errantember

Although it turns out that diatomaceous earth is very effective as long as it stays dry, its effectiveness fades rapidly with exposure to water. Having gone from 15 fleas-on-the-dog-per-outing to zero for at least a month twice now, *and* being denied the use of my sprinkler system for the entire interregnum, I've given up on it as a long-term solution to my problem.

The fleas in the previous post were gathered, *by hand*, from either my own body or that of Loki (who is growing tired of being incessantly pinched! Poor puppy!) over the space of less than three days. Moreover, in the fifteen minutes between when I took this picture and when I managed to upload it, I put at least *30* more fleas into the mug. I stopped counting at 29 and then put it another 5 or 10.

To precipitate the next flea holocaust, I've turned to nematodes. As appealing as the slow cutting-and-dehydration death of diatomaceous earth was, the idea of unleashing a screaming horde of tiny, worm-like predators that will devour the fleas offspring in an Alien-like way is so exciting I can barely contain myself!

I treated the entire yard using a spray applicator earlier tonight. Nematodes require a 20% water density in soil, so in addition to recent rain, I watered the entire yard for an hour first. Then, after I got done, it immediately starting raining! Instead of being pissed when this happened after the first time I put down diatomaceous earth, instead I was ecstatic!

I see this as a sign from The Universe blessing my psychomaniacal agenda.

Sometimes, it's fun to kill. :)