So two of my favorite things will make a late appearance to this blog.
Our German Shepard Grover and my favorite nursery in town Shades of Green (http://www.shadesofgreensa.com/.) How they didn't get mentions before is beyond me.
Let's start with the dog. He is a bit of a flea mongrel. Last year, I went to Shades of Green, a gem of an organic nursery near our home with beautiful fountains, flowers and friendly staff, to buy DE because we had fleas in our detached garage. Also known as the worlds best dog house. We have friends who live less large than our dog. The Shades of Green employee asked why I was buying so much DE and when I told him about our flea problem, he highly recommended beneficial nematodes for our yard. Now back when we lived in a small (flea infested) apartment and I was less wise- I tried everything to get rid of these fleas. Sprays, bug bombs, exterminators, flea collar, expensive flea baths. Basically, the only thing we got rid of were a few brain cells burned out by the noxious chemicals we were breathing in. So I didn't have much faith in these so called microscopic organisms.
I've seen the light! I have been saved! These things are amazing. They kept fleas off our dog and out of our yard for 6 months. I know not all organic "earth friendly" products work as well as we may hope- I'm looking at you organic bubbles. But this does.
Simple how to:
Nematodes come on a little sponge. You can store them in the refrigerator for a short time if needed. It's best to release them after a rain- but I'm not going to hold my breath. You should spray in the early evening.
When you are ready- you soaked the sponge in water. It will tell you how much water depending on how large of a sponge you bought. We got the pack that says 1 million nematodes for 2000 sq feet. Then we used a container you attach to your hose so they get evenly distributed. (My organic husband wants me to note that this is the only Ortho product he would ever buy and it pains him they even got this much money from us.) This is obvious but important- make sure the container you use has not previously sprayed chemicals or you will just kill your nematodes. Spray them over entire yard, then water again to get them into the soil and root system.
Ta Da! No more fleas. We apply it twice a year and have a happy dog.
We do this too! I was amazed that it worked, but we do it twice a year also. I like how you are using your rain barrel water to soak the sponge!
ReplyDeletei have to admit i feel really self satisfied when we use our rain water.
ReplyDeletenow if we could fix our leaky toilet we might actually be doing some good.
It pains me this year to have found several fleas on us (one every few days) after going outside in the back yard. We have no pets, but animals (including neighborhood cats) do come through the yard and I suspect bring their guests to stay on our property. Thanks for the advice on nematodes - I will try this when we get to the point of actually spraying.
ReplyDeleteAs for Shades of Green - this was my grandmother's favorite nursery; she only bought from here.
OMG...this is fantastic. I can't wait to try it out for Diogi! The more organic, the better!
ReplyDelete