced backyard with a lot of greenery...an azalea bush that's about 7ft tall x 12 ft wide, other bushes, and 2 pecan trees. It's really shaded and part of it is covered by moss. When the temp hits the 80's, we experience a flea invasion. We've tried a number of treatments, most of which only work for about 3 weeks at best. I'd love to get rid of them for good. Any ideas? Anyone used a local company that will rid us of them for good? I use Frontline Plus on the dogs. We also have a cat (17 years old) who never leaves the front porch and front yard...no fleas on him. We have a Wheaten with a severe flea allergy so this is a big problem for him. We do have a lot of critters in the neighborhood (racoons, possums, and squirrels) but the dogs run them out of the backyard. We have a doggie door in our slider and they sit by the window, on squirrel patrol all day. All advice is appreciated!

[Voltige]

As with any flea treatment you will have completely break the lifecycle of the flea to rid them "forever". But with the wildlife you describe coming into your yard I am not sure you can completely get rid of them.

I would suggest a few different things. If you are not opposed to chemically spraying for them, I would do this about every three weeks for at least several cycles to attempt to break the life cycle of those suckers. I would use a pest control company and avoid doing this myself.

I would also consider trying either a different or in addition to, preventative medication for your dog. Look into Comfortis, I have had good results with this one. Using Advantage or Revolution in between Frontline doses might also be helpful. Discuss with your vet.

Diatomaceous earth (food grade) can also be dusted into your pet's coat and put in his bed. Very effective at dehydrating and killing fleas. Can also be drying to the skin though so monitor that.

I hate fleas more than ticks. They require constant watching. Good luck.

[GarnerMama]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was just researching DE. I'll talk to the vet about possibly adding something to his current treatment. The Frontline seems to keep the fleas from coming inside the house, but they're driving him crazy.

[KGRW]

Fleas are a year round problem in NC. We had an infestation 2 years ago in the middle of winter. The vet said that they are still active and a warm dog going into a warm house is very attractive...makes sense. We use Frontline Plus and Heartgard Plus year round and have not had any flea problems since. We also use BioSpot spray occaisionally in the yard to kill fleas, ticks and mosquitos if they get really bad. I hate doing this because I don't want to also kill the good insects. Our vet said if you have fleas in the house you need to break the cycle which takes about 3 weeks of vacuuming and treatments like spreading diatomaceous earth in the carpet. For every one flea you see, there are 100 you don't see!